VSW: Vancouver & Victoria Schools of Writing

2024-25 program plans…

Finally, we are prepared to launch in spring 2024 a new basic writing program offered almost every month that we are calling WordFLOW Basic.

WORDFLOW BASIC – 20 hours over one month. More INFO HERE

We are starting this program Monday, May 6th, 2024

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*See profiles of WordFlow facilitators Michele Hall and Kathrin Lake HERE

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VSW’s COVID STORY

In 2019, VSW had expanded to Victoria, BC, Canada. We put both Vancouver School of Writing.com as well as Victoria School of Writing.com together under VSW. In many ways, Victoria was a better choice for our main operations because it is a known center for independent bookstores and publishing. So, in 2019, we hosted a retreat there and also a summer writing event, Writing at the Castle with a tour, workshop and picnic on the Craigdarroch Castle grounds. We were already world renown for our intimate and special writing retreats in Mexico during the winter months of January and February, so all was humming along, but…

…Two weeks after we had finished our February 2020 retreat in Mexico, the world shut down for Covid-19 and our summer Victoria retreat was cancelled. We had been doing 2 to 4 retreats a year for nine years. This was a good time for a rethink.

Thanks to Covid lock downs, many people said to themselves, I’ll write that book, and our virtual writing coaching took off and many books were published. But, writing coaching is expensive and you can only do one person at a time. This is when we decided we would do more virtual classes and an occasional in-person retreat or event, and strive to do them at an even higher level.

BUT, we needed a basic virtual program we could offer continuously. In our experience, writers struggle with the discipline of just writing daily and creating a practice. They also need a safe space and inspiring community where they can share their words. Wordflow Basic will offer this and more.

Helping Others to publish (many through publishing partner Buddha Press)

Some highlights of 2019 and 2020, the last days before Covid: