WRITE BY THE LAKE 2012: A summer writers retreat

July 2012: 7th annual summer writer's retreat and workshop. Monday July 23- Friday July 27, 9 am till 3 pm daily.

Please contact me for more details.

Write by the River Summer Fiction Workshop
English 2903A Carleton University

May 8 till August 14, Tuesday evenings, 6-9 pm.

This is a very popular class, so please send in your 10 page double spaced portfolios anytime.

Please contact me for more details.

SPRING WRITING WORKSHOP
Collected Works Bookstore & Coffee Bar, Holland at Wellington,Ottawa

8 weeks starting Monday April 16, 7-9 pm.

Please contact me for more details.

SIXTH ANNUAL WRITE BY THE LAKE with Richard Taylor

(New venue, same quiet lake, but near the waterfall at our beautiful cottage Monet Bay in Val des Monts Quebec, only 35 minutes from downtown Ottawa.)

A Summer Writers’ Workshop July 18-22

A Summer Writers’ Retreat July 25-29

See POSTER and BROCHURE for more details

Jumpstart, write and develop your short stories, post card fiction, novels, poetry, blogs, humour, travel and memoir writing.

In both the Workshop and the Retreat, writers will have the opportunity to read, write, reflect and rekindle literary desires at a stunning motorboat-free lake with a writer who has taught workshops for 20 years. In the Retreat, writers will have more time alone to focus on specific works in progress. The Workshop will be devoted to more group activities: writing jumpstarts; reading published examples of various genres; finding a personal voice; choosing a subject, and developing a sense of structure. In both the Workshop and Retreat there will be group critiques; creative revision and editing; and learning how to balance inspiration and discipline. The Workshop and the Retreat will consist of a comfortable blend of beginner, intermediate and advanced writers. Expect feedback and encouragement, and suggestions about how to discover the hidden stories within the stories you think you are writing. Look forward to a guest writer, homemade chocolate chip cookies and other literary surprises.

NOTE: For those who do not wish to drive, there are two rooms available in a neighbouring lakeside cottage. Please call 613 728-3237 for details and reservation.

The Workshop or Retreat starts 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be a 2 hour break which will include a tasty lunch, and perhaps a chance for a kayak, swim, hike, or laze on the dock, or on chairs beneath shady trees by one of the most picturesque lakes in Eastern Canada. Friday afternoon concludes with a fun potluck celebration and readings. Each day writers will drive up to the lake house and go home in the afternoon. Some folks will carpool to make transportation easier and more interesting.

The cost for the week is $350: a $100 deposit a.s.a.p., and $250 at registration. For more information please email Richard Taylor taylorswave@gmail.com.

Richard Taylor has published a collection of short stories, a novel, many feature articles, and a travel memoir, House Inside The Waves: Domesticity, Art and the Surfing Life. He has taught countless creative writing workshops in Ottawa, Hong Kong, Australia and Tuscany. Since 1995 when he was writer in residence at Carleton University, he has taught the Fiction Workshop; and for 5 years he taught writing at Algonquin College. While surfing and swimming around the world he is working on an unusual book about swimming with writers called, Water and Desire.

"All good writing is swimming underwater and holding your breath." F. Scott Fitzgerald

Creative Writing Workshop

Creative Writing at the Pari Center For New Learning is in the heart of a medieval Italian hilltown. Relax and learn, bathe in the local hotspring or visit Siena, Florence and nearby Etruscan sites.

KITCHISSIPPI TIMES, Newswest, March 2005

It's not as romantic as a hilltop in Tuscany, an island near Hong Kong, nor as exciting as a lively Australian beachfront, three exotic locales where Richard Taylor has run writing workshops, but Collected Works Bookstore, "one of the best independent bookstores in Ottawa," offers a rich atmosphere for Taylor's writing workshops.

Local author Richard Taylor has been running workshops at Collected Works Bookstore and Coffee Bar for over eight years. Writers of all ages, abilities and backgrounds meet around a table at the back of the store. In a typical workshop, students discuss their writing, examine and practice various aspects of the craft and give feedback about their works in progress.

" At any given moment," explains Taylor, " the atmosphere can be upbeat, pensive, focused, improvisational, studious, poignant, soulful, sunny or sad as we read our writing to see what makes a manuscript work, and what might make it work better."

Taylor also balances his workshops with practical tips where he discusses the writer's market, getting published, editing, and upcoming literary events and contests.

After teaching over 50 eight week workshops since 1992 in Ottawa and around the world, Taylor understands what people gain from them. " I feel that I can motivate aspiring writers into being better writers and readers. And in some cases, the people who take my workshops take it as a stepping stone towards other forms of personal growth. I have made a lot of friends as a result of teaching."

About a quarter of Taylor's students at Collected Works are from the neighbourhood, which makes for a helpful networking environment. It is also a good setting for writers, says Taylor, because they " are surrounded by some of the finest literature in the world." He says the staff " really know their stuff" and is involved in the local writing community. The store "prides itself in being a special place for readers, and writers."

As a bonus, Taylor assures me the location "offers some of the best coffee in town, and the second best homemade cookies." He is known to bring his own famous cookies to class!"

