Writing Retreats and Workshops: Star Island, NH

Writing workshops and retreats are a great way for writers, who normally have a rather solitary work experience in front of their computers and blank journals, to meet with other like-minded souls. It gives you the opportunity to share your creative process (and various drafts that you are itching to have someone else read). Solitude is a pre-requisite for a writer, if you want to actually get any writing done, but venturing out into the world and hearing what others have put down on the page can be a wonderful way to share the joy of this artform.

While lliving on Martha's Vineyard, I was a member of The Winter Writers Series at The Featherstone Meeting House for the Arts. It ran from October until March, and I think it only cost $35 at the time. We met once a week, had guest speakers (published writers who encouraged us and shared pearls of wisdom), read from our own work and gave support/feedback to each other. It was inspiring to listen to other writers read their words, carefully crafted and lovingly typed. We all had this shared bond of pride in our work. It was thrilling to think that we all had a future. We were cheering each other on every step of the way. One guest writer said to me: "You have found your inner compass". This statement stayed with me. Writers have the opportunity to make a difference in the life of another aspiring writer. One day, I need to seek out this particular wordsmith on Martha's Vineyard and say, "Thank you for helping me to believe in myself". The thank you is just as important as the compliment.

With this blog entry, I am joyously plugging a writing retreat that I am about to go on - The Star Island Retreat off the coast of NH.

Here is the website link to the retreat with all of the details:

http://www.witrhome.org/retreat.html


Happy writing and sharing to all!