Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep...

With just a month to go until the WriteAway Spring Writer's Retreat at Camp Cedar Lodge, Kim and Ami are giddy with anticipation. We can't wait to share a rustic weekend with you.

The lake! The woods! The clean air!  The camaraderie of other writers! Can't you just *smell* the creativity?

~inhales.... Aaaaaahhhhhhh~

We have discovered that one question -- more than any other -- is on the minds of people planning to attend.

It's not "Tell me more about the faculty and facilitators." Nope. Shawna Ayoub Ainslie and Yi Shun Lai have solid creds that speak volumes.

It's not "What's the closest airport?" [The answer is Kalamazoo, MI. But Grand Rapids, South Bend, Detroit, and Chicago are all easy drives, too.]

"I never want to hear the phrase 'business casual' again."

It's not even "What should I wear?" Because everyone knows that "women only" and "rustic" translates as "Wear comfy clothes; no makeup or heels necessary." Whew!

Hands down, the biggest question on everyone's mind is a variation on "where will I be sleeping?"

We've discovered that "cabins" and "camping" mean very different things to people. Huh. Who knew?

So -- to those who wondered if you needed to bring your own rollmat and mosquito netting...AND to those who asked if there was electricity in the cabins or a concierge, the answer is the same: no.

The beds all have sturdy hardwood frames with standard twin size mattresses. During summer camp they are set up as bunks, but unless you really, really want to check top-bunk-sleeping off your bucket list, there is no need for anyone to do any climbing.

Tall, four-tiered, wooden shelves stand in the cabin like trees in a forest, providing handy storage for important items like writing utensils, flashlights, and a deck of Exploding Kittens.

Bring your own bedding. And your own towels, washcloths, and toiletries. The concierge is you.

To help you visualize, we went to Camp Cedar Lake and made up two "demo beds":

Exhibit A: The Intrepid Explorer

This is the set-up for people who care more for function than form (koff - Ami - koff).

These hardy souls really couldn't give two rips about whether or not things color coordinate, as long as they do the job.

Essential Items

• Sleeping bag
• Blanket
• Pillow
• Hanging flashlight
• Large plooshy stuffed animal (optional)

Exhibit B: The Cozy Camper

Some people have an eye for beauty, elegance, and design. Instead of "gray," "blue," or "orange," they name colors things like "chickadee," "kingfisher," and "oriole."

Like Monty Python's infamous Knights of Ni, when they ask for a shrubbery, they want "one that looks nice." (Kim: these are your people!)

Though such aesthetes lean more toward spas than cabins when they go on vacation, they are no shrinking violets! They boldly bring civilization into the wilderness with them. 

Essential Items

• Top and bottom twin sheets with matching pillowcase
• Sleeping pillow
• Decorative accent pillows
• Down-filled duvet
• Handcrafted vintage quilt
• Retro flashlight
• Fresh flowers (not optional)

Regardless of how you decorate, the #Write2TheEnd WriteAway Spring Writer's Retreat is a weekend to tap into your creativity in fresh, new ways. Meet other great writers. Add some tools to your Writer's Toolbox. Produce some serious wordcount. Soak up buckets of advice and ideas from our faculty. Spread those wings and fly...

There is still time to register: just click the "Buy Now" button and sign up via PayPal. Better yet -- save over 10% if register before April 20. We won't make your bed, but we'll do everything in our power to help make this the Writer's Retreat of your dreams!

Join Novelist Yi Shun Lai & #Write2TheEnd for a Self-Help Book Swap!

Yi Shun Lai

YOU ARE INVITED to a SELF-HELP BOOK SWAP at the #Write2TheEnd offices at 420 Main Street in St. Joseph from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 14.

#Write2TheEnd is honored to welcome writer and editor Yi Shun Lai to southwest Michigan.

Lai is the non-fiction editor of the highly regarded Tahoma Literary Review. She was, for a time, the youngest-ever writer for the legendary J. Peterman catalog. And that was before "Seinfeld" discovered it. Her most recent work is NOT A SELF-HELP BOOK: THE MISADVENTURES OF MARTY WU (2016, Shade Mountain Press), a humorous epistolary novel.

At the Book Swap, Lai will conduct a workshop on keeping an active journal and will discuss her writing process. She will have a limited number of copies of NOT A SELF-HELP BOOK on hand, available for signing and purchase. Light refreshments will be served.

“We have all been tempted by the Self-Help section of the local bookstore,” says Lai.
“And we've probably also all acquired some gems and some duds. Did you get something out of your book and want to pass it on now? Or was it just not for you? Bring it to the Book Swap!"

