Description

Writing Retreats: Join for a Day or Multiple Days

The following are upcoming writing retreat dates:

Thursday, September 28th
Thursday, October 12th
Wednesday, October 25th
Monday, October 30th
Thursday, November 9th
Monday, November 20th

Each day follows the same structure—with times listed here in Eastern time (ET):

10:00-11:00am — Introductions, grounding meditation, freewriting, and goal review
11:00-1:00pm — Writing time: write on your own (alongside others via Zoom)
1:00-1:45pm — Lunch/break on your own
1:45-2:00pm — Optional guided meditation for resting and resetting
2:00-2:15pm — Group check-in
2:15-4:15pm — Your choice: Writing on your own or partner feedback in breakout rooms or one-with-one check-in (brief coaching) with Beth
4:15-4:30pm — Wrapping up and well wishes

Yes: you can join multiple days! Register for all the days you’d like to attend.

Why participate in an online writing retreat?

Like writing groups, through writing retreats, we invest in ourselves, in our work, and in our commitments.

Specifically, writing retreats have the potential to:

• Hold creative space for incubating, developing, and completing writing projects
• Build and strengthen relationships among writers across distance
• Maintain momentum for writing projects even when facing other due dates and demands on our time
• Provide just-in-time support, mentoring, and processing of what comes up through and around writing
• Co-create a life-giving writing environment where we can share ideas with engaged and supportive readers

To learn more about how I approach and why I believe in online writing spaces, check out “‘Hanging Out’: Cultivating Writing Groups Online,” a piece co-authored with former writing group members Tanya Cochran, Rasha Diab, and Thomas Ferrel.

When will writing retreats be offered?

Currently, there are six options to attend a day-long writing retreat: September 28, October 12, 25, 30, and November 9, 20. I open more dates regularly, so check back. Join as your schedule allows.

Each day will start at 10am ET | 9am CT | 8am MT | 7am PT.
We meet together for 6 and ½ hours or until 4:30pm ET.

After registering, you’ll receive information about how to join via Zoom. Participants are encouraged to join with video because retreats are interactive experiences. We’ll be a small group, so expect to introduce yourself and talk about your work-in-progress.

Because there’s often vulnerability and intimacy involved in talking about writing, there will be no recordings. Thanks for holding space for your writing and for others’ writing as well.

And, yes: you can join for the morning only. It’s important to be present for the first hour when we co-create the container and get to know each other. It’s no problem to drop in and out after that first hour, though. I understand that there are always multiple tugs on our time and attention.

What is the cost?

Registration is offered on a sliding-scale basis, reflecting my commitments to accessibility and community care. It’s important both that I’m resourced to do this work and that no one is priced out of participating. Please pay what you can. If you are well-resourced, consider paying at the sustaining rate to keep this and other offerings open to anyone who finds them cost-prohibitive.

Read the following descriptions of registration options, consider which fits your circumstances, and reach out with any questions.

$0: Cost-prohibitive rate
Register without paying if the cost is prohibitive for any reason.

$50: Discounted rate
Register at this discounted rate if full-price registration isn’t accessible for you.

$85: Full-price rate
Register at this full-price rate if your career is financially sustaining.

$120: Sustaining rate
Register at the sustaining rate if you’d like to support the sliding-scale registration model. The goal is for graduate students, adjunct faculty, and community writers to join offerings at $0 and discounted rates. You make this possible by paying a little extra.

$120: Institutional funding rate
Register at this institutional funding rate if you are using professional development funds. This rate is also for universities and organizations who are registering participants.

$350: Subscriber rate
In addition to the rates described above, there’s the option of becoming a subscriber and joining all retreats for a flat monthly rate, which also includes monthly coaching sessions and other benefits of becoming a subscriber. You can learn more about subscription options here. Again, reach out with any questions.

Would you like to support a colleague or loved one with their writing?
Gift cards for writing retreats are available here.

Who facilitates the writing retreats?

This program is offered by Beth Godbee, Ph.D., a public educator and writer with deep commitments to social, racial, and environmental justice.

Beth brings years of experience as a writer and writing teacher (previously tenured professor in composition, rhetoric, and literacy studies). Beth has both participated in and led writing groups and retreats (in-person and online) and has worked in writing centers, community literacy programs, and writing across the curriculum programs for many years.

What do others say?

“In writing retreats and weekly writing groups, Beth has provided me with a community within which I can speak candidly about my struggles without having to worry. The spaces that she creates are healing spaces that offer the added benefit of productivity. Through working with Beth and the rest of the community she has cultivated, I have not only become more comfortable writing, but improved my writing as well. I am eternally grateful!” —Kylie in New York

“As with any space Beth helps create, these retreats center our humanity and ground us to recognize a variety of activities (i.e. reading, journaling, going for a walk) as important contributors to our writing goals and care for ourselves as writers.” —Rachel Bloom-Pojar, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

“I regularly attend the writing retreats and writing group facilitated by Dr. Beth Godbee and Heart-Head-Hands. I joyfully and gratefully confirm it has blessed my writing life beyond measure and given me a loving, supportive community in which to do my work. It would indeed be a great gift for the writer in your life.” —Eric Darnell Pritchard, Brown Chair in English Literacy

How can I learn more?

Contact Beth with any questions, concerns, or accessibility considerations.

Thanks!