As 2016 wanes and 2017 kicks into gear, it’s a great time for writers to look back at what they’ve accomplished over the past and look ahead to what’s possible in the next year. That’s exactly what we’re doing right now at Dorland Mountain Arts Colony. Our book Generation Space: A Love Story is finished. In fact, we’re reading final proofs this week. The website is up, … Continue reading Writers (& others), Get Organized for 2017!
Many who visit Paris will want to indulge by dining at fancy, Michelin-rated restaurants. We’ve splurged instead on short trips to Normandy and to England and found that it’s tough to get a bad meal in Paris. In the process, Paris has given us a new set of the 5 food groups for basic sustenance. Plus, we’ve included a bonus item. Croissants The French spin butter … Continue reading Paris: The 5 Basic Food Groups
We’re back at Dorland Mountain Arts Colony this month. Read some other posts about Writing Retreats HERE and HERE. We began the residency by going through the copyedited manuscript of Generation Space: A Love Story. That sounds rather tedious, but we found it exciting. Not only did we get caught up as writing nerds in the minutia of comparing Chicago and NASA style, but we felt motivated, knowing … Continue reading 5 Things We Did at a Writing Residency
Almost two years ago, we designed our own writing retreat in Santa Fe. You can read about that HERE and HERE. Anna even got an unplanned article at The Rumpus out of the trip, which you can read HERE. We have a big writing project due at the end of the month and hope to share details soon. In the meantime, here are five memories of … Continue reading 5 Memories of Santa Fe (because we’re back!)
We spent almost three weeks at Dorland Mountain Arts Colony to write. We had some bumps in our residency road this time, but we always accomplish things and do good work in the isolation and beauty of Dorland. (For other posts about writing retreats, click HERE.) Each residency we’ve done is somewhat different, even when we return to this place. But, when we think about … Continue reading The Writing Residency: More Dorland
[The second part of our post on Trinity will run next week. It’s already queued up. The Nuclear Age began 70 years ago this summer, so we definitely have more to say.] On this date in 1969, Apollo 11 was heading back to Earth. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had walked on the Moon on July 20. They, along with Michael Collins, were hurtling through … Continue reading Apollo & Dorland
MORE FROM DOUG (Part 4) If you want to start with Part 1 of this series, click HERE. Routine Nearly every writing day at Dorland Mountain Arts Colony was the same as the previous day. Day after day, pretty much the same. This was a good thing. My morning routine was the same each and every day: Breakfast, then coffee on the cabin’s porch with … Continue reading Writing Residencies: Five Weeks on the Side of a Mountain (Part 4)
To start with Part 1 of this series, click HERE. To read Part 2 of this series click HERE. DOUG’S OVERVIEW (Part 3) Last week, I wrote about what I accomplished at Dorland Mountain Arts Colony in numbers: 76,000 words. I thought generally about how I did that, focusing on one task (completing a draft of my novel) and continually moving forward, instead of allowing myself … Continue reading Writing Residencies: Five Weeks on the Side of a Mountain (Part 3)
Read Part 1 HERE. DOUG’S OVERVIEW (Part 2) My sojourn at Dorland Mountain Arts Colony started on Saturday, August 30th. From that vantage, 36 uninterrupted days stretched out before me. Earlier in the summer, I’d kicked off my sabbatical with a shorter writing retreat in Sante Fe, and it had been fantastic. I’m as taken with my daily word count as any beginning writer, and what I … Continue reading Writing Residencies: Five Weeks on the Side of a Mountain (Part 2)
DOUG’S OVERVIEW (PART 1) Warning—this post uses a bit of profanity. It’s so commonplace in the adult world that most of us take in for granted. That said, Lofty Ambitions has some younger readers. In fact, Anna and I have received email from some parents indicating that they read our blog with their children. We love that part of our audience, and it’s garnered some … Continue reading Writing Residencies: Five Weeks on the Side of a Mountain
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