The ORS is pleased to announce the inaugural STU Writers’ Retreat, which will take place on Thursday, June 22nd, from 12:00 – 4:00, at the Grad House at 676 Windsor Street.
Writing is a central feature of academic careers, but many of us struggle to find dedicated writing time in our otherwise busy lives. The “Shut Up and Write” movement, which began in San Francisco as an informal way for writers to gather together for unstructured writing sessions, has become a global phenomenon. The idea is to create a dedicated time and space for the act of writing, with no formal instruction, critique, ego, or guilt. There may be no strict and formal structure, but the act of gathering together with other writers itself creates a sense of accountability.
We will be using the Pomodoro technique, which involves short sprints of writing (25 minutes), followed by a 5-minute break. Partway through the afternoon we will have one somewhat longer break. The Grad House offers an informal café-style setting with various different rooms, as well as the outside patio if the weather is fair. The ORS will be running a tab for lunch and for your first coffee (espresso machine on site!). The agenda will look like this:
- 12:00 – 1:00 — light lunch, informal chat, introductions, discussion of goals
- 1:00 – 1:25 — writing
- 1:25 – 1:30 — short break
- 1:30 – 1:55 — writing
- 1:55 – 2:00 — short break
- 2:00 – 2:25 — writing
- 2:25 – 2:35 — longer break
- 2:35 – 3:00 — writing
- 3:00 – 3:05 — short break
- 3:05 – 3:30 — writing
- 3:30 – 3:35 — short break
- 3:35 – 4:00 — writing (last one!)
- 4:00 – onwards — informal discussion, cash bar for those would would like to stay
All STU faculty members are welcome! For catering purposes, however, an RSVP would be greatly appreciated. Please send an email (no later than Monday, June 19th, at 12:00 pm) to research@stu.ca to indicate your interest in attending, as well as any dietary preferences (i.e., vegetarian, etc.).
Here are some good resources on “Shut Up and Write” sessions and other elements of writing:
Generative Writing and #shupupandwrite
CBC Radio story on Shut Up and Write in Montreal
STU Research 