How much time alone are you getting to write?
Do you feel sated with solitude?
If not, you might be ready to pull your own head off your body and stuff it in a suitcase. I usually avoid blanket statements, but here’s one I believe in: Writers need solitude.
So if you didn’t get enough this summer, why not plan ahead for next year?
What solitude looks and feels like is an individual thing. I can write with someone else in the room as long as they’re not talking directly to me, looking at my screen/page, or making weird noises.
I say I can, but I prefer not to. I prefer to be alone, solo, unattended…not desirous of death exactly, but not averse to it either.
Try an artist’s residency!
Can you see your way to getting some alone time next year? If not, I recommend applying now for artist residencies and retreats. Even a week will make a big difference. You’ll be around other writers, but you’ll have your own room. Most of the time, everyone will be working on their stuff. BLISS.
Lists of artist residencies
A good place to start for people in the USA is Poets & Writers magazine’s list of residencies and retreats.
Or if you’re Canadian, here’s a list of residencies from the Writers’ Trust.
Living in the UK? The National Centre for Writing has a list too.
If you’re in Australia, this residency at Varuna (The National Writers’ House) looks good.
What about New Zealand, you ask? Look no further than Dunedin, a Literary City.
Here’s a repeat link from a previous email: The amazing Erica Dreifus curates a list of fee-free writing residencies around the world.
Finally, my favorite residency in the world is Mineral School Arts Residency, where you get to sleep in your very own classroom. Founded by writer and program creator Jane Hodges, whose website is utterly delightful, Mineral School is indescribably homey, comfortable, and welcoming.I was there in 2016 and it changed my writing life.
That’s me on the right, below, on a day hike with my fellow residents, writers Celeste Brash and Jennie Goode. I don’t know why they look so healthy and clean-cut, while I look like I just crawled out of a coffin. Genetics, I guess.
A few tips for arts residency applications
1. Decide on your residency criteria by asking yourself a few questions, like:
- Does it have to be geographically near you?
- How long can you stay?
- Can you afford to pay?
- If yes, what’s your budget?
- Some require sharing your art with the local community. Are you ready for that?
2. Then go to the directories linked above. You can search by location or other factors, or just scroll through and read the descriptions of residencies / retreats that fit your needs.
3. Make a long list of possibilities.
4. Read through the requirements for applicants.
- Do you need to have a track record of published works?
- Do you need to provide an artist bio or resume, an artist statement, a sample of your work, references?
- Do you meet any other requirements?
- Is there a fee to apply?
5. Remove the ones you don’t qualify for from your long list. This is now your shortlist.
6. Prioritize your shortlist–you want to apply to the ones you have a shot at first, since the fees can add up.
7. Read the application form CAREFULLY, create your material, answer questions SPECIFICALLY, and send the application in ON TIME, along with your fee.
8. Wait for news!!!
Item 1: I was out for a walk this morning and realized that other people are starting to feel like cartoons. They don’t seem completely real.Is this alienation? OR could it be a healthy detachment from egoic identification with form? If there are any doctors* on this newsletter list, please send me a quick, non-binding diagnosis.
*preferably psychologists, though I will absolutely take a diagnosis from podiatrists, GPs, dermatologists, and mail-order PhDs.
Item 2: As I returned to the office from my walk, I was wondering whether there are any songs about people named Pat. It’s not exactly a romantic name, is it? So I decided, “probably not.”
I’m pleased to report I was wrong. There’s a charming song called “A Girl Named Pat,” from Jacob Miller’s album, Who Say Jah No Dread. I like the way his voice sort of takes a step back on “Pat,” barely making the ‘t’.
Item 3: On a less personal note, it’s halfway through August. In NZ and Australia, winter is ending and spring will begin soon. In the northern hemisphere, summer is dwindling and we will soon enter the fall. No matter your location or situation, it’s a good time to write!
How about you? Do you need solitude to write? Let me know. I love your emails!
Cheers,
Pat
p.s. When in Doubt, Read a Book
Just finished this delightful novella-length mystery. Great characterization and pacing. Ending’s a little haphazard, but it’s a riveting (and moving) read. Older writes such good sentences! From the publisher’s website:
“On a remote, gas-wreathed outpost of a human colony on Jupiter, a man goes missing. The enigmatic Investigator Mossa follows his trail to Valdegeld, home to the colony’s erudite university—and Mossa’s former girlfriend, a scholar of Earth’s pre-collapse ecosystems.”