At the end of this week, I leave for my writer's retreat. I'm not nervous about it. I don't necessarily feel excited, either—not in the butterflies-and-counting-the-minutes sense. What I feel is anticipation. I am looking forward to going, to being surrounded by other writers, to stepping away from the ordinary routine for a while, and most of all, to learning. That is really the goal.
I want to absorb as much information as I can. I want to listen carefully, ask questions, think about what I'm being taught, and find ways to improve my writing. I don't expect to come home suddenly knowing everything there is to know about writing. I don't even expect to agree with everything I hear. But I do expect to learn something.
Maybe several somethings. I've done my part to prepare.
Because I'm workshopping What Walked the Boreen, I have about eighty percent of the novel drafted. I've also made some changes to the overall structure, including adding a prologue and an epilogue. I think they strengthen the story and give the novel a better shape, but one of the reasons I'm taking the book to the retreat is to hear what other people think. I've lived with these characters and this story long enough that it can be difficult to see the forest for the trees.
That's one of the things I hope the retreat will give me: perspective. I also have my piece for the public reading ready. Another box checked. In fact, most of the preparation is finished. My bags will be packed. My writing will be with me. I know what I'm taking, what I'm working on, and what I hope to accomplish.
There is only one thing I'm still debating: the iPad. I don't have access to everything I need for the retreat on it. Most of my writing life happens on my Windows desktop, and the two ecosystems don't always cooperate as nicely as I would like. I've been thinking about buying an Apple laptop for a while, partly because it would give me a more portable version of my writing setup.
But do I really need one? That's the question I'm still weighing. Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. Perhaps the retreat will make the answer clearer.
For now, though, I'm ready. And that's a good feeling.
I'm not going to this retreat because I think my writing is finished or because I believe I have nothing left to learn—quite the opposite. I'm going because I know there is more to learn, and I'm ready to listen.
What Walked the Boreen is far enough along to be examined, questioned, challenged, and improved. That's exactly what I want.
I want to come home a better writer than when I left. Not because someone will hand me a magic formula for writing a novel. There isn't one. I expect I'll come home with notes, ideas, questions, perhaps a few surprises, and hopefully some things that change the way I look at my own work.
That's enough. The retreat is almost here. I'm ready to go.