Freshwater Writing
INVENTIVE. INVITING. INTIMATE.
Offering Writer-Focused, Community-Centered Retreats, Writing Circles, and Mentorships.
A new home for writers.
At Freshwater Writing, we offer retreats, guided writing circles, and private mentorships designed to nourish and sustain your writing life. Our retreats and circles are inventive, inviting, and intimate spaces that allow for true connection—to one another and the written word—and remind us why we write in the first place. We believe poetry is for everyone.
Current Offerings:
Shimmer in the Dark: Spring Retreat
REGISTRATION IS FULL. If you’d like to be placed on the waitlist for Shimmer in the Dark: A Writing Retreat on the Shores of Lake Superior, please contact Chelsea.
an intimate, generative writing workshop on the North Shore, complete with delicious food and your own room with a view of Lake Superior.
Just as winter gives way to spring, fallow writing periods can signal the arrival of growth and discovery: an opportunity to revisit our process, take new directions in a project, and reconnect with our voice. Bolstered by the renewal of spring, at our weekend workshop we will investigate what new growth has been lying in wait during the winter season—what’s been shimmering in the dark. We will reunite with our clearest, truest voice by following our inner writer and returning to the tools that help us shake off the cold, nurture ourselves, and create the work that only we can write. Whether you are a brand-new or seasoned writer, join us for an intimate retreat on the shores of Lake Superior to discover—or rediscover—the power of attuning to the process of writing.
The Sustained Writer
A GUIDED ONLINE WRITING CIRCLE DESIGNED TO NOURISH YOUR WRITING LIFE.
Are you looking for a writing community? Dreaming of a regular writing practice, either to deepen your craft, piece by piece, or work on a larger project? The Sustained Writer is a 12-week guided online writing circle centered on five principles: attention, curiosity, grace, practice, and community. This writing circle is for all writers, of all levels—and especially poets.
REGISTRATION IS FULL. Please contact Chelsea if you’d like to be added to the waitlist.
Shimmer in the Dark: Winter Retreat
REGISTRATION IS FULL.
an intimate, generative writing workshop on the North Shore, complete with delicious food and your own room with a view of Lake Superior.
Winter can feel like a season of stagnation, with any new growth or transformation obscured by the snow and the cold. Like a rope leading the way through a blizzard from barn to house, at our weekend workshop we will learn to feel our way toward our clearest, truest voice–following our inner writer and returning to the tools that help us shake off the cold to create the work that only we can write. Whether you are a brand new or seasoned writer, join us for an intimate retreat on the shores of Lake Superior to discover–or rediscover–the power of attuning to the process of writing.
I'm interested in spaces that bring writers together for authentic connection–to one another, as well as the written word. Freshwater Writing focuses on the writer and craft in equal measure. We value process and people. My hope is that Freshwater Writing’s retreats, circles, and mentorships will complement the many wonderful workshops in the world–that they will offer you something fresh.
Chelsea B. DesAutels
Founded by poet Chelsea B. DesAutels
Chelsea is the author of A Dangerous Place (Sarabande Books), named a New York Times’ Editor’s Choice and described by Publishers Weekly as a “lush and transformative debut” (starred review). Chelsea’s work has been supported by the Anderson Center at Tower View, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Inprint, Tin House Summer Workshop, and Yaddo, among others. Chelsea lives with her family in Minneapolis, MN. She has taught creative writing online and in the community for several years. Find more here.