To see dates for Retreats and Intensives this year please click on the link on the Calendar page
Which type of Writing Retreat is right for you?
Sometimes is seems like everything in our daily lives can get in the way of our writing time. Work, play, family, travel, and a million other things can conspire to push our reading, writing and editing time further and further away. So occasionally we need to step out of our daily lives and make a specific, immersive, dedicated time to focus on our work. Writing retreats are gifts writers give themselves, investments in moving their writing work and their projects forward. So for writers who are looking for a serious jump-start, a writing experience that is more intensive than just a class, a Writing Retreat might be just what you need. These retreats are a chance to step away from your busy life and to settle down and focus exclusively on your writing for a long weekend, a week or 10 days.
We offer three different types of Writing Retreats:
Annual Writing Retreats
Annual retreats are taught in the heart of some of the Guild’s strongest communities, all retreats are open to any interested writer.
The Annual 4-Day November Writing Weekend Intensive is a small 4-day weekend class that will be taught online, centered around a compelling theme, different each year. Tuition is $450
The Annual 4-Day January Writing Projects Intensive is held online and is designed to get your new year started with a strong and organized leap into your writing life. As the new year begins it’s a great time to take a deep breath and pull that on-going writing project or idea back up onto your desk and dig in. Let’s make this the year you bring it to life!! Tuition is $450
The Annual 10-Day Writing Projects Retreat is the highlight of our teaching year. It is taught online and is held in June, in two different 10-day sessions. This retreat is for writers with a current writing project or idea. What if you had 10 days just to focus on your writing? We will meet together in small groups once a day to talk and strategize about the work that needs to be done. Together we will discuss your project and come up with a work-plan customized for each student. Every other evening we will hold a Salon to hear some of your work-in-progress. Tuition includes daily classes, salons and two private sessions with Max to discuss your project in-depth. By the end of the week each project should be more structured and well underway. Two different Retreat sessions are offered in June, and each session is a separate event with its own roster and curriculum. For writers who want a whole month of writing (“marathoners”) Max builds specific month-long curriculum and community. Tuition is $1500 for each session and registration is limited.
Private Writing Retreats
Ever wished that you and your writing friends could just step away from your regular lives and have a private class retreat, one totally customized to meet your specific needs and projects as writers? Private Writing Retreats are held in any location you choose, where would you like to write? Curriculum is built based on your individual needs and Max helps to plan and support the retreat; to teach daily sessions, edit your work and move your individual writing craft forward. What would you like to build, develop or study? Mystery novels? Memoir? Poetry? Literary fiction? Short stories? Retreat lengths and tuition varies, depending on the scope of each retreat.
Solo Writing Retreats
Sometimes groups and classes are not what you need as a writer. If what you really need is simply to step out of your day to day life and focus down on your own work for an intensive, without distractions or other people, then a Solo Writing Retreat might be right for you. In a Solo Retreat the writer chooses a time frame, a destination and the specific writing work they would like to focus on. Max is not on the retreat with you, but he helps to set up the goals, writing exercises and structure of the retreat so that your time away is productive and relaxing. He also follows up with you when you return to see what you accomplished and what steps might come next. These retreats can be done anywhere in the world or in your own backyard. Tuition varies, depending on the scope of each Retreat.