Prior to the Self-Help Book Swap, On Wednesday, July 13, Lai will be featured in a booksigning and writer’s Q & A session at the Webster Memorial Library, part of the Van Buren District Library, 200 N. Phelps Street, Decatur, from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

She will be a Special Guest at the Webster Memorial Library’s Writing Workshop with Ami Hendrickson the evening of July 13 from 6 to 7:30.

Lai will also appear at Women and Children First in Chicago, IL, on Friday, July 15.

NOT A SELF-HELP BOOK details the life of Marty Wu, a compulsive reader of advice manuals who would love to come across as a poised young advertising professional. Instead, she trips over her own feet and blurts out inappropriate comments. The bulk of her brain matter, she decides, consists of gerbils "spinning madly in alternating directions.”

Marty hopes to someday open a boutique costume shop, but it's hard to keep focused on her dream. First comes a spectacular career meltdown that sends her ricocheting between the stress of New York and the warmth of supportive relatives in Taiwan. Then she faces one domestic drama after another, with a formidable mother who's impossible to please, an annoyingly successful and well- adjusted brother, and surprising family secrets that pop up precisely when she doesn't want to deal with them.

Mining the comedic potential of the 1.5-generation American experience, NOT A SELF-HELP BOOK is an insightful and witty portrait of a young woman scrambling to balance familial expectations and her own creative dreams. Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, author of A Tiger in the Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family raves: "A breezy and charming tale ... Anyone who's grown up immersed in a profoundly rich old-world culture and feels its constant pull will commiserate—and be entertained."

All of Lai’s southwest Michigan appearances are free and open to the public.

#Write2TheEnd is an eight-week intensive writing workshop in St. Joseph facilitated by Ami Hendrickson and Kim Jorgensen Gane. #Write2TheEnd participants have succeeded in finishing novels, poetry chapbooks, non-fiction books, and more. #Write2TheEnd also conducts occasional short workshops. In addition to Lai, noteworthy authors #Write2TheEnd has hosted include Patty Chang Anker (Some Nerve: Lessons Learned While Becoming Brave. Riverhead; Penguin) and Ava Chin (Eating Wildly: Foraging for Life, Love, and the Perfect Meal. Simon & Schuster).

Networking, Ladder Climbing, and Writing to the End

On June 29, beginning at 6:30 p.m., #Write2TheEnd will be hosting a content-rich mini-workshop full of ways you can immediately start Climbing the Writer's Ladder.

Here's one of the ways: Networking.

What does that mean?

It means taking an interest in writers other than yourself.

It means connecting with them, being interested in their process, their journey, their books, and their lives.

It means reaching out to them and making new friends.

It means attending a booksigning or a lecture, or a reading, or seminar, and supporting them.

It means buying their book, reading it, and telling others about it.

What's it look like in practice? Well, if you were one of the people who packed Forever Books in St. Joseph for Ava Chin's booksigning earlier this month, you've seen it firsthand.

EATING WILDLY's author, Ava Chin, with Ami and Kim.

Kim befriended Ava years ago in an online writing group on a topic both were interested in. When Kim found out that Ava was on a book tour, she lost no time in contacting Forever Books and adding a stop to Ava's itinerary.

We spent a wonderful evening with Ava and her family, after which Ava dubbed us "The Thelma and Louise of writing coaching." (I suspect #Write2TheEnd alums will have no trouble deciding who is who...)

Networking is about connecting on a human level with the person who penned the words on the page. It's not about asking that person to do something for you. It's about forging friendships; about giving instead of taking.

This Monday, Kim and I will touch on many of the topics we present in detail during #Write2TheEnd. We'll focus on giving participants the tools to help them progress from "where you are" to "where you want to be."

We'll also provide a preview of what participants can expect from our #Write2TheEnd Summer Session, which begins right after the holiday, Monday evening, July 6th, 6:30-8:30 PM, at our offices in St. Joe (420 Main Street).

Make this the summer you meet the writing goal that's niggled at you for years--you know the one! And we'll pay you to do it!

What's special about #Write2TheEnd?

When it comes to your Big Writing Project, we'll help you ACE IT:

• Accountability
• Community
• Encouragement
• Inspiration
• TOOLS!

And then there's the famous #Write2TheEnd incentive:

#Write2TheEnd pays you back $100 of your registration fee if you meet the challenging yet achievable goal YOU set for yourself on night one!

We help each participant determine an appropriate goal for him or herself (first class, Monday, July 6, 6:30-8:30 PM). And we will spend the entire summer (Mondays, 6:30-8:30 PM, through August 31st) supporting you and providing tools that make it possible for you to achieve that goal!

More than anything in the world, we WANT you to succeed! And we do everything in our power to help you make it happen for yourself this summer.

It is possible! You CAN achieve your goal! We'll teach you how.