How to plan a writing retreat

How to plan a writing retreat

Writing retreats can be a beautiful, restorative, and extremely productive experience. They can also be expensive, which is why many writers plan their own. Writing retreats can take many forms, and as long as you’re having a good time and making space for your writing, there’s really no wrong way to plan a writing retreat. I have friends who check into a hotel to get away from everything and finish their novels before their deadlines. I have friends who get together groups of friends to shut themselves away in a beautiful beach house for a long weekend just because. I’ve attended retreats that have programming, retreats with no particular focus, retreats where it was just me… all that is to say, the question of how to plan a writing retreat depends heavily on your goals and resources, but that doesn’t mean I can’t guide you through the process!

Determine your goals and the vibe of the retreat

Are you planning to just lock yourself away for a while until your screenplay is complete? Do you want a fun holiday weekend with friends? Is it important to you to stay close to home, or do you want to explore a new city? Do you want to have access to restaurants, shops, and other amenities, do you want to be able to go for walks, or do you plan to not step foot outside of your hotel room?

You should also think about your goals for your writing. Do you have a specific word count goal or do you just want dedicated writing time? What project will you be working on, and what do you need to be successful with that project? For me, some projects require community, while others require complete silence and total focus. Being aware of what this specific project needs will help you plan something really special.

If you’re going with a group, I suggest sending out a survey so you can find out everyone’s preferences for the retreat, as well as things like allergies and other restrictions. This is less chaotic than a mass text or lengthy email chain and allows you to take everyone’s needs and preferences into account.

Figure out your budget

While I’d love to spend a month in the south of France working on my novel and exploring, Nice isn’t exactly in my budget. You know what is in my budget? A cute airbnb two towns over, or a friend’s beach house, or a long weekend in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Once you’re aware of your goals and the vibes you want for the retreat, start thinking about what specifically you want your budget to be and how you plan to make it work. Here are some things you need to consider when planning your budget:

• Food: will you be eating out, ordering in, cooking for myself, cooking for others, ordering catering? What snacks do you want to have on hand? There are a ton of options here for different price points, so just think about what will keep you nourished and feeling good during your writing retreat without breaking the bank.
• Activities: Are you just writing or do you plan to spend some time doing other activities? There are tons of free activities you can do on a writing retreat, like going for a walk, but make sure to budget in case you want to go out for coffee, go shopping, or do anything else that costs money in your chosen area.
• Lodging: This is the biggest cost of a writing retreat. Maybe you have access to a beach, lake, or mountain house, in which case you should take full advantage of that! But if not, you’ll have to pay for a hotel or short term rental. When looking for lodging, make sure you’re choosing a place you’ll be happy spending all day in; a budget motel might save you money, but if there’s not a comfortable place to write, you’ll be wasting your time. I like to look for houses with beautiful views and comfortable couches so I can sit and work while looking outside into nature. You should also consider what other amenities you need at your lodging; for example, if you plan to cook, you need a kitchen.
• Travel: Are you flying out of the state or country, or are you just driving a short distance? Factor in travel to your costs when building a budget. If you have access to a free vacation home several hours away, do the math to make sure you’re actually saving money by flying or driving there instead of renting someplace closer.
• How many people are going? If this is a solo retreat, all the costs fall to you. If you’re getting a group together, you will be able to split costs, but you’ll also require a larger space and more food.

Plan your writing retreat!

Once you know your budget and a tentative plan for your retreat, it’s time to start planning in earnest. Go ahead and book your lodging and flights if needed, and make sure you have a plan for when you get there. If I’m going with a group, I like to send out a group email with the itinerary, expected budget, and menu a few days ahead of time. This gives people a sense of what to expect. If I’m going alone, I still write down my plans in a Google doc so that I have a guide for my writing retreat, although of course I can stay extremely flexible. 

Here are some tools I like to use when planning a writing retreat:

• Google Sheets or Excel. It’s a pretty obvious one, but there is truly no better way to collect information and plan a budget. I use Google Sheets to keep track of RSVPs, money, and attendee preferences/restrictions.
• If you’re going with a group there is nothing better than Google Forms. Creating a bespoke survey to find out exactly what you need to know makes planning a writing retreat about ten times easier. Forms is so easy to use that the only hard part is tracking down people’s responses!
• Google Docs is a useful tool, especially if you’re planning with a group, because you can easily share a document with as many people as you need. I find it’s easier to parse than a long email, so whenever I’m planning a group trip of any kind, I create a master Doc for people to reference whenever they need.
• Notion. I like to describe Notion as part digital workspace, part bullet journal. Every single trip I plan ends up with its own Notion page. I like that I can customize it or find templates to suit my specific needs, and I’m able to add things like a countdown widget, a word count tracker, a kanban board for my writing goals, flight information, nightly menus… and you can make it pretty, which is just that much more exciting!

The beautiful thing is that you can plan a writing retreat to be anything you want it to be. Have fun, and happy writing!