“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent Van Gogh
From long-standing architecture to page-turning literature, great design is rooted in creating something new and uniquely suited to our personal abilities and desires. Without it, we can feel directionless, connecting dots that fail to contribute to the bigger picture. Learning how to effectively design our lives in a way that is intuitive, creative, and well-constructed can ultimately aid us in executing our visions and living out our purpose.
This January 6-8, 2023, join us at RWC for our 5th annual writing goals retreat. Together, we will examine the layers and lines of our creative lives and utilize the elements of design to develop goals that support our writing, from our innermost dreams to our greatest creations.
Cost: $450.00 per person (includes 2 nights in a private suite, 5 meals, snacks, 4 workshops, and plenty of private time for writing)
Date: Friday, January 6, 2023 (Check-in: 4:00-6:00 pm) to Sunday, January 8, 2023 (Check-out: 11:00 am)
Place: Rockvale Writers’ Colony, 6994 Giles Hill Road, College Grove, TN
The Schedule (tentative)
Friday, January 6, 2023:
4:00 to 6:00 p.m. – Check-in and settle in. You’ll be given a short tour and we’ll show you to your assigned room.
6:00 p.m. – Dinner
7:00 p.m. – Welcome and Overview of Retreat
7:15 p.m. – Writing Workshop
9:00 p.m. – Free Time / Bedtime
Saturday, January 7, 2023:
6:30 a.m. – Coffee Ready!
7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Breakfast is available. Come anytime you’re ready.
8:30 a.m. – Writing Workshop
9:45 a.m. – Free Time for Writing
12:00 p.m. – Lunch
1:00 p.m. – Free Time for Writing
6:00 p.m. – Dinner
7:00 p.m. – Writing Workshop
8:30 p.m. – Reading / Share your Writing – Sharing is optional; however, we ask that you attend whether you read or not, in order to support other writers.
10:00 p.m. – Free Time / Bedtime
Sunday, January 8, 2023:
6:30 a.m. – Coffee Ready!
7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Breakfast is available. Come anytime you’re ready.
8:30 a.m. – Writing Workshop
9:45 a.m. – Free Time for Writing
11:00 a.m. – Checkout and Goodbye
Facilitators: Sandy Coomer
Sandy Coomer is a poet, artist, Ironman athlete, and social entrepreneur from Nashville, TN. Her poetry has been published in numerous journals and she is the author of three poetry chapbooks and two full-length collections, Available Light (Iris Press, 2019) and The Broken Places, (Saddle Road Press, 2021). Sandy co-hosts two monthly events, Black Dog Poetry Open Mic and Rockvale Poetry Book Club, both now enjoyed via Zoom with poets from across the country. She is a three-time poetry mentor in the AWP Writer to Writer Mentorship Program, the founding editor of the online journal Rockvale Review, and the founder and director of Rockvale Writers’ Colony in College Grove, TN. Her favorite word is “believe.”
Heather Burch is an essayist and blogger living on her family horse farm in College Grove, TN, where she is also “Goat Mama” to 14 rambunctious and entertaining Nigerian Dwarf goats. She is proud to have worked with Rockvale Writers’ Colony since 2018, and very happy to be back as the Assistant Director in 2023.
Heather writes about the simple things and the forgotten beauty of that which has been cast aside by the fast-paced hustle culture of the world. Born in Ohio, she moved to Nashville in 2009 to pursue the music business, and seeing as that road has brought her here, she hopes her words serve as inspiration for those who are unsure of where their winding paths might be leading them. She is a constant seeker of meaning, of signs, and of purpose, and is thrilled to return to RWC to be a part of the annual Goals Retreat.
You can read her work here: Simple + Good