WritingSpirit Resources

Taos Writer's Spa 2008

Jennifer Louden & Suzanne Falter-Barns
July 26 - August 1, 2008
Taos, New Mexico

The Taos Writer's Spa is a week-long workshop designed for serious beginners and professional writers who want to rekindle the spark in their writing, dig deeper into their creative process, and make a whole new commitment to their work. It's also for any busy, working writers who wish time to rest, juice their creativity, and get a new perspective on their work. The Writer's Spa is even for those with a creative vision of any kind that needs a shot of mojo.

Spend the week with Jennifer Louden, coach and author of five books, including the bestseller The Woman's Comfort Book, and Suzanne Falter-Barns, novelist and author of the creativity classic, How Much Joy Can You Stand? Together, they'll provide supportive coaching, in a structured, non-competitive, beautiful retreat environment.

More than just a writer's retreat or workshop, this is a spa, a place to relax, and unwind with your writing. Let Jennifer and Suzanne help you renew and nurture your writerly self -- and that helps you claim your full emotional power as a writer.

Squaw Valley Writers Workshops

The Squaw Valley Writers Workshops
Squaw Valley, CA

Poetry Workshop
July 19-26, 2008

The Poetry Program is founded on the belief that when poets gather in a community to write new poems, each poet may well break through old habits and write something stronger and truer than before.  To help this happen we work together to create an atmosphere in which everyone might feel free to try anything. In the mornings we meet in workshops to read to each other the work of the previous twenty-four hours; each participant also has an opportunity to work with each staff poet. In the late afternoons we gather for a conversation about some aspect of craft. On several late afternoons staff poets hold brief individual conferences.

Writers Workshop
August 2-9, 2008

These workshops assist serious writers by exploring the art and craft as well as the business of writing. The week offers daily morning workshops, craft lectures, panel discussions on editing and publishing, staff readings, as well as brief individual conferences. The morning workshops are led by staff writer-teachers, editors, or agents. There are separate morning workshops for Fiction and Narrative Nonfiction/Memoir.  In addition to their workshop manuscript, participants may have a second manuscript read by a staff member who meets with them in an individual conference.

Screenwriting Workshop
August 2-9, 2008

The Screenwriting Program is an intensive weeklong program which focuses on individual attention and work-in-progress, by award-winning writers and writer/directors. Film clips, lectures and writing exercises are incorporated into daily workshops, emphasizing the grammar of film, story development, narrative point of view, and character analysis and scene structure. This unique program is designed for screenwriters and filmmakers, as well as fiction writers and playwrights who wish to translate their work into the film medium. Our goal is to assist writers to improve their craft and thus move them closer for publication or production. 

    

2008 Fiji Writers Retreat

Fiji Writers Retreat
March 30 - April 6, 2008
Sigatoka, Fiji Islands

Experience an unforgettable, life changing week in Fiji being mentored by a faculty of blockbuster authors and a seasoned screenwriter/producer who are also master teachers dedicated to helping you become the best writer you can be.

7 days of intimate, hands-on, one-on-one tutoring honing your writing and developing your craft. Your work will be critiqued before you get there, so you can start working on your book as soon as you arrive.

Faculty includes:

• Jacquelyn Mitchard (The Deep End of the Ocean, A Theory of Relativity)
• James Rollins (Judas Strain, Subterranean, Excavation)
• Steve Berry (The Amber Room, The Romanov Prophecy)
• David A. Fryxell (Former editor-in-chief of Writer's Digest Magazine & Books)
• Sam Horn (Tongue Fu!, Conzentrate, What's Holding You Back?)
• Michael Palmieri (Has taught screenwriting at USC, UCLA, and the AFI)

This is put on by the same organization that runs the Annual Maui Writers Conference and Retreat.

The 2008 Glen Workshop

The Glen Workshop
The Artist and the City
July 27 - August 3, 2008
Santa Fe, NM

The Glen Workshop combines an intensive learning experience with a lively festival of the arts. Each participant selects either a workshop or the retreat option. Workshops are held concurrently each morning. Afternoons and evenings feature readings, lectures, and concerts. Each day will conclude with a worship service incorporating the arts.

