By Terra Bruhm
In April of 2019 I received amazing news – I was the chosen recipient of the One Life Writing scholarship to attend the Write by the Sea writing retreat. Naturally, I was over the moon. The scholarship, valued at $875, would give me an opportunity to devote five uninterrupted days to my manuscript The Robin’s Egg. I felt like I had just won the lottery.
Anyone who has ever written a book will tell you how difficult it can be to find pockets of time to write. This is particularly true of your first book. You haven’t yet earned the right to blow off family engagements, time with friends or work functions to bang out a few extra pages. You’re not a writer yet. It’s just a hobby until you ‘make it real’.
I headed off to Prince Edward Island to ‘make it real’ on a hot, sunny day in June. Driving over the Confederation Bridge, I could feel the stresses and responsibilities of life melting away as my thoughts turned to what I hoped to accomplish. My manuscript was in desperate need of structure. With so many events, characters and flashes between the 80s and 2000s, I needed to find clever ways to advance my narrative that made sense and were easy to follow. It was the one element standing between me and a completed first draft.
The retreat exceeded my expectations. Between the one-hour personal session I booked with Trevor and the conversations I had with the other talented, knowledgeable retreat participants, I was able to establish a structure that worked. The daily morning workshops Trevor conducted taught me things I didn’t even realize I needed to know – things about character development, scene setting and the psychological and emotional reasons why writers put words on paper. Joshua’s meditation and yoga helped me reconnect with the feelings and motivations driving my project, giving me the strength and introspection needed to write some of the more difficult chapters I had been avoiding. The Orient Hotel was an inspiring place to write, nestled within the majestic village of Victoria by the Sea. With pink, purple and white lupins peppering the fields surrounding the in, set against the backdrop of red sands and rolling oceans, it was like stepping into an alternate universe. It was a truly transformative experience.
What I could not have anticipated is how close I would become with my fellow retreat participants and how much they would teach me by telling me about their projects, their processes and their writing struggles. So many literary insecurities were laid to rest over late-night glasses of wine and delicious home-made chocolate from Island Chocolates. These moments drove home the importance of connecting with other writers. My week on the Island taught me that writing is actually a group sport. You need to establish a tribe of talented people you trust who will help you work through those problem areas. Like with children, it takes a village to nurture a book into existence. Write by the Sea provided me with that village.
I finished draft one of my manuscript that week, taking me closer to my goal of ‘making it real’. The support, assistance and encouragement I received from Trevor, Joshua and my fellow retreat participants gave me the strength, courage, focus and time I needed to achieve that milestone. If you’re looking for a quiet place to nurture some phase of your own project into existence, consider venturing to the Island for a transformative retreat experience with One Life. And, of course, make sure you carve out a little time for wine and chocolate.