Writer getaway | Cathy C. Hall Writes

Honestly, I can never quite catch up when I take time off from technology. There’s just too much Twitter, too much Facebook, too much lovely stuff out there that keeps on going, even if I’m (mostly) unplugged. But I shall give a brief accounting for, and will zip around this week to make sure I haven’t missed anything like a Zombie Writer Apocalypse.

Firstly, the writer getaway was lovely and productive. And now you’re wondering just how productive and I will tell you that I got all the way to 33,000 words in the revision. I mean, this was a serious writing writer getaway. More than the word counts, however, was the conversation, the opportunity to bounce around plot ideas and character developments and story arcs. Think of your best critique group meeting ever, multiplied by ten (and throw in a couple adult beverages consumed on a rustic deck overlooking the Georgia mountains) and you’ll have an idea of this working writing vacation.

But I also had the time to ~~read~~ start Twenty Master Plots (It’s a great read so far and I’d recommend it for those of you who are thinking, 20 plots? But there are only five basic plots–)and so while I was on the beach getaway (though not while I was actually visiting with Mom and Dad), I had time to think. And now I’m hacking away at those 33,000 words.

So it goes with revisions and getaways.

Thank you for your lovely votes over at Susanna Hill Leonard’s contest–my story placed and when I know what I’ve won, I’ll let you know. And maybe I’ll give that prize away. (I think it’s a how-to book)

And lastly, just a reminder to keep writing and keep submitting! Send in your stories for the Not Your Mother’s Book series. Those contract emails are going out all the time! And I received payment for a story I sold to The Red Squirrel Magazine (a children’s market in China), so I suppose now I can’t say, “Millions of Chinese people don’t care a whit about what Cathy C. Hall’s doing.”

Maybe a hundred Chinese kids are thinking even now, “Wonder if Cathy C. Hall’s gonna write another scathingly brilliant, not to mention funny, story?”

So it’s back to working and writing for me. Assuming, of course, that’s not a Zombie Writer pounding down my door.

But I’m ever so glad a writer friend invited me to a four-day retreat! Because I love a good writer getaway. I love how it frees me.

Not that the Beneficent Mr. Hall and company hold me captive. Honestly, there are many times when dinner turns into a sandwich because I’m in the middle of a deadline. Nope, it’s not people so much as things.

Like Braves baseball games. Dirty clothes piled up in the hamper. The overgrown yard. Facebook. All the stuff that pulls my attention away (and gives me an excuse) from working on a long writing project. The project otherwise known as (dum dum dum) The Novel.

So getting away gives me no excuses. I will go where no woman has gone before–well, I’ve gone into these revisions before, but I’m going deep this time. Way deep. Anyway, a couple things before I go:

Thing 1: I will catch up with you and your lovely writing lives when I return to regular internet connection (and I’ll be turning around next week and heading out for a visit with my parents, where the internet is also missing). So if there is something with a time deadline, or even some fabulous news that you know I’ll want to hear, please send me an email as I’ll try to check that each day.

Thing 2: A couple days ago, I received an email from Holly Lisle about her Writer Boot Camp. I know it’s not the same as getting completely away, but it might be exactly what you need to kick your writing butt into gear. Plus, you have the support of a community along the way, and that really is half the fun of camp (or a getaway), isn’t it? So here’s the link, membership is free, and the Beginning Writer’s Bundle is 4 bucks. And P.S. You don’t have to be a beginner. You just have to be a writer who needs a push.

Thing 3: Please do not worry about the Beneficent Mr. Hall. As long as there is ice cream in the stores, he will survive.