The retreat is now in full swing!
We began yesterday with a tour of the spectacular bio dynamic farm at Finca Luna Nueva, seeing toucans, flocks of parrots and much more. Then we dove into the first writing workshop – a 2-hour session about inspiration: where to find it as a writer, and how to stay inspired. We have a fabulous group of talented writers here this year, and it’s a joy to see them grappling with ideas, and to hear them read work that they are justifiably proud of. Yesterday was the Superbowl, so in the late afternoon they all taxied into La Fortuna for dinner and to watch the game.
Today’s workshop was all about mining our lives for stories – how do we use fact in our fiction, and how do we shape of life’s experiences into stories? We explored a specific short story writing technique, and by the end of the two hours, everyone had a writing piece to share.
This afternoon, some of us wrote by the pool, others in hammocks or on verandas, while life in the rainforest clicked, screamed and buzzed around us. A group even donned boots and explored the dense Cabalonga Trail, which leaves from our lodge. We ate dinner in the open air restaurant, and ended the day with a provocative discussion about getting an agent, finding a publisher, how to edit, whether poetry needs to rhyme and whether it’s possible for writers to write from the perspective of different cultures, genders and so on.
A productive and wonderful two days.
