Donna Maree Hanson, Author and PhD Candidate

I have been back from Oberon and the writers retreat since Tuesday. We blogged over at our shared retreat blog. Here or http://fantasywritersonretreat.wordpress.com

Since then to tell you the truth I’ve not done much writing and not because I am resting on my laurels or my arse (actually I am currently sitting on my arse). I did spend all of Wednesday on my computer reading emails, dealing with stuff, revising a story and submitting it and then submitting a few others. Then Thursday I was back at work. I had a great day, not particularly for work reasons. On Christmas Day my hot water service went. It was difficult to get it fixed between Christmas and New Year and then I went away. Amazingly (and thank you ACTEW AGL) but I got a quote on Wednesday, payment plan approved Thursday morning and gas boosted solar hotwater installed in less than 24 hours from quote. Bloody fantastic. I thought I had to wait weeks. I also went to get aircon but didn’t have enough credit to put a deposit on it. I needed a third and I had slightly less.

So come Friday. Not a good day. I’m not feeling crash hot. And well something I am working on at work well I can’t say, but I’d like to. Friday is hot. I feel tired and ick and have strange pains in arms, knees and ankles. I start reading Prosper Burns by Dan Abnett, which Matthew bought and gave me. It is a Warhammer 40K novel in the Horus Heresy. Yes well I’m not usually a reader or a fan. I loved The Thousand Sons by Graham McNeil. Abnett though writes so bloody well that I’m hooked, I’m learning what good writing is and bloody hell the story is good too. Saturday was much of the same, hot, feeling blah. I surrounded myself that evening with a G&T, iphone, ipad, Kobo, Prospero Burns and a book on Regency and Victorian England which is research for my new novel, which I wrote on the retreat. I read it from cover to cover so I guess I was sort of working.

Sunday begins. It looks promising. My daughter texts me at 7.00am saying she wants to come over. she turns up at 10.00 and we watch The Last Airbender, which I enjoyed. I loved the magic system in it. I know it didn’t get a good rap by critics etc but I liked it. I thought then I was able to come to the computer and write. I open the manuscript. I look at the words and my head starts to pound. Eek! So basically I spend the day with my daughter and little Yumi. I’m fairly knackered now.

Anyway I have been reflecting on retreats and why they work for me. Writing dates also work. When I have something to write, I can be quite productive. I think I can write around 1500 words in an hour. I’ve done this at lunch times at work so I know. Also I have timed myself. The issues is having something to write and the time to write it at the same time. Usually at home there are things like work, cleaning, cooking, invites to watch dvds, procrastination, avoidance, naps, walks, washing, sunshine, going out, cups of coffee, conversations, friends visiting, wine drinking etc.

How does this change on a retreat? I think there are a few things at play. For certain I could go to a retreat and do nothing. That’s a choice. Mind you I’d be bored shitless. Mostly I think for me it is giving myself permission to write and minimise the distractions. So I’m not in my own home so I don’t have the usual avoidance things going on. I’m usually sitting at a table with other people writing so that inspires me. So with a word production of 1500 per hour then getting to 6000 words in a day is not that hard. I can go for a walk and start at ten. I can take a break at lunch, chat, shoot pool, walk around and then I can come back again and keep writing. I can take a nap, too, if I want. I think one day I was so involved with a scene I accidentally wrote 9000 words so I went back in the evening and added another 1000 just filling in bits around the talking head dialogue. Of course one day Nicole did 12700 so well poo to 10,000 word days!

I did a bit of planning for the novel I worked on but due to other distractions and a complete lack of inspiration I didn’t do much.  A few chapters a least to get the feel of the characters. So bascially I was inventing on the run with a vague sort of idea where I thought it would go. Of course, it went in a slightly different way, the main character’s love interest being reversed and the proposed goody turning out to be the baddy and the magician also not being the person I thought it would be. However, I think it is all doable.

So why did I apply myself. I have a work ethic (so does everyone else at the retreat) and I tell myself I spent the money (it’s not cheap) and the leave to write and it’s about my only chance in a year to get a good stretch at writing. It is these two weeks at writers retreat that I find some very real creativity happening, I get to a stage where I am inventing, I’m into the story and it just comes. This doesn’t happen during the rest of the year when I work.

I mention writers dates. I usually do these with Matthew once a week. Most days I am a good girl and get stuff done. 2010 was all about short stories. I wrote the most ever in my life last year. I think I have more inside of me. In a similar way it is deciding to put some time aside and write. It may only end up being a few hours but it is the time I have put aside to write. Sometimes we also do the library on Saturday afternoon. I’ve done about 5000 words in there on a couple of occasions. I usually revise and stuff at other times.

I think I used to be more productive and I used to write most days, when I was working on novel length. I guess because these haven’t sold, I’ve become less enthusiastic about devoting my time to novel writing. The other thing in play here is my family. I have to make choices to be with them. For a while there I wasn’t available and I made the choice to be more available and that impacts on the writing too. Writing usually involves sacrifice, tv, social life etc. I have gone for a model where I can have both. I try not to get angry or peeved if I don’t write when I plan to, for example when my daughter visits me, or I go out for a coffee, or I’m just too buggered.  I am very happy when I can write and more so when I do.