Summary:

The writing retreat was both more and less successful than I’d hoped – but still a lovely way to start the year! Now I really need to get back into a proper work mindset to get back to paid editing…

 

Monday:

I started my third full day on Urban Writers Retreat by going through the remaining questions on my fifth novel, Dividing the Darkness, and making more notes on how to deal with them in the next draft.

After lunch, I went on a long walk and found two geocaches I’ve been looking for every time I’ve been to Devon for the last two years! I also set my brain thinking about a new short story I’m trying to write – and came up with pretty much a complete outline, so that was a very good trip out! When I got back, I wrote down everything I’d come up with and brainstormed it a bit more.

I also wrote a review of my first DNF’d book of the year…

 

Tuesday:

I went through all the Darkness notes and pulled out all the generic stuff that needs to be applied throughout, then distilled it down into a digestible list I’m likely to be able to remember as I revise.

I managed to dial in to Revision Club in the afternoon and we talked about elevator pitches. The feedback from the group helped me refine mine, which was useful.

Then, since one of the other writers on the retreat suggested at lunchtime that we have a reading of our work tomorrow night, I added some extra words to the opening of my seventh novel, A Wizard Calls My Name, so I had something to offer.

Later, I attended my first meeting of my newly-joined business mastermind group, which was awesome. The other members were very welcoming, we talked about goals for 2024, helped with a dilemma one member was having about a course she was attending, and generally had a useful and fun discussion. I shall very much look forward to more meetings!

 

Wednesday:

I noticed a fair few typos in the book I was reading, so I emailed the publisher to offer my editing services!

I finished the book and wrote my review.

 

Thursday:

Given it was the last day of the writing retreat, I took myself to task and did a ton more work on the Darkness revision plan. Once I got started with putting all the required changes into the outline, it turned out to be easier than I’d thought and I got through a lot of the notes.

 

Friday:

I singularly failed to do anything whatsoever of use today – apart from the things I actually had booked into my calendar, like the first session with my new freelance editing mentor (plus meditation and yoga classes)!

 

Saturday:

I finished an audiobook and wrote my review.

 

Sunday:

I did a bunch of marketing for my nonfiction book, Meditations On Being Amazing – my giant teddy bear’s guide to acknowledging your own worth.