Wildacres Writing Workshop: learn writing among friends

For me, Wildacres Writing Workshop has always been a huge leap of faith. The first year I attended -- way back in 1995 -- I had made a decision to focus more on my writing. I saw the workshop advertised in Writer's Digest and I thought a learning vacation in the mountains sounded like a great way to spend a week. So I sent in my application and was accepted. By the time the workshop rolled around, I had serious cold feet and was wondering why I had ever thought that a residential workshop -- one where I didn't know a soul -- would be a good idea. After all, I'm not a socially adventurous person; I'm strictly a small-group type, with a preference for groups where I know everyone well. I was headed way out on a limb, well beyond my comfort zone.

But the trip was paid for and I wasn't about to back out and lose the cost of the workshop and the airfare. So I took a leap of faith and I went. And I made friends, had fun, and learned some things to boot. Yes, it was scary -- but it was worth it.

I went back the next year and many more times in the years that followed. Every time, I felt that apprehension beforehand: what if I don't have fun; what if I don't like my roommate, or she doesn't like me; will people remember me; will I be able to find nice people to sit with at meals; and of course, what if everyone hates my writing? The list of worries would go on and on. But the things I worried about were never a problem, and I eventually learned to just do what I did that first year: take the leap of faith.

I haven't regretted it yet.