Morning muse - Self Guided Retreat

The day started in a snow storm. Plans to take the trip were questioned. Selfishness prevailed.​ We are on our way.

Wet, slushy roads became dry in spots. The sun showers greeted us every so often. The snow/rain had quit by the time we reached the sight of the welcoming buildings. Off in the distance, the horses and cattle graze up the slope. 

Day One
Making room in the fridge. Setting up a place to write where a continual view presented itself. Preparing the evening meal. Enjoying a glass of beer. All part of the first day of settling in to this self-guided, five day writing retreat.

A busy day of travel and writing. The outline of what needs to be done on the first rewrite of the current book has been completed. 2300+ words of new content for a future book is written.

The clock barely reaches 8 pm and the thought of sleep is teasing the eyelids. Night comes early in the foothills. No stars or moon tonight, but the lack of urban light and sound pollution is a welcome reprieve.

Day Two
Waking on the second day to the early morning darkness. In a few hours, it is light. Not the normal cluster of colours on the eastern skyline. A few shades of pink touch the cloud and fog encrusted sky. Vision to the expanse beyond the window is minimal. There’ll be no morning outing to distract from the day’s plan. ​

The old coffee pot has been resurrected. A treat to hear the grlup, grlup of the water making its way to the top of the pot as the aroma of coffee fills the kitchen.  Finally, it’s ready. Thick, black and strong. A major trip down memory lane and a flavourful wakeup jolt to the body! Breakfast will come later. Now it is time to continue with the rewrite of The Quiet Spirits. 

​Sun and shards of blue break into the late morning sky. Misty, wisps of cloud travel through the trees along the surrounding hills. Colours and shadows mingle together to design a creative view. Breaking the day up long enough to have their presence captured before returning to the keyboard. Immersion is easy without the distraction of voices, television and internet. The serenity of the location removes the expected technical connection to the outside world.

After a full day of rewrite, there is still time to pen yet another chapter of the future book. The first version in long hand is the bond needed to give voice to the characters and scenes. Write, write, write. The editing comes later.

Day Three
The darkness lifts to a third day of grey sky. With it comes snow. Enough to say, “I’m the guy from winter, remember me?” The rewrite continues. Some chapters take longer. Some need to be rethought. Some need to merge with others. 

The afternoon sky does not change. Only the snow is missing. Ahead of schedule on the rewrite. Time to get some fresh air and take a look around. There has been no sign of cattle today, but the horses and cats are happy to come and say hello. The camera is pleased to record the outing. Time to dig out the shovel to clear the walk and then get back to The Quiet Spirits. 

​Late afternoon of the third day and the edited manuscript is closed. The first rewrite of The Quiet Spirits is complete. In a few days, a printed edition will be created to start the review process, again. 

The hand written chapters of the next book are transferred to a typed file and another chapter is started by hand. 

Retiring for the night with the thought to attempt the continued journey of chapters for the future book. Head bobbing and heavy eyelids deem otherwise. 

Day Four
The last full day arrives. The morning lightens to show it has snowed through the night and it continues to pile up throughout the day. No wind to disrupt the fine flakes making their way straight down. By noon the depth has reached six inches or so. Lunch out of the way, time to wander with the camera and move the snow from the walk, again!

A creative afternoon. The wind has picked up. Snow swirls, building drifts. Enjoying the hours of this last afternoon. Colouring books, crayons and felts tag along (always) just in case there is some time to wind down from the writing focus. They are the interlude that does not require writing. Bright colours and shapes sandwiched between words, words, words, and, working on a new project, that is not writing. Propelling the thought process to uncharted waters.

​A pleasure to have the clouds lift and thirty-seconds of sun explode through them, then gone. The snow continues to filter towards the ground. The cattle made themselves visible for a short time and the horses are grazing their way across the pasture. The bonus? Five deer feeding near the tree line on the far side of the clearing, and later, three more make their way past the window. 

The last evening is fast approaching. Plans are talked about regarding packing up and leaving. Chores that need to be done before departing, and what time the trip home should start. Definately not in a hurry to vacate this welcoming home.

Day Five
The last morning a beautiful gift arrives. The sunrise is all we have come to expect here from previous visits. Chores are done. Everything is packed and ready for our trip home. The snow is starting to settle and melt with the warm Chinook winds breathing their life over the mountains close by. 

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This has been the best self guided writing retreat I have had the pleasure of taking part in and sharing. Productive and relaxing, this five day, self imposed retreat, turned out one complete book first re-write of over 41,000 words. Inspired new content for a future book totalling over 6,000 words. Provided time to write well over 2500 words of blog content and some fun (writing prompt) snippets; and, finally and most importantly, allowed me time. 

Looking forward to the next adventure that brings the mind here.

Do you have a place where you can retreat to immerse yourself in a journey just for you?

​Ann Edall-Robson
Author, Photographer, Lover of Life