Words & Wine and a wonderful day

Today was the perfect fall day to catch up with old friends and make new ones at Words & Wine, a fundraiser for WriterHouse, a non-profit writing center in Charlottesville, VA.

Writers and non-writers mingled under the trees at Keswick Vineyard while tasting wine, eating, and chatting about books, vino, and the gorgeous weather. I had a blast, and I think everyone else there did too.

Lots of folks worked hard on the event, begging for prizes, working the registration table, and talking friends into coming out (uh, to the party, that is). A big thank you to all our volunteers and to the generous sponsors who so kindly forked over some great stuff to make our raffle a huge success.

Oh, yeah, and Jenny, you won a prize. But I’m not gonna tell you about it except right here. So if you’re reading, it’s all yours. If not, bummer, I guess I get the lunch cruise on the Calypso, fencing lessons, etc.

What to pack for your writing residency

Where I'll be in a few weeks — Hambidge cottage

The other day my friend Rachel and I were talking about what she needs to take for her residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and she suggested that there might be others of you out there who would benefit from such a list. While every residency is different and most do send information on what to bring, I thought I’d share my experience here in the hopes that it might make someone’s packing a little easier.

If you’re flying, obviously you won’t be able to take everything you’d like for two or three weeks or a month away. But make room in your luggage for:

Books. A necessity. If you can’t get them in your suitcase, ship them ahead. I read 2-3 books a week at residencies.
A flashlight or headlamp. Many residencies are in isolated locations and you’ll do a lot of walking, often on unlit paths.
Walking shoes.
Cash. There are usually laundry facilities, and you’ll need cash to run the washer and dryer. You’ll also want cash for printing, copying or
faxing.
A power strip.
An external hard drive or some other way to save your work. You don’t want to risk losing all the brilliant writing you’ll get done, and you should be backing up your computer at least once a week anyway.
An umbrella or hooded rain jacket. Again, you do a lot of walking.
A notebook. When you’re out walking, you’ll often feel inspired to jot down ideas.
Stamps and note cards. If you don’t write notes to people, you should, and here’s your chance. It just feels right at a residency.
Headphones, if you like to listen to music while you write.
Bug spray and sunscreen if you’re going any time other than mid-winter.
Thumb tacks. There are often cork boards in the studios, and I love being able to pin up character notes, timelines, etc. I’m also a big fan of index cards for this.
A nice outfit or two. It’s great being able to wear sweats every day and to work in your pajamas, but by the end of a month you’ll be dying to
dress like a grown-up for dinner or a reading.

If you’re driving, you have the luxury of filling your car with stuff you wouldn’t be able to take on a flight:

Laundry detergent. Usually you’re expected to provide your own, and it will save you a trip into town if you have it when you arrive.
Candy. Preferably a 20 pound bag of Hershey kisses. Not only will you need the chocolate for yourself – who writes without chocolate? – but you’ll want it to make friends. Other writers will love you forever (or at least for the length of the residency) if you feed them chocolate.
Wine. If you like a glass with dinner, you’ll need to bring your own, and it’s not a good use of your time to drive around looking for a wine shop once you get there. If you’re like me, and can’t survive without Diet Cokes, take a couple of 12 packs.
Printer and paper. It’ll save you the cost of using the printer in the office, and it’s nice to be able to print in your studio whenever you want.
Any research materials you might need. These can also be shipped if necessary.
Shower caddy. Often you share a bathroom, and it’s nice to have all your bath stuff in a carrier.

A final piece of advice. If you’re one of those people who always pack way too many clothes when traveling, pull out about half of what you put in your suitcase. You’ll end up wearing the same thing over and over anyway.

Putting some thought into what you take will keep you from wasting valuable writing time once you get there. And writing time is what it’s all about.

On the Road Again

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page.” – St. Augustine (Thanks, Hope, for introducing me to this quote)

What a difference four months makes. In a post in June, I was commenting about staying put for a while. Wondering how that might affect my writing. Seems I won’t know anytime soon. Since that post, I’ve moved back to Charlottesville for a few months, been awarded a November residency at Hambidge in northern Georgia, and signed on for the Key West Literary Seminar in January. And I’m heading to Michigan soon for a quick trip to see family.

I have to admit, while I love Charleston and miss it and am looking forward to getting back down there, my feet were getting itchy. I’ve been even more antsy in Charlottesville, though Virginia is a beautiful place to be in the fall, and I love it here too. But the road is calling me. I’m ready to remove myself from familiar places and immerse myself completely in my novel again. Ready to eat, sleep, and breathe writing.

Don’t get me wrong. I write when I’m not traveling. But there is something about picking up and going that makes me want to move forward in my work, too. New environments make me rethink the way I look at things, make me notice more. And of course it doesn’t hurt that many of my travels are writer-centric.

It also doesn’t hurt that I’ll be in a cabin in the woods in beautiful Rabun Gap in November and hanging out in warm and wonderful Key West in the most miserable month of winter. There are some perks to this nomadic lifestyle, after all.