Immerse yourself in the life of a French town – while putting words on the page. We spend seven nights, six full days, in the charming Catalonian town of Céret. It’s nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenees and the sparkling Mer Mediterranée is a mere 34 kilometers away. We love this town with its medieval walls and giant plane trees, its modern art museum and bustling Saturday market, its bakeries and bistros. We also love the region, famous for wine, seafood, ruined castles and artists of the early 20th century.
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Every morning we’ll meet from 9:30 to noon for the “class” portion of the experience. We’ll have a group cocktail hour around 5:30, so from noon till then you can eat, sleep, read, write and explore as you wish. In the course of the week we’ll also organize a couple of optional side trips to nearby points of interest. Three charming Mediterranean towns are only about half an hour away; incredible Cathar castle ruins are farther; Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals are sprinkled liberally throughout the region. We’ll try not to get carried away.
Day One – Saturday, September 5 or 12: Arrive in Céret and settle in. The train from either Paris or Barcelona stops in nearby Perpignan; we’ll arrange transportation from there to Céret. We’ll spend Saturday getting acclimated and getting to know each other, with a festive dinner at home or at a restaurant, depending on the group’s choice.
Day Two – Sunday, September 6 or 13: The theme for the day is inspiration – every writer needs it! Simply finding yourself in a foreign environment can seriously spark inspiration, but we’ll also talk about various other sources: memories, fantasies, dreams, landscape, art and architecture. And there will be writing exercises to apply your inspiration.
Day Three – Monday, September 7 or 14: We’ll focus on character in fiction and nonfiction. What are your character’s motives, problems, excuses, wants and needs? How can you use dialog and action to develop character? Writing exercises – yes.
Day Four – Tuesday, September 8 or 15: Let’s think about plot and structure. We’ll look at various definitions of plot and different theories of story structure, then discuss how they work together in your narrative.
Day Five – Wednesday, September 9 or 16: A day devoted to setting: how does it interact with character and plot? What’s the best way to present it on the page?
Day Six – Thursday, September 10 or 17: A big-picture day, when we consider the basic elements of narrative: scene, summary, commentary. How do we balance the elements? Can we do without any of them? We’ll also think about themes and how they emerge.
Day Seven – Friday, September 11 or 18: The art and science of revision. Revisit your dreams, your writing goals, the work you’ve done the past week. We’ll also cover fine- tuning your work and matters of style.
Day Eight – Saturday, September 12 or 19: Time to leave our enchanted village – preferably after more market-day excitement. We’ll arrange for your transport back to Perpignan.
YOUR LEADERS:
Debbie Guyol (dguyol@aol.com) teaches creative writing in the Mature Learning Program at Clark College, where she has inspired scores of students since 2002 and edited an anthology of student writing called Elderberry Wine Vintage 2010. Debbie is also a lawyer who has practiced in New York City and Portland. She is the co-author of The Complete Guide to Contract Lawyering, as well as articles for legal publications. Her co-authored book Pride and Prejudice and Kitties was published by Skyhorse Publishing in April 2013.
Charlotte Rains Dixon (chardixon@comcast.net), a writer and writing coach, teaches at the Writer’s Loft in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and Room to Write at the Scarritt Bennett center in Nashville. Charlotte has also ghostwritten over a dozen books on diverse topics. Among her work-for-hire projects are The Complete Guide to Writing Successful Fundraising Letters, Beautiful America’s Oregon, and Beautiful America’s Wyoming. Her long list of magazine credits includes pieces for Vogue Knitting, The Oregonian and Stepping Out Magazine. Her MFA in Creative Writing is from Spalding University. Charlotte’s novel, Emma Jean’s Bad Behavior, was published by Vagabondage Press in February 2013. She is represented by Erin Niumata at Folio Literary. Visit her website here.
THE DETAILS:
Cost: The price is $2100 if you register by January 31, 2020; after that it goes up to $2200. We require a $400 deposit on registration and complete payment by May 31, 2020. If your spouse or partner wants to come along, there will be an additional charge. The price for a couple who will share a room and both take the workshop is $3100, or $3000 before January 31, 2019.
We offer repeat students a discount – $2000 if you register by January 31; $2100 if you register thereafter.
The price of the program covers lodging, tuition, breakfast and four dinners. Lunch and other dinners are flexible – a mix of meals at home and in restaurants– with the cost shared among participants.
How to apply: Send us a short statement (250 words or fewer) about where you are in your writing now and why you would like to join the workshop and what you hope to get out of it. Please also tell us whether you prefer the week of September 7-14 or 21-28. The program is limited to eight participants. Once either week is full, only the other week will be available.
What to expect: Please bring a computer with word processing capability. The houses where we stay have internet access; you will be expected to send your writing to other class members each day via email. We will discuss student writing as a group, focusing on each day’s subject matter. We encourage constructive discussion of how to improve the writing.
Physical fitness: Okay, we won’t make you do pushups or run a marathon, but you should be aware that there will be stairs, there will be hills and there will be walking. It’s not terribly strenuous, but be advised.
Transportation: We will rent cars to use as needed for grocery shopping and short excursions.
Cancellation policy: The $400 deposit is not refundable. Once you have paid the balance of the cost, we will provide a full refund (less deposit) if you cancel before June 30. If you cancel thereafter there is no refund unless you find a replacement student for us.
Travel insurance: It’s relatively inexpensive; we strongly recommend you purchase it. Allianz is one company we’ve used; MH Ross Advantage plan is recommended by our travel agent friend.
Contact us: chardixon@comcast.net or dguyol@aol.com
Live like a French person! For seven nights, six full days, in the charming Catalonian town of Céret. It’s nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenees and the sparkling Mer Mediterranée is a mere 34 kilometers away. We love this town with its medieval walls and giant plane trees, its modern art museum and bustling Saturday market, its bakeries and bistros. We also love the region, famous for wine, seafood, ruined castles and artists of the early 20th century.
