A New Way to Retreat (and Write)

I haven’t said much here about The Breakthrough, the writing retreat that Michelle Wildgen (an excellent novelist and former editor at Tin House) and I developed and then ran back in April, because life got in the way.

But I’ve been thinking about how well it went and considering offering one or two more retreats in this model. The model is this, inspired by my own DIY writing retreats: Michelle and I organized three nights at a small compound on Cape Cod. We put out a call for applications and chose ten talented writers (it was a surprisingly hard decision—neither of us expected the response we had). These writers got:

1. One-on-one Zoom sessions with either Michelle or me.

2. A group introduction so that the writers (who would be traveling from as far as Alaska, Texas, and California) could meet each other and plan carpools from the airport.

3. Private rooms and insanely great homemade food, thanks to Michelle’s cooking prowess. I prepped and cleaned in the kitchen (and made scrambled eggs!). And views of a huge pond:

4. Morning discussions.

5. Michelle and I were available at all times to help troubleshoot, vent to, and otherwise support the writers.

1. Lunch followed by walks, social time, or solo time if preferred.

2. Afternoon quiet writing time, followed by wine and cheese, followed by dinner, then games or practice readings.

3. A group of potential new friends and fellow writers.

4. Follow up one-on-one Zoom sessions with Michelle and me.

Yaddo and MacDowell and other retreats are gifts to writers, of course, but can feel very solitary to some. Bread Loaf (or even Kauai Writers Conference or other such conferences) is also a gift, though to younger writers, but can be overstimulating and doesn’t tend to offer much time or bandwidth to actually write. We wanted to create something that offered the best of both worlds.

Notably missing from this retreat was workshopping, or one person’s writing being critiqued by a group of peer writers. When people read their work aloud, the others were asked to limit their feedback to the positive. This sounds Pollyanna-ish, but I promise that it was not. My impression was that limiting the feedback freed up this group of writers to gain momentum with their own work. People felt safe. There is a time and place for workshopping, but one of the goals of The Breakthrough was to offer these writers a chance to leap forward both with their word count and their general level of motivation.

Also missing was the usual latent (or not so latent) press of competition that is common at more typical retreats and conferences. I didn’t sense any jockeying for position. The group was small enough to fit around a dinner table, and from the get-go people seemed more interested in supporting each other than one-upping each other.

So, to writers who might be interested in this sort of thing, here are some questions as Michelle and I begin plan our next Breakthrough:

1. What would the ideal length of this sort of retreat be for you?

2. What other locations would appeal to you? I’m hesitant to choose somewhere overly fabulous, as that would provide too much distraction from the writing, but I also don’t want to choose a location that’s a turn-off.

3. If you are on fence about this idea, what would push you on or off?

Here are some testimonials from our crew this year. Please consider applying to our next Breakthrough and other retreats we may hold! I’ll keep you posted as plans evolve.

“I think there was a perfect balance of structure and ease. I felt a great chemistry among the group which I attribute to the leaders for helping facilitate a very warm and positive environment.”—SM

“It was wonderful to be in the company of dedicated writers, and to have the support of such fantastic and established editors. It boosted my confidence and helped me feel a sense of connection and purpose.”—ML

“I appreciated the balance of creative time and communal time. The structure of the day was ideal—gathering for casual conversation, then having a more directed conversation and/or craft discussion prior to a solid chunk of writing time. The break midday was restorative; it was easy then to return to another focused period of writing. Come evening, I enjoyed hearing about what others had achieved or discovered during the day. It was beyond fantastic having two sharp and extremely generous editors offering insights and support. And what a joy it was being in company with this very special group of kind, curious, and talented women! (Oh, and those delicious meals...)”—RR

“[There was] serious time to tackle big sections of my work, which is so difficult at home. Michelle's and Heidi's ongoing advice to the Group and the interactive discussions on the craft of writing between the writers provided a wealth of information, book references, publishing ideas, and story structure as well as many other tidbits too plentiful to list. The food was amazing, healthy, and plentiful. Meeting the other writers and hearing their challenges and successes was extremely informative and they were all nice people with fascinating writing projects. ”—ML