Writer's Retreat...a lesson in being in a crowd of introverts

I went to a writer's retreat two weekends ago (actually a FIVE DAY RETREAT! But two days were mostly for travel. We arrived at 4:00 (or so) on Saturday and left bright and early Wednesday morning.

In that THREE days and one short fourth days. I wrote 18,500 words!!!!
DID YOU READ THAT?

This is Mary the long-time advocate of writing 1000 words a day.

Mary, Mom and My Cowboy

And I've been to writer's retreats before that were nowhere near this productive.

So what happened?

And what can someone else do to have such a perfect, successful writer's retreat.

There were eight of us, though one retreater only stayed one day.

It was organized by the lovely and brilliant Dawn Ford.

She's on the left, Sharee Stover is on the right in this picture.

SHAREE STOVER WHO JUST SIGNED 

A THREE BOOK CONTRACT WITH 

LOVE INSPIRED SUSPENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!

And it was an almost perfect dynamic. Yes, we talked and laughed and ATE. (Have mercy we ate)
But not really by design, everyone showed up to work. Or enough of us did that those of us who would be been willing to talk and eat MORE, were forced to work.

What do you mean

 Erica is working too hard to talk!?

Raising hand.

First, we all split up. I had the living room to myself.
Another lady set up shop at the dining room table. (I'm not sure who all to name here. I'm bragging on everyone but still, the names might be withheld as to specifics...except ERICA was there and I'll tell every single thing she did!)

Erica was almost always in the bedroom we shared.

This house we VRBO'd was REMOTE. I still keep thinking, 'What is that beautiful house doing out there in the middle of nowhere.'
It is BEAUTIFUL. But so far from anywhere.
Which means, there is NO ESCAPE FROM WORK.
Unless you want to go outside in windy 50 degree weather with spitting rain and look at SHEEP.
Yes, that's right. I was there FIVE DAYS and managed one picture of Dawn and Sharee and about ten pictures of SHEEP.
ON MY SINGLE WALK.

Sit back down there and work.

There were FIVE bedrooms and a full basement with a sitting room and kitchen.
The point here is, we could completely be alone. Eight people in one house and no problem at all being in complete silence alone.

In that picture above, I am in a chair that was MOVED when the website posted this picture. I put a Number 1 on it before I realized that was dumb and started labeling them differently but my skilz are such that I couldn't change the ONE.
The hallway with Erica's name on it, leads to a pair of bedrooms. I think there was someone in the other bedroom but I'm not sure. Everyone was so QUIET!

And all of us worked. Long hours of quiet time.
AND IT WAS MISERABLE WEATHER.

We had to stay inside in a very pretty rural setting. Very few walks no matter how good they would have been for us.

(sneaking in a cover of my October release AIMING FOR LOVE. Now available on Amazon.
I've got a cover for book #2, too. It's called WOMAN OF SUNLIGHT. But I am forbidden from sharing it yet. and let me tell you it is taking EVERYTHING IN ME to not post it.)
Josephine Nordegren is one of three sisters who grew up nearly wild in southwestern Colorado. She has the archery skills of Robin Hood and the curiosity of the Little Mermaid, fascinated by but locked away from the forbidden outside world--a world she's been raised to believe killed her parents. When David Warden, a rancher, brings in a herd much too close to the girls' secret home, her older sister especially is frightened, but Jo is too interested to stay away.

David's parents follow soon on his heels, escaping bandits at their ranch. David's father is wounded and needs shelter. Josephine and her sisters have the only cabin on the mountain. Do they risk stepping into the world to help those in need? Or do they remain separated but safe in the peaks of Hope Mountain?

Did I mention I took pictures of sheep?

I also took videos of sheep.

I can't figure out how to load them so use your imagination...that is probably better than my videos anyway.

Also the food was so well organized.
We each volunteered for a meal.
Eight of us.
Ten meals really, starting with an evening meal the first day. Then breakfast, lunch, dinner the next three days. Then breakfast the last day which no one ate because we all headed out.
We all took a meal. Mostly breakfast was light, though were were some eggs! But mostly cereal and bagels, easy stuff.
We talked about dietary restrictions.
We told what our plan was so there was input.
Everyone brought munchies. There was PLENTY.

Everything was in order, provided by the person who'd signed up for that meal...and we had NOTHING TO DO.
Ahem...excuse me. We had nothing to do but WORK.

And we sure enough worked.
The first short day I wrote my usual 1000 words and felt quite proud and righteous.
If only I'd known!

Did I mention there were sheep?

I was told there were also goats and chickens but it was cold. 

I walked until I saw the sheep, then turned back.

I'm not claiming to be Jack London here.

Instead of doing much else I just wrote. And wrote and wrote.

TWICE I got up from my writing (well, okay, maybe FIVE TIMES -- Ten, shut up)

And considered who to drag out of their little cocoon--Erica has been known to be open to such things--and make them talk to me.

But I was  good girl.

I thought, hey, maybe they were working. Maybe they were accomplishing great things.

Maybe I should GET BACK TO WORK MYSELF.

HO HUM

But I did it.

Let me insert that HUGE NUMBER OF WORDS AGAIN.

Elements I'd advise for a great productive writer's retreat.

1. STAY PUT. Don't add outings and fun attractions. Not if you want to produce words.

2. Organize the food, take turns. Hand out responsibility then leave whoever volunteered to handle it.

3. Quiet space. If I'd've been sitting next to someone, less work would have gotten done. Unless someone gagged me and that was always a possibility.

4. And respect for each other's efforts to make a getaway worth the time, money and effort to get there. (This house wasn't overly pricey by the time we split things up.)

If you have any questions I'd be glad to answer them.

Especially if they're about SHEEP.