I spent the past weekend, actually Thursday through Sunday, at a writer’s retreat along with thirteen other members of my local RWA group.  It was a time filled with work, laughter, good food, good friends, and lots of writing.

Because of the weekend, I was able to finish edits on my current WIP, a paranormal romance that I am totally in love with. 🙂 I was also able to plot out two more stories and get some writing done on them. So it was a very productive weekend.

But it was also educational. I learned:

1. The more things you spread out on your bed to work on, the more you have to spread out. It’s like hangers – they increase exponentially.

2. Sitting on a bed for for an entire weekend typing away at your laptop is not necessarily a good thing. You do need to eventually get up and move. Even if it’s only to go down three flights of stairs to the dining hall for meals.

3. Yelling “I need a word” works better in a groups of writers than in your regular home or neighborhood.

4. Ditto on saying “Not now, I’m in the middle of a scene.”

5. Sleep deprivation is not necessarily good for writing, but it is good when that lack is from having fun with your fellow writers.

6. Even with the lack of sleep, the headaches and other various ills that come with travel, I can’t wait to go back next year.