On writing like a single, rich man
Otherwise known as a writers retreat
I’ve just come home from hosting a writers retreat in Cornwall. I’ve been doing it for a few years now and although getting away can be a huge pain, it’s one of my most favourite work things I do all year.
It’s 4 nights, where I plan all meals, cook and tidy, in a small collection of cottages on the South West coast. All the writers have to do is turn up. And write. Or think, read, walk, chat if they feel like it. No pressure and nothing to do but turn up at meal times. There are no classes, or schedule (although I spend the afternoons book coaching for any of the writers who fancy it). Just time and no decisions to make at all.
It’s the ultimate luxury. Retreats definitely aren’t essential for writers. It is totally possible to write books at home amongst everything else you have to do. So why bother? What are people paying for?
I think it comes down to one main thing. Removing all decision making for a period of time.
I have always loved work trips. 20 years ago I was a fashion photographers assistant and I was on the road a lot. Even then, without the responsibilities I have now, being able to work without doing all the things (cooking, cleaning, food shopping, laundry) felt luxurious. Work trips for me have always been about single tasking, laser focused work. We might have been up shooting at dawn but someone else made the food and I never had to wash my own bedsheets. The shit you can get done when all you have to do is work (and sleep and eat) always blows my mind.
Over the years I traveled quite a lot as a photographer and as that gave way to me writing from home, I wanted to replicate the single tasking nature of the work trip. A few years ago, it struck me that producing shoots (something I have a lot of experience at) was not actually any different to organising a retreat. So I just did it. And they have been a pleasure to run ever since.
Part of what goes into these retreats is me just imaging what it would have been like for rich male authors throughout history who had wives. If everything is just taken care of behind the scenes, what could be achieved? I try and think of everything, so they don’t have to. I don’t even give a choice of meals (although I do take dietary requirements in to account). Because deciding what to eat when someone else is shopping and cooking can still be a drag. There is a relief in handing over all decisions for a few days.
After these retreats, aside from getting a lot of words down on the page, or major edits checked off a list, the thing that most writers are astounded by is how much thought they have been able to give their work. When other tasks and decisions are removed, books can breath.
I don’t write on the retreats I host but I have promised myself two of my own weekend retreats this year. One will be with my writers group and another will be solo. I’m not sure where I will go for the solo one yet but wherever it is, it will be cheap, have a desk and serve breakfast, lunch and dinner in the building. I’ll be replicating the vibes of an old school men’s club, where I don’t have to do anything for myself.
Yes, it’s the ultimate luxury. But this might be a luxury worth the extravagance occasionally. Maybe I’ll start calling them my ‘write like a single, rich man’ weekends?
Not Too Busy To Write podcast is back for Series 8! The first episode is now live, with debut novelist Jessica Bull talking about blending fact and fiction in Miss Austen Investigates. We talk all things Jane Austen (including our favourite novels and adaptations) and the joys and challenges of using a real life heroine for a fictional detective series.
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I’ve always fancied doing a retreat, never had the courage yet (nor the money really). Maybe one day.
I loved this! It’s so interesting reading the daily habits of prolific people, especially authors, in the book Daily Rituals. There’s a women’s version too and to say their days are vastly different (largely the men just follow their nose and turn up to eat) is an understatement.