Intentions & Inclinations
What is conscious intent and how does that complement or contrast with a preference?
How does this dichotomy, if it is one, inform our desires and choices as writers?
Join us in Vermont to discover and discuss ideas through writing and as part of the CWC community.
Agenda (Draft)
Thursday, July 17
12:00 PM - 10:00 PM
12:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Early Arrival
The dorm will open at noon on Thursday for all participants, even those staying off-campus, although there will be no formal activities until Friday.
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Dinner
Friday, July 18
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Breakfast
11:00 AM
11:00 AM
Event Start
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Dorm Lounge
Welcome, introductions, overview of how the conference will proceed, and sharing of our questions, hopes, and intentions for the days ahead.
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Location TBD
Panelists: Lucinda Garthwaite, Maureen Dunphy, Tracy Roberts. Moderator: Jeff Ihlenfeldt
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Dinner
7:00 PM - 8:45 PM
7:00 PM - 8:45 PM
CWC Readings
McDonald Hall, Lounge or Porch
Attendees are encouraged to sign up for a slot (10 minutes or 15 minutes) to read from your own work. A short comment/question period follows.
Saturday, July 19
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Breakfast
9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Stations of the Word
Sam Sherman will lead us in a series of writing prompts to get our ideas flowing in new and intriguing directions. We'll be outdoors if weather permits!
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Quiet writing time together on Zoom—so in-person attendees can join from their computer in whatever location they choose. Come and go as you please.
Zoom link to come
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Lunch
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Classroom
Bring a poem—or short, poem-adjacent prose piece—that you had given up on. Lucinda Garthwaite will share ideas for bringing it back to life! Click on title for complete description.
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Dorm Lounge
Joanna Tebbs Young will lead an informal chat about getting started on a historical novel—the methods, tools, pitfalls, and everything else in between.
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Dinner
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Join Editorial Director Ken Damerow for a heartfelt (and occasionally witty) journey through the history of CLOCKHOUSE, a peek inside this year’s powerful new issue, and a look at what the future holds.
Sunday, July 20
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Breakfast
9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Works In Progress #1
Dorm Lounge
Looking for feedback on a piece you're writing? Upload it to the shared folder or provide printed copies—ideally, the day before the session—and participants will share their ideas about how to make it stronger. All genres welcome.
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Board of Stewards Meeting
Location TBD
The CWC Board of Stewards will convene our monthly meeting live and in person. Anyone interested in attending is welcome.
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Lunch
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Classroom
Jeff Ihlenfeldt will lead us in an exploration of the rhythm of the language in prose, our own, and that of other writers.
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Classroom
CWC Values Conversation led by Lucinda Garthwaite and Lucy Turner: What are the values that ground the Clockhouse Writers' Conference? And which ones matter the most?
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Dinner
7:00 PM - 8:45 PM
7:00 PM - 8:45 PM
CWC Readings
McDonald Hall, Lounge or Porch
Attendees are encouraged to sign up for a slot (10 minutes or 15 minutes) to read from your own work. A short comment/question period follows.
Monday, July 21
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Breakfast
9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Works In Progress #2
Dorm Lounge
Looking for feedback on a piece you're writing? Upload it to the shared folder or provide printed copies—ideally, the day before the session—and participants will share their ideas about how to make it stronger. All genres welcome.
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Lunch
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Classroom
Join Jen McConnell for this presentation on navigating the wide world of publication. Click on title to see full description!
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Classroom
Join Sarah Shellow for this play-in-the-sandbox session in which we generate ideas and content through writing activities created for students fourth grade and older!
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Dinner
7:00 PM - 8:45 PM
7:00 PM - 8:45 PM
CWC Readings
McDonald Hall, Lounge or Porch
Attendees are encouraged to sign up for a slot (10 minutes or 15 minutes) to read from your own work. A short comment/question period follows.
Tuesday, July 22
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Pack 'n Stack
We'll pack our belongings and place them all in one room before lunch so that the cleaning team can do their essential work to ready the space for the next rental group.
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Closing Community Meeting
McDonald Hall Lounge
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Lunch & farewells
1:00 PM
1:00 PM
Event End
About CWC
Founded in 1997, Clockhouse Writers' Conference (CWC) is the alumni association for graduates of the MFA in Creative Writing program of Goddard College. CWC seeks to support MFAW alums as they continue the writing practice they established at Goddard and have since brought to the world at large.
Every year since 1997, MFA alumni have gathered at the Clockhouse Writers' Conference & Retreat (CWC&R) to practice our art and renew our bonds as a writing community. One of the gifts of CWC&R is that each time we gather, we makes our own community, much like the one we all experienced as we went through the program at Goddard.
Whether in-person or online, every year CWC&R brings new faces and energy to our time together. At right, our last CWC&R on Goddard's campus, July 2022.
Learn more at clockhousewriters.com.
