THIS VIRTUAL PROMPT-A-THON IS FOR WRITERS
a) want to wake up and write!
b) want to play and engage in unique writing prompts
c) love to dance!
d) want to share their writing and get some feedback
e) want to generate new writing
f) want to write with other writers virtually
g) want to feel community while writing
REGISTRATION
The cost of this prompt-a-thon is $35 and is limited to 30 participants.
Please register by emailing Vanessa at shieldsvanessa@gmail.com. Then, please pay the $35 cost via e-transfer. Once payment has been received, Vanessa will send you the Zoom link!
WHAT WILL HAPPEN DURING THIS PROMPT-A-THON
We will gather virtually for three hours of writing magic and fun! Led by Vanessa Shields and Cassandra Caverhill, writers will be given loads of fun writing prompts for all kinds of different writing styles—including but not limited to: poetry, prose, dialogues, scenes, humour writing, essays, word-play and more! Prompts will be timed—some speedy and under 3 minutes, some long over 10 minutes. We will have DANCE BREAKS where writers are welcome to get up and shake their thangs to stretch and move between writing prompts. Writers are welcome to keep their cameras on, but certainly don’t have to. Writers will keep their microphones OFF, unless in the break-out session when sharing. We will offer two break-out sessions where Cassie and Vanessa will lead a sharing and feedback session in a different Zoom room. Writers do not have to participate in a break-out session!
Payment via e-transfer will confirm your spot. If payment is not made by Friday, December 5th, you will not be allowed into the meeting.
COST TRANSPARENCY
We have budgeted this cost to include marketing and prep-and-teaching time. It is important to us that our time is valued and shown support for its value monetarily. Market research shows that the cost for this retreat is on the low-end compared to similar offerings. We are doing our best to be mindful of the challenges we all face when cultivating our creative lives as well as being realistic and respectful of our own time and expertise.
POLICIES & FINE-PRINT
When the payment for the prompt-a-thon is made there will be no refunds.
If a payment plan has been confirmed, please follow it.
PLEASE BE KIND. ABSOLUTELY NO CRUELTY WILL BE TOLERATED.
The How to Get Started – Exercising Your Writing Skills is a one-day writing retreat intended to give you tools to get you started on your writing projects—new or old, in any genre—and to build writing practices into your daily life.
WHO IS THIS WRITING RETREAT FOR?
d) have an idea for a single creative writing piece, in any genre, but need inspiration to begin
e) want to meet other writers
f) want to be part of a writing community
g) are curious about writing in general and want to learn
IF YOU THOUGHT, HEY THAT’S ME! TO ANY OF THIS LIST—THIS WRITING RETREAT IS FOR YOU!
This writing retreat is for writer who:
a) want to make a creative writing a habit in their busy lives
b) have a writing project, in any genre, they’d like to begin but they don’t know how
c) have a writing project, in any genre, they started long ago, and they want to dive back into
WHAT WILL HAPPEN AT THIS WRITING RETREAT?
The retreat will begin promptly at 10:00 am at our creative and inspiring location with a smattering of yummy breakfast treats followed by brief introductions and an ice-breaker writing prompt. A lesson about how to make writing an everyday part of your creative life will ensue, including hand-outs and hands-on information. We will break for a stretch, then get back to education! Lunch will follow, and our afternoon will be filled with tools for diving into any writing project. Writing will happen in the afternoon! Please bring your work/project ideas so we can discuss them and relate to your personal writing experiences. We will break for a walk in a beautiful park, learning how to engage with nature for inspiration. Finally, we will share and discuss our goals for our writing lives beyond the retreat.
CONTACT
VANESSA – shieldsvanessa@gmail.com | CASSANDRA – cmcaverhill@gmail.com
REGISTRATION & COST TRANSPARENCY
The cost for this full-day writing retreat is $125.00 and is limited to 15 participants.
To register, please email Vanessa Shields at: shieldsvanessa@gmail.com. Please include any questions you may have and/or any financial concerns and payment transparencies you may have. To confirm your registration, payment can be made via e-transfer or cash. E-transfers can be sent to Vanessa’s email.
When you have paid, you will receive a welcome email confirming your spot, and other information regarding the retreat, including inquiries about accessibility and food concerns.
