Writers Retreat Workshop - different, and the same
If you are an aspiring novelist looking for in-depth feedback on your work as well as dedicated time for writing, this is the writing retreat for you.
Please join us as we work together to bring our dreams to fruition.
Please join us as we work together to bring our dreams to fruition.
The late, great Gary Provost
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Writers Retreat Workshop began in 1987 with Gary and Gail Provost at the helm. It started out as a two-week program, went to ten days, then eight, and occasionally a special five-day workshop.
When Gary died in 1995, Gail continued the workshop with Alice Orr teaching, and eventually former students such as Carol Dougherty, Lorin Oberweger, and Jason Sitzes took over the teaching and operations with Gail, bringing in outside authors, editors, and agents as well. After the May, 2017 workshop in San Antonio, Texas, Writers Retreat Workshop moved under the umbrella of Carol's Wake Up and Write WRW. Now both workshops operate under the same leadership, with Carol as director and instructor, Jason as instructor, and both working with students. Arianne "Tex" Thompson joined the staff of Wake Up and Write WRW, and will also work at Writers Retreat Workshop. In May 2018, we journey to Boise, Idaho for a classic 10-day WRW - boot camp for writers. I hope you can join us! Carol Dougherty, Director |
Who will be there?
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David Corbett will be returning to join us in May. He taught and met with students at the 2016 WRW in San Antonio, and then came east for the inaugural Wake Up and Write WRW in Haverford, PA.
After his visit to San Antonio, David wrote, "I had a great time — really one of the best workshop experiences I’ve ever had, and I loved the students; great group." In Haverford, David did classes on character and plot, as well as a class on the film classic Chinatown. He also did a reading from his upcoming novel on Doc Holliday and met one-on-one with students to work on their manuscripts. |
David Corbett at Wake Up and Write WRW
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Michelle Johnson
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Tex
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Jason
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Doc
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Michelle Johnson of Inklings Literary Agency will also be returning to WRW. She was with us in May of 2016 in San Antonio, and spent a great deal of time reading pages and working one-on-one with students. She is looking forward to a return to the workshop in May.
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Jason, Tex, and Doc will all be there in Boise! Each of them will do some teaching, with Doc offering a daily writing practice session to help you delve deeply into character, Jason will do his interactive teaching magic with your work, and Tex will present more of her wizardry with words in a special class. All three will meet with students and run diagnostic groups, with plenty of additional action like Jason's Night Owl sessions.
There will be other guests, who will be announced as they are confirmed. |
What to expect
Come if you are at the very beginning of your first novel, with little more than an idea and a few scenes, and you're looking for some direction and a lot of encouragement.
Come if you have a complete manuscript and feel the need for some considered feedback, as well as suggestions for how to tackle your next draft.
Come if you are in the midst of your work-in-progress and feel as if you could use a few road signs to help you find your way to the destination.
Whether you are a proficient writer or a rookie at your first workshop, you can find the tools to assist you in your work, and a team of instructors who are present in order to share their knowledge and experience with you. We are all writers on the same path, pilgrims on the journey of our individual stories. This is not a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach to the craft of writing. Every instructor will share his or her understanding of what is effective for the various tasks involved in constructing a novel. You are ultimately the one who determines what will serve your vision, your characters, your book. The choice is yours.
Come if you have a complete manuscript and feel the need for some considered feedback, as well as suggestions for how to tackle your next draft.
Come if you are in the midst of your work-in-progress and feel as if you could use a few road signs to help you find your way to the destination.
Whether you are a proficient writer or a rookie at your first workshop, you can find the tools to assist you in your work, and a team of instructors who are present in order to share their knowledge and experience with you. We are all writers on the same path, pilgrims on the journey of our individual stories. This is not a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach to the craft of writing. Every instructor will share his or her understanding of what is effective for the various tasks involved in constructing a novel. You are ultimately the one who determines what will serve your vision, your characters, your book. The choice is yours.
What is included?
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Schedule and Activities
The daily schedule (most days): 8:00 am Breakfast 9:00 am Writing practice 9:45 am Class Noon Lunch 1-5 pm Writing time/one-on-one meetings/ special classes/diagnostic sessions 5-6 pm Informal gathering/shop talk 6 pm Dinner 7-9:30 pm Writing time/one-on-one meetings/ special classes This is not a final schedule. It is intended to give you some idea of how the days are laid out. There may also be optional Early Bird sessions in the dining room before breakfast, and Night Owl sessions after 9:30 pm. These will be announced at the workshop. Workshop curriculum
The original Writers Retreat Workshop curriculum developed by Gary Provost provides the basic structure for the workshop, including sessions on ideas, character, plotting, structure, tension, pace, description, dialogue, and more. At the same time, each instructor will bring his or her own flavor to the teaching, which offers students a variety of perspectives on these aspects of the craft.
Gary's 14-Step Process, taught on the final morning, takes you step-by-step through the entire process of starting, writing, and completing a novel. It provides a framework through which you can discover your own variations on the theme of telling a story. |
