📌 Natural Rhythms and Purposeful Backbeats
Composing your creative work day
This week I’ve been lucky enough to be retreating at Kindling Words West, which is being held this year at the lovely Whidbey Institute on Whidbey Island, Washington. I always feel a little weird talking about writing retreats when I know so many of us are struggling economically and time-wise; so first let me say: I recognize my privilege in getting to experience this week. Still, a writing retreat—whether DIY or from paid offerings—is a potent tool to wield in one’s writing life, and, to be honest, people are always interested in hearing about options as there are a wide range of options and styles!
What initially drew me to the West retreat was the sheer productivity daydream (veering toward fever-dream) of an entire week earmarked only for writing, surrounded by the wilds (including other creators 😂). On the website, KWW had quote after quote calling it “my most productive week every year.” Having been here half a week, I “get” it. I am shocked at how much writing I’ve been doing—and I’m typically a pretty productive writer (at least, on my best days). Further adding to the testimonial aspect is that the vast majority of creators return year after year. Finally, I can’t deny that it is right in my own backyard, made the whole thing far more financially feasible for me—in lieu of plane tickets, I would only need a $6 walk-on ferry ticket to get to the Institute. Having said that—I was surprised at how geographically diverse the representation was here: from Florida to Arizona, Utah, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and more. Finally, we were going to be lucky enough to get to have author-illustrator (and all-around badass) Jessixa Bagley as our morning speaker all week. (So, yeah, sign me up, right?) Still, there is another unexpected benefit of keeping it local: it turns out another kidlit creator here lives in the adjoining neighborhood, and we even frequent the same coffee shop! I imagine we will be running into one another more purposefully now!
Anyway, I’m losing the thread here. It’s not surprising that in the extreme short term, I got more work done once I severed ties with my loving family and went somewhere where someone else made all my food and washed all the dishes and dealt with the mail and whatnot. 😂 INSTEAD, let me refocus on the most surprising benefit of this sort of long-term, work-focused retreat (vs. a retreat that focuses on workshops—which is a delight!—or a conference): Time To ExPeRiMeNt with one’s own process—including one’s schedule.
I’ve written before about What a Writing Day Looks Like (for Me), but I didn’t get much into specifics of how I chose my writing schedule. But the truth is: my day is driven by the fact that there are certain hours my kids are at school, and many more when they are not, so frankly, it doesn’t much matter when I “prefer” to write. I write when I can—which is when they are otherwise occupied. (Again, this is fine! It’s working me right now—and good thing, because it has to.)
BUT…it has been eye-opening to see what my “natural state” might be, if left to my own (admittedly lonely) devices. For one thing, I have been waking up much earlier than I suspected I would, and I have been enjoying writing right after getting dressed. (In my “real life” making the kids breakfast and getting them going rightly takes precedence.) Is this information I can use? I think…maybe so. I could, after all, set my alarm a little earlier. Will I? That remains to be seen, but it’s interesting! (Newly-discovered options are always interesting!)
To wit: one of the creators here shared his own journey into slowly becoming a “reluctant morning writer” and how the fact that he is a little more groggy in the morning has actually become something he uses to his advantage, because that also means he’s far more likely to write freely, without much self-editing or overthinking.
That got me thinking about backbeat, when a musician accents a beat that is normally considered “weak” or unaccented. We creators spend an awful lot of time and effort trying to exploit our strengths—trying to make hay with the sharpest of our pitchforks.
But what this discussion, and what this week so far, has also shown me is that there are sometimes ways to exploit our perceived “weaknesses.” In fact, some of our most interesting work may come from letting ourself enjoy a good backbeat once in a while—and seeing what comes of it.
What if you let your reluctance to either try something new (whatever that might be) or to do something at a very specific time fall by the wayside temporarily? A retreat is a great time to test drive a new routine or new creative aspect, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only time we can give something new a whirl. As for me, we’ll see what happens to my alarm clock when I return to hearth and home.
Your “always drumming up a process” friend,
Elayne
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