REBIRTH YOUR WRITING
SENTENCE, SCENE & STORY
An immersive experience of craft lessons, personal feedback & live-editing.
Refine and deepen your work in progress. Shape your prose from
"pretty good"
to energetic, reader-centered & powerful.

with Dinty W. Moore & Allison K Williams
VIRTUAL INTENSIVE

JAN 13 - 16, 2024

Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
This event is now past.
Female participating in Zoom Conference

LEARN YOUR CRAFT.
LOVE YOUR WORDS.

More than a webinar. Experience all the benefits of a physical event replicated online, with casual chat, Q&A time, breakout rooms and 100% interactive sessions. Get personal editorial feedback on your pages, and advice for your writing career.

Got Questions?

THE REBIRTH DIFFERENCE

CRAFT LESSONS

Craft lessons in sentence shape and rhythm, heart story, powerful paragraphs, “quick fixes” and more help you self-edit with focus and purpose.

LIVE-EDITING

Your pages are shared on the screen, and Allison & Dinty edit aloud, explaining why they’d suggest those edits--and how the other authors can use them, too.

LITERARY CONNECTIONS

Limited to 20 writers. Enjoy casual chat during Café Time. Share knowledge and connect deeply in breakout rooms.

DAILY WRITING

Craft lessons lead into Writing In Company time. Act on your new learnings, revise your existing content or generate new pages, and level up your writing.

YOUR OWN LOCATION

We love travel retreats, but “re-entry” is always tough. The virtual intensive happens in your regular writing place, helping you create a sustainable practice within your daily life.

REPLAYS & REVIEWS

Rewatch a craft lesson or your live-editing time--any time. Slides, workbook & recordings of every class are yours to keep.

YOUR GUIDES

Allison K Williams sitting at table holding a pen

Allison K Williams

Writer - Editor - Speaker - Coach

Allison K Williams brings deep understanding of dramatic structure, sensitivity to voice and theme, technical expertise, and contagious enthusiasm for your work.

She is the author of Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro From Blank Page to Book and the Social Media Editor of Brevity. She has edited and coached writers to deals with Big Five, literary and independent presses and publication in the New Yorker, Time, the Guardian, the New York Times, McSweeney’s and TED Talks.

Allison herself has written for NPR, CBC, the New York Times, Creative Nonfiction, McSweeney’s, Kenyon Review and Travelers’ Tales. Her plays, including London Fringe Best of Fringe Winner TRUE STORY have been produced worldwide.

Dinty W Moore Headshot

Dinty W. Moore

Writer - Editor - Speaker - Coach

A direct and supportive teacher known for drawing out meaning in memoir, Dinty W. Moore is author of The Story Cure: A Book Doctor’s Pain-Free Guide to Finishing Your Novel or Memoir, the pop-culture/ enlightenment mash-up To Hell with It, and many other books.

Dinty has published in The Southern Review, The Georgia Review, Harpers, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Arts & Letters, The Normal School and elsewhere.

A former professor of nonfiction at Ohio University, he serves as Editor-in-Chief for Brevity and consults regularly with authors and publishers on book proposals and revisions, many going on to publish with Big Five houses and university presses.

THE REBIRTH EXPERIENCE

All Times US Eastern

MAXIMIZE YOUR TIME
Write better. Write faster.

Dedicated time helps you focus. Direct, specific feedback helps you write better.

Write with freedom, with speed, and without pressure.
DIRECTED SELF-EDITING

Unlike the traditional “workshop,” you’ll be using the tools in your own writing as we go. Discoveries made in live-editing, and techniques taught in craft lessons, will be immediately applied to your work.

Post-writing check-ins may include sharing short sections, but writers won’t read each others’ work in advance or in full. Allison & Dinty provide individual guidance as needed. It’s like writing at your favorite cafe—with peer and editorial support.

DAILY CRAFT LESSONS
This week focuses on self-editing your memoir, novel or essays, and identifying both your best and most problematic habits on the page.

In daily craft lessons in sentence shape and rhythm, heart story, powerful paragraphs, “quick fixes” and more, you’ll explore how language choices and sequence of action can snap ‘good enough’ prose into gripping and dynamic moments.
LIVE-EDITING

In live-editing, instructors and participants work together to apply techniques of line-editing, sentence craft and scene construction to see where your prose is focused, energetic, and reader-centered and where it can be improved through purposeful revision.

