# Two Trees > Where Writers Are Rooted ## Posts - [What Are We Actually Doing?](https://twotreeswriters.com/2026/04/elenas-workshop/): As June gets closer, we have opened a few more spaces for the Solstice Retreat and will be taking rolling admissions until full. Here's a glimpse into what we have in store, beginning with Elena's workshop. - [Gather Together](https://twotreeswriters.com/2026/01/gather-together/): In my Story Forest creativity course, Little Red Writing Hood, I ask writers the question: what medicine does your story carry?  In the fairytale, Little Red Riding Hood is bringing food and drink to her sick grandmother.  As writers, we bring medicine in the form of stories to the world.  It’s the kind of healing our world needs now more than ever. But who heals the healers?   That’s where community comes in.   I’m just back from a two week residency at a low res children’s writing MFA program in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. The day I arrived, Renee Good was shot and killed by […] - [Take Your Time](https://twotreeswriters.com/2026/01/take-your-time/) - [Switching Gears](https://twotreeswriters.com/2025/12/switching-gears/): The writing life is like the Tour de France.  Sometimes you’ve just got to slow down to grab your water bottle and a high protein snack.   Take a breath.  Rest your writing legs without letting them cramp up.  Sometimes you end up gliding to a stop and you get off the damn bike completely.  But even decades later, some butterfly of an idea might drift in front of you, and back on the bike you go. - [Essential Questions](https://twotreeswriters.com/2025/11/essential-questions/) - [Fairy Tale Survival Kit](https://twotreeswriters.com/2022/03/fairy-tale-survival-kit/): Maybe a red velvet cloak cannot shelter your world. Perhaps we cannot stop the wolves every time. But we can let the precious things in our life know they are valued. We can try to carry as much of them as we can if we must flee. - [A Palimpsest](https://twotreeswriters.com/2022/02/palimpsest/): Some thoughts on freeing your writing voice by writing over the old, worn out story. - [Rubble and Remembrance](https://twotreeswriters.com/2022/02/rubble-and-remembrance/): At Trinity College, Rahna Reiko Rizzuto discusses trauma narratives and healing narratives in connection with the 80th Day of Remembrance for the Japanese American incarceration. - [The Star: Tarot for the Day](https://twotreeswriters.com/2022/02/star-tarot/): The Star has always been one of my favorite cards, and in the Shining Tribe, Rachel evokes a peaceful Persephone in her image, suggesting spring, nourishment, new life and escape from the underworld. In the Vertigo Tarot, the image (associated with Venus) confronts us with more than battle scars: her head and arms have literally been blown off. - [Tarot for the Day: Ten of Stones](https://twotreeswriters.com/2020/11/tarot-for-the-day-ten-of-stones/) - [Bhanu's Dream](https://twotreeswriters.com/2020/10/bhanus-dream/): "I dreamed last night I came to a clearing in a forest... Have you ever taken a dream, or an image or a question, for a walk? I think the dream is about the coming weekend, about the part of my brain, my own survival system, that is trying to work out what "sacred" means in the context of our disciplinary field, "creative writing." It is a place where we can bring what we cannot carry in our own bodies anymore. As I write these words, something that did not happen in the dream, but which is happening now, I can see the radical others -- human, animal, and from the other world -- who are stepping now, out of the trees. It's by writing that I discover something that the dream did not show: a community of witnesses, of all of the others carrying their own vials, their own inherited forms of time, walking, right now, or by other means, towards this place." - [Rituals of Release](https://twotreeswriters.com/2020/10/rituals-of-release/): I don’t know about you, but I am tired of shouldering all the burdens, fighting all the battles, and feeling so stuck in the process. Thankfully, the Nine of Birds calls for rituals of mourning and release. This card, of course, is the Star’s shadow self, and a great plug for our intensive, creative, restorative gathering coming up on October 24-25th: The Grove. Four teachers and ten hours of rituals and techniques to clear away, reach for, and gather what you need. - [Welcome!](https://twotreeswriters.com/2020/09/welcome/): What is the Two Trees Writers Collective? We are established writers and teachers, united by our intuitive approaches and inspired by unconventional ways of nurturing writers and creatives in their own development and growth. We are a community that has every individual’s needs and processes at its root. Collectively, we have decades of experience working with master’s degree candidates, which means we can go anywhere with you: deep into the craft and language of your manuscript or deep into your process and your writer’s soul. - [WOW! An Adriatic Adventure in Croatia](https://twotreeswriters.com/2019/02/wow-an-adriatic-adventure-in-croatia/): June 8-15, 2019 Duće, Croatia Framed as a “creative cultural sojourn,” this amazing retreat gives equal time to writing, relaxing and sightseeing. Rahna Reiko Rizzuto will be your guest artist. All writers, aspiring, emerging and established, are welcome. Enjoy the view from your room in one of two luxury villas in Duće, where the foothills of the Mosor Mountains meet the Adriatic Sea. Walk along white sand beaches, or walk into town; take an afternoon swim, immerse in Balkan culture—and untap your creative potential in a beautiful place on Earth. Soak in the beauty of this other world and journey […] - [VORTEXT 2019](https://twotreeswriters.com/2019/02/vortext-2019/): VORTEXT is an extraordinary weekend salon for women at the famed Whidbey Institute, led by renowned women writers. Join our workshop leaders, Ruth Ozeki, Karen Joy Fowler, Rahna Reiko Rizzuto, Natalie Baszile, Shobha Rao, Elmaz Abinader and Dylan Landis, to share writing, meals, conversation and community in a stunningly beautiful setting. (Reiko’s workshop description included below. For all others, please check out Hedgebrook’s site!) The program, now in its eighth year, gives writers the opportunity to connect in diverse and powerful small-group workshops. Writers also enjoy dynamic keynotes and discussions about opportunities and challenges for women who write, as well as several […] - [Dear Writers](https://twotreeswriters.com/2017/11/dear-writers-2/): Dear Writers, I have been thinking a lot about community lately: what it means to be a community of writers. To hear each other, to hold each other up, to stand in each others’ darkness unafraid, to turn up the volume on each other’s voices.  