Dear Writers,
Last week, I hired a friend to build me a customized bookcase for my writing space. The bookcase takes up two walls. My books and notebooks have now been liberated from their precarious piles on the floor—culled and neatly arranged on shelves.
While sorting through these piles, I had to go through each notebook to decide what I wanted to keep. As I did this, I noticed how many Post-it notes had been pasted into my notebooks. Post-it notes, as it turned out, were the unintimidating little squares that offered me a blank space to write—a blank space that said, You can make a note to return to later—later when you have more time.
What I took away from this observation was this: I had everything I needed to write. The only thing missing was time.
Over the years of not having enough time—of working a full-time job that bled into the waking hours of every day of the week—I became an expert at finding stories about writers who did make the time. Some wrote when their families were asleep. Some wrote on the train to and from work. Some wrote during their lunch hours. Some checked into motels for the weekend. Some used apps to stop themselves from going online. One wore a special hat so her husband would not disturb her. Another treated writing like high-intensity interval training from the gym. Some hid their phones. Some created special desks in their homes or carved out a corner in a coffee shop.
I believe I tried all these ideas—except for wearing the hat and installing the app. And I did write. But not consistently. And certainly not by making it a priority.
My Notes Taught Me Seven Post-it-Note-Sized Lessons
- Post-it note lesson #1: Prioritize writing—or it won’t happen.
- Post-it note lesson #2: Schedule writing time (days and hours) and stick to it.
- Post-it note lesson #3: Take yourself and your writing seriously.
- Post-it note lesson #4: Work toward a deadline that means something to you.
- Post-it note lesson #5: Establish a weekly word count and do your best to reach it.
- Post-it note lesson #6: Create accountability (join a writing community or find a writing partner).
- Post-it note lesson #7: Ask yourself: Why and/or for whom are you writing? (Write the answer on another Post-it note and paste it where you’ll see it daily.)
Last summer, I taught a class called Writing and Accountability. My syllabus began with the following quote:
Whatever you’re meant to do, do it now.
The conditions are always impossible.
— Doris Lessing, Nobel Prize in Literature, 2007
After reading my notebooks and the Post-it notes inside them, I realized—again, not for the first time—that the most important gift a writer can give themselves is time. And the second most important gift is accountability.
A writing retreat is the place where these two gifts are folded into one. And if you’re lucky, that gift can happen in a space where nature’s beauty offers you the chance to wake refreshed, to be still, to daydream.
A writing retreat is a time to listen to the voice that has been trying to reach you for weeks, probably months—possibly longer.
Sometimes this voice says, Take your time.
Sometimes it says, Take your time.
Today, it’s saying, It’s time.
This Two Trees Solstice Retreat will be the space that not only hears your internal voice but also offers you its echo—it’s time, it’s time, it’s time.
Happy New Year!
Elena
