Interested in a writing residency or retreat but worried your application to MacDowell will end up in the slush pile? If what you’re after is quality writing time and connections with other writers, go for function rather than prestige. Plenty of writing retreats and residencies offer quiet space in idyllic settings, sometimes with reduced or subsidized costs based on need. Some require engagement with the community, either through a workshop, a reading or a visit to a school. What are you looking for? Do you simply need some silent time—away from kids, spouses, pets, bosses, TV? Or are you looking for some guided writing support? An adventure? As a fiction writer I’ve often sought out places where I could clear my head, recalibrate my writing, and spend some serious focused time honing my work. I’ve been to three different kinds of writing retreats. What you’ll discover if you attend more than one retreat is that none are exactly alike—just like artists and writers, they each have their own personalities, quirks and style. There’s one for you. (1) Completely independent. Generally, at retreats and residencies like these, you pay your money, get a place to stay, and they leave you alone. Centrum in Port Townsend, Washington, is one example. It offers residencies for writers and artists at a weekly cost of $400, which includes a heated cabin with a full kitchen. Centrum has a simple application form and acceptance is mainly based on space availability. It encourages but doesn’t require community…
Sometimes you just know when something is right. A combination of factors led me to sign up for my first writing retreat and it started with an email from a classmate of mine. Launched by Dulcie Witman and Regina Tingle, both MFA graduates of Goddard College, the retreat Wide Open Writing brings together creative people at a farmhouse in Tuscany. It was easy to say… [Read More]
Filed Under: Dulcie Witman, Goddard College, Regina Tingle, Tuscany, Wide Open Writing
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Elaine Mansfield is the author of Leaning Into Love: A Spiritual Journey Through Grief (Larson, 2014). Gold Medal Winner of the Independent Publisher Book Award 2015, her memoir captures your heart—from the extraordinary closeness of Elaine’s marriage to how she and Vic transformed their struggle with cancer and despair into a conscious relationship with mortality. After Vic’s death, Elaine leaned into her ongoing love as… [Read More]
Pantser or plotter? Do you write by the seat of the pants or from an outline? You need to do both. Here’s why. The process of writing a book manuscript requires both kinds of writing. Intense periods of writing uninterrupted in a generative flow experience and critical reflection on the narration as narrative. After some time and distance between you and your copy has passed,… [Read More]
The launch of Green Bay author Melissa Gorzelanczyk’s debut Young Adult novel ARROWS (Delacorte Press, 2016) is one example of how social media can play an important role in author success. Melissa’s novel ARROWS is a modern cupid story set in present-day Wisconsin combining the fantastical elements of Greek mythology with the contemporary drama of MTV’s Teen Mom,” according to Melissa’s website. Her novel also has… [Read More]
I drive my 87-year old father to his memoir writing group every other week, where he meets with 8-10 peers to discuss short vignettes they have written. Each of them takes a turn having their piece of writing “critiqued” by the others. He’s been in this group for seven or eight years, and has written more than 117 stories about his life. I usually wait… [Read More]
Filed Under: constructive criticism, feedback, introvert, memoir workshop, shy, Writing group, Zee Zahava