Category: Retreat

Q & A: My 10-day silent meditation retreat in Washington state

12/1/2019

Jennifer Karchmer was a student in a ten-day silent meditation retreat in March 2011 through the Northwest Vipassana Center, known as Dhamma Kuñja, located in Onalaska, WA. What follows is Jennifer’s personal experience, as told in interview form while she was living in Reykjavik, Iceland in 2012.

Click here to read the entire article on Medium:
https://medium.com/datadriveninvestor/jennifer-karchmer-was-a-student-in-a-ten-day-silent-meditation-retreat-in-washington-state-f1af95577f27

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My First Writer's Retreat: Write Doe Bay

1/30/2018

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by Jennifer Karchmer

Plenty of time for writing exercises at Write Doe Bay. Photo courtesy: Casey Sjogren.

I'm hot and cold about writer's retreats. This is pretty funny because I've been a professional writer for more than 25 years, so you'd think that I would jump at the chance to share a comfy couch with fellow scribes and commiserate about the craft.

But my relationship to the weekend escape known as the retreat is more like a "Sam and Diane" connection (think TV show "Cheers") rather than a hand-in-glove love affair. I'm a writer in passion, talent and career, but I tend to resist the meta — the bird's-eye view of writing.

This ambivalence is rooted in two precepts common to many writers — fear and procrastination. What if I find out that my writing sucks, that everyone else is better than me? Am I just stalling by getting away from it all, when what I really need is to get my butt in the chair?

"A writer writes, right? How could attending a veritable break get more words on the page," I thought?

Last fall, I decided to drop all of this psychological baggage to attend Write Doe Bay, a writer's mecca in Washington state that dubs itself, "an intimate artists' retreat and multi-workshop event..." Now that the dust has settled, I can say this three-day weekend (Oct. 6-8, 2017) gave me ...

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My First Writer's Retreat: Hosting "Ask the Editor"

9/8/2016

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Writers gather around the drawing board as we brainstorm manuscripts during the first "Ask the Editor Writer's Retreat" held in Poulsbo, WA in August 2016.

What do you get when you put a handful of writers and one editor in a room for eight hours? Well, the punchline doesn't involve a bar, how to screw in a lightbulb or entering the gates of heaven, but it can lead you to improving your manuscript and ultimately answering the question: How do I hire the right editor?

In August, I explored that question as part of my first writing intensive course: The Writer's Retreat: Ask the Editor. As the owner of Over the Shoulder Editorial, I work with a variety of writing clients in fiction, essay, memoir, and creative writing, in addition to master's students, academics, and corporate clients. The writers who come to me are published and also up and coming. Over time, I've been compiling a FAQ list based on clients' questions related to writing.

Apparently, there is a mystery surrounding what exactly an editor does. For example, many clients ask what is the difference between proofreading and editing? How about the different types of editing, such as copyediting and line editing? How do I know when I need an editor? How do I hire the right editor? What is a developmental edit? How about a Manuscript Overview? Do I have to "Accept" each of my editor's suggestions, or can I "Reject" them (ode to MSWord's Track Changes).

These are all very good questions, so I decided to hold a retreat to help writers get the basics of what an editor does. This is helpful for writers at all levels. You will be able to decide how and when to hire an editor.

Original promotional poster for The Writer's Retreat: Ask the Editor

Take for example the different writing phases. If you are in what is known as the "messy draft" (the very beginnings of writing your novel where you are trying out language, character development and just getting the story on the page), it doesn't make sense to hire an editor because much of the manuscript may change and it's OK to be making mistakes at this phase.

Later, when you've moved into your "method draft," (when the story has taken shape and you need guidance), you will want to hire the right person to offer suggestions on story arc, scene development, tension buildup and overall organization.

Would you like an hour with a professional editor?
I am available for writing coaching. Send me an email today to set up your consult.

With these critical questions in mind, I began "The Writer's Retreat: Ask the Editor" with five motivated writers from a variety of backgrounds. We had two Young Adult writers, an author of historical fiction, a romance/mystery writer and an author dabbling in both fiction and nonfiction.

During the two days, I presented structured workshop sessions and also more informal discussions on how to pitch to an agent, common writer's mistakes and how to improve your MS (see agenda and sample materials below). Also, writers had an opportunity to sit down one/one to receive personalized critique on a sample of their MS. We also covered how to start and join a writer's group, how to write a synopsis, and helpful advice on when to hire an editor. It was a weekend chockfull of information, brainstorming, collaboration, laughing, oh, yea, and good meals and coffee. I too learned a great deal about writer's concerns so that I can be best attuned to their needs and cater to their specific manuscripts. No two writers are alike!

"Apparently, there is a big mystery surrounding what exactly an editor does."

I teamed with Laura Kemp, an artist and writer, who graciously offered her Poulsbo, WA home and studio, Gamble Creek Farm & Studio for our setting. Gamble Creek has a spacious indoor workspace where we held instruction, lovely grounds for lunchtime and writer reflection (and birdwatching!), and a private and relaxing area for an editor to hold one/one consults with writers for individualized manuscript feedback sessions.

Please contact me if you'd like me to design a special workshop or session for your writer's group, conference, school or event. Also, contact Laura Kemp at Gamble Creek Farm & Studio as she continues to host creative workshops in Poulsbo, WA in writing, art, drawing, and photography.

Click below to see a sample of the "Ask the Editor" materials including the agenda

Photo gallery (below) of The Writer's Retreat: Ask the Editor held in Poulsbo, WA, August 20-21, 2016.

The editor treats participants to a rendition of the Auxilary Verbs (sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy).

So if you missed the inaugural writer's intensive, not to worry. I plan to hold more of these workshops in the future. Meantime, I am very accessible via social media and around the Internet so please see the links below and LIKE and Share and read some of my work.

Connect with Jennifer on social media:

Listen to my Podcast "The Whatcom Wordsmith" http://www.jenniferkarchmer.com/podcast.html
FB (LIKE and Share my page please) https://www.facebook.com/The-Whatcom-Wordsmith-322427831172671/
Find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/editor_jk
Check out my website: http://www.jenniferkarchmer.com/
Here's a fun piece about New York Times best-selling author Robert Dugoni: http://www.jenniferkarchmer.com/blog/why-a-robert-dugoni-master-class-is-like-a-course-in-film-appreciation

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Q & A: My 10-day silent meditation retreat in Washington state

My First Writer's Retreat: Write Doe Bay

My First Writer's Retreat: Hosting "Ask the Editor"

Jennifer Karchmer

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