PRING 
IME 
RITERS
SPRING TIME WRITERS
Writing Workshops
Words for the Mind & Spirit
Workshop Calendar – 2009
including Writing Tips and Exercises
Attend a workshop in the Colorado Rocky Mt. Region to improve your writing skills while relaxing in a mountainside retreat, with endless sunshine and deep-blue skies, breathing in fresh mountain air, and enjoying fresh foods. Be nurtured with warm, professional tutoring on how to get your book or memoirs started or refined, or write short stories and essays. Classes restricted to only one to four people to enable private attention (special arrangements for groups up to eight). Most workshops are especially designed for women. (see below "Home" page for more details.) Includes creative writing in everything you do: fiction, self-help non-fiction, and journalings.
Birthing of Creative Writing, and
Capturing Random Memories ©
Writers Tips and Anthology available.
Our compilation book of our finest writing tips and exercises, and samples of works published on our web site over the past three years. Clear, exciting, simple and fun! Visit "Writers: Birthing Creative Writing..." for more details on this anthology. Only $11.95 plus $2 postage.
For Full Description, click the Link:
Our Most Popular Workshops for 2009
Dates are subject to Change
See our Calendar page for an easy view of what's happening this month.
Click on the Individual Workshop page to see which Sessions are Full.
Holistic Wellness (with Journaling)
4 day weekend workshops; offered May to September Therapy for the Heart
This is a spa and wellness weekend. Includes treatments and education. Attune your chi energy with nature, begin self-healing, change your life style through knowledge of nutrition, and enjoy benefits of spa treatments. Journaling guidance for self-healing and self-discovery, and meditations.
Creative Writing
4 day weekend workshops, offered twice monthly, May to September. Creative Writing Creative Writing:
==May 22 May 25 (Memorial Day Weekend);
==June 5 to 8, June 19 to 22 (Father's Day/Summer Solstice)
==July 3 to 6 (4th of July Weekend); July 17 to 20
==July 31 to August 3; August 14 to 17
==September 4 to 7 (Labor Day Weekend). and September 18 to 21, 2009.
==Optional: a workshop may be added in October.
Creative writing workshop: exercises, discussions, critiques; warm atmosphere and serene surroundings to meditate in and be inspired. For fiction and non-fiction writers and novelists. Goal of the class is to break down traditional writing barriers and produce heart-felt fresh material. Small classes for individual attention. Limited to 1 to 3 people for personal attention.
Journaling for Self-Discovery; Memoirs; Biographies
4 day weekend workshops, offered twice monthly, May to September. Journaling only
In-Depth Journaling: June 12 to 15, July 10 to13, August 7 to 10, and September 11 to 14, 2009 (July and September are "Visual Journaling;" see more below)
In-depth journaling could change your life! Find out what's been keeping you back. Uncover hidden motivations. Discover your true thoughts and aspirations. Find insight into solving problems. Optional: Write your own life story; memoirs or biography.
NOTE: The weekends of July 4 and 18 are tentatively full.
Missed the deadline for registering?
Sometimes weekends do not get booked until 2 or 3 weeks before the date,
so do not hesitate to call if the weekend date you need is less than one month
away. Also, sometimes there are people who want to switch to a different week,
and a spot might open up. Generally, fees are due in full one month before the workshop,
but other arrangements are sometimes possible for late registrants. Give us a call...
New Workshops for 2009
Dates are subject to Change
Watch this web page, or subscribe to our free Newsletter to stay informed about these and other new workshops.
See our Calendar page for an easy view of what's happening this month.
"Express Yourself," Visual Journaling
4 day weekend workshops, offered twice during summer Journaling
July 10 to 13; September 11 to 14, 2009. (See also Self-Help Journaling above)
Using art to help bring out "your story." (no artistic experience required) It's fun and revealing! This also involves journaling (writing), in order to understand better your discoveries. Learn the meaning of colors and how they affect your life. Make a mandala (circle medallion for meditation). An easy art project each day!
