Writing Retreats on a Budget

Have you ever considered a writing retreat? They are a fantastic investment in your career as a writer—they allow for a specific time and place dedicated to writing, which increases productivity, as well as offering workshops where you can learn from others. However, writing retreats can be far from home and out of your budget. So what’s a good, local, in budget alternative? Building your own. This allows for you to choose the cost and location, so let’s get started!

The first thing you will want to do when planning your writing retreat is to figure out how long it is going to be. When coming up with the length of your getaway, remember to take into consideration the following: How long can you realistically be away from your responsibilities? And how long can you afford to be away from your home? Let’s break these questions down.

First, how long can you realistically be away from your responsibilities? Some factors to take into consideration when answering this include how long you can be away from work, whether or not you want to use PTO, if you have other obligations that may limit the length of this retreat, and if there are pets or people who are dependent on you. If you have someone who is willing and able to take care of any dependents you may have, this will allow you a longer time away from home to focus on writing. 

Secondly, how long can you afford to be away from home? The most efficient writing retreat is going to be outside of your usual space. You don’t want this to be a staycation. It will be much easier to get off track in your home, with chores that need completing, or roommates that want to talk, or even dependents that need you. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you need to stay in the most beautiful mansion for rent in America. A basic motel in the next town over will work just fine—it will still cost money that you will have to take into consideration, though. In addition to where you will be staying, you’ll have to feed yourself. I would recommend meal prepping or low effort groceries. These will be easy to prepare without leaving the building, which can completely break your momentum.

The next thing you’ll need to consider is how you will be learning about the art of the craft on this retreat. You have a few options for this. 

Your most true to the writing retreat experience option would be to locate a workshop you can attend. Gotham Writers has intensive, two day workshops on zoom frequently. If you time your retreat right, that may be a fantastic option for you. 

But what if there are no virtual workshops that align with your planned retreat. Don’t fret, there are plenty of other ways of learning about creative writing. College lecturers on writing that have been archived online is one great option. For those writing in the sci-fi genre, take a look at Brandon Sanderson’s course available on YouTube. 

Another option, which is my personal go-to, is reading. There are plenty of books on the art of creative writing filled to the brim with tricks and tips you may not know. In addition to books on creative writing, I’d recommend taking the time to read a book in the same genre as you while on this retreat. You can never read enough as an author, and even if you don’t feel like you are actively learning, every time you read, you are passively learning about the craft. 

Once you have figured out where you will be having your retreat, how long it will be, and your plan for learning while on it, it’s important to have a schedule. Productivity thrives on a schedule. The more time you can spend writing, the better. I’d also recommend at least an hour of your chosen method of learning about the craft per day. 

And like that, your writing retreat is planned!

Of course, this is not a true replacement for a proper writing retreat. When creating your own retreat for yourself, you miss out on an incredibly valuable aspect: community. 

With the community that comes with established writing retreats, you can find new writing friends. With writing friends, you can critique each other’s work, review manuscripts for review blurbs once you are in the publishing stage, and even help each other network. 

That being said, any writing retreat that can allow you to learn and create is a beneficial one. If an established writing retreat is not an option to you, try creating your own! You’ll be happy you did.