The Writing Reset: Building the Bridge Between Dream and Reality
A reflection from our
Mountain Writers’ Retreat
~ October 2025
By Amy Han
On the first morning of our recent writers’ retreat in the Victorian alps, ten of us gathered around the table in our A-frame cabin amongst the trees. Some were experienced writers, others self-proclaimed ‘baby writers’ exploring creative writing or returning after a long hiatus. Before we’d even opened our notebooks and laptops, I invited everyone into a simple exercise - one I return to at least once a year myself.
“Close your eyes,” I said, “and imagine your ideal writing life.”
I encouraged them to be specific: Where do you write? How do you write? What time of the day? Are you writing alone, or with others? How does it feel?
When we opened our eyes and began popcorning words into the space, this is what emerged:
Consistent. Productive. Effortless. Excited. Natural. Flowy. Juicy. Clarity. Enjoyment. Not alone. Published.
I asked them to write it all out in as much detail as they could - their ideal writing practice, this dream creative life.
Then came the harder question: What does reality actually look like?
“Be honest,” I said. “How often do you write? When do you write? What do you write? What do you keep telling yourself you want to do, but don't?”
The gap between dream and reality can feel like a chasm. But here’s what one retreat-er said that has stayed with me:
“What this exercise brought up for me is that it made me appreciate the bridge between this dream writing life and reality. We’re constantly building this, right? That’s beautiful. I love that there’s a bridge.”
What the Exercise Revealed
As we worked through these questions together, some powerful themes emerged:
We can give ourselves permission to write poorly.
So many of us need explicit permission to write poorly, to write in small pockets of time, to write just for ourselves. As writer Jodi Picoult famously said, “You can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page.” First drafts are meant to be messy, and that is a wonderful thing! It’s like being a kid, dancing like no one’s watching. Here, in the mess of the first draft, lies the magic and the truth. Let your inner editor rest, and just let yourself write.
We can cultivate a life that supports our writing.
Rather than trying to fit writing around everything else, we can look honestly at our actual lives - not the lives we think we should have - and find where writing can naturally fit. Can you create a dedicated space in your home for writing? Can you carve out dedicated time? Take yourself on an artist date once a week, or once a month? If you're called to write, you'll feel so much better for giving yourself the time to do it. It's putting on your own oxygen mask on first. This isn't a luxury - it’s wellbeing.
We can embrace our natural cycles of productivity and rest.
Nature moves in seasons. Your body moves in cycles. Your creative practice will have it’s productive and slow times, too. This isn't failure - it's being human.
We can know ourselves honestly - and lean into what works.
To find what works best, we need to understand how we actually work. Do you write best alone in silence, or in a bustling cafe? First thing in the morning or late at night? In 10-minute pockets or full-day stretches? There's no right answer - only what's true for you. And this, too: accountability helps. Community helps. Even just telling someone you trust about your writing and your goals makes it all more real.
What Emerged from the Session
By the end of this little workshop, each writer had:
Their dream writing life articulated in detail
An honest assessment of where they are now
Three concrete actions they could take that week to move towards that dream
We also spoke out loud our goals for this weekend, and for what we hoped to achieve six months from now. I invited everyone to pick up their phones (only for this moment!) to put a reminder in their calendars: in exactly six months, let us all know how you’re going with this goal. As an extension challenge, I invited them to share their goals with someone else, or even post them online.
Keep Building the Bridge
Here’s what I've learned from doing this exercise repeatedly: your ideal writing practice is deeply individual, and ever-evolving. What works for me won’t work for you. What worked last year might not be what you dram of now. But this remains constant:
knowing yourself helps you set you up for success,
and your stories deserve to exist.
That weekend at the mountain cabin, short stories found beginnings. Outlines took shape. Chapters moved forward. Edits finally happened. Creative sparks were rediscovered. But more than that, ten writers (including me) gave themselves permission - to dream, to write whatever flowed, to rest as much as they needed. (Note: Reading, sitting, feeding birds, walking along a river, sharing meals and talking about ideas - these are all part of the writing process, too!) Each of us, writing words and building bridges.
Remember - you don’t have to build alone.
At Words of a Feather, we offer spaces to support your practice: writing retreats and writing days for dedicated time, workshops and mentoring for feedback and skill-building, Story Soirées and Flash Fiction Competitions for community and creative prompts, annual anthologies to work toward. Even following along through our newsletter and social media connects you to other writers doing the work, following their creative hearts.
Of course, community doesn’t have to look like us! Find your people wherever they are - a local writing group, an online forum, a friend who’ll meet you at a café once a week to write side by side. The important thing is that - if it helps - you’re not carrying this alone.
If you’re not in Melbourne and want support creating your own writing community, reach out - we'd love to help you make it happen, or perhaps even bring WOAF to you for a workshop or event!
Try this exercise yourself
Close your eyes. Imagine your ideal writing life. Be specific. Then open your eyes and write it down.
What does reality look like right now? Be honest - write that down too.
Have a look at both your answers above. What are three things you can do this week to build the bridge from where you are now, to where you want to be?
Go ahead and put them in your calendar. Your writing is waiting for you :)
Amy Han is a Melbourne-based writer and the founder of Words of a Feather. You can read more about her here.
More photos & a video from our October 2025 Writers’ Retreat
