Retreat!

I was at a writing retreat in Las Vegas this weekend and had a great time, including doing a lot of writing -- over 6,000 words, including one complete story, yay! -- but I was a bit more out of touch than I'd expected to be. The resort where we stayed (the Grand View, which is a vacation resort (timeshare) rather than a hotel) had no internet in the rooms, none whatsoever, and we had to trek down to the lobby (which was in another building) to get online. Very annoying; I was expecting to be able to stay in touch all weekend but as it is I'm behind on reading everything but my e-mail. The place was great in every other way -- large suites, comfortable, good facilities, etc. -- but I'm still boggling that in this day and age they have no internet in the rooms. Would it have killed them to put repeaters in the outbuildings so the wireless which is available in the main building could be accessed from the guest rooms? [headdesk]

On the other hand, being mostly without internet for four days is probably one of the reasons I did so much writing. [wry smile] Although I'm doing less now because of trying to catch up, so maybe it'll just balance out. We'll see.

At any rate, being around a group of other writers, talking about writing and stories and characters and ideas, techniques and problems and different approaches, was definitely inspiring. I love hanging out online and meeting people I'd have never gotten to know any other way, but being together in realspace has an intensity to it which really can't be replaced, not completely. The people who organized this retreat have done others and will do more in the future; I definitely intend to go if I can.

Oh, and I highly recommend Las Vegas to anyone who might be planning to spend several hours stuck in an airport -- they have free wireless there, and if it slows down periodically, hey, it's free. [wry smile] I spent as much time online yesterday at the airport as I did all weekend, and for a while there were three of us with our laptops at a little table near a plug, since Nancy was smart enough to bring a power strip. Always prepared, that's Nancy. But definitely get stuck at the Vegas airport if you have to be stuck somewhere.

Angie