Sneak Away For A Day of Writing at This Year’s Writers Retreats

Laura Carew

Mark your calendars for your favorite morning-to-night writers retreat, coming to you in October and January!

Packed with like-minded writers, food, and an end-of-day live reading, the upcoming 12-Hour Writers Retreat is planned for Saturday, October 28. Tucked in the heart of downtown at Eau Claire’s very own Forage, host and writer-in-residence Nickolas Butler will lead participants through workshops and freewriting sessions. Registration opened on September 11, and spots filled quickly, but the live reading at 7 p.m. is free and open to the public—you’ll still be able to get a taste of the goings-on.

Don’t get too discouraged if you didn’t snag a spot for October’s retreat. We’ll be back on January 27 with YA author Nicole Kronzer hosting our winter retreat.

If you haven’t heard of this all-day event, or whether you’ve been on the fence about joining the fun, here’s your sign. We writers are constantly bogged down by the weight of everyday responsibilities—and that pesky thing called writer’s block—thus making it hard to schedule time for uninterrupted writing.

This is what our Writers Retreat is all about! When it feels impossible to get any work done amidst the busyness of life, the Writers Guild hopes to make it easier to turn your mind off about your outside life and awaken your writing brain without any interruptions.

While the weather starts cooling off and the cozy writing days get nearer, we’re already looking ahead to our January retreat, with Nicole Kronzer as its host. You might recognize Kronzer from her debut YA novel, Unscripted, or her most recent release, The Roof Over Our Heads.

““There’s nothing quite like a writer’s retreat for me to realize how many times per hour I get interrupted at home. A twelve-hour writer’s retreat, on the other hand, eliminates those distractions.””

— Nicole Kronzer

“There’s nothing quite like a writer’s retreat for me to realize how many times per hour I get interrupted at home,” Kronzer writes. “A twelve-hour writer’s retreat, on the other hand, eliminates those distractions.”

Our retreat is meant to foster those writing skills throughout the entire day without the possibility of getting pulled away and risking the loss of inspiration. Surrounded by writers and like-minded individuals, it’s the perfect spot to let yourself sink into the creative flow that produces your best work.

The retreat will start at 9 a.m., with guided writing exercises, plenty of freewriting time, supportive workshops, and a live showcase reading at the end of the night. “Take a day and prioritize yourself and your art,” Kronzer says. “See you there!”

We hope you can join us and put yourself and your writing at the front of your mind, if only for a day. Stay tuned for when registration opens in December!

Write. Retreat. Repeat: Chippewa Valley Writers Guild Offers New 12-Hour Writers Retreat for Local Literary Enthusiasts

Hold on to your pens, papers, and keyboards—the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild is preparing an exciting, brand-new event for the writers of all levels in the Chippewa Valley and beyond! Come one, come all to the 12-Hour Writers Retreat! Join the Writers Guild at Forage, an event venue in downtown Eau Claire, from 9 am-9 pm on Saturday, Jan. 14, for a day filled with fun, food, fellowship, and of course, writing.

“The event offers the chance to network and connect with fellow writers, ample time to chip away on a long festering writing project,  or the chance to start something new! ”

Registration, available here, opens on Nov. 1 for one of the 20 spots available. The event offers the chance to network and connect with fellow writers, ample time to chip away on a long festering writing project,  or the chance to start something new!  Those who need some help getting started are welcome to follow the writing prompts provided by the event’s host. For the finale, writers will be given the opportunity to present their writing to the public in a fun-filled performance. It will be a day for any and all kinds of writing. Lunch, snacks, and dinner will also be provided!

“The purpose is to create the conditions for writers of all levels to thrive,” said Professor BJ Hollars, director of the Writers Guild and host for the event. “Our daily life provides so many distractions; a writers' retreat is the chance for us to push those distractions to the back-burner so that our creative work can receive the time and attention it deserves.”

In tandem with the Writers Guild and Forage, the Wisconsin Writers Association is also sponsoring the 12-hour retreat. The idea for the retreat began when the Writers Guild, unfortunately, had to say goodbye to their annual 3-day writers retreat at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s the Priory.

“While we loved our three-day retreats (and are certainly envisioning future retreats of that length), it occurred to us that we could use this as an opportunity to better support those writers who can't sneak away for quite so long,” said Hollars. “We decided to experiment with a one-day ‘12-hour retreat’. It's enough time to do some real work, but it's not so long that it will take up a full weekend or break the bank. We hope it'll appeal to locals and people within a three-hour radius.”

The 12-Hour Writers Retreat is especially exciting for the venue it will be taking place at, Forage on 403 S Barstow St. in Eau Claire, WI. The business offers private and public rentals for its space for birthdays, baby showers, wine tastings, holiday parties, open-mic nights, and now writers retreats! An event venue for anything and everything for local community members, Forage is the perfect place to host a literary gathering.

Lydia Park, Event Manager for Forage, described the community venue as “a welcoming and inclusive space, that’s nonjudgmental, very open minded, willing to work with you if you have a dream event that you want to make happen, and provides fun, enjoyable experience for whoever wants to come.” You can contact Park at events@forageeauclaire.com to learn about booking the space for your event.

Park is excited to be working with the Writers Guild by providing a space to create a community for neighborly writers in the surrounding Chippewa Valley. “It’s a very versatile space that offers so many different price points and so many different opportunities to experience what we have here as a community,” she said. “[And] a writers retreat seems to be very specified. So [it’s] geared toward people who want to improve their writing or get something out of that retreat related to writing, or even just build that community, finding folks that are like-minded and wanting to take their writing to the next level.”

To participate in this new and innovative event, a registration fee of $65 is required. Included in this price is delicious coffee from SHIFT Cyclery and Coffee Bar, lunch from the French Press, and dinner from Chef Michelle Thiede. Click here for the daily schedule.

“Some participants will surely be well-published; others may be preparing for their first public reading ever. We’ve got room for both, and in fact, prefer both. Everyone has something to offer. We hope that we, too, have something to offer everyone.”

— BJ Hollars

“The CVWG is somewhat unique in that you needn't be the ‘best’ writer to feel at home here,” said Hollars. “We pride ourselves in creating a supportive and inclusive space for all writers of all levels and genres. Some participants will surely be well-published; others may be preparing for their first public reading ever. We've got room for both, and in fact, prefer both. Everyone has something to offer. We hope that we, too, have something to offer everyone.”

This is the place for a writer to feel connected to their community and get some hard work done in an enjoyable, comfortable environment.

“I hope people leave our retreat feeling rejuvenated, inspired, and proud of their work,” said Hollars. “Writing isn't easy, but it's a little easier with 20 of your new best friends.”

To learn more about the 12-Hour Writers Retreat and registration, click here.