A gorgeous old house and beautiful yard, with rooms furnished, decorated and cared for in B&B style. Our group will have the top two floors, with access to the yard with its many nooks and benches. The house was built around an original hand-hewn log cabin, which is now a living area open to our group.

See the Lark and Laurel web site to get a feel for the place. (You’ll make your room choice when you register for the week.)

The owners of the Lark and Laurel, Laurie and Ross, live in a house just three blocks down the street from the Lark and Laurel. Full disclosure: Ross is my brother, Laurie is his wife, and we’ve done this kind of thing together a lot of times over a lot of years. They will graciously help host our comfort and belonging through the week, which includes using their kitchen and living areas for our meals and group gatherings. You’ll like the place. It’s sweet.

Meals

We’ll poll you about dietary restrictions and preferences before you arrive, and plan menus accordingly. Most meals will be in our Franklin Street House, where you’ll be in the hands of two skilled cooks providing great healthy flavors. There will be time to enjoy a well-crafted cocktail at the end of the day, with gratifying non-alcoholic options. Two nights during the week we’ll go out to local spots, including a closing dinner at the historic Grand Union Hotel’s fine restaurant.

Morning check-in

We’ll talk together for a few minutes after breakfast for logistics, encouragement, and at least one poem.

Writing time: write on your own, we’re in it together

This is your time. As all writers know, what we call “writing time” also includes not-writing. No one here is expecting anything from you. There are no mandatory prompts, no daily word counts. (But if those things would be helpful, we can cook them up together and make pinky-swears.) From my view as host, this is time to help you be able to focus. That’s different for different people. Some need the same chair in the same quiet spot every day. Some do better when there are others in the room, doing their own thing. The main thing is to have consistent blocks of hours for you to work in your own way, held in a container of shop-talking, understanding fellow travelers.

Readings

Those who have participated in a good writers workshop or group know the value of hearing how others experience your writing. Our structure and agreements for readings will be based on the Peter Elbow’s Writing Without Teachers, Alan Ziegler’s Writing Workshop Note Book, and my own experience in Kenyon Workshops and readings. We will invest in one another’s progress, learn from one another, and operate in a spirit of consent, honesty, and kindness. It’s gonna be great.

Group sessions

For two hours or so, three times during the week, you’re invited to come together with other writers to work with new ideas, play with writing prompts, and talk about our craft.

Outings

Writers Week takes place in a remarkable landscape, in a gorgeous time of year. We’ll have three scheduled outings (though others may happen spontaneously). Each will carry us into a different aspect of this land shaped by ancient volcanos, drastic erosion, glacial forces that dammed the Missouri River to form inland seas and fierce catastrophic flows. How long to walk, how steep—that will be your choice.

The town of Fort Benton offers great walks along the river, including trails that extend up and downstream beside the Missouri River. If the skies are clear, we can arrange to get up out of the river bottom to bask under the Milky Way. All of Chouteau County is basically what folks call a “dark skies park.”

The Lark and Laurel and the Franklin Street House both have entrance steps and upstairs bedrooms, so neither is wheelchair accessible. If you have needs we should know about, email me and let’s talk through what’s possible.