Writing must be the loneliest occupation on the planet. Okay, maybe working in the space station is lonelier, or captaining a sailboat after all your crew has drowned, but it’s got to rank up there somewhere. Just you and the computer . . . just you and (gulp) the blank page. . . . We writers don’t get out much. And when we do, it’s often frantic– booksignings, school visits, speaking engagements, and the like, where we blink like moles in the sun and afterwards climb back into our holes more exhausted than when we left.

Enter writers’ retreats. A place (usually somewhat remote) where writers gather together to cheer, inspire, and laugh (okay, okay — occasionally to moan, complain, and go comotose). A place where they can be with others who well know the torture of staring at a blank page for three hours straight, the quiet desperation when opening that 537th rejection slip, who are masters of procrastination, and who, most of all, can create in rich, magnificent splendor.

I spent last Thursday through Sunday at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Fall Retreat in Silver Falls, Oregon. Nestled in the foothills of the Cascades, Silver Falls is a wonderland of old growth forest, hiking paths, cabins and meeting halls, and, of course, delicious, abundant food. I try to make it an annual event, and am always delighted to see old friends and make new ones. Whether someone’s published or not quickly becomes irrelevant, as relationships are forged and people group together to attend workshops, encouraging one another in what can be a brutal, dog-eat-dog profession. I’m proud to be one of the Silver Falls Folk. During the retreat, I recharge my depleted literary batteries. I return to my desk with sleeves rolled up, full steam ahead, damn the torpedoes. I need that. Truly, truly. Thanks to all my fellow Silver Falls Folk for your wonderful companionship, your warmth and enthusiasm. Until we meet again!

Feeling low? Recharge your literary batteries at one of these writer’s retreats (only a few of the many retreats that are out there!):

SCBWI Writer’s Retreat at Silver Falls, Oregon

Weekend on the Water– SCBWI Washington

Kittridge Retreat at Green Gulch Farm– SCBWI California

Writer’s Retreat at Hummingbird Music Camp — SCBWI New Mexico

Whispering Pines Retreat — SCBWI New England

Spring Retreat — SCBWI Orange County, CA

Children’s Writers Summer Retreat — SCBWI Rocky Mountain Chapter, CO (.pdf)

RopeWalk Writers Retreat — Open to all genres and audiences, New Harmony, IN

Scribblers’ Retreat Writers’ Conference– Various genres, St. Simon’s Island, Georgia

Wellspring House — Ashfield, MA (no program, just a quiet place, inexpensive retreat home where you can write, write, write)

(NOTE: Most of these webpages list their 2009 retreat information. Contact them directly for information on 2010.)