This past weekend I held a writer's retreat in the mountains north of L.A. (see everybody above). It's amazing what happens when a bunch of smart, generous people get together to write – and have nothing else to think about or to do other than write. The Lake Arrowhead Conference Center produced three delicious meals each day, everyone was staying at the Center so there was no reason to get into a car and drive anywhere.  It was all about writing and hearing each others work and giving feedback. Memoirs were begun, or continued, essays were written, a chapter of a novel, a poem – exciting stuff. Here are a couple of the quotes we ended the weekend with:

"Two or three things I know for sure, and one of them is that change when it comes cracks everything open…Two or three things I know for sure, and one is that I would rather go naked than wear the coat the world has made for me….Two or three things I know for sure and one of them is that telling the story all the way through is an act of love." – Dorothy Allison (Two or Three Things I Know For Sure)

"Help me to have the courage to finish what I have begun, and to begin what I want to finish."  – Phyllis Theroux (The Journal Keeper)