For writers who need a writing experience that is more intensive than a class and less extensive than a Writing Journey abroad, a Writing Retreat might be just what you need. We offer residential and non-residential retreats in Colorado, Maryland, Texas and other places in the states. These retreats are a chance to settle down and focus on your writing for a day, a long weekend or even for a couple of weeks. Current Upcoming Retreats include:

Boulder Projects Retreat

What if you had 10 whole days just to focus on your writing? We all have writing projects that end up “on the back burner” waiting for us to have a day off, a week’s vacation or an imagined “someday” during which we can pull out those files and notebooks, sit down, get organized and really get some writing done. This 10-day writing retreat is a chance to step out of your everyday lives and schedules, and dedicate some time to getting your writing project off the ground. Boulder is a beautiful little college town at the foot of the Rocky Mountains 30 miles northwest of Denver. Students will stay in local rental homes, hotels or cottages, all centered around the downtown area and the Pearl Street walking mall, full of shops, bookstores and places to write.

We will meet together as a group everyday to write, edit and strategize about the work that needs to be done. Together we will discuss our projects and come up with a work-plan customized for each student. We will meet in the mornings to set up the daily schedule, work on our own during the days and meet in the evenings to share our progress and read to one another from our on-going pages. By the end of the week each project should be more fully structured, developed and well underway, if not finished! This retreat is open to local students as well as those joining us from writing communities outside of Boulder. We welcome all your messy files, old journals, disorganized pages and wild ideas, no matter how tiny or gigantic. Join us and lets get some WORK done! See the current Boulder Projects Retreat flyer (PDF) for more information.

Colorado Writing Retreat at Shambhala Mountain Center

Max will be teaching a four-day retreat at the Shambhala Mountain Center in Redfeather Lakes, Colorado called The World Within / The World Without. In this four-day workshop for writers we will investigate the different worlds we inhabit.

As writers what do we draw upon to create our work? Our memories? Our imaginations? Our observations? What about the world outside of us, the piles of words in books, on billboards, spilling out of other people’s mouths? Together we will investigate all of these worlds, learning to tap the deep sources both inside and outside of us. The inner world of the writer includes memory, imagination, emotion, desire, longing, curiosity and dreams. The exterior world includes, collaboration, mythology, research, found words, text, objects, experiences and boundless opportunities for discovery and transformational seeing. We will experiment with various writing exercises methods that explore each of these sites, pulling elements and inspiration for the world without as well as the world within. We will write both inside and outside the classroom, discussing daily practice, the drafting process, the world of publishing and different ways of releasing work into the world. Open to all interested writers, regardless of level of experience.

For more info go to the Shambhala Mountain Center website or contact them by phone at: (888) STUPA-21 (M-F, 9am-5pm MT).

See the current SMC Retreat Flyer (PDF) for more information.