“There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you.”
—Zora Neale Hurston, Dust Tracks on a Road (1942)
You have a story. Not just any story, but the story, the one that aches to be told, that keeps you up at night or whispers during still moments. The one shaped by joy and pain, dreams and detours, ancestors, the babies we are nurturing now, and future generations. But that story, like a seed, needs the right conditions to grow.
Writing is not simply about sitting down at a laptop. It’s about retreating inward before reaching outward. It’s about entering your own mind, letting yourself and your imagination wander, giving yourself time to reflect and allowing what needs to be told to slowly take form. Then comes what can be the hardest part: finding the courage to release it.
Our lives as Black women are often saturated with doing, giving, and responding. To write, to truly write, we must claim space for ourselves. And we must protect it. Some of our greatest writers knew this.
Zora Neale Hurston penned Their Eyes Were Watching God, a literary masterpiece, while on a Guggenheim fellowship in Haiti. Surrounded by a landscape unlike the cityscape of Harlem where she resided, it took her a mere seven weeks to write the entire book.
Dr. Maya Angelou, on the other hand, needed a place that lacked distraction. In every town she lived, she rented a spartan hotel room where the walls were bare, and she brought only yellow legal pads, a Bible, sherry, and a thesaurus. “Pretty” was for her home. The work, the real soul work. needed a different kind of space.
And then there’s Toni Morrison. She told The Bryn Mawr Alumnae Bulletin in 1980 that she never went on writing retreats. “No, never,” she said. “I once went with a friend to the country, and we said we would just stay a week or two and write, and both of us brought back blank pieces of paper. I just looked at the deer, you know; nothing happened.” What worked for her was stealing time, early morning hours, before the world’s demands came crashing down.
The truth is, there is no one-size-fits-all formula. But here are five retreat spaces to explore when you’re ready to write your story, spaces that give you permission to center yourself and your voice:
A Room in Your Own Home
Sometimes, a small corner of your home can become sacred space. Wake up early or claim a late-night hour. Light a candle. Put your phone in the next room. What matters most is your intention. Create an atmosphere that says, “I am writing.” A robe and tea. Jazz or silence. A notebook or a laptop. And most importantly, grace. Let yourself write badly, beautifully, chaotically, truthfully.
A One-Day Retreat in Your City
Your city holds spaces where your story can stretch out. Maybe it’s a daylong writing session at a Black-owned cafe, a cozy corner of your local library, or a park bench with a view of trees. Consider booking an office at a coworking space or a small art studio. Even a few intentional hours away from your everyday rhythm can unlock something surprising.
Near the Water
There’s something about water that calls us. It is soothing and reflective. It invites us to release. Claim an island writing retreat – whether it’s your nearest waterway, a celebrated resort town like Martha’s Vineyard, or a hidden cove in the Caribbean. That place can offer the stillness to hear your own voice again.
When you’re near water, the pace of life shifts. There’s less noise, less demand and more you.
A Mountain Hideaway
For those who seek elevation, literally and spiritually, the mountains offer a unique kind of solitude. You feel small in the best way, humbled by the hugeness of it all. Rent a cabin, bring your favorite books, and unplug. Let the altitude lift your thinking.
A Forest or Woodland Retreat
Nature has its own rhythm. It’s slower than ours, but more certain. A weekend in the woods, whether at a writers’ retreat or a simple cabin tucked away, can usher your mind’s eye into a vivid memory. Here, your words aren’t rushed. They come like footsteps on a path one at a time toward clarity.
So whether you steal time at home like Toni, or disappear for a few weeks in a foreign place like Zora, or strip away the distractions that block your vision like Maya, give your story the space it requires to be born and to take flight.
