Reinvent – Rediscover – Reassess – Redo – Reform – Rebuild – Reimagine
Now, like never before, human beings are reassessing their lives. The Covid 19 pandemic set in motion a whirlwind of change and it’s doubtful our world will ever be the same. Old ways and old beliefs don’t quite fit our new life structure. It’s time for a paradigm shift.
Continuing the custom of hosting a writing goals retreat on the first full weekend of January, we’re pleased to offer our 4th such retreat on January 7-9, 2022. If you’ve been feeling like the life-waters you’re floating in are more often turbulent than still, if your job or living situation is in flux, if your writing life is in need of a new direction, it’s time to move beyond simply surviving and reimagine what true living (and writing!) can look like.
This retreat is about moving past, well, the past, and reaching for the bright, new possibilities that are waiting. It’s about seeing and claiming the potential of a brand new start for your writing. We don’t have to look at change as drudgery; it can be exciting and empowering. Since creativity and imagination are tools writers use every day, we can reimagine the old life and create a bold vision that moves beyond circumstance and fear, into an awakening that stands the test of time.
Cost: $425.00 per person (includes 2 nights in a private suite, 5 meals, snacks, 4 workshops, and plenty of private time for writing)
Date: Friday, January 7 to Sunday, January 9, 2022
Place: Rockvale Writers’ Colony, 6994 Giles Hill Road, College Grove, TN
The Schedule (tentative)
Friday, January 7, 2022:
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: “REST”
9:00 p.m. – Free Time / Bedtime
Saturday, January 8, 2022:
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: “WORK”
10:30 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: “PLAY”
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 9, 2022:
6:30 a.m. – Coffee Ready!
7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Breakfast is available. Come any time you’re ready
8:30 a.m. – Writing Workshop: “DREAM”
10:00 a.m. – Free Time for Writing
11:00 p.m. – Checkout and Goodbye
This retreat is now full. You may register to be put on the waiting list. If there are cancellations and space becomes available, you will be notified. Thanks!
Facilitators: Sandy Coomer and Heather Burch
Sandy Coomer is a poet, artist, Ironman triathlete, and social entrepreneur from Nashville, TN. Over 150 pieces of Sandy’s art have been published in print and online journals and she has been featured in local art shows and exhibits. Her poetry has been published in numerous journals and she is the author of three poetry chapbooks and 2 full-length collections, Available Light (Iris Press, 2019) and The Broken Places, (Saddle Road Press, 2021). She is a multiple Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee and her poem, “Calligraphy” was a 2019 Best of the Net finalist. Sandy is a past poetry mentor in the AWP Writer to Writer Mentorship Program and the founding editor of the online literary journal Rockvale Review.
Sandy cohosts Black Dog Poetry Open Mic and Rockvale Poetry Book Club and is the founder and director of Rockvale Writers’ Colony in College Grove, TN, a not-for-profit organization that exists to support and educate writers of all genres and backgrounds. She is a self-professed “idea” person, as well as a teacher, a dreamer, and an explorer. Her favorite word is “believe.” Learn more about Sandy at www.sandycoomer.com.
Heather Burch is an essayist living on her husband’s family horse farm less than 4 miles from Rockvale Writers’ Colony, where she was happy to serve as the Assistant Director from 2018-2020. She is now a full-time goat mama to 14 Nigerian Dwarf goats, a part-time barista at the local Sip-N-Scoop, and the social media manager for the colony.
Heather is a believer in the simple things, in the little moments, in the forgotten beauty of that which has been cast aside by the fast-paced hustle culture of the world. She collects feathers, rocks, and other lost objects, and uses them as inspiration in her writing for her blog, Simple + Good. 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 Heather’s work at www.simpleandgoodblog.com.