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A DIY retreat sounds terrific! I used to do them once or twice a year — sometimes with friends, sometimes solo.
As you plan, consider what conditions will give you the best chance of success. For example, I realized I kept falling into a Den Mother role when friends wouldn’t pull their weight. Cue distraction, frustration and resentment! I wouldn’t get much done and I’d return home feeling like I’d intensified the caregiving instead of getting a break from it. So now I’m more likely to rent a hotel room, then grab some health store snacks and go bananas on takeaway and delivery. I also don’t fully stop work, because a little structure keeps me functional and not just floating around.
Sometimes my messy friends share an apartment in the same destination, but I won’t even see them every day. My introvert soul needs quiet to recharge and my brain needs to move at its own pace, unencumbered by plans and expectations. And also their very barky dogs who need to be walked at dawn… 😉
I haven’t been applying to formal residencies for the same reasons. Command performances of together time just don’t hold as much appeal now as they did in other stages of my life.
So, yeah. Maybe have a think about what you’re craving lately —— like calm and solitude in my case — and try to structure around that. I definitively over-indexed on the traditional retreat models when I started DIYing! 0/10. Do not recommend.
A retreat can be anything you need it to be. For example, I know some sandwich-generation folks who just check into a local hotel for one night, set “do not disturb” everywhere, and order room service so they can stay in the flow! They say the tight timeframe helps them stay super-focused and productive. But, of course, your mileage may vary. There are many keys to unlock creativity. The trick is finding the right one for you!
Ansley, I have a panic scheduled to break the seal on the spite garden piece today, haha!
I’m excited about your fellowship application. Even if this isn’t a lock, you’ve prepped material that will help with other applications. And more importantly, you’re over the “getting started” hurdle. You’re doing the thing! And one of these days it will pay off. (I mean, hopefully with this project. But if not, keep at it!)
As a group, we keep coming back to the same challenge — needing to make space for creativity. That’s hard in a world that prioritizes hustle, but we have to persevere, because we need that immersion —— and maybe even some healthy boredom.
Here’s your critique. And, WOW, you are on fire! Your pitching skills have really accelerated since last month. (I know you mentioned those were a bit rushed. But you should still be super proud of your progress!)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nq1VefcUGfi-LQccOchihfIq8rxTRvnE9L-4w_SzrRo/edit?usp=sharing
Ansley, I just got 100 words into critiquing your July submission, thinking you’d revised the previous pitch.
But I’m gonna share that file since I had a few fresh thoughts on the hed. https://docs.google.com/document/d/12Ovmq6JH-5NOR14oqhL3dHaWCk_iNB5F3X0BfcmPU-k/edit?usp=sharing
More soon — this time with the right materials!
Ninety percent of the discomfort went away with new bras, a new pillow and being more mindful about my posture, as we discussed on the call. But I’ve definitively had referred pain during this process. The outsides of my hips — the tensor fasciae latae, I think? — were ANGRY for a bit. All that cleared up when I went from a cervical pillow back to buckwheat!
And then I read that too-short pillows skew your body, pressing a bunch of weight onto… you guessed it…the outside of the hips! So at least my lived experience made sense.
I hope the PT pays off and you find some relief soon too, Josephine!
Week of 08/18/2025: Almost every editor I work regularly for started assigning again. So I am *under water* but in the best possible way!
Intention: Start that spite garden story next week. For reals. Really. Like please scold me if I don’t!
Challenges: Time. I also feel very distanced from that spite garden story, since I fully reported in two years ago, including an interview with a superstar ecologist. (Luckily pissing off HOAs and defying petty local laws is a timeless “evergreen” topic, haha! Though I’ll sleuth around for updated examples and fresh developments, of course.)
I need to break the seal. Once I start, the story will feel “real” and more urgent, I’m sure.
So how about this: if I don’t have a draft started by EOD on 8/22, everyone gets a free pitch critique of 300 words or less? 😉
J’nai, I hate that the pressure is still bearing down on you so hard! I hope things improve soon.
In the meantime, congrats for getting any pitchwork done under those challenging circumstances. (I often freeze/disassociate or overfocus on troubleshooting the biggest issues when stressed. That makes sense from a triage POV, of course, but I’d like to get better at keeping an oar in like you’re doing.)
If you need extra time for August critiques, no problem. Being flexible feels like the only way I can help from here, but if you think of anything else, please give me a shout!
Ansley, you’re at 970 words, even with the fellowship prompts in there. So it’s all good! I’ll hit your other questions in the critique, which I’m looking forward to tomorrow. More soon!
Week of 08/13/2025: Send the shatio pitch. Survive the next three days of chaos.
Why I’m stoked: Lots of unsolicited work is rolling in. But I shouldn’t let that dictate all my coverage, since unsolicited work isn’t nearly as fun or rewarding as telling stories I care about. Time to stop coasting!
