Writing with Friends Part 1 of 2

Writer’s Retreats



Over ten years ago four friends decided to set aside time once a year for a private writer retreat. I was one of those four. We call it the Starfish Club, a name tied to a story about a boy throwing dying starfish into the sea regardless of the fact he couldn’t save them all. The gist of it is that we couldn’t help everyone, but we could help each other and we would. That one person can make all the difference sometimes.

We were pretty disciplined about the writing over the 4-5 days we’d be together. Each person would come with something we’d all read and review and be ready to discuss, and sometimes someone would bring an idea for a story and pitch it to the group for feedback. Each person got 2 rounds of concentrated time for themselves. And it was fun to have support from other writers who knew the challenges to writing, the industry, life and all the things in between.



We had schedules for work, for meals and for play. We became like sisters and those retreats became extremely valuable.

Starfish has evolved over time and we’ve added people here and there, some of dropped out, some have joined other groups. But, we still meet up and now we try for twice a year. This year starfish consisted of myself, Sheila English, Susan Edwards, Karen Rose and Kathie Firzlaff. My son Brian has joined us, Cheryl Wilson is an original Starfish and there’ve been others here and there. Everyone brings something different to the group, which is wonderful.

We all treat these get-togethers as work. We’re professionals and keep to our schedules and are very serious about helping each other. But, we are also friends so there may be some goofing off that goes on when we’re not working. Okay, maybe a lot. How wonderful it is to have great friends, wonderful stories and lots of laughter!