Weekend Writer’s Retreat at the Oxbow: An Event Recap
As writers, we are constantly pulled in different directions. Work on your craft--network--social media and marketing--keep writing!--revise & edit--take your work to your critique group--oh, and try to still go to your day job, and sleep sometimes, too.
It can be difficult to prioritize where you should be spending your time and energy, for sure, and then you add in the part about money. We’re told, “Think of it as an investment,” but what does that really mean?
For me, writing is somewhere in between a hobby and a side-hustle, and it’s often difficult for me to spend large amounts of money on something that I can almost be certain I’ll never make back. So, I’m extra careful when it comes to signing up for workshops/conferences/writing institutes. I want to make sure that I’ll be learning something new.
This year was the second time in a row that I attended the
“Weekend Writer’s Retreat at the Oxbow”
put on by the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild. This event happens at this incredible hotel in downtown Eau Claire, Wisconsin, called the Oxbow. Are you familiar with the band Bon Iver? The main singer, Justin Vernon, is from Eau Claire and this is his hotel. I LOVE staying here. The feel is so conducive to art and creativity. Each room has a turntable, and you can check out records from the lobby.
Here are the things I LOVE about this retreat:
The people.
Everyone here comes to learn. They’re helpful, positive, and supportive. Each year that I’ve gone, I’ve left with new friends. The schedule is set up so that you have time and space to get to know new people and find those that jive with you.
Mixed genres
I was hesitant at first because I’m a creative nonfiction writer, but the 3 different instructors represented fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. I’m embarrassed to say I thought I’d be bored during the poetry becuase I am SO not a poet. You are all smarter than I, though, and you know that learning from writers across genres is actually brilliant and incredibly helpful. In the end we’re all writers, and even though I hate to admit it, we’re all poets, too.
The Reading
We learn. We write. We workshop. And then we read. This is my favorite part. Other writers come in to listen, and we have a microphone and we all read. And there is everything from humorous essays about growing up to poetry about sexual assault to stories of living in Iran. It is INCREDIBLE. So much talent all in the same room--even though we’re all at different places in our learning and writing.
BJ
I have to end by mentioning BJ Hollars, the director of the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild. He’s so nice and welcoming that at first you may not realize that he is a writing genius who is published by the Washington Post, has written a handful of amazing books, and is friends with people like Michael Martone and Christi Clancy and A. Rafael Johnson. He somehow makes the whole thing come together and makes everyone feel like they can be successful and that there is just nothing to worry about.
The CVWG puts on this event every February, and I’m planning on attending until somebody kicks me out! To keep informed about this event and the other CVWG events, click here.
Christy Wopat is a 4th-grade teacher and writer from Holmen, Wisconsin. She serves as a board member for the Mississippi Valley Writer’s Guild, and loves to celebrate the written word. You can find out more about Christy at www.christywopat.com.