I just finished my first year of creative writing graduate school (cue exhausted applause), and now I’m facing the prospect of a semi-unstructured summer in which I need to: a.) earn money, b.) continue to write my thesis manuscript, c.) do research for my thesis, d.) sit in the sun a lot and have picnics, e.) recuperate from the stress of school.

To that end, I’ve secured a part-time job and have applied to a bazillion writers retreats, conferences, and residencies.

Here’s the problem, though.

Many writers events like these are very expensive, ranging from $800-$3,000 for approximately week-long conferences.  The more well-funded ones offer scholarships, but these are extremely competitive and limited.  The rest seem a bit like money-making ventures, but if you can afford it, I’m sure they are great opportunities to attend workshops, lectures, and more. Even the ones with scholarships often require application fees, and if you’re trying to maximize your luck by applying to a handful of them, $20 bucks a pop can really add up.

So I limited my search to ones that have scholarships and no application fee.  Which means I applied to something like 5 places.

It’s making me a little bitter.  Doesn’t everyone know that writers are included in the “starving artist” category?  Even the more successful among us will never be wealthy by banker standards.

But then I thought to myself, why am I relying on these structured opportunities to get in some uninterrupted writing time?

How about an idea for a way to give yourself uninterrupted, free or low-cost writing time? Create your own private mini-writers retreat.

Writer’s Digest suggests starting small, like committing to several days at a coffee shop.  And if that’s not enough for you, book a cheap campground somewhere and give yourself writing goals and deadlines.

Or, if you want to be surrounded by good company and get in some time to workshop your writing, why not plan your own writer’s conference?  Get together 5-10 writer friends and pick someone’s house or apartment that’s spacious and kick out all the kids and dogs and spouses and couch surfers (send them to the neighbors) for two days and critique each other’s writing.  You can order in food or cook together as part of the activities.

I sense that this is a common problem for writers at different stages of life.  Realistically, there are a number of distractions and responsibilities and commitments that will continue to eat away at your writing time.

So let’s not rely on the pricy and uber-competitive options out there and create our own.

Who’s with me?

Or, for the equivalent of $10,000, you can have a British company build a small shed for you in your backyard that they call the “Writer’s Retreat” (see above image).  Oi vey.