Let's settle in together, here at the Writing Camp Fire:
My favorite part of my camp experience was always the Campfire at the end of the day.
Darkness descends, dinner has ended and a hush filters through Camp. Everything somehow becomes calm yet there is also a certain electricity that flickers through the air.
We may be remembering horseback riding or that swimming session gone bad: I was so afraid to dive, headfirst. Exposing my brain like that, even though logically I knew it was safe there was something that always kept me from trusting enough to dive head first.
Perhaps the hush came from the recent remembrance of a hike, difficult yet satisfying.
Or maybe it was a conversation with a counselor or a new friend on that hike or the singing of songs on or after the hike that were the grist of our thought as the sacred evening quiet became the sacred evening quiet Campfire.
We gathered there and stared into the light in the center of the darkness, our friend’s faces illuminated and glowing, no matter what the skin color might be. By the Campfire, everyone was automatically beautiful. Beside the Campfire we all sang beautifully, we all treasured each other’s viewpoint, we all suddenly and spontaneously “got” what we hadn’t gotten in the past.
We sang songs in round: I remember one that went like this:
Rose, rose, rose, rose
Will I ever see thee wed
I will marry at thy will,
Sire at thy will…
Which I never understood until now it was two voices, a conversation.
That’s what Campfire always was for me: a Conversation
I hear this a lot: Writers have a desire to write in community, but they are tired of groups that are either too critique heavy or groups that lose focus because they aren’t organized or facilitated well.
Maybe you are like many other writing campers who you been looking for a committed writing group whose purpose goes beyond word counts or submission numbers: while we recognize these are important, we know there are many writers who are also looking for a community of writers that is also passionately committed to bringing elements of adventure and child-like exuberance into the experience.
Writing Camp is this and more.
Bring your writing projects (or your wishes/plans/hopes) for projects and settle into a week of intense inspiration, enlivening discussion and passionate creativity which will give your writing exactly the boost it needs to take it to where you (and the writing itself) desires to go.
Imagine receiving buckets, no - make that boatloads - of inspiration, fresh insights and ideas to plug into your current project or your writing-project-waiting-to-be.
This week long experience of Writing Camp will be dense with material - super dense - so that you may pick and choose what fits for you and above all, WRITE, write, Write!
We will use writing exercises and writing prompts to get your juices flowing.
We will set goals and intentions - and do some camp/retreat style rituals around those goals and intentions.
I will not tell you what to write or what precisely to work on - although I will be glad to coach you around this. If you want to book a coaching session during camp and a follow up, I will have special rates for campers for that service.
How Writing Camp works:
Every day we will an hour long campfire writing session on our conference call line to provide you with a combination of inspiration, writing instruction along with sharing and discussion. You will be working on individual projects throughout the day and reporting about the projects at our daily campfire.
Yes, these are not "in person" campfires these are VIRTUAL campfires.
We don’t meet face to face in a nature setting, we meet via a telephone bridge line for our “Campfires” and communicate in between Campfire sessions via email and/or social networking. At the Campfire time, each Writing Camper dials the same telephone number and we are connected voice-to-voice.
When people first come to this form of Writing Camp, they are curious and unsure, perhaps, how this works. What we have found repeatedly is the connection becomes so deep and profound that we “don’t even need skin” to clearly see and understand one another.
I like to think of it as gathering around the fire of our hearts, each heart in our circle reaching to the other hearts in our circle. We fall in love with each other via the Writing Camp fire and deepen our love for words, even though there is no “in person” connection.
It is nothing short of remarkable.
** Note: we also have live sessions which I usually schedule according to interest from Campers and my travel schedule. All you need to do is let me know what you want and then… I work/play to make it happen.**
If you are not able to attend live camp-fire sessions, each Campfire session will be recorded and uploaded before the day is over onto our Writing Camp blog so that you may participate according to your schedule.
Yes, Writing Camp is individualized. We work to make it work for you as best we can. Spreading Word-love is one of our primary reasons for being here, after all ~
You may have hit a wall with your writing project and intuitively know that through changing the way you approach your writing will move your writing back into forward motion.
- Writing exercises to teach word flow so that more words will be born, more stories told, more marketing materials, more awakening and you’ll feel better.
- Be a more confident writer so that your words will be more likely to get published AND READ.
- Balanced exercises between left and right brain: Organizational, list, outline format plus mindmapping, using visuals as well as language.
- We use nature metaphors and “Camp” metaphors which keep this very serious to many of us, topic fun.
- Plentiful Visualization exercises you may continue to use later to fuel other writing experiences.
- Tools to use later so that Writing Camp lasts longer than “a week at camp”.
- Community creation to increase self confidence.
- You don’t need insect repellant or travel to have a retreat/camp experience.
- It’s year round!
- Write in a community of like minds, hearts, souls.
- Discover how to communicate even more clearly.
- Express yourself well, effectively so that people will hear you.
- Learn tools to becoming more succinct with your writing.
- Practice ways to improve your writing.
- Get consistently better and better and better.
- Receive validation for what you are doing well in addition to encouragement to improve the writing which works less well.
- Receive permission to play with words, to write and erase words, to be childlike yet fully grounded in adulthood with your words.
Who is best suited to attend this unique, Writing Intensive Program?
* People who need an extra bit of oomph to complete or move forward on a writing project.
* People who are experiencing blocks with writing.
* People who want to write more than they are currently writing but can’t seem to get the impetus to put the pen to the page.
* People who want to hang out with other cool people and think a Writing Intensive Program sounds like an intriguing way to do exactly that.
* People who have a long standing love affair with words and think this would be a great way to keep that love alive.
* People who would enjoy having a love affair with words and haven’t yet figured out a way to romance words.
* Artists of any kind who would like to add more writing to their artistic strengths.
* People who are curious about having a Camp over the telephone from anywhere in the world!
I want to support you in your writing endeavors, I want you to have lasting writing breakthroughs that you will find satisfying.
Discover how to "Show rather than tell" with your writing: an essential skill for a successful writing career.
Learn 7 effective tools for sensory writing so smooth your readers won't even notice how well you are writing.
See for yourself how fiction writing skills will help you in Non-Fiction writing, too.
Write in a Community of Like Minded, Souled and Deeply Caring Writers.
PLUS there will be more individualized lessons, depending upon what this sessions writing campers bring to the fire ~
~ ~ ~ ~
Please join us for Writing Intensive Camp, a week-long session of Writing in Community.
March Writing Camp: Living, Loving and Writing the Paradox
March 12 - 16 Register Now -
5 powerful days to change your writing experiences forever
for only $49.Virtually unheard of low pricing.
