This past weekend, two writer friends and I packed up our laptops and headed to the lake for an intensive writing weekend. It’s the next best thing to RWA’s national conference, and a LOT cheaper.

I’d have photos, but none of us wanted to be saved in immortality while we were wearing ratty sweats and hadn’t gotten around to hair combing and makeup.

The weather co-operated, staying cold enough that we weren’t tempted to go out, but the sky was clear enough to see the stars at night – most important, apparently.

I personally didn’t do much actual writing, but I played around with ideas and tried transforming a novel into a screenplay. Scriptwriting is not as easy as it seems, although I do have to say I love the idea of not having to write description I gained a lot of respect for the TV and film writers who are out on strike. Oh, and I gained something else – about three pounds

Writers’ retreats should be mandatory at least once or twice a year, if for no other reason than to be around people who don’t think you’re weird because you have people talking to you in your head.