Writing Bootcamps/Retreats

What do you mean by "writing retreat/boot camp"? Could you give me the name of a typical program?

I take it this is something other than getting a motel room for a week with nothing but your typewriter to keep you company?

James D. Macdonald said:

What do you mean by "writing retreat/boot camp"? Could you give me the name of a typical program?

I take it this is something other than getting a motel room for a week with nothing but your typewriter to keep you company?

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It's where a bunch of writers get together to write/share their writing. It can be either informal or run like a seminar/workshop deal. As far as I know, at least. I've heard of them, but I've never attended. From what I was told about one from a friend, it's writers hanging out in wood cabins without showers for a few days.

I understand they're basically workshopping/critiquing seminars.

I've never attended one, but I can see why they might be beneficial if you tend to learn best in a classroom-type setting. Fortunately for me, I've found that I tend to learn best by having other people rip into my crap and yell at me to fix it. Email rules!

But if you find the most useful learning experience for you is the structured approach, you'd probably love a retreat or extended workshop. There are a lot of very good ones to choose from, many of them sequestered by genre.

Really research before you fork over any money and commit. I've heard that the results of some infamous workshops are either huge success as a kickass full-time writer, OR you never write again because the experience breaks you into itty-bitty pieces and you fear keyboards for the rest of your mortal life. (Or so say the graduates of Clarion and Clarion West....)

Libbie said:

I've found that I tend to learn best by having other people rip into my crap and yell at me to fix it.

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Agreed. Being hit over the head with a rolled up copy of the crap I've written also works.

I'd like to suggest Writers' Weekend as a way to break in to the whole writing retreat thing: www.WritersWeekend.com

We don't run it as a business, it's more like a group of friends who get together and host a couple of writer gurus. We do workshop Clarion-style, from Thursday evening to Sunday morning. We split the costs of the speakers' rooms and the food, but you have to get your own hotel room. It's held on the Washington coast next July 22-25.

Anyone is welcome -- just email me if you want more details. Quite a few of the people who attend are already published writers, so it's a great networking opportunity.

My answer is - it depends.

I've gone about 4 times to an annual 3.5 day (long weekend) writer's camp Up North in my state, run very well by the state university with the MFA program, and it has always been a good experience for me.

But that said:

Pro - 100% focus on writing and revision, and all time is around other writers; at the camp food and lodgings are provided, leaving more time for writing; the mental boost I get from being in a pro-writing, writing -intensive atmosphere (I've had great ideas by the bushel fall and hit me on the head, likely because I was in a place where that was a GOOD thing and was also not at work, where I am 99% of the time).

Cons - any programming was only as good as the writers involved, so at this place, it was MFA/academics heavy, a bit snobby, anti-genre, and most of the feedback I got was just OK (from people who wanted me to write "their" way (not "my way but better"), or didn't read anything outside of their genre, and a few weirdos there for a vacation who didn't read or write at all).

In summary it sounds like the change of setting and 24/7 focus on "writing is good" were the best parts of this for me, and much of that comes from simply not being in my day job office (which long ago ate my life).

I attended the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts, fiction section, which is basically a 2 week writing retreat, but that's for high school students only. The usefulness depends somewhat whether you want to write a novel or short stories. A workshop or retreat can do quite well at shepherding people through creating a short story, but it's not really a good format for dealing with the novel unless you have a finished novel manuscript and want to improve it, rather than wanting to write new material during the course.

For novels I prefer a club or online group which meets every week. But, I've had no success trying to start a novel writing course with this format locally. Got no interest at all.