Memoir retreat 2024 in the books
Eight writers gathered on Minnesota's North Shore to think and write
For the second year, I hosted a memoir/nonfiction writing retreat just north of Duluth, on Minnesota’s North Shore. We stayed at the Inn on Gitchee Gumee, which could not have been a more perfect setting. Almost every day was bright and blue, and not even that chilly (for Duluth).
I led 10 hours of “class time” over the weekend, Friday-Sunday. Writers had a few hours in the afternoons on Friday and Saturday to work on their projects. In the evenings we gathered over food to chat about writing and life.
I witnessed a community coming together. I’ve taught at universities for more than twenty years so I’ve seen this before. But this particular gathering was extra special. Like I could see the connections practically vibrate among the writers.
I was the “host,” putting in the planning and choosing what writing topics to address, but these writers consistently shared with each other writing advice—what works for them and what to avoid. Book recommendations were flying all weekend, too.
If you want to get a sense of how one writer felt about the connections, read Ginny’s post.
My favorite exercise was to look closely at each writer’s opening page. The writer read it out loud and we followed along on copies. We were looking for voice, inciting incident, character, unexpected surprises, and theme. Basically, do we know what the book will be about and will we keep reading? Who knew we could spend so much time discussing one page!? You can do this exercise yourself—pick up a memoir or nonfiction you like and dissect that first page. What can you learn about your own project by doing so?
I plan to host this same retreat next year, November 6-9. Contact me or leave a comment if you want more information. I’m also planning a retreat in early May at the same place. This one would be a more loosely guided retreat, focused more on your own writing time rather than writing instruction with some personal coaching from me thrown in.
Please add me to the list! This sounds delightful.
I was one of the eight who flew from NJ to the shores of Lake Superior. I felt invigorated to discuss my writing aloud — it codified my thoughts and made my project real. And the group was generous with their specific suggestions on how to make it better. It was a wonderful retreat. Thank you, Rachael!