Writers will submit 10 pages in advance. Each participant will receive individual editing attention, and we will all benefit from examining the varied work of other participants.

Throughout live-editing time, you’ll apply specific techniques to your own work-in-progress.

PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE
Focused time and a committment to “show up” helps you plow through revisions.

Writing craft lessons and suggested editing techniques ignite your daily practice.

Rebirth Your Writing combines dedicated time with education, networking, and writing career growth. You’ll leave with new work, new ideas, and renewed commitment to your craft.
WRITING IN PLACE

As much as we love travel retreats, “re-entry” is always tough. The virtual intensive happens in your regular writing place, helping you create a sustainable practice within your daily life.

"I’ve been telling ALL my writing colleagues how fantastic your intensive is. You and Dinty are phenomenal workshop leaders. I’ve been to many conferences and workshops over the years and I have an MFA. This is one of the best experiences I’ve had."
Vicki Mayk
Virtual Intensive 2022
"Thank you both for the incredibly helpful workshop, which gave me the impetus to finish the manuscript, and the courage to send it out. It won the Gournay Prize at Ohio University Press! The memoir in essays will be published next fall. Thank you!!!!"
Agata Brewer Headshot
Agata Szczeszak-Brewer
Virtual Intensive 2022
Together We Create sprayed on brick wall

THE DAILY SCHEDULE

ALL TIMES US EASTERN

TAKE A MOMENT & BREATHE
MORNING 0930 – 1000 CAFÉ TIME Zoom Room open for casual chat & questions
1000 – 1030 WELCOME SESSION Greetings, introductions & details of our time together
1030 – 1200 LIVE EDITING …and intermittent self-editing
1200 – 1300 LUNCH Zoom Room re-opens at 1245
AFTERNOON 1300 – 1345 LIVE EDITING …and intermittent self-editing
1345 – 1415 CRAFT LESSON & APPLICATION Powerful Sentences
1415 – 1450 LIVE EDITING …and intermittent self-editing
Day ends 3PM CLOSING WORDS Review, inspiration & next steps
TAKE A MOMENT & BREATHE
MORNING 0930 – 1000 CAFÉ TIME Zoom Room open for casual chat & questions
1000 – 1030 CRAFT LESSON & APPLICATION Words and How to Love Them
1030 – 1200 LIVE EDITING …and intermittent self-editing
1200 – 1300 LUNCH Zoom Room re-opens at 1245
AFTERNOON 1300 – 1345 LIVE EDITING …and intermittent self-editing
1345 – 1415 CRAFT LESSON & APPLICATION Heart Story & Invisible Magnetic River
1415 – 1450 LIVE EDITING …and intermittent self-editing
Day ends 3PM CLOSING WORDS Review, inspiration & next steps
TAKE A MOMENT & BREATHE
MORNING0930 – 1000CAFÉ TIMEZoom Room open for casual chat & questions
1000 – 1030CRAFT LESSON & APPLICATIONPotent Paragraphs
1030 – 1200LIVE EDITING…and intermittent self-editing
1200 – 1300LUNCHZoom Room re-opens at 1245
AFTERNOON1300 – 1345LIVE EDITING…and intermittent self-editing
1345 – 1415CRAFT LESSON & APPLICATIONCompelling Scenes
1415 – 1450LIVE EDITING…and intermittent self-editing
Day ends 3PMCLOSING WORDSReview, inspiration & next steps
TAKE A MOMENT & BREATHE
MORNING0930 – 1000CAFÉ TIMEZoom Room open for casual chat & questions
1000 – 1030CRAFT LESSON & APPLICATIONQuick & Dirty Fixes
1030 – 1200LIVE EDITING…and intermittent self-editing
1200 – 1300LUNCHZoom Room re-opens at 1245
AFTERNOON1300 – 1345PUBLISHING Q&AYour writing in the world
Day ends 2PMCLOSING WORDSRecommitting to our goals
   
   

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Joining The Retreat

Do I need any qualifications to join the retreat?

Nope! What matters is that you’re committed to writing better.

