You’ve booked it and you’re all packed. You told everyone you’re “going on a writing retreat” to find your writing flow. But then you arrive, sit down at a polished desk with a serene view outside, and you stare at the wall for three hours, wondering why the words aren’t just flowing out of you. Yeah, been there, too. But the thing is, flow in writing doesn’t magically appear at a stunning, quiet location. Whether you’re trying to figure out what writing flow even is, or you’re deep in the rabbit hole of habit trackers and apps, here are ten ways that always help me get into my flow quickly.
1. Set an intention before you arrive
Just an intention to “work on your book” is a guaranteed way to spend the first two days just re-reading what you already have. With a specific target, the brain is focused from the moment you sit behind the desk.
Before you leave home, decide exactly what you want to have done by the time you finish your writing retreat. Three new chapters. A full structural edit. The rough outline of Act Two. When I travelled Western Australia as a nomad for months, I worked in blocks of three to four weeks each, with a single focus. One block was finishing my second novel. Another was editing the first. Having one clear thing to accomplish made it easy to slide into my writing flow every morning without burning the first hour figuring out where to begin.
2. Write at your peak
Figure out whether you’re a dawn writer or a midnight one, and lock that window in every single day. Morning writers who protect their mornings actually write from flow. Night owls who try to start at 9am because they’ve read in a writer’s article that it’s more productive usually don’t produce at all.
I’ve recently started working in two one-hour writing blocks every single morning. I set my alarm and put my phone in another part of the room. That’s my deep writing time, even on days when I’m also working on other things. On writing retreats, that rhythm is my basis. And it still happens to me, occasionally, that I’m less inspired to write. But, by returning to that rhythm every day, I’m building a habit.
3. Maximise the hours you write
Five hours of real writing is a full-time day’s work. More than that, and the quality drops off fast, simply because the human brain loses focus. I write in the mornings and use afternoons for other work or, when I’m on a dedicated writing trip, for exploring the area. That time away from the desk is almost a guaranteed refill of the creativity well. Recovery is part of my writing flow.
4. Make breaks part of the process
My best story ideas never come to me when I’m behind a desk. But they do when I’m in the shower or at the supermarket. Like in Broome last year. I’d stepped out for an early morning walk for my daily groceries, and suddenly an entire new book series landed in my head. Which was both thrilling and deeply unhelpful for the series I’m already writing. But it showed me exactly why I don’t write for an entire day, day in and out, not even on writing retreats.
5. Lock your phone away
I have said it before, and I’ll keep saying it, because physically removing my phone from my writing space made a bigger difference to my writing flow than almost anything else on this list. A box works. A different room works. Face down on the desk doesn’t work. Out of sight really means out of mind.
6. Keep meals seperate from your writing space
I prefer not to eat at my writing space. The physical act of moving helps your brain switch modes between sessions. I have a tendency to write through lunch and end up being foggy at 2PM. When I actually take a proper break, cook something, and step outside for a few minutes, I come back way more grounded. And being grounded is when my writing flows best. It’s the state where it feels like the story just comes through me.
7. Write a bit ugly first
It’s okay that your first draft isn’t the polished version. In fact, you’ll still go through many of editing rounds. Your inner critic will try to review every sentence as you write it. To get into your writing flow, you have to make sure not to let it speak all the time. But if you’re like me, writing from a messy draft will kill your creativity, too, no matter what people say about messy first drafts. What I usually do, is starting at the chapter I’m working on, tweak things as I go through it, and then continue in a flow-state. In my next senssion, I will then also edit the new part. Recently I heard a podcasts of two writers referring to this technique as hairbrushing: every time your story gets just a little smoother while you’re still going forwards.
8. Have an end-of-day ritual
A closing ritual signals to your brain that the writing day is over, and it actually has a positive effect on me. Especially for sleep. I like to slow cook after a day of writing. I’ll put something on the stove, Spotify in the background, a glass of wine or kombucha depending on the day, and I just cook and come back into my body after hours behind a screen. By giving myself enough time between the end of writing and bedtime, I sleep so much better. And that directly affects the quality of my writing the next day.
9. Skip the productivity apps
How to improve your writing flow using popular digital tools is a question I see online. Word count trackers, habit streak apps, writing timers. Perhaps they work wonders for some writers, but for me, especially on a writing retreat where the whole point is to get out of my head and into the work, they become a distraction. It’s another notification on the phone that I try to put away.
There are many other effective things you can do instead. Like making your coffee before you open your laptop. The best writing routine is the one you can repeat tomorrow. If you found that, you don’t need apps.
10. Experiment with your routine
Looking at how famous authors structure their days can be interesting, but their routines were built around their lives, not yours. An example of writing with flow that worked for one writer in a specific set of circumstances tells you very little about what will work for you in yours. The only way to figure out your writing routine is to run small experiments, notice what actually moves your story forward, and do more of that.
Ready to plan your writing retreat from scratch?
If you’re still figuring out the logistics, here’s a complete guide for writing retreats. And once you’ve got your routine sorted, 5 Must-have writing tools for your writing retreats will make sure you’ve got everything you need to keep it going.