The Writing Retreat Directory isn’t about one person. It’s about helping your retreat get noticed by the writers who are looking for what you offer and about helping writers find the perfect retreat to hone their stories, get support, and feel inspired.
But, I understand that people like to know who’s behind the scenes. So, if you’re curious, here’s the scoop on how this website came to be.
In the fall of 2019, I started looking for writing retreats. I had quit running my business several years before to focus on writing full time and was at a point where I needed a few days away to focus solely on developing the characters and plot for a series I was planning.
But when I searched for writing retreats online, I mainly got links to blog posts with titles like “The Fifty Best Writing Retreats for 2020.” Fifty?? I started looking at each one in the list and trying to remember details for each. By the time I reached number ten, I gave up.
I looked at the next link in the search results. A "manageable" twenty-two retreats to look at haha. I really needed to find a retreat, but I was so frustrated at not being able easily see which ones fit my needs.
Being the process geek I am, I started a spreadsheet to compare them. It was incredibly painful and time-consuming. In the meantime, I found a couple of directory sites, but one was for retreats of all types and was very cluttered. And the one that was just for writing retreats had a few filters, but they weren't helpful to easily narrow the options.
Unfortunately, as soon as I found a couple I wanted to attend, the whole world literally shut down due to the COVID pandemic. But, I had a lot of time on my hands and I thought if I had this problem, other writers did, too.
So I decided to start the Writing Retreat Directory to save others time and frustration. And because of my entrepreneurial background, I started seeing ways I could help writing retreat hosts with their business.
While I haven’t been able to attend a writing retreat yet, I’m excited about creating a place where writing retreat hosts can promote their retreat in a way that writers will want to click on, and where writers will find the perfect writing retreat using pinpointed filters.
Whichever category you fall under, I’m rooting for your success!
Lisa Shaughnessy
