Funny you should ask! I love teaching in person and CAMP is actually a joyful return to the kinds of in-person creative gatherings I used to facilitate prior to the pandemic, prior to the birth of Writing in the Dark on Zoom (and, after that, Writing in the Dark on Substack). For seven summers in a row, I taught a 5-day summer solstice retreat for Writing & Yoga at Stout’s Island Lodge in Wisconsin, while also teaching an annual Mystery of Yin 3-day retreat on Lake Superior and a one-time 5-day writing retreat for teen girls on Madeline Island. Most recently, in 2021 and 2022, I taught 7-day writing retreats on the beach in Troncones, Mexico, and all the while, about a dozen 2-day Write for Your Life retreats in my home in Minneapolis. Teaching online is an incredible privilege of the modern era, and I am very grateful that option exists. But, there is nothing quite like teaching in person.

Yes—though it is preliminary, as we are still shaping the details, a day will look like this:

7 am yoga

8 am buffet breakfast

9 am morning meeting (craft discussion and writing)

10:30 break

12 pm lunch

1:30 pm small group workshops

3:30 pm break

5:30 dinner

7 pm readings

9 pm campfire activities tbd

10 pm evening meditation

Camp Wandawega is amazing. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind place. We think you’ll love it. It’s also perfectly campy—Wandawega is 100 years old. The buildings are absolutely charming but … old. The platform tents beautiful, but also they are tents. Every room is charming. Some rooms are private; most are shared. Bathrooms are shared but they are all plumbed (no outhouses!). So it’s cushier than your summer camps as a kid (probably) but it’s still pretty campy. Which is the point of CAMP. (Please read Wandawega’s Manifesto of Low Expectations—we love Wandawega and feel its profound magic, but it’s not for everyone!).

Yes. CAMP is mostly outdoors. There will be so many signs of nature everywhere, including bugs.

I mean, it’s August in the Midwest, so … probably? Wandawega tells us they keep the beach clean, but, again, it’s August in the Midwest. We’ll see.

Yes, all meals are provided, from picnic dinner on arrival day to buffet breakfast on departure day, and s’mores in between. The menu will be simple but hearty vegetarian with as much organic and locally sourced ingredients as possible.

As mentioned, the entire menu will be hearty and mostly organic vegetarian. Gluten-free bread options will be provided and the kitchen will strive to provide dairy-free entrée alternatives as needed. That said, the kitchen is limited and it will not be possible to accommodate all dietary restrictions and preferences. However, shared kitchenette spaces are available for participants and you are encouraged to bring whatever you need to supplement provided meals, as well as comfort snacks.

No alcohol will be provided but if you would like to bring your own, that’s fine as long as you imbibe responsibly and respectfully and not during programming time.

Yes, there will be a constant flow of coffee. So much coffee.

Definitely. That’s one thing we can guarantee.

You can fly into Milwaukee (about 45 minutes from Elkhorn), Madison (about 75 minutes from Elkhorn), or Chicago (about 2 hours from Elkhorn).

Parking at CAMP is limited to about 20 cars, so we recommend shuttling from the airport or carpooling, and we will help participants make connections once registration is complete.

Not really. WITD: THE CAMP is a chance to crack open new material, fresh insights, and deeper connections by exploring your writing through different lenses. Sometimes these new lenses produce creative tension and a bit of artistic struggle that may ultimately lead to a breakthrough. But even if not, the idea is to experience anew the liveliness of language, especially its surprises, such as unconventional juxtapositions of words and ideas, and to open yourself to fresh creative insights, dormant memories, and new ways of understanding the world, yourself, and others. CAMP is not geared toward having you produce or complete a polished piece during the retreat, however, you will be guided toward completing at least one rough draft and you’ll also acquire new tools and frameworks for considering your own work in progress. The exercises can also help you break through blocks that are holding you back from completing an existing work for which you've lost inspiration or clarity. So ultimately, the retreat itself is not geared specifically toward journaling or free writing (though by all means bring your journal!). Rather, it is aimed at diving into the unfamiliar as a vehicle for discovery and newness and to give you an array of "starts, seeds, and tools" for revisiting long after the retreat ends.

Don't worry. Yoga is not a competitive sport. It is a spiritual practice, of which the asanas (physical poses) are just one element. There is no such thing as being "good" or "bad" at yoga. You'll be in a mixed group of all levels, no one has to do anything she or he is not ready for. You can take as many breaks as you wish, and skip as many sessions as you wish, as well. Sit in nature and watch the waves if that’s what feels right. As poet Mary Oliver would say, you only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. This is your retreat. Just think of it as a chance to pamper your body, loosen your tight muscles, quiet your mind, and inspire your imagination.

You will be encouraged to take poses to the maximum expression available to you.

You will fit right in. We’re not trying to be profound or literary. We’re trying to be curious, the way we used to be as children, because this is the pathway to language that is alive and, we hope, a bit feral. The writing exercises rest on a foundation that is universal, which is our relationship to words, language, expression, the world, each other, and ourselves. That includes all of us.

Yes. First, the writing exercises are magic and will infuse your work with a fresh and unpredictable quality that can't be quantified but can certainly be felt. These exercises are unlike your typical writing workshop. They take you through the side door of the unexpected. They occupy your rational mind in order that your subconscious can guide you back to your own wildly beating heart. They crack you up and crack you open with raucous laughter and shimmering stillness. They sometimes make the hairs on your arms stand on end. In addition, we’ll have time at CAMP to talk with each other about specific goals, manuscripts, projects, and the writer’s life, with all of its unique challenges.

Not really. WITD: THE CAMP is structured to spur creativity through guided creative writing workshops, yoga, meditation, and specially selected artistic work, plus of course lots of conversation with other participants. You'll have some free time between workshops and sessions, and you can definitely spend that time writing, but ideally you'd have the freedom to follow your muse a bit rather than an urgent stack of deadlines.

We're all finding our own way with this practice. The wonderful thing about Writing in the Dark: THE CAMP is having the opportunity to meditate in a group—both in silent stillness and as guided by a skillful voice. At Writing in the Dark, we get to show up as ourselves. We are never late and always enough.