Mami Needs to Write! Preparing for My First Post-Baby DIY Writing (& Strategic Planning) Retreat. (Part 1/3)

Astra Writing - Naxos Island, Greece - 2010

Part 1/3:
​Inspiration & Planning My Retreat

This post is the first part in a three-part series. In case you missed it, here is Part Two and here is Part Three. 

I love the March/April 2018 Retreats Issue of Poets & Writers. Flipping through its pages, I hunger for the time away, the time among other writers, but most of all the time to write and think about my writing life.
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Mamihood has made sneaking away for long periods of time a little more complicated as of late, but I’m not going to let that stop me entirely this summer. I need a retreat. So I’m making it happen! DIY Writers Retreat? Here I come...

I have been lucky enough to attend three writers retreats, each one at key points in my development as a writer and as a human being.

In 2006, right before I began an MA with Creative Writing at Fordham University, I attended VONA Voices—the premier writers workshop for writers of color. A week of learning from Suheir Hammad, writing among writers of color, and exploring the Haight in San Francisco changed my life. From that week forward I have called myself a poet and have never looked back.

In April 2010, a few months before my 30th birthday, I attended AWP in Denver. At the book fair, I learned about Astra Writing in Greece, a two-week retreat for women writers. I applied on a whim, got in, put the flight and fees on a credit card, and was on a plane in May, off to write on Naxos Island among some of the fiercest women writers I have ever met.

​In 2015, three months after earning my PhD, I attended AROHO, a retreat for women writers at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. I was ready to turn back towards my creative projects, but felt unsure about how to proceed. Since I had moved to California right before writing my dissertation, I literally did not know a life on the West Coast that did not include that scholarly project on my plate.

​At AROHO things shifted. Being surrounded by other women writers—including two other Puertorriqueñas who became my writing comadres—inspired and reenergized me. Perhaps more importantly, I met a host of Los Angeles based writers who embraced me and gave me a West Coast writing community to join after we left the desert.

Each retreat was critical in helping me find community and reenergize my writing life.

VONA 2006

AROHO 2015

Almost two years ago, my life shifted again: my husband and I welcomed our son into the world.

Following amazing advice from one of my AROHO comadres, I embraced an extended maternity leave from my writing life.

I wrote as much or as little as I felt called to, but there was no pressure to produce, or submit, or otherwise stress about my writing. My focus was on healing and enjoying my baby.

The writing, she assured me, would be there when I was ready to come back to it.

And I knew I would be back.

Over the last year and a half, I’ve slowly eased back into a writing practice.

During the first year, my husband’s demanding 90+ hour work week meant I snuck in writing during the baby’s naps and occasionally on weekends.

Last fall, he--thankfully--changed jobs, allowing us to switch off primary parenting duties in order to each take some much needed alone time regularly each week.

As wonderful as that change has been, as our toddler grows more independent and the number of projects in my head grows more unwieldy, I crave more time for my writing life.

So here I am, the summer before our son’s second birthday, eagerly turning my pages of Poets & Writers and salivating at the thought of jumping on a plane and spending a week among other writers or finally earning a spot at one of those prized residencies and spending a whole week. ALONE. with my work.

Ha! Yeah right.

My little nursling still reaches out to me for “leche” on most nights.

For that reason alone it’s going to be a while before I sneak off for a week at a time again. And to be completely honest, I'm not quite ready to be away from my munchkin for more than a night or two just yet.

(Side note - I know I can leave the kiddo for a night or two because I have traveled for a few board meetings and my husband has handled the comfort night feedings and cuddles like the champ he is while I have been away! #normalizebreastfeeding #normalizepumping).

While I'm not ready to leave for a week, I am definitely ready to refocus on the writing, so I’m turning towards Ramona Ausubel for inspiration.

In “The Writers Retreats Where Big Books are Born” in the 2018 Retreats Issue of Poets & Writers, Ausubel lists “Home” as her retreat site.

She embraces the “what is” of the postpartum / early motherhood time of her life and finds ways to retreat where she is and in whatever ways she can: “the Nap Residency,” “the Grandma Residency,” “the Andrea (babysitter) Residency.”

I’m also taking inspiration from the article “If You Build It: Do-It-Yourself Writers Retreats” in the 2017 Retreats Issue of Poets & Writers.

​One of the tips? “Get a Room.”

And that’s exactly what I’m doing.

Tomorrow night I’m spending the night away from my two guys (thank you hotel points!) and turning my full attention towards my writing life.

This fall our son will start attending pre-school a few mornings a week, and I will have—for the first time in two years—some mornings to myself for reading and writing again!

I want to be READY! I want to have a PLAN!

So that's how I'll use this retreat: for Strategic Planning and to work on a Grant Application.

I’m hopeful that what I accomplish during this brief escape will set me up for a fruitful summer and fall of writing, publishing, and bringing in some income.

I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that I am in the privileged position of having a spouse whose income covers our family’s regular expenses. I feel so fortunate that I was able to spend these early years with our son and that in the fall I will also have more time to pursue my writing without worrying about whether or not we can make ends meet.

As grateful as I am, I am also eager to once again contribute financially towards our family’s expenses, debt repayment, and financial dreams, so for that reason my strategic planning will address both the creative and financial aspects of this writing life.

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Here are my ambitious Retreat Goals:

— Yoga
(with my friend and one of my favorite yoga teachers Shyamala Moorty)

— Strategic Planning
    - Long & Short Term Writing Project Goals
    - Long & Short Term Professional Development Goals
    - Long & Short Term Financial Goals & Planning
    - Projects & Editorial Calendar (6 months minimum)

— Sustainable Arts Foundation Grant Application (First Draft)

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Here is my ambitious (and tentative) Schedule:

SATURDAY
AM
10:00am Residency Begins
10:00am - 11:30am: Breakfast & Read & Journal
11:30am - 1:00pm: Yoga

PM
1:00pm - 1:30pm: Quick Lunch
1:30pm - 3:00pm: Strategic Planning: Financial Goals
3:00pm - 3:30pm: Pump & Shower
3:30pm - 5:30pm: Editorial Calendar Course

EVENING
5:30pm - 6:30pm: Dinner
6:30pm - 10:00pm: Strategic Planning: Writing Goals, Professional Development Goals, Editorial Calendar
After 10:00pm: Pump, Chill & Bedtime


SUNDAY
AM
8:00am - 9:00am: Pump, Shower & Breakfast
9:00am - 11:30am: Sustainable Arts Foundation Grant: Portfolio

PM
11:30am - 12:30pm Pump & Quick Lunch
12:30pm - 3:00pm Sustainable Arts Foundation Grant: Artistic Information
3:00pm Residency Ends

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I’m really excited to take off tomorrow and make big plans for the rest of 2018!

I’ll report back on how it ACTUALLY goes and how much I ACTUALLY accomplish later this month.

In the meantime, if you’re feeling inspired, there is no shortage of tips on how to DIY a writers residency (as I quickly learned by googling “DIY writers residency”).

So go ahead: google, get inspired, and get your (non-traditional) retreat on this summer!

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Join me in the Comments

- Have you ever planned a DIY retreat? How did it go?
- What tips do you have for anyone who wants to DIY a writing (and/or strategic planning) retreat?
- Are you inspired to DIY a retreat this summer?
- What are your ambitious Retreat Goals and/or your ambitious Retreat Schedule?

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Before You Go:

Read
Part Two: Results of My First Post-Baby DIY Writing & Strategic Planning Retreat
&
Part Three: 10 Tips for Creating Your Own DIY Writing & Strategic Planning Retreat

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