Beech Mountain writer's retreat
There are as many kinds
of writers' retreats as there are writers, and when I started
researching I considered just about every option. But, in the end, I
decided to keep it simple --- find a hotel room within two hours' drive
that's close to some natural area I want to explore. Beech Mountain,
North Carolina, topped the list both literally and metaphorically.
After all, the highest incorporated town east of the Mississippi is so
cool in the summer months that no one even installs air
conditioning. What's not to like?
My condo at Pinnacle Inn
was quiet and tranquil...although my rural-accustomed eyes would have
preferred the streetlights to be quenched at night. Other than that,
though, the location was quite a treat, and I split my days between
pounding out chapters about werewolves and hiking stunning trails (the
latter of which I'll tell you more about in tomorrow's post).
In the online circles I
frequent, I'm a bit of a slow writer, publishing only four novels per
year. And up on the mountain, I realized that if I changed my daily
routine, I could easily double or triple that output. It's just so easy
to write when nothing distracts you from the fictional world you're
spinning within your own mind, when a hike in the middle of the day
helps plot threads weave more closely together and when there are no
husbands or animals or gardens to feed and enjoy.
On the other hand, I
missed my husband and animals and gardens like the dickens, and the
very best moment of the retreat was when I hiked back into our farm to
greet Mark with a hug. I'm pretty sure I'll line up more writers'
retreats in the future, both for the productivity boost and for the
mental clarity that comes from four-mile hikes combined with 4,000-word
days. But I wouldn't want to live there --- I prefer to merely visit.
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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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