Here’s something I didn’t realize until I was playing with the idea of hosting our own in-person writing retreat… There are scholars who study and publish research on academic writing retreats.

One of the most well-known researchers in this field is Rowena Murray, professor of education at the University of the West of Scotland. Dr. Murray defines a writing retreat as "a total immersion experience, writing support and mentoring, focused engagement in the writing experience and a community of practice and reflexivity".

Writing retreats typically offer fixed blocks of time dedicated to concentrated and distraction free writing. My company Write the Damn Dissertation is hosting "The Empowered Writing Retreat" in October, and was designed based on the work of Dr. Rowena Murray. It also includes a private 1:1 goal setting meeting prior to the retreat, and support during the retreat.

The Empowered Writing Retreat follows Dr. Murray's structure, and is based on...