Picture this: it’s the summer of 1816 and a group of friends are hanging out in a villa in Switzerland.
Earlier that year, Mount Tambora in Indonesia had erupted, plunging much of Europe into a cold and dark summer. Forced indoors by the resulting unseasonably wet and gloomy weather, the group sat around reading ghost stories.
Inspired by the stories—and being writers themselves—they decided to take on the challenge of writing supernatural tales of their own.
One of the writers, an 18-year-old woman named Mary, decided her story would explore the possibility of reanimating a corpse through scientific means.
Two years later, she published the story she started writing in that villa.
It was called Frankenstein.
Blending Gothic horror with recently emerging scientific exploration, Mary Shelley created what is widely regarded as the first true science fiction novel.
Today, Frankenstein remains one of the most influential works of literature, and its creation happened at a writing retreat, where Mary Shelley, her future husband Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron (mad, bad, and dangerous to know) challenged themselves to create something unique.
You see, that’s what happens when writers come together, isolate themselves from the world’s distractions, and support one another in their creative efforts.
If Mary and Percy had never visited their friend in Switzerland, or if the weather in Europe had been better that summer, Frankenstein might never have been written.
What is your Frankenstein?
What book could you write if only you had the time to do it, the location to make it happen, and the support to get it started and keep going?
Want to find out?
Kimberley Grabas and I are hosting the Ink and Impact Writers’ Retreat next January so that you can make it a reality.
At the retreat, the attendees will do the same thing writers have been doing since 1816: get away from the distractions of everyday life, isolate themselves in a relaxing and creatively supportive environment, and make major progress on their manuscripts and author businesses.
We would love for you to join us in writing your Frankenstein.