Classes at The Glen are led by nationally known authors     and artists. Small class sizes allow the faculty to give close attention to     each participant—whether he or she is a beginner or well advanced in his     or her craft. The Glen is also an illuminating conference on the relationship     between art and religious faith, where participants practice and strengthen     their craft and vision in community. The theme for the week, "The Artist and the City," will provide a focal point for discussion.

How to Write a Memoir

How to Write a Memoir
Abigail Thomas
March 1-8, 2008
Horquetas de Sarapiqui, Costa Rica

Many of us long to write our memoir, but have no idea where to start. Or, if we have begun, we often become self-conscious of our work. Abigail Thomas helps us craft our memoir, step-by-step, whether we are an experienced writer or a beginner.

During the week, we explore the many forms a memoir can take, and our reasons for wanting to write one. We write at every session, using a number of exercises to get our words and ideas flowing. By the end of the week, each of us will have a direction, a sense of structure, and a larder full of material for our own memoir.

Abigail Thomas is the author of two memoirs, Safekeeping and A Three Dog Life, about which Stephen King said: "The best memoir I've ever read. This book is a punch to the heart." She has also written two collections of stories and a novel. Thomas teaches creative writing at the New School in New York City. www.abigailthomas.net

Writing Intensive with Deena Metzger

Writing Intensive with Deena Metzger
Pine Mountain, CA (Los Angeles area)
May 24-30, 2008

This workshop is for a small group of people who will gather to devote themselves to their work, that is to the work. The structure of the week will include directed writing, reading to each other, dream telling, meditation, silence, solitude, teaching, questioning, daring, ritual, ceremony....

Writing is a sacred act of conscience because the writer has been given the gift — stories, insight, vision, images and words — on behalf of the community. In accepting and using these gifts, the writer has profound responsibilities to herself, community, and Spirit; she must proceed with consciousness and ethical reflection because writing creates culture. Words are sacred: what we say, how we say it, to whom we speak, these are urgent considerations. We cannot be innocent or shy about our gifts and wisdom and must step forward to meet the urgencies of this time if we are to help create the kind of world we truly wish to live in, if we are to imagine a Story with a future.

This is a retreat for serious and experienced writers, both men and women. The work is difficult, arduous, often risky, engaging, beautiful and thrilling. Though you will be guided, it is expected that you are also self-motivated and will come prepared to devote yourself to what concerns and fascinates you, to what is calling to be written, particularly in these times. We will work in prose, but the workshop lends itself to writing in any form, fiction and non-fiction, prose and poetry.

Deena Metzger's Website

Writing Retreats in Mallorca, Spain

Writing & Knowing
Dorianne Laux and Joseph Millar
April 12-19, 2008

During our week in April the key word to remember is pleasure. Pleasure in the music of language, delight in the beauty of form and the mystery of images, a deep satisfaction in simplicity and structure and the joy of storytelling-- this is what captured us when we came to literature and what makes us want to create it for ourselves and others.

But first we must have a subject and so will explore themes such as The Literature of Place, The Family: Inspiration and Obstacle and Writing the Erotic. We will also read models by contemporary American writers.


Writing Between Life and Fiction
Pam Houston
April 19-26, 2008

Pam Houston’s goal as workshop leader is to create an environment where beginning and seasoned writers become excited about taking both stylistic and emotional risks with their work. She believes that allowing the physical landscape of a story to stand in and represent our emotional landscapes is the most essential craft, the real artistry of fiction.

The workshop will begin with exercises that set the theme for the week: the way we take details from the physical world that resonate for us and translate them into words and paragraphs that will help us access the beautiful and frightening stories we have to tell. Workshop participants will learn to trust the way the physical world gives us the tools (and, incidentally, the courage) to tell our most profound truths, and to write stories that will move our readers by activating not just their minds but their senses.


Writing for Our Lives
Ellen Bass
May 3-10, 2008

The philosophy behind this workshop experience is best expressed by Martha Graham who said, 'There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action. And because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium, and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.'

This workshop will help keep the channels open. It will be an inspiring environment in which to share your life and work, your support, your creativity. In our busy lives, many of us find that there isn’t as much time for writing as we long for. This week will be an opportunity to delve into your writing without distractions or interruptions, to nurture the creative voice. There will be ample time for writing and time for sharing and response, hearing what your work touches in others. You'll help each other to become clearer, go deeper, express your feelings and ideas more powerfully.

