Open Your Art Writing Retreats

Our recent retreat at Palazzo Forani in Casperia was such a fabulous, inspiring experience for me as a teacher. Nancy and I could not have asked for a more wonderful, talented group of writers to work with. Lasting memories, great new friendships, lots of new writing, terrific food (and wine!). I will never forget it. But! Importantly, we wanted to make sure it was a great experience for our participants! Below are some of the very kind words they had for our “Creative Renaissance” retreat. I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. ❤

~Kathy

“The writers retreat with Kathy Fish and Nancy Stohlman was an inspiring, magical, once-in-a-lifetime experience. They are wonderful instructors, writers and mentors with great insight into the craft, as well as the writing life. I also loved meeting people from all over the world who are passionate about writing. I left the retreat feeling re-energized and refocused about my writing. In short, I loved every minute.” ~K.B. Jensen

“Location, location, location? Not only. This experience pulled my writing in new directions and left me with a sense that a retreat can be both demanding of one’s mind and easy on one’s spirit. Kathy and Nancy were inspiring instructors who brought together a talented and generous group of flash fiction-loving writers. Together, they offered guidance that I can continue to draw on each time I take to the page.” ~Charmaine Wilkerson

“Retreating with Kathy and Nancy in Casperia was very special. I learnt such a lot from them both and from all the other great writers in our group, and now I’m ready to take my flash fiction to the next level. ” ~Cath Barton

“Kathy and Nancy’s workshops and one-on-one sessions are invaluable. In addition to excellent instruction sheets, they provided inspiring examples that supported the lessons. Our group dynamic was warm with praise and constructive criticism. Outside of the ‘work’, we had wonderful cultural immersion – at one point almost everyone up to their elbows in pasta making. An unforgettable week in a stunning setting!” ~Marie Gethins

“Every detail was meticulously thought out by Kathy and Nancy to assure an absolutely enchanting experience. A perfect mix of work and fun. Can’t wait to do it again! ” ~Jayne Martin

“Kathy and Nancy, together with the other participants, helped me discover side roads into the well-worn highway of habit and comfort in my writing, opening up new vistas and possibilities. Free yourself from the tramlines and explore, they cry!” ~Oliver Barton

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Uncategorized

“A Real-Life Game of Clue”: Nancy recaps our Italy retreat!

June 13, 2019June 15, 2019 Kathy Fish

Thankfully nobody was actually murdered during our Springtime in Italy retreat, but if we’d wanted to play a real-life game of Clue, this would have been the place! As one of our participants, John Wheway, said: “This is the craziest place I have ever stayed!” and I couldn’t agree more. From holding classes in the medieval olive oil cellar to Jayne Martin ending up in the carefully preserved “cardinal’s bed”, our retreat at Palazzo Forani was haunted, mysterious, and beautiful, the space an antique relic lovingly cared for by the Forani sisters, who became like family. The wine and words kept flowing, the language barrier made for some great laughs, and the spring rain kept us inside the palace and focused on writing. Our final night salon in the Virgil tapestry room was dreamy and unreal. Good food was eaten, good friendships made. Forever grateful to such an amazing group of writers coming together and laying it all out on the (pasta) table in Casperia, Italy. It was an honor to both facilitate and be part of the group creative process. Saluti until we meet again! ~Nancy

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Today you can’t talk about Love…

June 3, 2019June 3, 2019 Kathy Fish

We writers want so much to talk about the Big Things, the Important Things. But it’s daunting to address the big things like Love and Hate and Death and Loss and Injustice, especially for the flash fiction writer.

In his Nobel Prize acceptance speech novelist Kazuo Ishiguro said, “But in the end, stories are about one person saying to another: This is the way it feels to me. Can you understand what I’m saying? Does it also feel this way to you?”

Dear Writer, I want you to know this: You can talk about these things indirectly. By conveying as well as you can the small moments.

Emily Dickinson famously said, “Tell all the truth, but tell it slant.”

And Joy Williams said, “So many times in a single day we glimpse a view beyond the apparent. Write those moments down. They might not speak to you at first. But eventually they might. Everybody writes too long and too much anyway, sacrificing significance for story.”

Today, you can’t talk about Death, but you can write about the small, significant moments around Death.

Unable to fully process my father’s death and our complicated relationship, I instead wrote about an inebriated woman escaping her father’s funeral reception with a complete stranger in order to look at gaudy necklaces at Walgreen’s in my story, “Disassembly.”

Today, you can’t talk about Love, but you can find those moments that are emblematic of love and loss.

Today, you can’t talk about Loneliness, but you can write a scene involving a teenager standing outside the school dance, not joining in because he feels there is no one there to welcome him.

Today, you can’t talk about Yearning, but you can capture a moment of longing that will break your reader’s heart.

Today, you can’t talk about Evil, but maybe the best way to talk about Evil is to create monsters on the page. Maybe fairy tales are your way in. Or create an absurd story. Or a surreal one.

