Our Intention and Aspiration

The Wake Up and Write Writer’s Retreat Workshop is an offshoot of the original Writers Retreat Workshop, co-founded by Gary and Gail Provost in the 1980’s.

As one of the beneficiaries of Gary’s brilliant, funny, and generous teaching, as well as Gail’s insightful enthusiasm and support, I wanted to share with others what they shared with me. I was also fortunate to learn writing practice from Natalie Goldberg, and the experience of writing as a Zen practice brought an added dimension to my own work that I believe will also inform the work of other writers.

In May, 2018 I have the great pleasure of offering students the opportunity to study with David Corbett, the author of The Art of Character, Mercy of the Night, and additional works. David has worked with us before, and as one student said, "David was sensational!"

Grace Wynter aka author G.G. Wynter offered her love of marketing, her skills as a writer and book coach, and her sympathetic understanding to the May workshop. She, like David, is a regular contributor to the Writer Unboxed blog.

Lisa Abellera from Kimberley Cameron & Associates also joined us to meet with students, share her insights on the publishing world, and answer questions.

I hope that for every writer who attended the workshop, you were challenged, inspired, encouraged, and surprised by what you learned.  

Carol Dougherty (Doc), Director and Instructor
Also joining us was Lisa Abellera, literary agent with Kimberley Cameron & Associates. Lisa spent some time talking about the business side of the writing world, offer class/Q&A sessions, and met one-on-one with everyone.
Picture
Doc consulting with Gary Provost at her first WRW, October 1991
David Corbett (l), author of The Art of Character, Mercy of the Night, and many  others will be a Guest Instructor for the May 2018 workshop!
Grace Wynter (l) author of Free Falling, book coach, and marketing whiz was a Guest Instructor for the May 2018 Workshop.
100 WAYS GIVEN NEW LIFE!
WRW founder, the late Gary Provost's book,100 Ways to Improve Your Writing has just 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), 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. More details on publication date, cost, etc. when we have them...
"Your voice as a writer is the sum of all the choices you make."
                                                                                                                     Gary Provost
If you are unable to attend a workshop at this time, you can now purchase workshop materials, including video, audio, and written materials in digital form.

Learn from one of the most generous and funniest of teachers, Gary Provost, and benefit from the course and materials he painstakingly crafted from his own research and experience.