From beginners to experienced, all writers are welcomed. Whether you are interested in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or journal writing, this workshop will provide an opportunity to explore and expand your world.

Sanctuary: Exploring Self Through Writing and Art
Sharon Bray and Heidi Darr-Hope
May 24-31, 2008

To create a sanctuary for authentic self-expression is to engage creatively in a search for meaning. Whether you express yourself through words, music, dance or images, your mind, body, and soul merge, and you experience a unique way to connect with the unseen spiritual forces that guide and support your life.

In this week long retreat, you will explore your individual spiritual journey by combining creative writing with visual images created through various mixed media techniques. As you unite and interweave your writing with your art, your own personal icons emerge
as a unique testament to the profound mystery of life and creative expression.

John Kremer's Book Marketing Blast-Off Seminar

December 7-9, 2007
Marina del Rey, CA

The author of "1001 Ways To Market Your Books" will share with you:

• The seven secrets of success in book marketing.
• Your 5 basic distribution options, with their  strengths and weaknesses.
• How to create a national bestseller without breaking  the bank.
• How to use new technologies to promote and sell your books. Learn how to sell books via your website, Web 2.0, blogs, podcasts, ezines, wikis, and more!
• How to book yourself on local radio shows that  you can appear on from the comfort of your home!
• How to get on Oprah, Amanda Lewis, Montel  Williams, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and  other national TV shows.
• How to sell rights to your books--mass-market  paperbacks, book clubs, foreign rights, serial, multi-media, and other rights.
• How to sell quantities of books to mail order  catalogs, premium buyers, and other special markets.
• How to use the 5x5 Matrix  Marketing System™ to sell more books!
• How to discover and  implement the best marketing strategies for YOUR  book.

I attended one of John's weekends and it was great! This is especially helpful for self-published authors and small publishing companies.

John Kremer's Book Marketing Blast-Off Seminar

The Jewish Writing Institute

A place to develop your writing without compromising your beliefs.
A place to challenge your mind without neglecting your soul.

The Jewish Writing Institute is dedicated to teaching writing skills to improve an individual's ability to communicate effectively, develop outlets for self expression, foster self discovery and intensify one's Jewish and spiritual identity. This is done in a protected environment, sheltered from the detrimental influences of modern society

The Jewish Writing Institute

Writing & Creativity Retreats

A Journey Into the Imagination
Emily Hanlon
Litchfield, Connecticut
May 2-4, 2008

This workshop will concentrate on welcoming the unknown into your writing. You will go on a magical mystery tour to find and embrace new characters and to deepen your relationship to characters who already may people your stories.

• We’ll use the "what ifs" and "what happens nexts" of story telling and other techniques of the short story, novel and fictionalized non-fiction.

• You will explore your creativity through guided imagery, interviewing characters and other techniques Emily has developed to further your stories and access your creative passion.

• Critiquing is always supportive and inspires you to go deeper and take the risks passionate writing demands.

Women, Creativity and the Journey of the Soul
Emily Hanlon
Florence, Italy
September 5-15, 2008

The Feminine is an energy within both women and men. It is our inner knowing. It is the stillness that allows us to wait, to let all manner of things that are yet hidden be born in their own time. It is intuition. The Masculine, on the other hand, is outer world action, evaluation and judgment. It is rational thought. We need balance between the Feminine and the Masculine to be fully functioning human beings.

To the detriment of all beings and the Earth itself, this balance is dangerously skewed in modern society. Albert Einstein put it this way: "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."

The retreat in Tuscany will reclaim the gift of the Feminine in all her aspects. The integrated Feminine is serene and wild. She is playful and erotic. She is passionate and compassionate. She is the Triple Goddess of Maiden, Mother and Crone. She is Warrior and Wild Woman. She gives life, takes life and promises rebirth. Her energy is the source of an impassioned life. She is Woman Unto Herself.

• What parts of the Feminine are already yours?

• What parts do you need to embrace?

• What parts of your true self are waiting to be born?

• What parts of Woman Unto Herself frightens you?

• What parts delight you?

This birthing is the journey we'll take in Tuscany. Through a variety of means including writing, ritual, myth, sharing and meditation, we will explore and embrace the integrated Feminine, the experience of Woman Unto Herself.