Writing Courses, Holidays & Retreats
in Costa Rica
Welcome to our Creative Writing Retreats in Spectacular Costa Rica!
We all crave inspiration in today’s hectic world: the freedom to dream, the space to think, the time to focus on creating rather than consuming. We need to recharge and re-imagine how we see ourselves. To laugh, learn new skills, be alone when we choose to and be part of a community when the mood takes us. To reconnect with the natural world, and re-assert our connection to it.
It’s hard to imagine a more perfect place to satisfy these needs than beautiful Costa Rica. Join us for a creative writing retreat in sunny Quepos, a coastal town close to the famous Manuel Antonio National Park. Or, if rainforest serenity and immersion is more your vibe, choose a beautiful eco-lodge in the heart of Arenal National Park. Have two weeks to spare? Then take part in both weeks and enjoy two very different sides of Costa Rica.
Our creative writing retreats are not only informational – they are transformational.
Click here to download information about our forthcoming Costa Rica Retreats!
Who joins our creative writing retreats?
Most writers attend our retreats alone, though some bring family or friends. We welcome beginning writers and those with completed manuscripts. Some participants choose to focus entirely on their creative work, while others combine our morning workshops with sightseeing tours. Whether you enjoy writing fiction, memoir, poetry, and even if you’re not sure what you like, our daily workshops will offer you the inspiration and techniques you need to further your writing skills. On retreats like these you quickly meet like-minded people, making them ideal for those travelling alone.
Whoever you are, whatever your needs, you’re welcome on our retreats.
Also check out our Writing Retreat in Mexico!
Also check out our Writing Retreat in Mexico!Join us for an experience of a lifetime at our urban creative writing retreat in Merida, Mexico.
Click here to see more information.
Our Creative Writing Retreats – The Delights of Merida!
Our next Mexico Creative Writing Retreat in 2024 will once again be held in the beautiful Yucatecan city of Merida. In addition to the morning creative writing workshops (which are appropriate to writers of poetry, memoir, short fiction and novels), participants will have the opportunity to sightsee in and around this glorious city. Sightseeing in Merida This vibrant city is full of great sights: museums, plazas, gorgeous colonial mansions and art galleries. There are also weekly festivals held in the evenings that include dancing, craft stalls, live music and even a traditional Mayan ball game played with a ball of [...]
Creative Writing Retreats: Magical Moments in Merida!
Just about every day on our creative writing retreats is special – after all, retreats are not only a chance to learn, they are also full of new experiences and great memories. Writing retreats are holidays, too! But there are some days so magnificent that they take your breath away and feed your soul. Yesterday on our Mexico Creative Writing Retreat was one of those days. Writing Workshop We began in the morning with a workshop on five act structure. I hadn’t expected this to be quite so meaningful to so many of our writers, but we have several people [...]
Elmore Leonard: 10 Rules Of Writing
In July 2001, the crime fiction writer Elmore Leonard wrote a short piece for The New York Times on his ten rules for writing. This was eventually adapted into a book. I’ve shared his rules many times with writers on our retreats, so I thought it might be useful to outline them here. In the preface to his book, Leonard says: These are rules I’ve picked up along the way to help me remain invisible when I’m writing; to help me show rather than tell what’s taking place in the story. Now, here are his rules: Never open a book with [...]
An MFA in Creative Writing: Is It Worth It?
Read the bios of a dozen new fiction writers, and the chances are good that at least half will list among their credentials an MFA in Creative Writing. I completed my own MFA in Creative Writing through the University of British Columbia, and I’m often asked by my writing students: is a Masters in Creative Writing essential, if you want to see your work in print? Arguments Against an MFA in Creative Writing A Masters Degree is expensive and some writers might argue it would eat into the limited time they have available for writing. Many MFAs also require you to [...]
