Updates

So, the Rainforest Retreat was absolutely fabulous — finished the rough draft of my novel. Also, thanks to Patrick Swensen who put the retreat together so well — each day there was an optional session run by a top-notch writer at 11 AM and again at 3 PM, so we got great tips on plot, setting, character, openings, and so forth, while most of our time was spent on our own writing. This, of course, meant that we could begin to apply what was shared immediately. Earlybird writing in the common room started at 6 AM, and I was usually there between 7 and 8; and Nightowl writing seems to have gone until about 2 AM — although I generally quit by about 10 PM. Other than the workshops, I only stopped writing for dinner (with friends, old and new), grazing lunch and breakfast, and physical breaks for yoga and short hikes to clear my head and think through my next scene. I hoped to finish about 6 of my 12 remaining scenes, and as I said, I got the whole thing done. This weekend, I’m spending time with my family skiing, snowboarding and playing pool to get a little distance from the novel (okay, that’s not much, but it’s a LITTLE). Next weekend I begin a week of Spring Break, and that’s when the real work on the novel begins: revision!