A man walks into a bar and asks for a table for six people.
Yep, sounds like the start of a joke. But it wasn’t. The room is full of writers and there is no room for someone who wants dinner in the restaurant.
I’m at the Rainforest Writer’s retreat for four days, focused on Vicious Machine, the follow-on to Stupid Machine, a murder mystery solved by a refrigerator. Thirty of us have taken over The Rainforest Resort Village, filling the lounge, restaurant, and cabins with aspiring writers. The locals appreciate the business—it’s the off season, so we provide an unexpected boost to the economy—but they aren’t sure how to regard us. Asking us “How was the fishing today? ” returns a blank stare.
They would receive a more enthusiastic response if they asked, “How many words did you put down today?”
Let me share a bit about the experience.
If you don’t plan to write for four solid days, don’t come here. The retreat website makes that abundantly clear.
The retreat is for writing attendees only. Non-writing spouses can accompany an attendee, but they will not have access to the writing spaces, discussions, meals, or special events.
There is a controversial “word count” contest among participants. The debate seethes around the importance of the raw number of words, verses words kept after editing, versus outlining and brainstorming. Most of us ignore the discussion and write. One of us created upwards of 29,000 words. That is the equivalent word count to “The Old Man and the Sea.” I’m on track to write about 7,500 words this weekend. I’ll keep most of them.
Patrick, the organizer, tallied up the word count for day one at 48,600 words. There are thirty-one writers here, so that’s an average of 1,567 words per person. That requires a lot of butts-in-seats without distractions.
Briefly, that’s what to expect. The retreat mission statement is…
Solitary and community writing…
in an isolated environment…
supported by a collective of contemporaries of like mind and pursuits.
Internet
This year, the resort internet is fast and abundant. In past years, not so much. The constricted internet forced a change in flow. I write hard science fiction, so I need to do research to make sure my facts are correct. How fast do you have to spin a space station to achieve one gee? or How big is a nanobot? With no internet, I relied on placeholders for future research.
With abundant internet, I have to avoid getting sucked into news, especially considering the current state of the union. I check email, read a few stories, write a bit of this blog, then get to work. I’m disciplined, but the internet is addictive.
Pomodoro
The pomodoro writing technique is a time management method where you write for 25 minutes, then take a break. Then write for 25. Then break. Francesco Cirillo, the creator of the technique, had a tomato-shaped timer in his kitchen. Italian for tomato is pomodoro.
We don’t do that here; at least, nobody has set a timer. Instead, we have scheduled breaks. Write, then breakfast. Write, then attend a one-hour presentation. Write, then lunch. Write, then take a nap.
Writing is hard work (for your brain.) This is a focused weekend, and it takes energy to keep yourself in the story while pounding out words. I take a few 1/2 hour naps to keep things flowing.
I’ve solved a few plot points while I was napping. It’s not wasted time.
Return on Investment
After paying for a room, conference fees, meals with friends, and transportation, this conference will cost me about $1,000.
I constantly ask myself if it’s worth it. I’d obviously like it to be cheaper, but here are reasons I’ve chosen to be here:
- Focused writing time. I get that at home, but not in these quantities.
- Networking with other writers who are also trying to make a professional run at this business.
- A ready pool of smart people who understand what I am doing. Yesterday I ran a one-hour focus group with other hard-science fiction writers. I explained the premise behind the story and invited them to find the plot holes. All of them understood the constraints of writing fiction and had personal experience. Very useful and not something I could come up with on my own without a lot of work.
- I’ve brought food so I can avoid the $45 meals in the restaurant. But when I eat alone in my room, I miss the opportunity to have conversations with my writing peers. The retreat organizers provide soup and sandwiches for lunch, and breakfast is complimentary, so my overall food cost is very low. I think the conversations are worth the investment, so I eat at the restaurant.
Possibly most important, we support the local economy. Every dollar we spend stays here. The Rainforest Lodge is privately owned and local kids staff the restaurant and do housekeeping. Buy local!
Presentations
There is a one-hour presentation on writing topics every day. In this session, I’ve heard three talks: Windows into Point of View by David D. Levine, Writing for RPG’s by Patrick Hurley, and How to publish yourself by Dale Ivan Smith. The only other place you could see presentations of this caliber would be a fancy-dance literary convention. I guess that’s where I am right now!
Worth it?
Yep. I penned a lot of words. I became a better writer. I view myself as a serious writer. All of those are good and require my dedication to the craft.