TO BE OR NOT TO BEA Passion-Filled Writing & Running
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The theme for 2024 is...
TO BE OR NOT TO BE. As the setting sun slowly sinks behind the lush green mountains, a gentle breeze delights your senses with the scent of roses, azaleas, mountain laurel, pine, and rhododendron. It’s the end of an incredible day spent experiencing your two passions with other writers and runners, learning about plot, character, conflict, and setting. Inspiration stretches across your soul, soaring into the sky as your heart thrums with joy. You laugh with new friends, sharing your adventures of the day – everything from getting new story ideas, admiring the elegant swans on the lake, dining in fine southern hospitality, receiving feedback on your manuscript, and reveling in the refreshing mist of a twin waterfall. Gazing at the shimmering reflection on the peaceful lake you can hardly believe that, at last, you’re here… running around the pristine lake at sunrise and writing with friends under the Carolina stars. |
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Wouldn’t it be exciting to learn more about the craft of writing in a fun and interactive way? That’s what this retreat is all about! Through multiple writing workshops and specially selected social activities, you’ll learn new writing techniques so you can more confidently write your stories for years to come.
Imagine how great it would feel to have more time to write. Every writer’s dream, right? During your seven-day sojourn with us, you’ll have dedicated time to write daily and you’ll definitely want to continue the new habit when you return home. Getting more consistent with your writing and running, no matter how many things you have to juggle in life, is a wonderful feeling all writers chase. While you’re here, there will be consistent writing and running times for you to experience the vibrancy of both your passions. When you put your writing and running first, it’s a lot easier to juggle everything else. |
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Finishing a writing project is a liberating feeling. On this retreat, you’ll have a writing schedule you can stick with to help you build momentum on your story so you’ll want to stick with it long after you return home.
It feels so amazing to get helpful feedback on your writing from other writers (instead of just a pat on the back from your family and friends). Critique groups are amazing and during our time in the mountains, you’ll be able to connect with a few other writers and swap helpful feedback with each other to help make your manuscript better and stronger. Wouldn’t it be awesome to approach your revisions with confidence and excitement? Our faculty is awesome sauce and through a powerful 1 on 1 critique session, you’ll be able to identify where you can make your story better. By the time you return home, you’ll be so excited and confident to tackle your revisions that we may need to tie a brick to your ankle so you don’t float away. |
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The SettingSurrounded by mountains, Lake Junaluska is where the Blue Ridge Parkway meets the Great Smoky Mountains. This small town of less than 5,000 is nestled halfway between Cherokee and Asheville, and just 5 minutes north of the quaint town of Waynesville, where writers have compared it to a Norman Rockwell painting with its storybook Main Street, busy with shops and lined with brick sidewalks and iron lamp posts.
Like Rivendell, the magical hidden valley of the elves in J.R.R. Tolkien’s tales, the area holds a mythical quality for those who have sought its breathtaking beauty and abundant wildlife. Nestled among some of the most rugged mountains of the southeast, the nearby Cataloochee Valley is surrounded by 6,000-foot mountains. Charles Frazier’s vivid best-selling novel, Cold Mountain, is based off the mountain it’s named after and sits about 20 miles southeast of Lake Junaluska. If you were to pull off the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 411.9 at the Cold Mountain Overlook, you can just imagine Inman and Ada, the book’s Civil War-era protagonists traipsing through the woods. Western North Carolina is one of the most beautiful and beloved areas of the country. Its mountains are among the oldest on Earth, and contain the highest mountain, deepest gorge, and several of the highest waterfalls in the eastern United States, and is also home to the oldest river in North America and the two most visited National Parks in the country. |
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Take in stunning mountain views surrounding the serene lake as you stroll along the beloved looping trails, which includes a lovely rose garden walkway, a small waterfall, and a footbridge.
The lodging is a spacious oasis of luxury, where every room welcomes meaningful conversations and invites you to relax in modern style. Decked out with double beds and a mini fridge, each room offers a place away from home to help you rejuvenate and become inspired. |
The VenueThe picturesque Lake Junaluska is great for canoeing, kayaking, fishing, and birdwatching, complete with paved (and mostly flat) walking paths that surround the lake. The Rose Walk includes more than 200 species of hybrid roses.
