The Next Chapter

Last spring I packed my car and drove from Portland to Colorado to spend a month in the mountains. I wanted to see if a change of scenery would help me finish the book I had been writing for three years.

It did. This short film captures exactly how those days felt, and this post is about what I learned from leaving for a while.

I know not everyone can leave for a month, and I was lucky to be able to. But I think the lessons travel well, even if you only have a long weekend. Change the scenery, simplify the day and give one important thing your full attention. That is the whole secret, and the film shows the rest.

Three years, one unfinished book

I started the book with great energy and a detailed plan. Then life happened, as it does. Work got busy, I moved apartments, and the manuscript became a file I opened only to feel guilty.

By last winter I had to admit the truth: I would never finish it in the same chair, at the same desk, with the same distractions. Something had to change.

I booked the cabin on a Sunday night, before I could change my mind, and told my editor I would send her a finished draft in five weeks.

The long drive east

The drive took three days. I listened to podcasts through Oregon, music through Idaho and nothing at all through Wyoming, where the landscape is so wide and empty that silence felt right.

By the time I reached the small cabin outside Boulder, my head felt clearer than it had in months. The book was already rearranging itself in my mind.

I stopped for one night in Boise and one in Laramie, eating at small diners and writing notes on napkins about the chapters I wanted to change.

A simple mountain routine

In the mountains my days looked almost the same, and that was the point. Repetition made writing feel easy.

I did not always follow it perfectly, but it gave every day a clear start and a gentle end.

• Write from 7 to 11, before checking anything
• Lunch outside, whatever the weather
• A long walk in the afternoon
• Read in the evening, never edit
• Lights out by ten

Why a new place helps

A new place removes the small habits that hold us back. At home, I knew exactly where to find distractions. In the cabin, there was no television, the internet was slow and the nearest store was twenty minutes away.

Without those familiar escapes, the only interesting thing left to do was write. And when I got stuck, a walk in the snow did more than an hour of scrolling ever could.

I also talked to strangers more. The woman at the general store asked about my book every time I came in, and that small question kept me accountable.

Sometimes the next chapter starts with a simple decision to leave for a while.

Bringing the mountain home

Coming back to Portland was harder than leaving. I was afraid the old habits would return the moment I unpacked. Some did. But I kept a few mountain rules: writing first thing in the morning, phone in another room, and a long walk every afternoon.

The book is now with my editor. It took three years to start and one month to really finish, and I would not change a single day of that trip.

Some evenings I still play the film above while I write. It reminds me of the snow, the silence and how good it feels to finish something.

What I almost did not pack

I nearly left my notebook at home, thinking I would do everything on the laptop. That would have been a mistake. Most of the important ideas came on walks, and I wrote them down standing in the snow with cold fingers.

I also packed too many clothes and too few warm socks. Next time I will bring half the wardrobe, twice the socks and one more notebook. Mountains are good teachers about what you really need.

Planning your own retreat

Choose a place that is beautiful but a little boring, with no big attractions to pull you away. Bring one project, not three. Tell someone your deadline. And plan one celebration for the day you finish, even if it is just a good dinner.

A quick tip for any retreat, long or short: decide what success looks like before you leave. For me it was a finished draft. Having one clear goal made it easy to say no to everything else and to enjoy the free afternoons without feeling guilty about them.

Final thoughts

You do not need a month in the mountains to change your rhythm. A weekend away, or even a different cafe, can help. If something has been stuck for years, maybe it is time to change the place, not yourself.

Leaving for a while helped me come back to the work, and to myself, with fresh eyes.