BLOSSOM: Spring Writing Retreat
A full day to renew your creativity and bring your stories to life.
Sunday, March 26th, 2023
10 am to 8 pm ET (Sessions will be recorded)
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Anais Nin
What are the stories inside you waiting to bloom?
Immerse yourself in a full day and evening of writing, inspiration, and community.
Enter a creative "vortex" where you'll experience a writing process to help you get into your writing flow.
This retreat is a perfect option for anyone craving creative focus, support, inspiration, and momentum. It's also for anyone wanting to generate fresh ideas or ready to polish something they've been working on.
Through a sequence of powerful prompts and practices, you will leave feeling renewed, recharged, and firmly on your writing path.
Recharge your creativity with the energy of spring!
Join Us!
Sunday, March 27th, 10 am to 8 pm ET
Pre-Retreat: Get my "How to Make the Most of your Retreat" guidebook. This will give you all the steps you need to create your own writing sanctuary, wherever you are.
The day is structured to help you enter and stay in your writing zone. It offers a hybrid of writing time together and on your own. It also includes essential breaks for reflection, daydreaming and integration, as well as opportunities for supportive feedback, revising, and sharing with the group.
Gain a powerful collection of tools and practices to help you feel enlivened, inspired, and centered.
Schedule
10:00 to 10:30 Welcome, introductions, approach, and overview.
10:30 to 12:00 A unique sequence of prompts and writing time that will help you uncover stories, find themes and threads and reawaken your creative self.
12:00 to 12:30 Experience a sensory in-the-field (or in your backyard) practice. Helps you tap into the world around you, wherever you are, and increase your descriptive writing skills. Share what you discovered on with the group.
12:30 to 1:00 Lunch then break for lunch.
1:00 to 1:30 Begin the "Deep Dive" writing prompt to generate fresh ideas for a new project or give an insightful boost to a project you’ve been working on.
1:30 to 4:00 Time on your own. Write. Research ideas. Revise. Rest. Walk.
4:00 to 5:00 Reconvene with the group to share discoveries about your writing path and process. Bring questions or stuck spots.
5:00 to 6:00 Have dinner. Stretch.
6:00 to 7:00 Experience the “Power Hour” where you use the momentum of the day to start and complete a fresh draft to share with the group.
7:00 to 8:00 Share writings. Define your “Next steps" work plan for your writing path. Celebrate the day.
For all levels of experience, from the perpetually curious to the seasoned pro.
If you want to bring the stories inside you to life, I have developed a framework for uncovering and developing powerful, evocative, and descriptive writings that can become songs, stories, novels, memoirs, and more.
Honed through decades of experience with my own creative work as a songwriter, creative mentor and keynote speaker. I know what it feels like to have stories you want to express, and I can help you find, craft, and deliver your ideas effectively.
My experience also includes working with groups and organizations across the country, including extensive work for the National Park Service, offering my "Sense of Place and the Art of Interpretation" training.
From creating CDs of original songs to developing multi-day training experiences, to teaching creative writing classes online, I have a full toolkit of proven practices and techniques I can’t wait to share with you!
This retreat is for you if:
- You could use fresh ideas and a new perspective.
- You thrive in a structured writing environment and write easily when surrounded by inspiration and support.
- You want to get unstuck, get started again and keep going.
- You want more tools to polish your writing or craft your ideas.
- You want to create writings that can become stories, essays, poems, songs, memoirs and more.
- You want to add more creativity in your personal or professional work.
Nourish your creativity and take your writing to the next level.
"I heartily recommend this class as a place to find your voice and improve and expand your skills. It is appropriate for those with vague goals as well as those with works in progress. Practice blending history, personal experience, theme and descriptions really led to some good solid pieces. Through Erica's focused individual guidance, we were each treated like writers instead of students.”
Beth Arrowsmith, Educator
"l had never taken another writing class, so this was a new experience. I had never thought of myself as a poet, but Erica stating that the rhythm of one of my pieces sounded like poetry opened my eyes. I valued the opportunity to do writing in class and was always surprised when short pieces I wrote turned out to be good!"
Andy Smith, Photographer and Ethicist http://shop.andysmithphotography.com
"I highly recommend Erica Wheeler and her writing classes! I have had a great deal of experience writing academic articles and chapters, which in turn meant I had little to no opportunities for descriptive or creative writing. I have not written this much or as easily in my 30+ years in academia. The classes are supportive and keep us actively writing, but also allow us to go at our own pace and take on as much or as little that meets our schedules.”
Jeanne Stanley, PhD, Psychologist and Graduate School Consultant http://www.watershedservices.biz
“Erica weaves an experiential program that brings stories, writers, and inspiration together around a Sense of Place that never fails to make my imagination leap. Her classes always deepen my connection with my current and past places, which drives me to further explore and find meaning in my attachment to places that I would never have considered writing about before." James McMenamin, Heritage Photographer
"You’ve given me a whole new way of thinking about place. living in a place where I really don’t feel connected, this process has really helped me come to terms with it, and how that’s okay. I can write about that."
Christina Campell, Professor and Knitting Blogger www.thehealthyknitter.com
"This group has inspired me in my writing over the past year and offered a sanctuary of inspiration. As an expert writing guide, Erica ensures that we all move forward on our unique writing journeys and don’t lose our way."
Sheila Harrigan, Executive Director