Average summer temperatures in Lake Junaluska range from a low of 57 to a high of 79. Much of the area is wet enough to be considered rain forests – and waterfalls abound. The Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center is a Christian-based facility, with a large white cross that lights up at night, where many visitors enjoy taking pictures. It is aptly named "Inspiration Point" because the views from that vantage point are awe-inspiring. 
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The Cuisine
As runners, you probably like to eat healthy. All meals are prepared by a 5-star chef with that goal in mind (but we are still in the south). We’ll eat together in a shared dining hall where you can choose what to put on your plate from a buffet of options. Each day will feature new flavors to tantalize your taste buds.
For breakfast, we might have a traditional southern breakfast of fluffy scrambled eggs, crispy bacon and sausage links, creamy grits, hash brown potatoes, fresh baked biscuits with country gravy, and seasonal fresh fruit. Or another morning, we might rise and shine to find an assorted array of muffins and danish, seasonal fresh fruit, assorted cereals, and individual yogurts.
Be prepared for your mouth to water with anticipation for each and every meal. For lunch, we may have a salad bar, a potato bar, or a build your own deli sandwich. You’ll feel the southern hospitality in each and every bite.
All your senses will be delighted by the homey atmosphere combined with the exquisite new friendships and perfectly seasoned savory dinner dishes such as oven-roasted chicken breast in a savory garlic-basil butter sauce topped with roasted tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, or layered lasagna topped with creamy ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, and Romano cheeses, or a nacho and taco bar with seasoned ground beef, corn tortilla chips, soft flour tortillas, nacho cheese sauce, Borracha pinto beans, crisp lettuce, ripe red tomatoes, fresh salsa, and zesty jalapenos.
Can’t eat this or that? Allergies, vegetarian, gluten or dairy free? No problem! We’re happy to accommodate your food preferences.
And the desserts? They’re a perfect portion size of cheesecake, chocolate brownies, southern pecan pie, banana pudding, and more! I hope you’re planning on participating in our daily morning runs to burn off the calories!
For breakfast, we might have a traditional southern breakfast of fluffy scrambled eggs, crispy bacon and sausage links, creamy grits, hash brown potatoes, fresh baked biscuits with country gravy, and seasonal fresh fruit. Or another morning, we might rise and shine to find an assorted array of muffins and danish, seasonal fresh fruit, assorted cereals, and individual yogurts.
Be prepared for your mouth to water with anticipation for each and every meal. For lunch, we may have a salad bar, a potato bar, or a build your own deli sandwich. You’ll feel the southern hospitality in each and every bite.
All your senses will be delighted by the homey atmosphere combined with the exquisite new friendships and perfectly seasoned savory dinner dishes such as oven-roasted chicken breast in a savory garlic-basil butter sauce topped with roasted tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, or layered lasagna topped with creamy ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, and Romano cheeses, or a nacho and taco bar with seasoned ground beef, corn tortilla chips, soft flour tortillas, nacho cheese sauce, Borracha pinto beans, crisp lettuce, ripe red tomatoes, fresh salsa, and zesty jalapenos.
Can’t eat this or that? Allergies, vegetarian, gluten or dairy free? No problem! We’re happy to accommodate your food preferences.
And the desserts? They’re a perfect portion size of cheesecake, chocolate brownies, southern pecan pie, banana pudding, and more! I hope you’re planning on participating in our daily morning runs to burn off the calories!
