Writing Weekend
Mar. 14th, 2024 09:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wickedaceThis weekend is all about writing.
At the start of the year, I decided I was determined not to repeat the mistakes of 2023 (forgetting to use any time off work for the first five months of the year and then realising I was super exhausted as a result), so I booked myself a long weekend in March for the sake of it. Then a friend posted about spending a few days at a rural venue as a kind of DIY writing retreat, and it sounded perfect. So here I am!
I've spent today on trains and filling time between them, which has been quite good as a kind of transition space: moving through scenery that's different from my everyday, and letting myself zone out and switch off from work (which is still just as, let's say, intense as it was in 2023). I arrived just after dinner, so I've spent the evening settling into my room and idly browsing writing inspiration sites, to get myself into the mood. I've also started to make a rough plan of what I want to get done in the next two days!
1) Write up a summary of the outline I've been contemplating in my recent weekly writing sessions [actually already did this this evening! also realised in the process that I had a totally different direction in mind last time I typed any of this story on the computer, and that's got some neurons firing...]
2) Sketch an outline with a little more detail, including character arcs, possibly integrating the most recent outline idea with the old direction, as I don't think they are totally incompatible
3) Do some character exercises i.e. "write a letter this character will never send" type things
4) Write some atmospheric scenes, whether backstory or mid-plot
In short, I want a mix of "things to get the imaginative juices flowing" and "consolidate my ideas into a real outline that I can start expanding"
I'm here until Sunday morning. My meals are all pre-booked on-site, so all I need to do is sit down and write (and also stand up and walk about every so often, in the interests of not hurting!). Feeling good about it.
And let's face it, even if I don't write anything more than this post, at least I had some time out of the city and away from everyday life. I was feeling pretty miserable at work on Monday, so hopefully the break will do me good!
At the start of the year, I decided I was determined not to repeat the mistakes of 2023 (forgetting to use any time off work for the first five months of the year and then realising I was super exhausted as a result), so I booked myself a long weekend in March for the sake of it. Then a friend posted about spending a few days at a rural venue as a kind of DIY writing retreat, and it sounded perfect. So here I am!
I've spent today on trains and filling time between them, which has been quite good as a kind of transition space: moving through scenery that's different from my everyday, and letting myself zone out and switch off from work (which is still just as, let's say, intense as it was in 2023). I arrived just after dinner, so I've spent the evening settling into my room and idly browsing writing inspiration sites, to get myself into the mood. I've also started to make a rough plan of what I want to get done in the next two days!
1) Write up a summary of the outline I've been contemplating in my recent weekly writing sessions [actually already did this this evening! also realised in the process that I had a totally different direction in mind last time I typed any of this story on the computer, and that's got some neurons firing...]
2) Sketch an outline with a little more detail, including character arcs, possibly integrating the most recent outline idea with the old direction, as I don't think they are totally incompatible
3) Do some character exercises i.e. "write a letter this character will never send" type things
4) Write some atmospheric scenes, whether backstory or mid-plot
In short, I want a mix of "things to get the imaginative juices flowing" and "consolidate my ideas into a real outline that I can start expanding"
I'm here until Sunday morning. My meals are all pre-booked on-site, so all I need to do is sit down and write (and also stand up and walk about every so often, in the interests of not hurting!). Feeling good about it.
And let's face it, even if I don't write anything more than this post, at least I had some time out of the city and away from everyday life. I was feeling pretty miserable at work on Monday, so hopefully the break will do me good!
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on 2024-03-15 01:57 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2024-03-15 02:54 pm (UTC)