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The Lifewriter's Retreat:
A Week of Writing
by Christine Madsen
Editor's Note -- Written in 2003, this piece containues to reflect the experience of Turning Memories Into Memoirs--although the workshop is no longer offered at this location.
On Sunday night, we eyed each other warily across the dinner table. On Friday afternoon, we tearfully hugged each other goodbye. In between, we wrote, talked about writing and our lifestories, walked on the beach, and laughed a lot.
The Lifewriters Retreat Week at Old Orchard Beach, Maine, was a rare opportunity to spend whole days doing what we all love to do: write and learn about writing. People in the group were writing on a range of topics, and I wanted to hear more about each one. From growing up in an unusual community to searching for ancestral roots to healing from a severe head injury, each story was as individual as the participants. The chance to hear these other stories gave me inspiration and hope for my own writing.
Workshop leader Denis Ledoux started each day by guiding a discussion on a component of writing, such as writing in scenes. That topic would become the structure for a writing assignment for that night. We all read our work the next day, putting our new knowledge into practice. It was exciting to see all of us improve our writing as the week went on.
We started the week by writing a "vision statement" for our memoir, what we wanted our memoir to accomplish. By the end of the week, I realized the deeper themes behind my writing and was able to see how each part of my story impacted the whole. After the workshop ended, I sat down and rewrote that vision statement, incorporating the elements of the "big idea," as Denis calls it, behind my story.
Outside of class, the discussions and sharing continued. Many of us ate lunch together at the coffee shop on the grounds of the Grand Beach Inn, where the retreat was held, and then went for a walk on the beautiful sand beach just a few yards away. We returned for the afternoon sessions with our hair windblown and our shoes full of sand, eager to hear more of our new friends' writing. Some of us grabbed Denis for a one-on-one session about our writing.
I know some people were concerned about the cost of the workshop. However, by week's end, everyone agreed that it was well worth it. I invested some time and money into the workshop, and I know it will pay dividends as I complete my project. I'm confident now that I can tell the story I want to tell and tell it well.
This workshop is one that I could attend over and over. Denis has a well-thought-out group of topics, and it's clear that the discussions will go in different directions each time, based on workshop participants. That, combined with the unbelievable luxury of having a whole week to devote to writing, makes this workshop a must for any memoir writer. The time spent on assignments will make my writing come together better, I know. Gaining a community of memoir-writing friends will also encourage me to keep writing.
Christine Madsen is a former editor at both the Christian Science Monitor and The Lifewriter's Digest. She is a novelist currently at work on her own memoir.
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