Our Adventure
2024 Theme: To Be Or Not To Be
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The basic agenda looks mostly like this:
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Day 1: Getting to Know You
Checkin time is 4:00 pm. Later, we'll eat dinner together and get to know each other while we relax among our newfound tribe. Afterward, we'll have our Opening Keynote Speech where you'll "officially" meet the faculty. We’ll wrap up the day by creating a hand-crafted journal to use throughout the retreat where you’ll also go deeper on getting to know yourself as a writer. |
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Day 2: Setting
One of today’s writing workshops will be about setting. In the evening, we’re having a Sunset Ceremony to set your writing intentions for the week (and the year). The majesty of the lake setting offers fresh mountain breezes and a panoramic view of the picturesque lake vista. Bring your journals (and your cameras)! |
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Day 3: Conflict
Today, we’ll be taking a short field trip to a local white water rafting outfit to exemplify “conflict”, an essential writing element. Because rafting down a river has all kinds of conflict, namely rapids! But don’t worry, these are only level 1 and 2 rapids, safe for families with small children. |
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Day 4: Character
Enjoy a short waterfall hike to the stunning setting of Soco Falls, a 50-foot double waterfall. Like songbirds completing each other’s songs at dawn, these two waterfalls converge to form a single creek, completing each other in a similar way. It’s an easy to moderate 0.1 mile hike on a narrow hard-packed dirt trail around a couple of switchbacks to get to the observation deck or you can scramble down a little further for a closer look. |
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We’re also exploring the history and culture of Cherokee by watching one of the nation’s most popular outdoor dramas. This summertime drama, Unto These Hills, is the second longest-running outdoor drama in the state of North Carolina, and the third oldest outdoor historical drama in the United States. After all, your characters have a backstory too, right?
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Day 5: Plot
The plot workshop today compares running a race with plotting your story. On the Lake Cruise in the afternoon, we’ll have some extra time to talk to each other about our books and their plot arcs. Feel the cool lake breezes as you take in the grandeur of the lush green vegetation that western North Carolina is known for. |
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Day 6: Celebrate Your Wins
The climax of your writing and running getaway in the mountains is to run in the Writers Who Run 5k & 10k Race for Literacy with your new writing and running friends. Bling will be awarded – not only at the race, but also at Saturday night’s Mega Party where we’ll have a costume party, awards ceremony, and book signing! Be sure to pack a costume to dress up as one of your favorite literary characters. |
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Day 7: The Finish Line
Parting is such sweet sorrow, but alas our writing and running adventure has come to an end on Sunday morning, our last day together. We’ll have one final meal in the dining room, then the shuttle bus will transport you back to the airport. Be sure to exchange contact information with all your new besties so you can plan to come back the following year with each other. |
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The Lasting ImpactBy the end of this retreat, you will have dispelled your fears, learned more about the writing craft, and received valuable feedback on your manuscript so that you can move forward in your writing, filled with confidence, excitement, and momentum!
It’s going to feel so fantastic to believe in yourself as a writer enough to kick your fears to the curb. During your stay here, we’re going to do just that! Through a guided journaling activity followed by an inspiration walk, we’ll dispel your fears and help you feel more confident than you’ve felt in years. Wouldn’t it feel magnificent to block out the daily distractions of life and refocus more time on writing and running? Well, grab your blinders because that’s what this retreat will do for you - block out your everyday distractions. While we’re together, we’ll definitely be focusing a lot of time on writing and running. Yay! How fabulous would it feel to bust through Writer’s Block and know where your story is going and what to write next? Together, we’ll bust through it, for sure! During our time at the lake, you’ll participate in manuscript critiques, workshops, and morning runs to help you get new ideas and unlock your story to find a way forward – something you can apply to your writing for decades! 
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Get ready to feel oh-so-marvelous to have the motivation to write again and keep the momentum going no matter what life (or your story) throws at you! Not only will you learn how to write better, you’ll also gain new friendships and experience amazing activities that will inspire your writing long after you return home.
By the end of this retreat, you will have:
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The Workshops
Finding the Time to Write, Creating a Schedule, and Staying Motivated
April received her master’s degree in writing six months before the birth of her second child. A year later, she took a full time job. Through it all, she kept writing. She has concocted and tested dozens of ways to stay focused and productive as a writer. In this workshop, you’ll learn a few of the methods she has found most useful for staying motivated and productive as a writer. You’ll learn how to write more with the time you have and you’ll go home with a plan that will get you where you want to go.
