Fearless Storytelling – A writing retreat
June 8, 9 and 10, 2018
Are you trying to find a way to tap the material for your memoir or other nonfiction writing? Have you written yourself into a corner and can’t find your way out? Do you have a difficult story to tell – and don’t know how to start? During this three-day writing retreat, explore ways to access the stories we most want to tell. Join other writers in a supportive and relaxing environment. Through a series of sensory exercises and creative prompts, you’ll explore ways to access the stories you have to tell.
The weekend also will offer chances for relaxation and renewal. Relax by the pond, walk the nearby labyrinth or join fellow workshop participants for s’mores by the fire! Please join us!
Full program below
Read what one of my workshop participants says about attending one of my retreats:
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to attend the “Healing Through Our Stories” retreat as a workshop participant. Vicki is a gifted facilitator. Above and beyond her breadth of knowledge— including formal training in creative writing, life experience, and the deep curiosity of any marvelous teacher— she is able to both create and hold safe space for participants engaged in writing and speaking about charged emotional experiences. She is keenly aware of the vulnerability in expressing difficult stories, allowing each participant, in their own time, to share and be heard. She also knows how to gently invite participants to enter further into memories and experiences still ripe for mining. She allows community to develop and it does, under her leadership and talent. At the core of her classes, workshops, and retreats, is Vicki’s thoughtful and kind self. She invites all of us to join her in being thoughtful, kind, vulnerable, and beautifully authentic. She invites us all to our voice and, as a result, to be heard and to heal. — Virginia Grove
Location: The retreat will be held at the Farmhouse at Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center in Bangor, Pa. Located on a ridge of the beautiful Kittatinny Ridge of Northeast Pennsylvania and overlooking the Delaware Valley, for more than 75 years Kirkridge has provided a place for rest and renewal. As the Kirkridge web site states, “Our retreats, our hospitality, our gorgeous vistas, and our sacred grounds have blessed, and continue to bless, countless lives.” To learn more about Kirkridge, visit the center’s web site at www.kirkridge.org
Visit the page for my June 2017 retreat at Kirkridge by clicking here to see the fun and flavor of the experience.
Schedule: (Subject to change)
Friday, June 8:
Welcome
Wine and hors d’oeuvres reception
Saturday, June 9
8 – Breakfast
9 – A Treasure Map to Your Story – In this hands-on session, participants will create a map that will serve as a writing prompt to one or more stories.
10-12 – Stories From The Treasure Map – Write one or more stories suggested by your map! Sharing allowed – or save your ideas to work on later!
Noon — Lunch
1-2 p.m. – Break/Hike the grounds or take time to write, read and reflect
2-4:30 p.m. – Sensory Prompts
Scents, sounds, tastes and textures stir memories and inspire. A series of sensory exercises will be used as prompts to inspire a series of written vignettes.
4:30 – 6 p.m. — Time on your own
6 p.m. – Dinner
7:30 p.m. – Graphic Storytelling
Get hands-on and experiment with telling our stories visually as a way to unlock new ideas and insights. Materials for collage, drawing, painting and old-fashioned coloring will be available. No artistic ability required!
Sunday, June 10:
8 a.m. – Breakfast
9- 10 – Finding the Missing Piece of the Puzzle
If our stories are a puzzle, what pieces are missing that keep us from writing them?
10 a.m. – Noon: Prompts, prompts and more prompts
In our last session, a series of prompts and exercises will be shared to take home and keep the creative juices flowing. Participants are encouraged to share ideas that have worked for them.
Noon – Lunch
1 – 2 p.m. – Closing and departure.
Retreat cost: $325
Includes workshop materials and activities, two nights accommodations/ Room and shared bath Friday and Saturday nights, wine reception Friday night, breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks Saturday and breakfast and lunch on Sunday.
Day rate: Prefer not to stay overnight? Participants can choose to drive in for the retreat activities. Cost: $200 – covers all retreat activities, opening reception, meals and snacks.
Note: Single day rate available. Please contact me for details.
Deposit to hold place in the retreat: $50
Balance due: May 25
To register: Please send a check made out to Vicki Mayk, 236 Machell Ave., Apt. 3, Dallas, PA 18612. Or pay through Paypal or Venmo
Questions? Write to vicki.mayk@gmail.com and please put Retreat in the subject line of the mail.
COMING IN SEPTEMBER 2018:
Words in the Sand — A writing retreat at the New Jersey shore.
Come write in Victorian Ocean Grove, N.J.! Join nonfiction writer Vicki Mayk and poet Dawn Leas for a weekend of writing, inspiration and relaxation at the Ocean Park Inn.
Coming in Fall 2018 — September 14, 15 and 16
For more information about my writing retreats, please contact me at vicki.mayk@gmail.com
