Writing Retreat
Convener
Peggy McNeal, Towson University
The design of this retreat uses Lave and Wenger's (1991) community of practice theory to create a structured retreat for sustained writing. Participants will engage in dedicated writing time with the purpose of progressing with writing projects in a supportive and collegial environment. The writing retreat will provide participants with a distraction free setting to write and the opportunity to speak to and seek feedback from other writers. Participants should arrive with a writing project in mind and a strong desire to significantly move the project forward within the time allotted by the retreat.
The writing retreat is structured following the example described by Rowan and Murray (2009)1 and benefits from lessons learned following retreats held in 2019 and 2020, as well as an ongoing writing circle that evolved from these retreats.
Audience
All writers are invited. Typical projects might include book chapters, journal articles, research proposals, and reports; however, any writing project is welcome. You only need to have a desire to progress your writing in a supportive, collegial environment.
Goals
- To provide a structure for a collective writing experience that promotes focused goal setting and writing persistence
- To enrich and support a writer identity
- To establish a community of practice in which individuals learn through participation
- To support and seek feedback from other writers
Format
The three-day "morning" retreat will be generally structured as (all times in EASTERN time zone):
11:00 – 11:15 AM Introductions, writing warm-up, goal-setting, planning
11:15 – 12:30 Writing
12:30 – 12:45 Break and review
12:45 – 1:45 Writing
1:45 – 2:00 Wrap up
1Murray, R., & Newton, M. (2009). Writing retreat as structured intervention: margin or mainstream? Higher Education Research & Development, 28(5), 541-553.