Setting the Stage
It’s no secret that setting is an important element in your writing, no matter what genre you write in. This workshop will help you explore different settings and how to look at your stories from a spatial awareness perspective. There’s a reason this retreat is in Lake Junaluska – it helps teach setting!
The 5 Key Elements of a Scene
In this workshop, we will begin by defining a scene as everything that happens in one place, at one time, with a given group of characters. From there we will explore each of the five following components of a scene: setting, conflict, dialogue, tone, and POV.
Strengthening Narratives via Research
What sources should be used to make a setting read more true than false? Where does one begin in terms of tracking down (and verifying) factual information about a particular era, culture and or location—or even contemporary issues? This session will delve into the types of research one may need to pursue when crafting narratives (whether fiction or nonfiction), especially in terms of accuracy and cultural sensitivity.
Creating Memorable Characters
Character is arguably THE most important element in writing fiction - as well as character-centric nonfiction such as biography and memoir. Get this right, and your readers will be able to instantly connect.
Whether you’re writing adult suspense or YA romance or middle grade sci-fi, you want to create characters who are memorable and feel like real people. We'll discuss character development tips that will help you craft well-rounded, three-dimensional characters.
Whether you’re writing adult suspense or YA romance or middle grade sci-fi, you want to create characters who are memorable and feel like real people. We'll discuss character development tips that will help you craft well-rounded, three-dimensional characters.
Blogging, Querying, and Marketing, Oh My!
Effective personal branding and the ability to craft strong queries can be quite beneficial in terms of captivating the interest of potential agents, editors and readers. We'll unpack strategies for engaging on digital platforms to cultivate an ongoing interest in your work; how to develop queries that showcase your strengths; in addition to how to get started if you're a social media novice. This session will also explore ways to design and expand an active online presence that keeps readers coming back—plus attract new ones.
The Marathon Method of Plotting
Gain a deeper understanding of plot and how simple it can be. Whether you've already written your entire manuscript, or you haven't even started yet, you'll be able to define the 5 main plot points you need to begin writing. Then you can start to fill in the gaps. This will also help you begin to craft a stellar pitch.
Revision Like a Pro
We all know that nobody writes a masterpiece the first time. Whether you spent years bringing your story idea to fruition or you pounded out a novel in a month, there is one thing that all writers must do: revise. Revision is what takes that first draft from being bleak and unpublishable to being brilliant and and on bookstore shelves. We’ll look at six easy steps to turn your messy draft into a shiny manuscript.
This adventure is TOTALLY for you if...
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This adventure is NOT for you if...
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The Bonuses!
Just because we care, you’ll also receive:
- Access to a Private Retreat Facebook Group – so we can connect pre-trip (you can ask questions and receive up-to-date trip info) and then we’ll stay connected post-trip – and of course swap photos!
- Pre-Trip Group Call – you’ll have the chance to meet everyone in the group, share your intent and learn how to best prepare yourself (and your manuscripts)!
- Inclusion to the Writers Who Run 5k and 10k Race for Literacy!
- Post-Trip Group Call – we’ll gather for a post-trip “party” once back at home to follow up on everyone’s progress!
Why North Carolina?North Carolina has a rich history of storytelling. The land is filled with myths and legends passed down over centuries from generations of oral traditions. This is just a small sampling of North Carolina lore. What better place than to hold a writing retreat here?
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Famous North Carolina AuthorsAs writers, we love the English language. In the south, we’re known for having an accent. People living in the Appalachian dialect area pronounce the word "Appalachia" as App-a-latch-ah, while those who live outside of the Appalachian dialect area or at its outer edges tend to pronounce it App-a-lay-shah.
Hundreds of well-known writers have lived in North Carolina and have continued our rich tradition of storytelling. Here’s a short list of some of our most famous authors.
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What's Included?
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What's NOT Included?
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Video Testimonials
Writer Success Stories
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Flights
Shuttle bus transportation is included to and from the retreat location for those who are flying.
- The shuttle will LEAVE the Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) on Monday, August 26th at 4:30 PM EDT and ARRIVE at the retreat destination by 5:30 PM. Dinner at 6:00 PM.
