Writing retreat: 2021

Last week Silbrith and I went to San Juan Island in the Pacific Northwest for our annual writing retreat. We visited settings from Lavender Dreams, ate a lot of seafood, and did our usual plot daydreaming.

As we planned our trip to "the island" I couldn't help thinking of White Collar's plot line of Neal's island escape. I'm sure that inspired our plot bunnies. I'm finally drafting the James Bennett plot that we'd started discussing during our first retreat in 2017. It's gone through several rounds of brainstorming in each of our retreats, and we're finally done tweaking it. I'm definitely excited to complete and post the story this summer. 

One of our traditions for retreats is to watch movies for inspiration. This time we had The Mummy and Pirates of the Caribbean for action and adventure, 1930s screwball comedy Midnight for laughs, and Frozen. I paused Frozen many times to point out parallels to my languishing novel, leading to a discussion about my villain. So many plot bunnies emerged that I'm finally looking forward to returning to the novel for a round of edits. I've figured out how to make the villain a more well-rounded character, and how to freshen up other areas. There were a couple of tropes I'd included even though I don't particularly like them; now I have ideas for twisting those tropes into something I'll enjoy. 

Silbrith also has a new Caffrey Conversation storyline that we've nicknamed "Polly" and I'm thrilled at what she has in mind for the characters. Playing bunnyball for Polly was a highlight of the retreat.

This was the first time we rented a condo for our retreat rather than going with hotel rooms. It worked out perfectly to have two bedrooms with a shared living area and kitchen. We had a small balcony with a view of the harbor, and enjoyed eating there. Fortunately we were within a few blocks of many excellent restaurants, and we visited a nearby grocery store to stock up on breakfast items and movie snacks. We did plenty of walking each day, and took a shuttle to some of my favorite destinations on the island. 

For the first time, I didn't take my laptop with me on retreat, instead taking longhand notes. That was a last-minute decision I reached after realizing the float plane taking us to the island had strict weight limits for luggage. It worked out well -- as long as I can read my handwriting. I'd better transcribe those notes while I still remember what they say!