Creative Writing and Art Weekend Retreats
Highland Lake Inn
Andover, New Hampshire
This gentleman’s farmhouse, originally built in 1767, is located in Andover, NH, a stone’s throw from Highland Lake, a pristine, spring-fed mountain lake with beach. Savor the vistas of neighboring Kearsarge Mountain, and enjoy the Inn’s own 7-acre grounds which adjoin a 21-acre nature preserve. Lots of outdoor activity to inspire any writer. Learn more…
Retreat Dates:
Words in Play also offers a variety of writing programs at the Highland Lake Inn including:
November 5-7, 2010 — Writing the Holiday Letter
February 11-13, 2011 — The Art of Writing Love Letters
March 2011 — Cooking up a Storm, Recipe Writing during Maple Sugar Season
Retreat Descriptions
November 5-7, 2010 — Writing the Holiday Letter
“What a lot we lost when we stopped writing letters. You can’t reread a phone call.”
—Liz Carpenter
We all love getting letters in the mail—they represent a connection to others that all humans crave. The holidays are a good time to reconnect with those we haven’t seen in a while. Many people choose to write a letter instead of sending impersonal Christmas or other holiday cards. Often, these letters are simply laundry lists of what each person did over the course of the previous year. If you want to share your lives and send a keepsake letter for those you hold dear, then this is the workshop for you.
In this workshop, you will learn how to generate ideas for your letter, how to shape those ideas into a cohesive message, and how to frame that message around the holidays you celebrate. Join us for some early holiday cheer. You’ll leave with a beautiful, finished piece and you’ll have less to think about during the rush of the upcoming season.
February 11-13, 2011 — The Art of Writing Love Letters
“Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale.”
—Anonymous
What better time to rekindle this age-old tradition than in a romantic setting over Valentine’s weekend? We will explore love letters of the past (not just the poets and literary figures; Napoleon, Winston Churchill, and some of our past U.S. presidents as well) to discover their joys and secrets, as well as to glean guidelines of how to express one’s innermost longings.
Putting pen to paper, we’ll craft our own love letters, not necessarily poems. Discussion of “tricks of the trade” from those who have gone before us will inspire the searching of our own souls and writing where the heart leads.
Tis true that nothing is more romantic than a “politely passionate” love letter to be read again and again, but the object of one’s love letter does not have to be a sweetheart. Love letters can be to anyone, to a place, and to one’s self. We’ll delve into our desires and see where amore carries us. “Be still my heart?” Never! Let us live, love, and write passionately!
March 13-17, 2011 — Cooking Up a Storm and Writing Cookbooks
“This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook—try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!”
—Julia Child
Take Julia’s advice and join us for some fun in the kitchen. This course will be a real treat—literally! Chef and innkeeper Pecco Beaufaÿs and writing instructor Deb McKew present this one of a kind cooking and writing workshop. Here you will learn how to translate favorite meals into accurate recipes, how to create a menu centered around a theme, how to develop new recipes and how to tell the story behind the dish. March is maple sugaring time in New Hampshire, and the Highland Lake Inn is located just minutes from a sugar shack where we will savor the flavor of pure maple syrup, and then incorporate that ingredient into some of our recipes.
You will come away with a keepsake booklet of the recipes developed and shared at this very special retreat. You don’t have to be a chef or a writer to participate. Anyone who is interested in cooking or writing about cooking is welcome. Participants will have an opportunity to share their recipes and their stories in planned writing sessions throughout the week.
For more information on any of these workshop offerings, contact: Deb McKew at 603-724-3609
My Networks