Taylor has helped jumpstart many writing careers. When asked about the best compliment he has received as a teacher, he tells me, "aside from having the pleasure of helping people get their words on paper, many writers have thanked me in the acknowledgement page of their published books of poetry, short stories, memoirs or novels." On the flip side, he says, "the worst criticism any writing teacher can get is when an aspiring writer stops writing."

Taylor's credentials range from a published novel, a collection of short stories, his recent travel memoir, HOUSE INSIDE THE WAVES: Domesticity, Art and the Surfing Life, and feature articles for the Ottawa Citizen, In Flight magazines and travel anthologies. He teaches writing at Carleton University and is working on a book about swimming called WATER AND DESIRE. For more information about upcoming workshops at Collected Works Bookstore, contact Richard Taylor at (613) 7861422.

"Rick Taylor is an inspiring and extremely energetic teacher. He takes much thought to presenting additional materials. He is excited about writing and infuses his classes with this while being aware of each person's style and ability and being sensitive to this. I met Rick before my first book was published and he was an integral force in helping this to happen. He had a feeling the book was ready to come together and was determined to help. Rick's great strength, along with his own writing, is his ability to see possibilities and potentials in others and act on this. This makes him a great teacher."

- Michelle Desbarats, author of a book of poems, Last Child To Come Inside.

"Rick Taylor expresses great enthusiasm for his student's work. Whatever your skills or preferred genre, he approaches the work on its own terms and keeps you motivated to the end. Helping writers find the right forum for publishing their pieces is one of his key strengths."

- Alison Gresik, author of the collection of short stories, Brick and Mortar. (The manuscript of this book was taken to Oberon Press and handed to the editor along with a strong letter of recommendation written by Rick.)

"I've done two writer's workshops with Richard and both times found his approach helpful to my writing. Richard's passion and his considerable experience make him inspirational to beginner and experienced writers alike. His workshops have shown me how to bring a better focus and energy to my own writing. Most importantly, the workshops have motivated me to take my own writing more seriously."

- Doug Murray, Professor, Media, Design Algonquin College.

"Richard's classes are always fun. He is an inspiring teacher who brings a down to earth element to his classes. He analyses the best short stories in a straight forward manner and everyone in his classes benefits from his dedicated belief that all of us can write. He encourages people to do their best and believes in the goodness of people. This positive attitude makes the chore of writing a miracle in creation."

- Sue Davidson.

"I received a learner's permit for my poetic licence at Richard's workshops. Rick made it fun and safe to begin sharing my poetry. As a result I have continued to write and to take my writing seriously. Rick exhorted students to read widely, and write continuously...inspiring us with his own and others' experiences of writing and publishing. There is an old saying that when the student is ready the teacher will appear - thanks Richard for making your appearance at just the right time in my life when I was ready to write seriously."

- Rebecca Leaver.

"Rick's humour, practical advice and encouragement were just what I needed as a fledgling writer."

- Columnist, Mary Ellen Knot.

"Richard Taylor has a gift for inspiring terrified would be writers to actually sit down and write. One of the writing exercises that we did in class led to my first short story. Subsequent exercises led to two more stories. His enthusiasm and encouragement have kept me going despite the terror of the blank page. The various pieces of writing we read in class were helpful in introducing us to a variety of styles and approaches. He is also good at pointing students in the direction of other writers whose work might prove helpful to them. His obvious enthusiasm for writing and reading are contagious and make for a dynamic course. "

- Judith Holman.

"Just wanted to thank you for a perfect week at the WRITE BY THE LAKE Summer Writers Retreat at Lac Brassard. To all appearances I was not there, but that couldn't be further from the truth. For me your week workshop was a beginning 'jumpstart' if you like of new growth, perhaps as a writer, definitely as a person. You encourage creativity in people in such a positive way. Enjoy the rest of your summer and thanks. You can quote me. I would love to know that my words of encouragement somehow reached someone like me and helped them to try to believe in themselves again."

- Jackie Parks.

Mark Foss who took the Fiction Workshop at Carleton University and a couple of 8 week workshops at Collected Works wrote in the front of his first published book of linked short stories, Kissing The Damned, published by Oberon: Oct. 13, 2005.

"For Rick Taylor - teacher, mentor, friend. The first copy goes to you. Thanks for all your support and encouragement. It wouldn't have happened but for you."

- Mark Foss.

In the acknowledgement page he wrote: "Above all I am indebted to Richard Taylor for believing in the book enough to push and prod me into discovering new depths, and for cheerleading."

"In 2001 I signed up for a creative writing class with Richard Taylor at Nepean Public Library - thinking it was for poetry, when in fact it was for prose. I decided to give it a try. Richard's class was my literary laxative."

- In 2005 Elizabeth Radmore published her first novel, Cushla: Memoirs of a Gypsy Girl, and inscribed it: To Richard. "Thanks for helping me get started."

"Thanks for leading the way in creating a fun and safe space for the writers in us to explore and 'play'. I absolutely love coming to the workshop."

(After publishing two pieces from the workshop, one in the Globe and Mail's Facts and Arguments, and another in The Montreal Gazette's Arts & Life, Catherine Stafford wrote: "Consider yourself a great midwife for the writing babies that are manifesting."