Our second writing retreat was last weekend in Huntington Beach, CA!
You might be wondering...why do we call it a retreat if we're holed up in a hotel room for 48 hours, ahem, working.
(Or maybe that's just our husbands!)
(And maybe we shouldn't have tweeted so many pictures of the sunset from our ocean front balcony.)
Maybe the word retreat makes us feel better because it sounds like a place you go where the words flow freely, the ideas come full force and the characters rise off the page.
(And you won't get in a knock-out-drag-out with your writing partner over a plot point.)
Here's what we do know.
50,000 words are now written for our third MS. And we're excited. Details to come soon, we promise...
And because you're always so supportive, we're giving away a $20 iTunes gift card. Just leave a comment to be entered to win. We'll randomly select the winner on Monday, February 6 after 6pm PST.
So here's what we learned. (Cause y'all know we always learn quite a bit- at these things. Most of which has very little to do with writing!)
1. You can listen to the same song on replay for forty-eight hours straight. Lisa would like to personally thank Debbie Gibson for the role she played. Who knew Lost in Your Eyes could be so inspiring! And Liz would like to thank Sarah Bareilles' for her live rendition of Gravity. (Liz's is so much cooler!)
(In Lisa's defense, Debbie was bringing her back to that mind space she needed to be in- that high-waisted jeans and Strawberry Boons mind space. We'll fill you in soon. Promise.)
2. You can survive on beef jerky for two days.
(And cheese and crackers.)
(And supermarket sushi.)
(But not rice chips- gag.)
And Lisa would just like to take this moment to thank gawd that Slim Jims were not involved this time. (See last retreat.)
3. A one-man band (with a mustache) can sound (and look) really good after a long day of writing
Fire pit. Check.
Glass of wine. Check.
One dude with a harmonica wedged between his lips, a guitar strapped across his body and a keyboard not far away- who can, and we repeat can channel Elton John-if you really listen. Check.
4. There is such a thing as service that is too good
Ring, ring. The light outside your hotel room door is flickering. Someone will be right up.
Ring, ring. We'd like to bring up two bite sized chocolates to put on your pillow.
Ring, ring. There's a guy with a mustache singing tunes down by the fire. We'll pay you to come down here.
Maybe we should've stayed at the Hampton Inn...
5. Everyone in California is gorgeous (When you live elsewhere.) Lisa had forgotten how good looking everyone is in SoCal. (Or the cold has frozen her brain and her judgement.) Either way, from the guys who parked the car to man at the front desk, every male looked like he stepped out of Surfer magazine and every woman like she just walked off a photo shoot. She especially wanted to explain to the incredibly hot and far too young for her-Abercrombie & Fitch model look-a-like- (a.k.a, the bell hop), I like men. I do, as he eyed her and Liz suspiciously as they rode up the elevator to their shared room.
xoxo,
Liz & Lisa