Rhonda Douglas is an award-winning poet and fiction author. She’s the host of The Resilient Writers Radio Show podcast for writers, and the creator of First Book Finish.

Living and writing in Ottawa, Canada, she’s committed to helping writers overcome fear and eliminate distractions so that they can write with ease and achieve their writing dreams.

On this episode, we’re talking about writing retreats.

Rhonda has vast experience with a range of retreats from the high-end paid ones to free events you can create in the comfort of your own home. By yourself or with friends, a writing retreat is what you make it.

Rhonda tells us how retreats are page boosters, and if you bring them into a regular part of your schedule, they can be a lot of fun. She shares how to do advanced planning that works best for you and your lifestyle for a 3-day retreat. Making it fun and comfortable is very important to her. She comes prepared with writing prompts, scheduled breaks, and the pomodoro technique.

Listen in to learn her tips on balancing productive writing with relaxing downtime. Even if you can’t do a 3-day retreat, make the most of the time you DO have. If you can’t write for hours at a time, that’s okay. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

Don’t wait for “ideal conditions” like a spotless home or enough energy to feel like what you’re writing is perfect. Ideal conditions are myths. We must stop telling ourselves false stories about our limitations. Start by regulating your nervous system, then find your writing flow NOW!

Download her FREE The Busy Writers' Guide to DIY Writing Retreats, then connect with Rhonda on her website and Instagram. Make sure to listen in to the Resilient Writers Radio Show too!

Journal Prompts:

If money were no object, what would your ideal writing retreat weekend look like?

In your current situation, what would an ideal D.I.Y. writing retreat look like?

What preparation needs to be done for your retreat?

Never forget that you are worthy!

Kirsten McNeill: Confidence & Writing Lifestyle Coach

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Worthy Writers! I've got a solo episode for you today where I read story excerpts from THREE different authors:

Author 1: Catherine Larkin

Catherine Larkin is the author and illustrator of the Wizards of the Apocalypse series. Growing up in Washington state, she spent her free time voraciously reading and drawing characters to go with her short stories.

Catherine’s passion for creative writing is inspired by the love of fantasy, horror, and history. She started writing the first book in the series during her junior year of high school. When she’s not writing, she is drawing a few of her favorite characters, taking commissions, traveling, playing piano, and visiting with friends.

Her snippet is about the three main heroes of the story investigating a break in to the king's castle.

Website: https://www.x-zombie.com/about

Author 2: Heather Lucinda

Heather Lucinda lives in Newmarket, Ontario. She’s the author of three thriller\drama novels all of which are on amazon. She’s a collector of oddities and taxidermy. You can find her primarily spending free time at the cottage enjoying a drink and a good novel on the dock, normally beside her dog Eddie, or watching a good horror movie.

This excerpt is from her second novel CONFESSIONS. The synopsis is:

Izzy Calleta never knew her real father; he disappeared before she was born and her older half-sister and her mother claim he vanished one day fifteen years ago, never to be seen or heard from again.

Izzy has always been close to her sister Theo and Theo’s best friends and they’ve always felt like a family. But as Izzy gets older and starts questioning the ties that bind her family and their friends together, it becomes clear that everyone knows something she doesn’t...

As questions are answered and the lies part to reveal the truth, Izzy starts to ask herself: is it sometimes better not knowing who you are and where you come from?

Instagram: @heather.lucinda_author

Author 3: Cecilia Agetun

Cecilia Agetun writes YA fantasy. Growing up she was an avid reader of Fantasy and always enjoyed creating stories in her head and writing them down. However, due to her dyslexia, she never thought she had the skillset to write and publish her own books, but the lock downs provided her with a perfect opportunity to expand her writing skills, and overcome her insecurity. After all you’ll never know how far you can go until you try.

So she set her sights on writing a series about love, friendship, and self acceptance, inspired by magic and Norse mythology. Her first book Forgotten Memories published in September 2022. Magical Bond, the second book, published February 2024 – She’s currently working on book three, and book four, which will be the last book in the series.

Her excerpt is from Chapter 1 of Forgotten Memories, the first book in Freya’s Legacy series. Jax is a crow demon that has the ability to turn into a crow. He was abandoned at birth and taken in and cared for by Freya, who taught him the importance of Love and Friendship.

Instagram: @ceciliaagetun

Journal Prompts:

How would you handle fighting a zombie?

Write about a time where you had a challenging argument with a loved one. How did you handle it versus how you WISH you handled it?

If you could be any animal, what would you be and with what powers/abilities?

Never forget that you are worthy!

Kirsten McNeill: Confidence & Writing Lifestyle Coach

Create Your Worthy Writers Lifestyle 5-Day Challenge

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Worthy Writers! I've got a solo episode for you today where I read story excerpts from THREE different authors:

Author 1: C.H. Carter

C.H. Carter is a fantasy author with a lifelong love of the genre in all its forms. In middle school, she wrote a fan letter to Tamora Pierce and received the most encouraging reply! That experience cemented her desire to become an author. (She also still holds out the hope they can meet in person one day!)

When not writing, you can find her working on a number of rotating projects (Crochet, anyone?) and obsessing over her two rescue dogs.

Her excerpt is from her debut novel, To Kiss the Sea. It's the first full chapter from Ally's POV. It gives an insight into what her childhood was like and the events leading up to the traumatic moment that triggered her incredible fear of water.

Website: chcarterwrites.com

Author 2: Elizabeth Suggs

Elizabeth Suggs is the co-owner of the indie publisher Collective Tales Publishing, owner of Editing Mee, and is the author of a growing number of award-winning published stories, one of which was part of an Amazon Bestseller collection. She is also a book reviewer (EditingMee.com), popular bookstagramer, and cosplayer (@ElizabethSuggsAuthor) on Instagram. When she’s not writing or reading, she’s traveling the world.

Her piece was inspired by the exclusion Covid and a new move brought to her life. It also sheds light on her relationship with her family, specifically her mother and how Elizabeth couldn’t cope without her around.

Author 3: B. Joyce

B. Joyce, author of the Moon Beetles series, is a Canadian independent fantasy author. She writes to connect readers to deep emotions and themes such as mental health, self discovery, intuition, and authenticity, with a backdrop of high fantasy world building.

To create her fantasy world, she uses her experience with biology and psychology to create an environment that sucks you into new magical possibilities and forces you to care about the characters. In her free time she can mostly be found playing video games, reading, wandering in the woods, or creating for the sheer enjoyment of it.

Her excerpt is from Soul Tether, the second book in her three part Moon Beetles series. Eliote doesn't have any essence abilities (magical abilities) like most people in the world of Illyson. However, she is able to see and feel auras from other people. She's been training at a Guardian academy for the past year, but as she's learned about herself, she's starting to think it's time for something new, something that fits her own skills.

LinkTree: B Joyce

Journal Prompts:

What would you do in Ally's situation?

Write a journal entry reflecting on a time when you felt isolated and how you handled the situation.

What is your favourite element of fantasy?

Never forget that you are worthy!

Kirsten McNeill: Confidence & Writing Lifestyle Coach | Book Editor | Artisan

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