We have budgeted this cost to include light breakfast refreshments, a full lunch, supplies (print-outs/digital class info, fun stuff you receive as part of the session), marketing, and prep-and-teaching time. It is important to us that our time is valued and shown support for its value monetarily. Market research shows that the cost for this retreat is on the low-end compared to similar offerings. We are doing our best to be mindful of the challenges we all face when cultivating our creative lives as well as being realistic and respectful of our own time and expertise. Payment plans are possible.
POLICIES & FINE-PRINT
When the payment for the retreat is made, a full refund will only occur due to illness/extenuating circumstances communicated as soon as possible. PLEASE EMAIL IF YOU CANNOT MAKE THE RETREAT.
If you are ill, please let us know and do not attend the session. Safety and good health first!
There will be food and beverages available. If you have any food/health concerns, please let us know immediately.
If a payment plan has been confirmed, please follow it.
Thank you for your interest in our Feedback Forum series! We created this six-week, three-hour-a-week writing group to offer space and time for writers from all genres to generate new writing and share it in a brave, safe, kind group that offers genuine feedback and gentle accountability. We realize that, even for ourselves, generating new writing is a challenge, and receiving feedback is difficult when time is crushing (like, when we’re up against a submission deadline!).
We have created a six-week, discussion and feedback-style series that is meant to support those writers who are looking for community, accountability, and inspired motivation to write new things.
WHO IS THIS SERIES FOR?
This series is for writers who:
A) want to generate new work
B) want to be part of an engaging, brave, kind literary community
C) want to learn about the craft of writing
D) want to challenge themselves to write something new for six weeks
E) want to learn how to give and receive feedback
F) want to read their writing out loud
G) want to write based on unique, challenging yet exciting writing prompts
WHAT HAPPENS IN EACH SESSION?
Each session will include a discussion on the craft of writing, a writing prompt and time to write so to get started on the new piece of writing (in ANY GENRE you’d like!) that we will then share the following session. Then, the remainder of the session will include each writer reading their work and receiving feedback on the piece. Each writer will bring 6 copies of their work to class. (If you need printing support, just let us know!)
We will send a prompt as part of your registration confirmation that you can use to inspire your first shared writing in our first session.
Also in our initial class, we will set the foundation for what feedback is, and how to give and receive it in brave, safe, kind ways.
Each week, writers will choose one of the following formats to share their writing:
POETRY – 2 poems or three pages, single-spaced
MEMOIR OR FLASH FICTION – 2 flash fiction stories or 3 pages of prose, double-spaced
PROSE – any genre of writing up to 3 pages, double-spaced
What this means is that you can choose whatever genre/style of writing you’d like to create so long as it stays within the above lengths. This is to ensure that each writer gets fair time to read and receive feedback on their piece.
Please note: although we will be offering prompts, you do not have to write based on the prompt – so long as the writing you’re sharing is ‘new’ work – write your heart out!
Each session is three-hours and WILL include a break!
CONTACT
VANESSA – shieldsvanessa@gmail.com | CASSANDRA – cmcaverhill@gmail.com
COST TRANSPARENCY
The cost of this series is $175 (no HST). The early-bird cost is $150 (no HST), registration due by September 22, 2025. Payment can be made via e-transfer or cash. Payment plans are possible, so please let us know if this is a path for you. Payment otherwise, will be due in-full on-or-before the first session (Thursday, October 2, 2025).
We have budgeted this cost to include light refreshments, cavern supplies (print-outs/digital class info, fun stuff you receive as part of the session) and support (including marketing), and prep-and-teaching time. It is important to us that our time is valued and shown support for its value monetarily. Market research shows that the cost for this series is on the low-end compared to similar offerings. We are doing our best to be mindful of the challenges we all face when cultivating our creative lives as well as being realistic and respectful of our own time and expertise.
POLICY FINE-PRINT
When the payment for the Forum is made, there will be no refunds.
If a writer cannot make a class, there will not be a refund for the session missed.
Please communicate with one of the teachers if you will not be able to make it to a session. We can email you the prompt and the craft information as well as feedback from one of us if you have the writing complete, but just can’t make it to the session.
If you are ill, please let us know and do not attend the session. Safety and good health first!
There will be food and beverages available. If you have any food/health concerns, please let us know immediately.
If a payment plan has been confirmed, please follow it.
Extenuating circumstances happen. Please communicate with us if you find yourself in this situation.