Wyoming, Heaving Bosoms and the Letter A

Hello friends,

I just returned from a weekend writing retreat in Wyoming. I added a couple of days to explore, and for the first time in my professional life, I truly unplugged. No checking email. Barely a glance at social media. Just wide-open spaces, new friends and time to write.

And write I did. I started new pieces, finished a short story and made some final edits to the draft of my completed novel. I also met writers from all over the country, each at a different point in their writing journey. I'm hopeful that some of those new friendships will continue long after we've returned home, as we share our successes, frustrations and everything in between.

I learned a great deal about publishing, from traditional publishing to self-publishing and all the options in between. I talked with authors who, collectively, have published hundreds of novels. There were writers of historical fiction, romance featuring heaving bosoms and steamy, naked hard bodies on the covers, and sapphic romance (a new term for me). Suffice it to say, there was no shortage of interesting conversations.

But one of my favorite takeaways was surprisingly simple: a timed writing sprint using a single word as a prompt.

Three of us put the exercise into practice over breakfast on our getaway day, when a canceled early-morning flight left us with several unexpected hours to kill. Rather than complain about the delay, we pulled out our notebooks and started writing.

I've kept it up since coming home. I'm working my way through the alphabet, choosing a different word each night and seeing where it takes me.

Affair. Brave. Crown. Drawn. Escape...

Sometimes the words lead to a scene. Sometimes a character. Sometimes something I never would have thought to write otherwise. That's the beauty of it. There's no pressure to produce something polished, just the opportunity to see what happens when you put pen to paper.

Now I'm curious: What writing exercises do you do? Do you have a favorite prompt, ritual or trick for getting the words flowing? I'd love to hear about it.