• About
  • Appearances
  • Book Club Tour
    • Beyond the Point: A Novel
    • Pre-Order Your Copy
    • Join the Mailing List
    • Inspiration
    • Excerpt
    • #beyondthepointbook
  • Clips
  • Contact
  • Blog
Menu

Claire Gibson

Author | Nashville, TN
  • About
  • Appearances
  • Book Club Tour
  • Beyond the Point: A Novel
    • Beyond the Point: A Novel
    • Pre-Order Your Copy
    • Join the Mailing List
    • Inspiration
    • Excerpt
    • #beyondthepointbook
  • Clips
  • Contact
  • Blog
2011_patrickclaire_184_fb.jpg

always remember there is nothing worth sharing like the love that let us share our name


  • January 2019
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • December 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • November 2015
  • July 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • January 2015
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • Faith
  • WRITING
  • PERSONAL
  • TRAVEL
  • HOME
  • NASHVILLE
  • PHOTOGRAPHY
  • FOOD
  • BOOKS
  • STYLE

My valentine 💛 pretty sure he’s an influencer.
My valentine 💛 pretty sure he’s an influencer.

RECENT SERIES

Featured
Part 3: Infertility and The Person You Are Becoming
Part 3: Infertility and The Person You Are Becoming
Part 2: The Puzzle of Hope. Infertility in the Age of Planned Parenthood.
Part 2: The Puzzle of Hope. Infertility in the Age of Planned Parenthood.
Part 1: What to expect when you're not expecting
Part 1: What to expect when you're not expecting

APRIL 2, 2019

BeyondthePoint 3D.png

OTHER READING

Featured
Ten Foolproof Ways to Not Finish Your Novel in 2018
Dec 28, 2017
Ten Foolproof Ways to Not Finish Your Novel in 2018
Dec 28, 2017
Dec 28, 2017
East of Eden Book Club Dinner Party
Sep 22, 2017
East of Eden Book Club Dinner Party
Sep 22, 2017
Sep 22, 2017
Part 1: What to expect when you're not expecting
Dec 22, 2016
Part 1: What to expect when you're not expecting
Dec 22, 2016
Dec 22, 2016
The Gift. An Excerpt of "Beyond The Point."
Nov 15, 2016
The Gift. An Excerpt of "Beyond The Point."
Nov 15, 2016
Nov 15, 2016
The Top Ten Rules For Traveling in New York City So You Don't End Up Hating It
Nov 7, 2016
The Top Ten Rules For Traveling in New York City So You Don't End Up Hating It
Nov 7, 2016
Nov 7, 2016

Keep In Touch

Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates.

*I solemnly swear not to send you junk.

Thank you!
screen-shot-2013-12-16-at-7-18-10-pm.png

Lessons from a Writer's Retreat

December 16, 2013 in WRITING, Faith

It's no secret that I'm writing a book. Perhaps I should have kept it a secret. I've heard that some writers do that. But I didn't. I opened my mouth and I told people, and now—for better or for worse—I have to write it. And for better or worse, I have to finish it. I've written 16 loose and repetitive chapters that are chock-full of cliches and stereotypes and really bad grammar. (And typos. Oh the typos.) But they are there, waiting to be made better, and that is good news. A writer can ask for nothing more than a bad page written. So, for my Christmas present this year, I didn't ask for a new jacket or the latest gadget. I asked Santa (aka, Patrick) for a chance to get away and write. He said yes, and here I am.

I discovered this little place after my friends, photographer  Brad and Jen Butcher spent a week here on a "staff retreat" for their two-person, husband-and-wife business. So I followed in their footsteps.

Now, I am no fool. I've done writers' retreats before. I don't believe that hiding away in the woods will make my words any more brilliant than they might be if they were written at a Starbucks or in my 10 x 8 guest room. But I do believe that here, I have the luxury of late-night hours and solitude and classical music and a fire place. So, what am I learning in the treehouse?

On Leadership and Solitude.

Today I spent most of my time reading and re-reading a speech William Deresiewicz delivered in 2009  to the plebe class at West Point. His transcribed 12-page speech is a look into leadership and solitude, and why one is a prerequisite for the other. Here's just one morsel. I hope it convinces you to read the entire thing, front to back, twice.

Thinking means concentrating on one thing long enough to develop an idea about it. Not learning other people's ideas, or memorizing a body of information, however much those may sometimes be useful. Developing your own ideas. In short, thinking for yourself. You simply cannot do that in bursts of 20 seconds at a time, constantly interrupted by Facebook messages or Twitter tweets, or fiddling with your iPod or watching something on YouTube.

... It seems to me that Facebook and Twitter and YouTube–and just so you don't think this is a generational thing, TV and radio and magazines and even newspapers too—are ultimately just an elaborate excuse to run away from yourself. To avoid the difficult and troubling questions that being human throws in your way.

So what am I learning?

1. Stop running away from yourself and the troubling questions.

2. Start reading ancient things, and think about what they make you think about.

3. Believe that what you discover could be new. Believe it could be worth sharing. And then lead others in that new direction.

Here goes something.

Tags: leadership, retreat, solitude, william deresiewicz
← The Cover UpNashville Indie Spotlight 2014 + GIVEAWAY →
Back to Top

Contact