 

  • You can be working on a novel, memoir or essays.
  • You’re writing in English, because Allison & Dinty aren’t fluent enough to edit in any other language. (English need not be your mother tongue.)
  • You DON’T need a degree in writing (or anything else!).
  • You DON’T need previous publication credits.

 

Writers don’t critique each others’ pages, so the experience level of your fellow writers isn’t a big factor in the intensive.

You’ll submit 10 pages of already-done writing in advance, for live-editing time.

Can I really do this at home? What technology do I need?

Yes! You’ll get a tip sheet to help you strategize around children, partners and pets. If resources allow, consider a local hotel, Airbnb or a friend’s guest room.

 

You’ll need your own computer and internet connection.

 

Our first day includes a brief Zoom orientation. We’ll cover how to participate verbally and in chat, how to spend time with your fellow writers in breakout rooms, and options for asking questions and communicating with Dinty and Allison

Why are your retreats always sold out? Is there a waitlist?

Dinty and Allison love teaching, and we do quite a bit of it throughout the year. Very often, students ask to be added to the waitlist for the next retreat or intensive, sometimes regardless of location! When a new event is announced, we tell the waitlist first, and events often sell out before they’re publicly announced.

Sign up for The A-List to get first notice of waitlists and open registrations for upcoming retreats.
If the button at the top of the page says “Sold Out,” there’s a waitlist and we’re happy to add you to it. Email us through the contact form, and we’ll confirm your spot on the list. Most intensives have included waitlisters; we usually know 2-4 weeks in advance.

Intensive Days

What is Live-Editing?

In live-editing, one writer’s pages are shared on the screen. Allison & Dinty read the pages aloud, editing as they go and explaining why they’d suggest those edits. For this intensive, we’ll also take discoveries from live-editing; for example, a “find-and-replace” in your own pages for a particular writing habit, or a new way to approach a scene, and ask you to take a few minutes and apply the lesson to your own work. You’ll learn from hearing the edits, and you’ll be able to use the tools right away.

Live-editing feels intense, but having the group give your words their complete attention is a powerful experience. You’ll receive your edited pages, with comments and Track Changes, immediately after the session.

Live-editing sessions are recorded for you to refresh or review the feedback for 30 days after the retreat.

Can I book one-on-one Time?

Not for this intensive, sorry!

For feedback on more pages, check out Allison’s regular editorial offerings here.

You can also find out about upcoming webinars and events by visiting her linktree, or joining the A-List monthly events email.

What about accessibility?

If you have accessibility concerns, let us know. We’ll work with whatever technology you need to make the virtual intensive work for you.

 

Allison and Dinty have (between them) worked with writers who are d/Deaf, hearing-impaired, blind, visually-impaired, neuro-atypical and with physical disabilities.

 

We want to work with you—let’s discuss how to make it an excellent experience.

Bookings & Payments

How can I pay? Is there a payment plan?

Rebirth Your Writing accepts Venmo, Zelle, Canadian e-transfers, US checks, PayPal and credit cards via PayPal.

 

If you’d like to use a payment plan, you may pay in three installments, due on registration, January 10th and February 10th.

Do you offer any scholarships?

Rebirth Your Book/Rebirth Your Writing participates in AWP’s Kurt Brown Prize, which awards $500 each year to emerging writers in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction who wish to attend a writers’ conference, center, retreat, festival, or residency. Winners and six finalists also receive a one-year individual membership in AWP.

For more information, visit the AWP website.

Congratulations to Amy Goldmacher, winner of the Kurt Brown Prize to attend Rebirth Your Book in Tuscany 2022!

What’s the Cancellation Policy?

If you are unable to attend and we can fill your place from the waitlist, we will refund your tuition minus a $75 administrative fee. Refunds will be sent within 30 days of receipt of notice of cancellation.

 

If we can’t fill your place from the waitlist, there is no refund. We encourage you to send in your pages for live-editing and enjoy the session recordings when you can.

 

Rebirth Your Book reserves the right to cancel the intensive in the event of civil unrest, natural disaster or Act of God. In the event of cancellation of the intensive in its entirety, you will receive a full refund of any fees paid. You agree to release Rebirth Your Book and its agents and/or representatives from any liability, including consequential expenses you may have incurred in planning to attend.