Comments on: What are the best in-person experiences for aspiring writers to develop their skills?

Question: What are the best in-person experiences for aspiring writers to develop their skills?

emkelley — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 14:58:21 -0800

Where are the good writers' retreats and workshops? How can I identify them?

Asking for a friend: can you recommend writers' workshops? I searched through the old questions and the only notable item was the Gotham Writers' Workshop. I'll point him to the online side of their site. I think, though, an in-person retreat or ongoing workshops would be better, for multiple reasons. For a several day retreat, he'd be willing to fly pretty much anywhere, so those don't need to be location-specific.

Can you offer any advice for finding a good group?

Bonus points for: retreats/courses based on The Artist's Way
Courses/groups in the Chicagoland area.

Thanks!

By: thanotopsis

thanotopsis — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 15:15:46 -0800

The Writer's Workshop at the University of Iowa is probably your best bet for something "near" Chicago. I attended in the late 80s, and ended up meeting Kurt Vonneghut at a party my first week there. I was introduced by my adviser, who rolled up to the party with his special friends in what I described as a "Scooby Doo" van. Groovy.

By: munyeca

munyeca — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 15:50:22 -0800

Here is a sortable database of conferences, residencies, and workshops.