Also, I stopped all my headaches and migraines, so I’m just down to troubleshooting some neck crunchiness. It’s not really a work victory, but it’s a good sign that I’m tending to my own health. (I often neglect it, as caregivers are prone to do.) Self-care often paves the way for career ambition and expansion for me!
Concerns or challenges: I’m digging out of massive hole of neglected tasks… and it has a lot of gravity. Crossing chores off my list gives me those sweet, sweet dopamine hits. I need to refocus some of that energy into reshaping my workload and finding more meaningful assignments.
Did the magic happen? Nope again. D’oh!
Josephine, the advice Ansley gave you feels spot-on to me. Any time a piece must contain a certain source, I try to lock them down before pitching.
Also, as we discussed on the last call, a lot of media folks and personalities won’t respond to DMs on social because they want to relax and socialize there. Some just don’t want to get trolled or manage conversations across a handful of platforms. Others have interns or employees handling their accounts, increasing the chance of an interview request falling through the cracks. So email is still best practice and I wouldn’t assume unanswered DMs = not interested!
Anne Banas has moved from BBC Travel to “Smart Luxury,” a title I’m unfamiliar with. I took a quick look and the Fisherman Aesthetic pitch is worth sending there, yes! I could see it in the “Beach and Island Escapes” section maybe.
But here’s the great part: you don’t have to know a story’s a perfect fit. That’s the editor’s job and it has a gajillion factors in play that freelancers can’t predict. So just throw stuff against the wall* and see what sticks!
* Within reason, of course. If writer’s guidelines indicate no-go zones, respect those!
We touched on this during the last call, but to recap — I’m a fan of rabbit holes! In moderation, of course.
My logic: my brain is neurodivergent, so it’s wired for detours. AND I’m a writer, so basically I’m an idea magpie who has the privilege of learning and satisfying my curiosity well into adulthood. The effort to fight all that is exhausting and drains my enthusiasm. So instead of resisting my natural state — trying to force myself into some misguided late-stage capitalism idea of productivity — I try to flow with it.
Sometimes life and deadline demands mean I have to focus, of course. But that’s a different energy, fueled by panic. Then I hunker down and set intentions like “finish X then you can noodle around the internet for Y minutes.”
Day-to-day, I try to manage my time to account for rabbit holing. Humans can only concentrate well for 90–120 minutes at a stretch because of our ultradian rhythms, so sometimes I use a timer or just plan around that. I exercise or do physical chores before work and during breaks to get my blood flowing and rest my brain. And when in doubt, I reread “How to Write Faster,” which claims squirmy rabbitholers like me are as productive as highly disciplined writers! (It also touches on a topic we discussed in late July: the complexity of writing and how to separate drafting, editing and considering the readers’ needs.)
So, yeah… Rabbitholing FTW! I truly believe it’s a core part of staying sharp, sussing trends and supporting mental health! (Case in point: as I unpacked ideas in this post, I was like hmmmm, could there be a piece here? And maybe another on ultradian rhythms as the “news” search tab mostly contained research papers?!?)
Ansley, thanks for sharing the “gleaning” reframe. That’s such a positive way to think about all this.
Ansley, sorry I missed this and your deadline date has past. Belatedly: 400–500 words seems great for this sort of cover letter. Editors are just pushing for shorter pitches because they field so many of ’em!
Thanks so much for the encouragement and also the PDF. Century of the cat! Love it!
Hope you felt good about your submission!
Thanks for your patience, Ansley! Here are my thoughts!
Week of 7/30
Why I’m stoked: I’m loving working with you all — community energy is contagious in the best way! And I’m happy Afar has been raining sponcon assignments down on me… except how edits rolled in on top of five (!) new deadlines and Pitch Like a Honey Badger critiques.
Concerns or challenges: I can’t see pitching until this logjam clears next Tuesday. Which is, to be blunt, quite cowardly, because the shatio pitch is ready to go. But I want to go over it one more time when my brain isn’t getting yanked in 12 different directions and I can use my ADHD hyperfocus superpower!
Did the magic happen? Um, no. But I’m reassuring myself that it will. Some weeks are just like this with full-time freelancing. I try to think of it like yoga — I came to the mat. Maybe it didn’t look exactly like I’d hoped, but showing up is still a win!J’nai, you are a force of nature! I love your focus on just getting words on the page. You’re not alone in this: writing coach Anne Lamott’s “shitty first drafts” are a time-honored tradition for a reason! They separate out the creative act, which can be messy and wild, from analysis (self-editing to support editor’s wants and readers’ needs).
Good luck with the current crop of pitches! My fingers are crossed that you’ll break into some new titles and/or score great assignments!