"Blooming Poets," Poetry for Beginners
4 day weekend workshops, offered twice during summer. Creative Writing
June 12 to 15; August 7 to 10, 2009.
Have you always enjoyed poetry and wished you could get a grasp on how to write it, or improve on your pieces? This workshop involves learning the basics of the different types of poetry, and then soaring ahead into the beauty, joy and pleasure of writing poems that have great meaning and depth to you and your readers.
Try out Being a Journalist for the Day
4 day weekend workshops, offered three times during the summer. Journalist
July 24 to 27; August 21 to 24; September 25 to 28, 2009.
Be a reporter for the weekend! Your choice: Either try out at our retreat different styles of newspaper/magazine writing, like features, reviews, interviews and more --or-- Come and attend the local festival or event. Learn how to take notes, interview participants, and put them all into a resume-quality article.
Book Consultation
4 day weekend workshops, offered during the summer. Creative Writing: Books
We have had clients come to us with their unpublished books for critical analysis. We can check the content, consistencies, outlines, proposals and more. You will go home with a fresh look at your work and lists to use in continuing the editing or submission process. We will have discussions with you while you are here and give you immediate satisfaction through interaction and improvements in your material. This is the one workshop where you can bring your computer with you. Ask us for more details and see our recommendations.
"Throughout history, artistic expression has been recognized as a catalyst for healing. Art is an expression of mind and spirit, and cannot be left out of our equation of healing...Modern art therapy is being employed as a potent healthcare intervention." Larry Dossey, MD. Author, "Prayer is Good Medicine and Healing Words."
Tentative Workshops: Aimed at bringing more "springtime" into our lives, year round.
These tours are usually one week long, include unique beautiful lodging and somel meals, all Tour transportation and guides or teachers, and run approximately $1,500.00. (We can arrange to take your small group on their own exclusive trip.) Go to our Creative Writing page for more information.
Watch this web page, or subscribe to our free Newsletter to stay informed about these and other new workshops. Get on an email list for more information.
CREATING A NEW WORLD (NEW ORLEANS AND LOCAL PLANTATIONS) Tentatively scheduled during the fall; approx. one week.
We are bringing back our workshop to Louisiana. It was cancelled the last couple of years due to Katrina. We will be doing some journaling, and staying at luxurious lodging on a couple of plantations, with daily half-day tours.
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SOUTHWEST ARCHITECTURE Tentatively scheduled during late winter (February/March); approx. one week.
Our tour centers around the delightfully hot spot of Phoenix, Arizona. You will find numerous spectacular examples of southwest architecture and art in this area, and you are guaranteed a sunny day!
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"FINDING YOUR MISSION IN LIFE" We have brought back our highly popular workshop this year. It is tentatively scheduled for 4th of July week, so participants can take the holiday week to travel here; and during the first full week of August, depending on the number of people interested in participating. Write us for more details on this intense inner-search into "who you are and what is your mission in life." === Most of our workshops involve self-analysis and clarification of goals, particularly the journaling ones.
Attend local festivals and events
Estes Park is just outside of the Rocky Mt. National Park. It has a festival pretty much every weekend during the summer, with many of them lasting a full week. If you would like to stay at our B&B Retreat for a full week to enjoy the area, check out the Chamber Events Calendar and the Lyons Chamber Calendar. Our students get a special rate of $65 per night if they stay on (see reservation for for more details).
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ATTENTION GROUPS!
Do you have a small "Writers Group" or a "Single Women Travellers" group or such? and might be interested in attending a WORKSHOP TOGETHER? Our regular workshops are limited to three people, but we can work with you to accommodate larger groups. Contact us! We would love to offer you a once-in-lifetime experience of going to any of our above workshop on a date mutually agreed to. We can offer single bedroom lodging or shared rooms for a lower price. Don't wait; our calendar fills up fast, as the Rocky Mountains are a very popular destination.
NOTES:
==Watch this web page, or subscribe to our free Newsletter
to stay informed about these and other new workshops.==
==See our Calendar page for an easy view of what's happening this month.==
==You can extend your stay to enjoy the Colorado Rocky Mts. sights at very reasonable prices.==
==Workshops are conducted over 4-day weekends May to September. Contact us for availability.==
==The Retreat was "refreshed" in the fall of 2005/6, and photos are displayed on this page.==
Subscribe to our free Newsletter to be informed on these dates.
Writing Tips
(June/July 2009) "Write a Check List"
Everyone should have a check list of what should be in their story. Some people do not think beyond the basics, such as storyline, conclusion, character development. These are more the hard facts of the basics. A dedicated writer will develop a list that helps make your story interesting. Then, as you write more stories, you will be adding to the check list.
Here are some I've picked up along the way: Is the story PACED so it holds the reader’s attention? Are TRANSITIONS smooth? Does the action proceed LOGICALLY? Are flashback scenes and background information worked into the plot appropriately for fiction of this length? Develop an initial list now.
All "tips" and "exercises" are copyrighted
by Kathleen Spring, Spring Times, 1998-2009
Writing Exercise.
(June/July 2009) "Dialogue is Different than Conversation"
The biggest thing that people get wrong in writing screenplays or movie scripts is to try and write the same way you would write a novel. People do not speak in real life the same way they speak in movies and plays or in novels. In real life, we often speak in fragments. We often pause in mid-sentence. We do not need to put in words or nouns to identify who we are talking to, because all parties can SEE who is talking to whom. "Listen" to this: "Hi Joe. What's up?" "Not much." "You going to the party?" "That's the same night as my mom's birthday. How's that for luck?" "Bummer." In real life, a conversation often has a lot of small talk. Sometimes we fill space to kill time. Or we may not know a person well and talk about the weather. "Nice day, huh?" This is boring stuff when it's on the screen.
Dialogue has a purpose. It is meant to move a scene along. Does the person mentioned above want to avoid the party and is making up excuses? Is he closer to his mother than his friend? Is he avoiding the friend or someone who will be at the party? All of these things could make the scene more exciting and give us information to move the story along.
Try out some dialogue vs. conversation "drafts." Do a short fiction story a page or two long, and then write a play script about the same subject. Compare them. How do you think you could improve them? Are you good at writing dialogue or was it very difficult to write?
If you are still hungry for more tips and exercises,
sign up for our quarterly newsletter and
have three more delivered to your email box.
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Workshops make a Great Life-long Gift!
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As seen in ARTICLES in: the N Y Times Travel Section, " Writing retreats" -and- "Travel and Leisure" writers retreats -and- in "Journaling" magazine
Know a friend without a computer -
we'll send a brochure.
Spring Times
P. O. Box 512
Lyons, CO 80540-0512
(303) 823-0997
10am to 7pm Mountain Time MST, only please
Check this web site for the latest information.
Thanks for visiting; see you soon!
Date last modified: June 22, 2009 9:00 AM
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Disclaimer – Copyright 1998-2009: All logos, photos, and original and html text are Copyright © by Kathleen Spring. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction or use is prohibited without written permission from owner. – All prices, dates and itineraries are subject to change at the discretion of the owner. Travellers are advised to ask their doctor about their tolerance of higher elevations (5,000 to 10,000 feet approximately). See reservation page for other advice/warnings. Owner may cancel or alter trips if unusual conditions come up; and reserves the right to decline to accept or retain any participant, at any time, as a member of the workshop or trip, without refund. This would be a rare circumstance, mainly to keep the integrity of the program and privacy and respect for the other individuals attending or instructing. The program content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Participants should be and will be made aware that they should always seek the advice of their physician or other qualified health provider with any questions they may have regarding a
medical condition. All notification of cancellations must be received in writing; penalties will apply. Prices are in USA dollars. See Form Contract for full disclosure.
