Write Deeply - Fiction and Poetry

The Spring 2012 Word Lover's Retreat (April 20-22) will be creativity-infused.  I hope to see you at the Idlewyld for great conversation, deep writing, critique sessions, long walks, and anything else you want to do--it's your weekend.  $50 holds your spot: claudia.taller@yahoo.com.

What Trudy Has to Say

After attending this Fall's Word Lover's retreat, Trudy Bradenburg, a mystery writer from Clintonville, Ohio, wrote: "I first discovered Claudia Taller’s Word Lovers retreats by deciding to read detective mystery books that take place Ohio. I researched the list, and Les Roberts, a Cleveland area writer, caught my eye. I picked up his book, “Pepper Pike,” the first book in his Milan Jocovich series, which all take place in Cleveland, Ohio. I read about ten pages and I was hooked. I hopped on his website and found that he was going to be a guest speaker at a Word Lovers retreat only three hours from my front door, at Idlewyld Bed and Breakfast, two weeks from that date. I immediately emailed Claudia. Lucky for me, she had a cancellation and two weeks later, I was walking the quaint, quiet streets of Lakeside with readers, writers, and authors, including Claudia Taller and Les Roberts. Claudia and Les were not only magnificent speakers, sharing their life stories and tips about writing, Les signed copies of his books and offered manuscript feedback to the attendees, which helped my project immensely." She went on to describe the Idlewyld, where our retreats take place: "Built in the 1800’s, every nook and cranny of Idlewyld holds positive energy, from the porches, to the common area, the kitchen and dining room and the comfy bedrooms. Waking up to the smell of brewing coffee and breakfast casseroles sifting through the house, with your head on a soft pillow in a warm bed, is nothing short of heaven. Before breakfast, I always grab my camera and a cup of coffee, bundle up, and walk to the end of Walnut Street to catch the sunrise over Lake Erie. You can see my pictures from the weekend at: https://picasaweb.google.com/104987613031065338545/IdlewyledNovember2011WordLovers/" Thanks Trudy!  More from her closer to the next retreat--April 20-22, 2012.

A Day or a Weekend . . . in Lakeside

I'm opening up the Word Lovers Retreat to Saturday-only lovers of words.  If you'd like to come just for the day, we'd love to have you.  I cannot load an Adobe file to this blog, but if you want to see the itinerary, send me an e-mail at claudia.taller@yahoo.com.

Journaling to Memoir

Leaving a Trace by Alexandra Johnson is “to journal writers what Bird by Bird and The Artist’s Way are to fiction writers.” One reviewer said it “will inspire not just the diarist in us, but the reader, too—to return to works we missed, or those we thought we’d fully grasped . . . Stands proudly beside such classics on creativity as One Writer’s Beginnings by Eudora Welty.” Welty’s book needs to go on my list, as well as several more mentioned by Johnson in her book, diaries by Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield among them. A journal should be just what it is meant to be – private and open—and can be transformed into longer projects or creative work. The book is full of tips and techniques and inspiring stories from famous writers and private journalists.

All set for Word Lovers! Hang Out in Lakeside

Jump start your memoir with some writing prompts and storytelling ideas on Friday evening during the Word Lovers Retreat at Lakeside the weekend of November 4-6.  After breakfast on Saturday, we'll turn to the task at hand--writing well. The ability to take high quality, well-composed photos is becoming increasingly important for every writer—find out how from National Geographic’s Dewitt Jones, and then try out his techniques taking pictures of Lakeside’s gardens, Victorian homes, and statues. We will learn how to build a career centered on food, wine, and travel with guidance from Writer’s Digest. The last event on Saturday will be John Ettorre's presentation called "12 Principles for Building a Powerful & Sustainable Writing Practice" (no matter where you’re at in your writing journey). After dinner, relax and watch Anne Lamott talk on film about her writing life. On Sunday, participate in a workshop about establishing immediacy through description. With all that writing practice, both alone and in the group, you’ll be ready to show off your weekend writing on Sunday morning. In celebration of the publication of Ohio’s Lake Erie Wineries, by Claudia Taller, optional wine tastings and tours, led by Claudia and Paul Taller will complete your weekend away at Lakeside. For full itinerary and how to sign up, send an e-mail to claudia.taller@yahoo.com. 

Relaxing, Creating, Connecting, Retreating . . .

Join me and 20 of my favorite writers for a retreat in Lakeside the first weekend in November.  As usual, I've rented the Idlewyld for the weekend, and now I just need you to show up.  The itinerary includes writing and creative workshops, and some optional food and wine experiences. We'll work on storytelling, photography, writing a non-fiction book, exploring food and wine with words, and travel writing.  The optional events are a wine tasting and tour at Hermes in Sandusky on Saturday afternoon, dinner and a tour at Mon Ami on Saturday evening, and a stop at Firelands Winery on the way home on Sunday.  The weekend, without the winery events, is $110, which includes Friday evening dinner and breakfast both mornings.  Room rates are the Idlewyld's rates.  It's going to be so much fun . . . !

John Ettorre Returns to Word Lovers

I'm pleased to announce that John Ettorre, who originally co-hosted Word Lovers retreats with me, will be joining me again for this year's Word Lovers retreat.