Last weekend, the Wickeds held our 5th annual retreat.
Tell us, Wickeds, what is your best memory of the weekend?
Liz: Jeez, how can we pick just one? This retreat is the highlight of my year. The company,
the location, the friendship – it’s all amazing. This year, I had the luxury of taking two long walks on the beach, which is one of my favorite things to do EVER (next to sitting on the beach, of course). That was awesome. But sitting on Jessie’s porch with everyone, talking, laughing, eating – being together – was perfect.
Edith: Echoing what Liz said. The collected inspiration and ideas of this group are pretty amazing. I also loved my three long beach walks, during which new plot ideas arose. And since I always rise early, even if I stay up until 1:30 AM talking (which happened both nights – and the rest of them kept going after I went to bed!), I had two quiet mornings writing new words at the kitchen table, so it was a personally productive weekend, too.
Julie: Jessie’s garden is stunning, and has a wonderful table that is conducive to work, eating, and laughter. Sitting at that table, in that setting, with these people. A tonic. I also loved the two beach walks I did, and the brainstorming. The Wickeds are six very different women, with very different personalities. We don’t always sing from the same song book, but we always support each other in our music making.
Edith: I love that, Julie – our different song books AND our mutual support for music making.
Sherry: Being back in New England is always a treat and a reminder of why I set my books there. I love it so much — from the
lobster rolls to the accents to the quirky shops. I loved our meals out on Jessie’s lovely patio and our conversations until the wee hours of the morning. Talking about the plot for book five was so helpful. Jessie is such a gracious hostess and makes all her hard work to accommodate us look so effortless. (I took the photo below as I flew over Portland!)
Barb: You know how all TV shows are essentially about groups of friends (or families or colleagues) and you always think that’s what I want. I was sort of startled to realize during the retreat, I have that. We live in four different states, and as Julie says, we don’t always agree. We all practice the same art, but we have different strengths and weaknesses and we approach our work in differing ways. But my Wicked sisters are all generous and kind and smart and funny, so it just works. We “talk” all the time, but getting together physically, especially with great weather, great food, in a great location, is the icing on the cake.
Jessie: I look forward to the retreat all year. One of the things that always strikes me is how lucky a thing it is to make new friends when one is an adult. It is truly a blessing and one I am grateful for more with each passing year. Writing the blog together has made those friendships possible. Spending time together makes them strong. I hope all our readers are involved in groups and communities that provide the same sort of easy understanding and fun.
Readers: You can tell we’re still all aglow from our experiences last weekend. Do you have a group of friends who are creative and fun? Tell us about them.
Sounds like another wonderful time. Having met you all, that doesn’t surprise me at all.
As I told some of you at Malice, one thing I love about this blog is how your strong friendships come through in your posts.
Oh, thank you, Mark! You have created a lot of communities in your life — your blog Carstairs Considers, ultimate Frisbee, mud runs, all the authors you support, and more. Thanks for being part of our group!
Thanks, Mark – we are truly blessed!
Just across the gulf of Maine in Yarmouth and working on a cozy. Wish I could join you sometime!!
Have fun with the cozy!
What fun for you all that must be. My grown up youngest daughter has a group of friends from MIDDLE school who still get together once a year at Madeira Beach. FL. I’m part of a group of writers (Pinellas Writers) who meet every Saturday for critique and lunch. Fun and so valuable. Thanks for sharing your adventures.
That is so awesome that your daughter gets together with middle school friends! And your writers group sounds fantastic!
I’m blessed to be able to go on retreat 3 times a year with my other writer tribe. The value of doing this cannot be overstated, in terms of refreshing the creative well, strengthening friendships that were already strong, and the awe-inspiring power of collaborative brainstorming (contrary to popular belief, writers often work together on plots and characters and stories are stronger because of it). I usually am not quite ready to go home at the end of my retreats, LOL! So glad you all have this time together and I hope wonderful things happen because of it.
Refreshing and recharging is so important!