Day: August 21, 2017

DIY Writing Retreats: When You Can’t Get Away

Earlier today, I read an article from The Writer about creating DIY writing retreats, whether at a friend’s house or at a home rented in Mexico. The author has many interesting ideas and makes many good points. The two most important she discuss, in my opinion, are the need for no distractions and the need to set your own definition of “productive”. However, most of the ideas in the article involve either you going away or the other people in your house going away. What if we simply can’t do that?

I’ve discussed finding the best place to write multiple times on this blog. Somehow, I can’t ever find the right place. I can’t afford to leave and, unlike the author of the aforementioned article, no one I know plans to leave town for too long anytime soon. Even if they were, at best I’d only be down the street from the chaos. I can’t send everyone else away, either; they have their own responsibilities to take care of here and they can’t walk away for more than a day or two without a lot of advanced planning. I get some writing done in those short bursts of freedom, but lately it hasn’t been enough.

I know a lot of writers have this issue. We have family, social obligations, work (we have to pay the bills somehow), pets, chores, the list goes on. I can hear the objections to this belly-aching already: if you’re a real writer, if writing is so important to you, you’ll make some sacrifices and find a way to fit it in.

I’m sorry but I need money, so I can’t pay to leave and I can’t close down shop (figuratively) for more than a week or two. It also doesn’t help that not everyone gets the hint to shut up when I say I’m working.

Well then, what’s the plan? How can we create DIY writing retreats when we can’t go away or send others away?


Image retrieved from Pinterest

Desperate times call for desperate measures; it’s time for plan “barricade myself in my room (or spare room)”. It’s a bit obvious but often the obvious answer is the right one.

Locking yourself in a room within the house with your browser closed and phone turned off allows you to exist in a sort of vacuum almost free of all distractions. Of course, if you live in an area like mine, there’s still plenty of noises that you’ll have to block out. That’s where you’ll have to get creative. Play music you can write to, invest in noise-cancelling headphones, buy a cheap pair of disposable earplugs, whatever it takes. My personal favorite is playing a string of TV shows or movies I’ve watched a thousand times before; I can block that out a lot better than crowing roosters and people talking outside my door.

The fun part comes in personalizing your DIY writing retreats. Hang up posters and artwork you find inspiring; line bookshelves with your favorite books and works by writers you admire; a whiteboard, cork board, or sticky notes to jot ideas down; if you have a mini-fridge taking up space in the garage or storage, you could really make it a retreat. A mini-fridge stocked with essentials, a makeshift mailbox constructed from a cereal box slapped on the outside of the door, and a bed, cot, or sleeping bag and you’ll only need to leave for the bathroom.

Whether it’s for a few hours after work or a couple weeks, you can make your own retreat without anyone leaving the house. You just have to get creative and assertive. Insist that no one bother you, that someone else walk the dog and do the dishes. After all, people can’t tease you for being a writer who doesn’t write if they complain about what needs to be done in order for you to write.

What are your thoughts on writing retreats? Have any ideas for DIY writing retreats you’d like to share? Drop a line the comments below and help other writers find ways to solitude.

 

Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011

Book Reviews: Abigail’s First Day of School by Sarah L. Bailey

Today’s book is more for my readers’ kids than my readers themselves. The author wrote it for much younger readers, around preschool age, specifically to help them know what to expect on their first day of kindergarten. It’s not one of those children’s books that adult readers will read for themselves but you will want to check it out if you have a young child. For this post, I’m reviewing Abigail’s First Day of School by Sarah L. Bailey.


Image retrieved from Amazon

Abigail’s First Day of School follows a young girl named Abigail as she embarks on her first day of kindergarten. Over the next forty pages, Abigail meets her new teacher and fellow students, has lunch, plays during recess, and goes home. Bailey presents the reader with lessons on following directions and learning new rules throughout the story and brings the promise of meeting new friends on the first day of school.

As a little kid’s book, the story is very cute and entertaining. The rhymes pull the story along at a good pace and there’s just enough writing to keep a young reader’s attention. Illustrations make up most of the book, which makes it perfect for basic readers and the adults helping them learn to read. The illustrations depict a diverse cast of characters, which is very important to expose readers of this age to, and I hope that Bailey will continue with this diversity in future books.

Abigail’s messages could not only ease a little kid’s apprehensions about the first day of school but may also make the first day easier for teachers. While the book focuses on showing kids all of the good things they’ll experience on their first day, Bailey also teaches readers the importance of following directions and being respectful. If more children were taught these lessons ahead of school, we’d probably save teachers a lot of headaches. I know it could’ve helped my kindergarten teacher.

The minimalist plot and lack of conflict puts Bailey’s book on the same level as stories like Goodnight, Moon. This form of plot allows adult readers to use this book as a teaching tool for their children, both in the messages from Abigail and for use in learning how to read. However, I’m not sure that this story is one which kids will want to read or have read to them repeatedly. I also think that the lack of plot restricts the appeal of this book to preschool age, not the 4-8 years old that is indicated on the Amazon page. As readers get older, they prefer to have some form of conflict in their stories and this one doesn’t have any.

I’m torn on Bailey’s illustrations. On the one hand, they have the feel of being drawn by actual children, which is an interesting angle for a children’s picture book. However, this trait also detracts from the quality of the illustrations. The perspective does not match from one picture to the next and the scale of the drawings is off, i.e. a kid will look bigger than the others in one image and then the same size as them in the next. There also appears to be a mix of three-dimensional and two-dimensional drawing in the illustrations, especially around the lunch scene. The pictures do look like marker drawings done by children and I can see the appeal in that. Nevertheless, the illustrations hurt my eyes after a few pages and just weren’t my cup of tea.

Overall, Bailey’s book would make for a great bedtime story, especially the night before the first day of kindergarten. It would easily calm any child’s nerves and entertain them at the same time. Some people may hesitate to read the book to/with little boys because the protagonist is a girl, but I don’t think the character’s gender matters at all. The situation appeals to both genders and Bailey writes experiences which could happen to any child, so I think that boys will enjoy this book as well as girls. I don’t think your child will be asking for this story ever night but I recommend getting it to ease his/her first-day-of-school jitters.

To buy Abigail’s First Day of School follow this link to Amazon. For more information about the book and its author, please visit the book’s website.

Do you know any books I should review? Want me to review your published work on this blog? Contact me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com or reach out to me on Fiverr.

 

Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011