L to R: Carol Dougherty, David Corbett, Donald Maass, Grace Wynter at Writer Unboxed Unconference November 2019
Writers Retreat Workshop/Wake Up and Write WRW
is on hiatus - for now there are no workshops scheduled.
Letter from Doc - January 2022
Hi everyone,
It's been quite a while since I updated this page, I've just now deleted the Facebook page, and yet I haven't deleted this website nor called it quits on WRW and the workshop. In one sense, how could I? It didn't start with me and many of us are still writing, if not going to workshops. As we head into the third year of the pandemic, I'm not sure we ever will get back to in-person workshops, even though ours were relatively small in scale. But I'd like to leave the door open, at least for now. I will soon send out an email to the mailing list that I have, and I will continue to keep an eye on this website. If you are looking for workshops to attend, I suggest checking out Free Expressions, run by Lorin Oberweger, WRW alum and staff for many years. She works with Donald Maass among others, and they are doing online work plus other options. I enjoy following the Writer Unboxed blog with Don, David Corbett, Grace Wynter and many others. I also do other online classes when I can, and while it's not the same as being with other writers, it can still be a great way to learn new things. I've done a few of poet David Whyte's 3-Sunday sessions, Masterclass courses with Doris Kearns Goodwin and Ron Howard (and many more I want to take), and I am in my fourth session with Madwomen in the Attic at Carlow University - all poetry sessions (though they do have fiction and non-fiction as well). I hope you are able to find things you enjoy and are taking care of yourselves. Take care, Doc 
Nushka and Doc, October 2019
Comments from past participants
Thank you! The workshop was a fantastic experience. I learned so much and enjoyed getting to know the participants and instructors, all intensely interesting and fine people...
I've done morning pages before with varying degrees of success; but with Carol's direction and exercises (writing practice), I came to a major realization about a character who was well on his way to becoming a stereotype. I also got the germ of a couple of scenes from those sessions... The readings, classes made all the difference for me...
I loved all of it but would have to say that I found the classes and the diagnostic sessions to be the most helpful in terms of learning about writing... My friend says any workshop/retreat/conference that offers one nugget of insight is worth its weight in gold. If so, the Writers Retreat Workshop made me a wealthy woman...
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L to R: Co-Founders of WRW - Gary and Gail, The Manuscript Doctor (Gary) at WRW graduation, Jason (former student, long-time director/instructor, and current instructor WRW, Doc (former student, instructor, current director/instructor WRW)
Doc consulting with Gary Provost at her first WRW, October 1991
Pictures from the July 2019 workshop in Boise
Donald Maass, Donald Maass Literary Agency, July 2019
Robin Burcell, NYT bestselling thriller author, July 2019
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100 WAYS GIVEN NEW LIFE!
WRW founder, the late Gary Provost's book,100 Ways to Improve Your Writing has been given new life by Penguin Random House in the form of an upcoming updated/revised edition. WRW co-founder, Gail Provost Stockwell has been working on this for years, and finally commissioned the revisions herself (done by WRW director, Carol Dougherty, Nushka, and PRH editor Tracy Bernstein), and Penguin Random House gave it the go-ahead. The original edition was published in 1985, long before laptops and tablets and the Internet we know today, and it's never been out of print. The book is out! Be sure to review it online - they need new reviews for the new edition. |
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"Your voice as a writer is the sum of all the choices you make."
Gary Provost
Gary Provost