- The shuttle will LEAVE the retreat on Sunday, September 1st at 10:00 AM and RETURN to AVL by 11:00 AM.
*All times listed are in Eastern time.
Meet the Faculty
These are the guest authors who will be joining us for 2024.
Guest Author Speaker
This author writes... COMING SOON!
Kelly FletcherGuest Author Speaker
As a singer/songwriter she became a recipient of the “Airplay International Award” for “Best New Artist” showcasing original songs at The Bluebird Café in Nashville, TN. During lockdown and all through the pandemic, KG got creative using a bedroom closet and used her BFA to full advantage narrating and producing the first four books in her Reigning Hearts Series. (Now available on Audible.) She plans on narrating and producing ALL of her stories!
KG is a hopeless romantic. When she’s not on the road singing, she’s probably at home day dreaming about her swoony book boyfriends, or arranging a yummy charcuterie board while sipping red wine and listening to Frank Sinatra. KG loves to interact with readers on social media and share about her writing and singing journey. She is also a conference speaker sharing social media basics, and how music can enhance a writer’s experience. |
Jacqui CastleGuest Author Speaker
Jacqui is a novelist, freelance writer, editor, and educator based out of Asheville, NC, who has over fourteen years of experience producing high-quality copy. She has been published in a variety of publications, including Mountain Xpress, WNC Woman, and Explore Asheville.
Her novel The Seclusion, which School Library Journal called “A must-have for all libraries and fans of dystopian sci/fi,” garnered Jacqui the title of 2020 Indie Author of the Year through the Indie Author Project. She currently teaches creative writing through the Great Smokies Writing Program and Redbud Writing Project and is one of the hosts of the Indie Writer Podcast and the owner of Lit Local Mini Bookshops, which bring the work of local authors to Asheville establishments. When not writing, Jacqui can be found hanging out with her family and consuming far too much caffeine. 
Karen "Kara" BrueggemanRetreat Coordinator
Karen is our fabulous behind-the-scenes Retreat Coordinator who keeps the retreat running smoothly and makes sure everyone is where we’re supposed to be when we’re supposed to be there. She’s the community manager, the critique organizer, the group cheerleader, and so much more! “Service” should be her middle name because she’s always helping others.
She has written over 40 manuscripts, indie-pubbed 5 of them, and has critiqued hundreds of manuscripts for fellow authors. In her past life, she has been a real estate agent, a hypnotherapist, and a motivational speaker. You will simply fall in love with Karen’s friendly and down-to-earth nature. |
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Christie Wright WildRetreat LeaderChristie is the founder of the Writers Who Run Retreat, where she helps writers and runners connect with the two passions they love most. She loves to travel, but mostly for writing and running events. She is represented by Stacey Graham of Three Seas Literary. Christie writes for children (both fiction and non-fiction picture books, as well as middle grade fantasy). She teaches plotting skills inside her online course, Plot Like A Novelist. Her two published books are My Dandelion Wish Journal: A 5-Year Guided Nature Journal and 101 Creative Writing Exercises: Become a Better Writer in 14 Minutes a Day.
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Dearest Writer,
My sincere hope is that you will come to this retreat filled with hope, wonder, and excitement, and leave with more confidence, more knowledge, and the momentum to keep you going for another year. I have worked hard to create an unforgettable and life-changing experience for YOU, the writer who likes to run. This is the highlight of my year and I am beyond honored to share it with you. With much sincerity and love, Christie Wright Wild |
Contact Us
Got a question? Drop me a line!
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SHARED ROOM: We will pair you with another retreat participant. If you want to room with someone specific, just let us know!
Cancellation Policy
Cancellations on or before January 9, 2023 will receive 50% of their payments refunded.
Cancellations between January 10 and April 9, 2023 will receive 25% of their payments refunded.
No refunds will be granted on or after April 10, 2023.
However, if you add the Purchase Protection when you register, you may be eligible for a full refund no matter when you cancel (it works similar to travel insurance).