{"id":41520,"date":"2024-06-01T00:01:43","date_gmt":"2024-06-01T07:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barbarafalconernewhall.com\/?p=41520"},"modified":"2026-06-05T11:55:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T11:55:34","slug":"writing-retreat-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/server.stagingweb3.net\/barbarafalconernewhall\/writing-retreat-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing Retreat Report — I Got Some Work Done. Thanks for Holding Me Accountable"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"writing<\/a>
Writing retreat report: I found lots of fun columns from my Oakland Tribune days. The column on the right opens with me making plans to leave home and go live in a motel where there would be no Nintendo noises to disturb my Sunday morning sleep in. Photo by Barbara Newhall<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There’s nothing quite like telling all your friends — or in this case, your readers — that you’re going on a writing retreat. It puts you on the spot. You have announced your goal, and people will want to know at retreat’s end whether you buckled down and went for it.<\/p>\n

Yes, I did get some work done. Not a lot. Distractions came my way, and I let myself get distracted.<\/p>\n

But I wound up with something valuable three weeks later — the feeling that those old columns I wrote for the Oakland Tribune way back in the 1980s and ’90s were not nearly as dated as I thought. Yes, they were written in the 20th century, but they have a lot to say to the 21st century. Enough for a book.<\/p>\n

Some examples:<\/p>\n

Writing Retreat Report<\/strong><\/h5>\n