I am beyond grateful to the Orchard Keeper Writer’s Residency for the opportunity to spend a week, of peace and quiet and seclusion in which to finish my book. From May 31st to June 6th, I spent time in the hills of Tennessee writing, reading, going for walks, and being separated from social media and other distractions.
It was an eight hour drive from home to my destination. My drive involved driving around cities on eight lane highways, through mountains, and even down one lane roads in the middle of the country. I made it to OKWR safe and sound. The weather was gorgeous and the drive easy.
I met Denton face to face for the first time since being awarded this residency in September of 2019. I was originally scheduled to attend this residency in March but then COVID-19 happened and Denton, graciously, offered to push my date back. He has been accommodating and communicative during the entire process of setting up my residency. He was also willing to let me bring my emotional support dog, Lily, with me.
When we met in person, he seemed very conscious of the fact that I was a woman in a strange place talking to an unfamiliar man. I was so appreciative of the fact that he didn’t try to come inside with me. He explained everything to me from the yard. He made me feel very comfortable.
Part of Sunday evening was spent unpacking and making things comfortable. Then I realized I had plenty of time for writing so I jumped straight in.
Monday and Tuesday were spent writing and then spent writing some more. I was in the zone! I did take breaks every hour and a half to two hours to walk Lily. The weather was beautiful. The sun was shining and there were big, white, puffy clouds in the sky. The property was big enough to take Lily on decent walks and she was loving the space! All said and done I wrote 25,000+ words between the two days.
As a reward for the work I completed in two days, I took Lily to the Cumberland Gap National Historic Park on Wednesday. We went to a beautiful overlook and I ended up being able to stand in two places at once; straddling the Virginia and Kentucky state line. After driving back down the winding road filled with hairpin turns, we went on a little walk on their beautiful paved trails. I would love to go back to visit this park again. It is massive and has so many picnic areas and trails.
I came back to the OKWR and wrote for the rest of the afternoon. By that time I was ahead of schedule with my book. By Thursday around 2pm I finished writing my book. I was a day and a half ahead of schedule!! I am now ready to submit to publishers!
I spent Friday reading and working on some of my short stories and, finally, packing. I left Saturday morning and had a wonderful drive back home. It only rained Friday morning until about 11:30am and the weather was beautiful every other part of the week. The sun shone and it was either warm or hot.
There were so many benefits to this residency.
There are also some cons.
This was my first residency ever and it was an excellent experience for me. The cons I listed did not bother me as much as I thought they would. I really thought that not having an internet connection would drive me insane, but I think it was a benefit. If I had really wanted to, I’m sure I could have found a coffee house or restaurant in a 4G area to use my hotspot (or that has free WiFi), but I didn’t feel the need. I backed up as soon as I got home.
I think this would be a good residency for any artist looking to get some serious work done. You will have few distractions unless you create them for yourself. Reading and walking my dog were my biggest distractions. Good luck to any future residents heading to this spot and thank you again to Denton for sharing this space!
Wow–25K words over 2 days! That’s fantastic. Glad it was a good experience. Can’t wait to see what becomes of your book. My last writing retreat was a picturesque spot, except right next to train tracks. I got very little sleep, so now I know to pack ear plugs (and a sleep mask for good measure)–and coffee!