These five simple ways to create a writing retreat in your home will come in handy if you are looking to put pen to paper this summer.
Just like us, writer Sarah-Jane Page thinks it’s super important to make time and space to write.
She told us: “Writing retreats give you the necessary headspace to immerse yourself in writing away from distractions. No phone, chat, children or chores. Just you, your thoughts and your writing.”
If this sounds like total bliss to you, have a read of Sarah-Jane’s FIVE simple tips for creating a writing retreat in your own home . . .
1) Make sure you have the right equipment
Avoid scraps of paper, or loose-leaf sheets. It’s all too easy to get in a muddle and lose the train of your thought-processes if your ideas are scattered in different places.
If you always stick to a sturdy notebook with pages that aren’t easy to tear out, you’ll have every thought logged for eternity. When those thoughts make it into your bestselling novel, those notebooks might well be worth something!
2) Think, what do you want to achieve from your home writing retreat?
The only way to decide what’s best for you is to spend a few quiet moments retreating within and asking your writing soul what it needs most. The answer will come.
We think this is a great way for you to set targets like the number of pages you want to write or the number of characters you want to create.
3) Get organised and make time
It takes planning and discipline to retreat successfully at home, but it’s possible.
The first rule is to book the time ‘off’ in advance, as you would a holiday. Let everyone know you’re away, give the kids to your parents, and encourage your other half to get away for the weekend too.
4) Turn off the technology
To ensure you live, breathe and sleep your writing, dare yourself to unplug the phone, the television, and the Wi-Fi, and let yourself get back to basics. Remember that writing flows if distraction goes.
So make sure all you have on your desk is a notebook and pen!
5) Keep the momentum going
If you manage a successful home retreat once, and you have words on the page to prove it, you’ll start to associate home with writing and you should find it easier to retreat for mini-sessions as and when you can.
Where do you hideaway to write when you are at home? Share a photo of your favorite writing spot by posting it on Instagram and tagging @uniball_uk.
Thanks to Sarah-Jane Page for sharing her five fantastic writing tips with us. Find out what Sarah-Jane has been up to by following her on Twitter – @SarahJanePage.