Give your readers the small, potent moments that vibrate with meaning and resonance and emotion. Give the world the story that only you can tell, dear writer. Use everything you’ve got.

~Kathy

Interviews

Learning Flash in Exotic Costa Rica: A Chat with Writer, Professor, Geneticist Margaret Nowaczyk

May 30, 2019June 18, 2019 Kathy Fish

Nancy and I are thrilled that accomplished writer and geneticist Margaret Nowaczyk will be joining us for our second Writing Wild in Costa Rica Retreat. Margaret graciously agreed to chat with me about the March, 2020 gathering, the writing life, and more.

Hi Margaret! What are you most looking forward to at Writing Wild in Costa Rica?

Learning how to craft flash fiction. In my writing, it seems that it takes me three quarters of the story to get to the beginning and another half to find the ending. Yes, I know it doesn’t add up—hence my problem. I adore pithy, punch-you-in-the-gut flash fiction yet writing that seems to be completely beyond my reach. And comprehension as to how it’s done. So far, I have written one short-short story (400 words) but nobody likes it enough to publish it. I have bought several books on writing flash and short fiction I had hoped would help, but no such luck. I wonder if I ever get the gist of things.

And, of course, I am looking forward to seeing the jungles of Costa Rica and swimming in the Pacific. But, wait! Are there snakes there?!

Flash fiction is definitely challenging to write well. Nancy and I feel really good about the program we’ve developed for our retreats. I’m confident you’ll come away from the retreat armed with some great new skills. And oh, I think there might be snakes but I never saw any. I did see a beautiful, shy, slow-moving green iguana though. : ) Margaret, could you tell us a little about your writing life?

Not sure that I have a writing life. I have a full-time job so my writing takes a back seat to that. I am also a mother to two almost grown sons (18 and 22). I write whenever I can: early mornings, evenings, weekends but there are days when I can’t seem to be able to pull myself together to put anything on paper. I have published several short stories and essays in literary magazines and, last year, defended my MFA thesis. Right now I am trying to finish and publish a memoir and oscillate between nice productivity and sheer, paralyzing terror. I am a sucker for writing retreats and how-to-write manuals: between the trips I have taken and the volumes on my shelf, my last name should be Atwood by now!

Ha! Well, I have to admit I’m a sucker for these things too. Favorite book or story?

Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery is my life-long favourite.

Oh I love that book. I read it in French in high school and was so moved. Is there something funny, unusual, interesting whatever about yourself that you’d like to share?

Nah. I’m just a little bit crazy, ehem, colourful.

Aw, I love that! Can’t wait to retreat with you in Costa Rica, Margaret. Thanks for chatting!

Margaret Nowaczyk MD, received her MFA from University of British Columbia in 2018. Her short stories have been published Numero Cinq, Broken Pencil, The New Quarterly, and Prairie Fire who nominated her short story “Cassandra” for the 2017 Journey Prize. Her non-fiction has appeared in Geist, The Antigonish Review, Grain Magazine and Pismo and, in translation, has twice won a national contest in Poland. She is a clinical geneticist and a professor of pediatrics and pathology at McMaster University. She is currently completing a collection of short stories and a memoir about her work as a pediatric geneticist. She lives in Hamilton, Ontario with her husband and two sons.

Note: Spaces remain for Writing Wild in Costa Rica! (See the glowing praise for our past retreats.) Nancy and I are excited to return to lovely and exotic Peace Retreat in March and hope you can join us!

Uncategorized

Saturday May 25: Flash Fiction Featured Reading at Rome’s Otherwise Bookstore

May 19, 2019May 21, 2019 Nancy Stohlman

When in Rome, Read Flash Fiction!

Flash fictions are complete stories under 1,000 words and they are increasingly popular around the globe. Come hear 14 visiting writers from the Ireland, U.K., Switzerland, Canada and the United States read their micro-stories at this one-time event!

Saturday, May 25

5:00-6:30

Otherwise Bookstore

https://www.facebook.com/otherwisebookshop

The evening features award-winning writers, publishers, and masters of the craft including:

Nancy Stohlman (U.S)

Jayne Martin (U.S)

Beth Gilstrap (U.S)

Bryan Jansing (U.S./Italy)

K.B. Jensen (U.S.)

Kim Samsain (Canada)

Jude Higgins (U.K.)

John Wheway (U.K.)

Cath Barton (U.K)

Oliver Barton (U.K)

Marie Gethins (Ireland)

Nicole Schmied (Switzerland)

Gina Headden (U.K.)

and musical guest Nick Busheff (U.S.)

https://www.otherwisebookshop.com/

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

When in Rome, Read Flash Fiction!

Saturday, May 25

5:00-6:30

Otherwise Bookstore

The evening features award-winning writers, publishers, and masters of the craft including:

Share this: