UFV offers Writer’s Weekend at Hope’s Kawkawa Lake

Want to devote a whole weekend to nothing but writing, writing, and writing (…and learning from and with other writers)? Come to the second annual Writer’s Weekend, presented by UFV Continuing Education.

Treat yourself to a weekend away from your usual obligations in the quiet artistic community of Hope, BC. Enjoy an all-inclusive package: accommodation at Kawkawa Lake, meals, and non-stop writing opportunities with a variety of workshops to choose from as well as writing contests with prizes throughout the weekend. Learn to finally see that novel of yours through to completion from writers who have been there. Whether you are at the outline stage or on your 10th draft, get a customized plan put together for you to reach your goal. Come and spend the weekend with writers who will inspire you and light your writing fire again.

The weekend is slated to run Nov 21-23.

Workshops include:

Breaking into magazine writing

Character development

Novel writing for the time crunched

The emotional work of writing & beating writer’s block

Blogging & other marketing how-to’s

Publishing options & strategies.

You’ll have the opportunity to complete a novel outline and have a writing schedule by the end of the weekend. You’ll learn how to promote your writing and how to land paid writing work. You will have the opportunity to work on your writing and receive feedback and help during the writing sessions and workshops within the weekend.

“Last year’s weekend included outdoor wood fire grilled pizza, early morning and late night guided writing sessions with snacks, comfortable accommodations and beautiful surroundings to walk, kayak, and get inspired in,” said organizer Michelle Vandepol. “We are looking forward to another great weekend this year.”

She and Alison Kilgannon will lead the weekend.

Kilgannon is a sessional English instructor at UFV in the Upgrading and University Preparation department. She is working on her second master’s degree from SFU and is a master of the finished manuscript. Specializing in series writing, her disciplined writing habits will inspire those who want to get into a 9-to-5 habit or those who have no idea where to fit in one more thing, but want to.

Michelle Vandepol is UFV’s Hope Centre coordinator. She has been published in magazines such as New York’s Succeed and Britain’s Woman Alive. Her print credits include a few years of weekly newspaper reporting for the Agassiz Harrison Observer as well as museum guidebook writing for the Yale Museum and visitor’s guidebook, and copywriting for the Village of Harrison Hot Springs. She has also written website copy for a Vancouver-based online job search engine. Her fictional works include a novel (Mother Mexico, 2008) and a collection of short stories (Stories Your Mother Never Told You, 2014). She is also the editor of Groundwork magazine.

The cost for the Writer’s Weekend is $360, including accommodation and meals. It runs from 7 pm Friday night to 2 pm on Sunday. The Continuing Education course code for the weekend is: 80171 WRP WR101 H5A.

Call 1-888-823-8734 for more information, or see: http://www.ufv.ca/continuing_studies/how-to-register/

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