The I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat
When my kids were in middle school and high school, I navigated The Carpool Line Situation by arriving super early and writing in my car until they got out of school. My car became one of my safe places, so I began reading and writing in my car at other times, too. Sometimes I read or write in my car while it’s parked at home.
Why Should You Have an I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat?
If you have a car, it’s a cheap and convenient way to be alone (as long as you don’t let anyone else in your car). It’s also nice to mix up the places in which we write, and this is an easy way to do that. Does your work require a lot of car travel? Do you feel like you have no time to write? Do you struggle with how to handle The Carpool Line Situation? Try the I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat.
How Do You Have an I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat?
You can have your I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat however you prefer. Since all of life is the writing life, there are no wrong answers! You know what you need for this particular retreat more than anyone else knows what you need. But I've included a few notes based on how I have my I Love to Write in My Car Writing Retreats below. And if you want more guidance, ideas, and retreat itineraries, our SDW I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat Guides are an excellent resource. (See the note at the bottom of this post for everything included!)
Plan
Think through your approach. Make decisions regarding the day, time, duration, how you want to use your time, etc. I'm a fan of the Four-Hour Solo Writing Retreat, which usually works well for most of my Solo Writing Retreats. If I’m having an I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat on a day when I have a few errands to run, I plan a full day retreat, if possible.
It's best to be alone for your I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat, but if solitude is not an option, take headphones or earbuds and ask your companions to let you have your retreat without interruptions.
I like to make a plan for how I'm going to use each hour of my Solo Writing Retreats. I include different nourishing rhythms to help me have the writing retreat I need on that particular day. You may choose to do different nourishing rhythms during your retreat, but what I've included below will be helpful and spark some ideas.
Also: Every Solo Writing Retreat is better with Magic Mind. Learn more about why I love to take Magic Mind to my writing retreats and get 20% off here.
Keep an I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat Bag in Your Car
Here are some items you can include: A pair of cheap, fun sunglasses, some flip flops, a candle or two, a lighter or matches, a couple of bottles of water, non-perishable snacks, a notebook, pens and pencils, a few favorite books that stay in your car, a stack of library books that stay in your car until it’s time to return them, a blanket, a small pillow, a couple of small dish towels, paper towels, or fancy napkins because sometimes we spill things.
Keep a Folding Bed Tray in Your Car
Maybe one like this? Or this fancy one! Then scoot back your seat and prop it against the steering wheel. One of the SDW Members recently shared how she sits in the passenger seat during her solo writing retreats in her car. So try out different seats, hop in the back, experiment and figure out what’s comfortable for you.
Read
Reading is always a good thing to do during a Solo Writing Retreat. You can read anything during your I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat. If you're in the middle of writing a work-in-progress, you can read something related. You can also read something fun that has no apparent connection to anything you're writing or want to write. You can also include a trip to a bookstore, a library, or a Little Free Library in your retreat plan and see what happens.
Write
Writing is also a great thing to do during a Solo Writing Retreat. You can write whatever you want during your I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat. During my retreat yesterday, I took notes for about 30 minutes during one of my writing sessions. Then later on I added a bunch of brand new words to an essay I’ve been working on this week.
If you need or want more guidance with retreat plans and prompts for writing (and prompts for reading, moving your body, contemplative practices, and taking notes), consider becoming a SDW Member, which will give you access to all SDW Solo Writing Retreat Guides and Resources, including the I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat Guides.
Move
You can move however you want during your I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat, but I recommend at least a few minutes of physical activity every hour or so. Sometimes it's easy to forget about our bodies while we're writing. Remember your body! I like to do a walk for at least10 minutes at the beginning of my I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreats. And I try to park near other nice places to walk throughout the rest of the retreat.
Explore
You can explore however you prefer during your I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat. One way I explore during my I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreats is by trying a new coffee shop, public library, restaurant, or walking trail during my retreat.
During a recent I Love Writing in My Car Solo Writing Retreat I tried a Golden Milk Latte from a local coffee shop location I’d never been to.
I love to over-plan and under-use my retreat plans for my I Love to Write Solo Writing Retreats.
Divine Drawing
One contemplative practice I recommend to SDW clients is something I first wrote about in The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other.
Place attachment exists, and one thing that helps us belong to places is drawing. You can draw whatever you want. You can draw your view from your car or something in your car. The purpose of this drawing exercise is to see differently and notice how you see while drawing. The goal is not to draw a perfect picture. Find more information and instructions for the Divine Drawing contemplative practice here.
Start with Your First Errand and See How Things Unfold
During my I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat yesterday here in Birmingham, I wasn’t really sure how my retreat would unfold when I began. I gathered plenty of Retreat Time items and threw them in a bag (in addition to the I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat bag that stays in my car), thought through a few options, took a quick walk in the rain, then jumped in the car. I knew I’d have plenty of things to keep me occupied throughout the day, and I was right.
My I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat made a day of running errands and going to appointments more fun and interesting. And it helped me sneak in some writing and other retreat rhythms I might not have done if I hadn’t decided to have a Solo Writing Retreat. And. It saved time and gas because I didn’t drive home after every appointment and errand.
You can see highlights from yesterday’s I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat in the story highlights on the @solowritingretreats Instagram account.
Reflect
I encourage you to journal for a few minutes at the end of your retreat and subsequent days. How will you tweak your retreat next time? What else do you want to incorporate? What do you want to skip? What do you wish you had brought with you? What did you think you needed but didn’t use?
The SDW I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat Guides
If you want or need more guidance and resources, The SDW I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat Guides are available to Spiritual Direction for Writers Members in the SDW Members Resource Library.
Each set of SDW Solo Writing Retreat Guides includes several Writing Prompts, Reading Selections, Contemplative Practices, Movement Prompts, and Notes Prompts options to help you plan dozens of different versions of that particular Solo Writing Retreat.
Here’s what’s included in the SDW I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat Guides:
SDW I Love to Write in My Car Writing Retreat 40-Minute Re-Centering Micro Retreat Template and Resources
SDW I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat Four-Hour and Day Solo Writing Retreat Template and Resources
SDW I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat Writing Prompts
SDW I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat Reading Selections
SDW I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat Contemplative Practices
SDW I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat Movement Prompts
SDW I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat Notes Prompts
I hope you enjoy your I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat. Let me know how it goes!
Below are some photos from a couple of recent I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreats.
Your Turn: What ideas do you have for an I Love to Write in My Car Solo Writing Retreat? What would you put in your bag? Where would you park? What else would you incorporate and include?
I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas in the comments below!
Charlotte Donlon helps her readers and clients notice how they belong to themselves, others, God, and the world. Charlotte is a writer, a spiritual director for writers, and the founder of Spiritual Direction for Writers™. Her essays have appeared in The Washington Post, The Curator, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, Catapult, The Millions, Mockingbird, and elsewhere. Her first book is The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other. She’s currently writing her next book, Spiritual Direction for Writers, which will be published by Eerdmans in 2024.