Clarify Your Writing Goals with a Writer’s Retreat
/The glitter has settled, the pine needles are swept up, and we are already well into the new year! Whether you have been faithfully writing throughout the holidays or have taken much-needed time away from your computer, January is the perfect time to clarify your writing intentions with a personal writer’s retreat to set your course for the coming year.
Taking a retreat from your regular writing practice is a great way to set yourself up for success in the coming year. It can look different for everyone: you don’t have to go to a cabin in the woods for a writer’s retreat—though it wouldn’t hurt! Simply setting aside a morning or afternoon with your phone off and the kettle on can be transformative. The point is to minimize distractions and clarify your writing goals so you can spring into the new year with clarity and motivation.
A writer’s retreat can take many forms, but it will always be helpful to plan it out ahead of time and have an idea of what you want to come away with. It may be helpful to divide the retreat into two broad sections: a time to reflect and a time to act. Here are some prompts to get you started as you design your own retreat:
Reflection time. Begin your retreat by taking a moment to zoom out and consider your creative life in general. Below are some questions to get you thinking:
What writing goals have you accomplished in the last year?
What writing goals have you fallen short of in the last year?
What do you want to accomplish in the coming year?
Why do you write? Do you want to share a story? Generate income? Teach people? Whatever that “why” is, how can you keep that in mind as you approach the coming year?
What are the primary obstacles you currently face in your creative life? Are these obstacles matters of logistics, mental capacity, current skillset, or something else?
What steps can you take to propel you further into excellence as a writer?
What would an ideal writing day look like? What changes would help implement that?
Action time. This is your time to get organized and take care of all those unglamorous, writing-adjacent tasks that will help your productivity in the long term. Some things you may want to do:
Organize your computer: get everything filed away properly, clear your desktop screen, delete duplicate files, back up your data … whatever “tech chores” you’ve been putting off, now is the time to tackle them!
Organize your physical workspace. Clean up the coffee mug rings, throw out old pens, bring in a fresh vase of flowers, refresh your tea stash.
If you are active on social media, analyze your current usage: are you spending an appropriate amount of time marketing yourself? Do you need to increase or decrease your presence? If you like to plan posts ahead of time, write and schedule them now.
If writing is a source of income for you, this is a great time to go over your finances. Are you up to date on taxes? Do you have a good way of tracking your time and income? Do you need to finally open that separate business account or hire an accountant? Now is the time for those tasks!
If you have reflected on the skills you’re hoping to build as a writer, now is the time to act. Sign up for that online course. Join that writing co-op. Finally crack the spine of Strunk and White. Google the grammar questions that plague you. Whatever you need to take your writing to the next level, begin doing it now.
These suggestions are meant to get the juices flowing. Adapt these prompts to fit your needs. Maybe you’d like to spend a full week on planning instead of a few hours. Or incorporate your retreat into a tropical vacation. Or turn this solo venture into a group activity: while solo retreats can be very powerful, including a writing partner or friend can be a great way to bounce ideas around and emerge with even more motivation. Perhaps one retreat a year is sufficient; perhaps you’ll benefit from taking them quarterly!
Whatever your writer’s retreat looks like, we at Inspira wish you a productive and inspiring 2023!