How to Host a Virtual Writing Retreat Weekend

In today’s blog, we are going to talk about hosting a virtual writing retreat. With the health situation across the world, the safest way for people to meet is in the virtual world. Sadly, I never had time to attend an in-person writing retreat. I hope when things get safer I will attend one or host one myself. So until then, let’s talk about how to host a virtual writing retreat weekend yourself.

What is a Virtual Writing Retreat?

A virtual writing retreat weekend is a dedicated weekend where you hold writing sprints, encourage fellow writers, share each other’s progress, and have fun.

Some groups have a theme or location they’ve picked for the weekend. The first virtual writing retreat I ever attended was with Heart Breathings Word Sprints Challenge Private Facebook group. We visited a popular vacation destination virtually with YouTube ambient playlist.

Some of you know that I have a Discord Server and we host a Virtual Writing Retreat every month. Each month we pick a literary world to visit. We’ve visited Hogwarts, The Hobbit, and in October we will be in Interview with the Vampire. You can join us here.

What do you need to host one?

Having a group of some sort is helpful. You can do this on a Facebook Group, your Twitter hashtag, Discord, Twitch account, YouTube channel. The options are endless; it seems.

You want to advertise the event beforehand. It’s a good idea to post about the event at least a few weeks and days before your event. Talk to fellow authors you follow on social media. Tell them you’re doing an event and see if they would like to come to join you. You’ll be surprised at what happens when you reach out.

Can I do it even if I don’t have a writing community started?

Not really. When I started my Discord server I had a few friends. Then I advertised writing sprints for Camp NaNoWriMo and before I knew it my server had grown twice its size. The most important thing is not be discouraged if it takes a few tries. Make sure you are there and hosting the sprints. If you have a community, it allows for you to share some of the workload and that brings us to my next point.

What should I be prepared for?

If you are hosting a retreat or running it yourself, be prepared to have your life revolve around the event. Don’t schedule other things for that weekend. Inform family and friends that you might not be available and take advantage of the time to work on your projects with the attendees. You might also want to rest the Monday after your event. Maybe pick a weekend where you know your Monday will be a light workday.