2017 Schedule for National and (New) International Writing Workshops coming soon!
WHY DO WRITERS RUN AWAY TO WRITE?
Or: How Good Are You at Traveling ALONE?
You may be wondering how the two questions are related. But, how good are you at traveling alone? As in: solo. By yourself. No one else. Because, getting away to write is one thing. Actually accomplishing the act of writing, while traveling with someone else, is another.
Many writers believe they’ll carve out time while their spouse/lover/friend/teenage child goes off on their own. But, if you’ve tried this (and I would love to hear your comments) you may have found that something (ahem) always got in the way of sitting down and Facing the Page.
I believe that we writers don’t just need to escape the everyday demands of life, we need to let our brains, our spirits, ourselves, breathe in strange places and new faces; without having someone else interpret it for us. When we travel alone, we live life at a heightened level. Our senses are awakened. We’re naturally more open when we travel solo. We can use this openness to access a deeper part of who we are. (And, yes, we’re much more likely to find the time to sit down and write for a few hours between meeting all those new faces and seeing those interesting places.)
What about writing retreats? They’re wonderful. As long as we have unstructured, alone time every day. Because when there’s no one around to worry about what we’re up to (smile) we give ourselves the freedom to be who we want to be. And to write what we want to write.
If traveling alone seems daunting, I urge you to go to my Author page: https://www.facebook.com/MaryAnnHenryAuthor/ and “Like It” because then you’ll stay with me. I have taken it as my mission in life to inspire other women to travel by themselves. Scroll down through the “Adventuress” posts and you’ll find information about traveling solo. And, I promise, if you hang in there with me, over the next few months, I will empower you to take that first solo journey.
Was I ever afraid of solo and adventure travel? You bet. But, over the years, I re-trained myself. In the last year I solo-traveled for a month in Ireland. Spent 60 days on a freezing mountain top alone. NYC: solo! And hiked the Olympic Mountains… alone. Stay with me as I share tips like ”How To Pack for 30 Days in a Tiny Backpack and Still Look Stylish”. Here’s that link again: See you on the Trail! https://www.facebook.com/MaryAnnHenryAuthor/