IT'S NEVER TOO LATE!

On January 7 through 9 I went a retreat with 12 other SCBWI member writers at Cenacle Conference and retreat Center on the north side of the city.  This was an unstructured time for us to get away from our usual routines and distractions and spend time writing.  We checked in on Friday afternoon or evening and stayed through Sunday afternoon.  Most of us did meet with one writer who came in from Wisconsin to talk about her writing experience, but a couple did not.  We had private rooms, so we spend most of our time in them working, (or trying to) on our writing.  I did not get much done.  I took a nice walk through the Lincoln Park Zoo on Saturday afternoon because the center is very close and I had not been there in a long time.   Pat, the writer from Wisconsin, told us that she walked through the zoo Friday, before checking in, and that made me want to go too.

The only thing that was structured at the retreat were the meals.  We had dinner on Friday evening at 6:00 pm, breakfast was at 8:30 am lunch at 12;00 pm on Saturday.  Most of us paid $10.00 extra  for a Saturday night dinner.  We got breakfast and lunch on Sunday included in our fee.  Three of the people there I had met at other writing meetings or retreats and it was nice to see them again.  I enjoyed getting away for a few days and having my meals cooked for me.  They served buffet style.

Listening to the others talk I was reminded that SCBWI has grants I could apply for and I looked them up when I got home.  There is one for children’s picture writers who have never had a book published.  I qualify for that, so I intend to send in my manuscript.  It would be nice to win money I could use to go to a conference, or for writing classes in addition to the one I am in now.   There are a lot of opportunities that I have not been able to take advantage of because I can’t afford them.

While I was at the retreat, I left my birds sat the pet shop where I bought them.  The owners watched them for me, since I was away longer than one day.   So, Twitter and Chitter  had a retreat of their own inside their home.