The one you’ve tried to tell a dozen times, but it hasn’t come out right yet, or the one you keep returning to because it won’t leave you alone, or the one you’ve been afraid to tell, for whatever reason(s), but you know you must?
It’s time to write as if your life depended on it.
This retreat, led by Center director Stacia Fleegal, is for you if
- You have a clear idea of what you want to write about, a story that is pressing against your insides with an urgency you can no longer ignore;
- You have at least some experience, and feel at least moderately comfortable, giving and receiving strength-based, respectful, and substantive (i.e., beyond “I like this part”) feedback on writing in a group setting;
- You are ready to spend one full day writing in solitude, but also to meet as a group and privately with your teacher and build a tiny-but-mighty community;
- You want not just a retreat, but an experience of creative camaraderie and reverence for the emotional process of excavating and crafting a stubborn narrative.
We’ll start by email or phone before you arrive at the retreat, outlining the story you want to tell, identifying the unique challenges you’ve faced in getting it out, and collaborating on an immediate plan of action so you arrive ready to write.
The retreat itinerary will be a mix of group sessions Thursday and Saturday, a rigorous Friday-long writing marathon on your own, and a one-on-one private meeting with your retreat leader near the end of the long weekend. You’ll depart with a solid plan for revision and the continued support of your group by email for one last round of feedback the week after.
*NOTE: To ensure close personal attention tailored to your needs, enrollment is limited to five participants. Due to the close personal nature and atmosphere of this long weekend intensive writing retreat, we are at present offering it only to people who identify as women. *
Are you ready to open up to the story you were most meant to tell? Come write with us in beautiful, lakeside central Pennsylvania.
Begins with check-in starting 3:30 PM Thursday
Ends with 11 AM check-out Sunday, followed by group lunch