This year, perhaps because I lost my father this summer, and I am breaking my ties to my childhood and my first home, I am thinking about the families we choose. The ones we create. And I am grateful.  For my families – all of them. And my writer friends, who never cease to amaze […] - [Join us in 2018](https://twotreeswriters.com/2017/11/join-us-2018/) - [Awakening! Tarot for Writers](https://twotreeswriters.com/2017/10/awakening-tarot-writers/) - [Art As Activism](https://twotreeswriters.com/2016/12/art-as-activism/) - [On the Art of Waiting for Writing](https://twotreeswriters.com/2016/12/art-waiting-writing/): Recently, Beth Kephart asked me to talk about my writing process and rituals, and writer’s block. She shared my answers in her Junctures newsletter. Reading over them now, I find myself wishing to be in that other country: writing. To capture what is coming through in the dark.  And you?  It’s been a hard post-election year for the country, and a hard 2016 for many of us.  What does your 2017 look like?  How will you find a way to declare yourself ready for writing? From the interview: I don’t write every day. I don’t write every week even. I […] - [Pele's Fire. Join Us.](https://twotreeswriters.com/2016/11/join-us/): Now more than ever, we need creative community, safe spaces. We need to raise our voices. Enjoy this video slide show of our 2016 experience.  Join us in March 2017.   - [Dear Writers](https://twotreeswriters.com/2016/11/dear-writers/): Dear Writers, I’m guessing that, for the majority of you, your first desire to write was a way to express an emotion that you were having difficulty feeling or understanding. Or it might have been an early attempt to document, to explore the world in which you lived. But then you grow up and reality kicks in big time, and reality can be an obstacle to working with your imagination.  It can mess with your mind. If you’re not careful it can catch you with your guard down and say things like: Oh please, you think your little poem is […] - [Pele's Fire Memories](https://twotreeswriters.com/2016/10/peles-fire-memories/): “Honestly, I was surprised at just how amazing this retreat was. I expected it to be great, of course, but there is something about this place that opened all of us to possibility, new ideas and joy.  Of course, Hawaii is my home, and working with writers is my intellectual home – a calling that feeds my soul.  But I did not expect to be dancing in the line for dinner or sleeping so deeply to the sounds of the night.  It was a privilege to be a part of this retreat, and when the community of writers insisted that […] - [To Whet Your Appetite](https://twotreeswriters.com/2016/10/to-whet-your-appetite/): Many thanks to Rose Sabangan who took out her phone to photograph her breakfast! Here’s what the morning looks like at Pele’s Fire:     - [Elena, Bhanu and Reiko: A Conversation](https://twotreeswriters.com/2015/12/conversation/) - [The Three (21st Century) Rs](https://twotreeswriters.com/2015/10/the-three-21st-century-rs/): Every year, I take a week off. Ostensibly, it’s a vacation in Cape Cod, but it always turns into a mini writing retreat. I unplug; and once I’ve done so, what happens? I Read. I wRite. I Relax. Why is it that relaxation in the 21st century feels like a luxury? In my childhood, adults didn’t have to decide to relax. They just did it; exhaustion forced relaxation on them. My family didn’t need to go to Fine Dining Establishments (FDE) to prove they were doing The Third R. In fact, we only did the FDEs on special occasions like […] - [Don't Write?!](https://twotreeswriters.com/2015/10/dont-write/) - [Notes on Hybrid Forms](https://twotreeswriters.com/2015/09/notes-on-hybrid-forms/): by Bhanu Kapil A few years ago, as part of my on-going research for a creative writing seminar I was teaching at Naropa University, The Hybrid, I spoke with a “Mad Scientist”; actually, I met him as part of my on-going attempt to be the mother of a son in love with volcanoes. We were at the local science museum, where Dr. Warnock was giving a demonstration [he had an unkempt, patched together, clearly home-made “time machine”] on the birth of volcanoes, which was followed up with 3-D chalk, scissors, and actually building one. A volcano. After the presentation, my […] - [Rock The Casbah (Redux)](https://twotreeswriters.com/2015/08/rock-the-casbah-redux/) - [The Gifts of Retreat](https://twotreeswriters.com/2015/08/gifts-of-retreat/) ## Pages - [Writer in the World Unsubscribe](https://twotreeswriters.com/witw-unsubscribe/) - [redo test](https://twotreeswriters.com/redo-test/) - [new home](https://twotreeswriters.com/) - [](https://twotreeswriters.com/278359-2/) - [new home?](https://twotreeswriters.com/new-home/) - [The Grove Participants' Information](https://twotreeswriters.com/grove-preparation/) - [Thank You](https://twotreeswriters.com/thank-you/) - [One-on-One](https://twotreeswriters.com/one-on-one/) - [Sherri L. 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Step out of the noise of your daily life and step into a quiet sanctuary, where you will find inspiration, space, and community—all designed to help you deepen your connection to your writing life.   June 11-15, 2026 @ The Creative Campus at Goddard Plainfield, Vermont   APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN! TO APPLY: 1. Click on the button to begin your application. You will be directed to a brief questionnaire on Google Forms to help us get to know you and what you are looking for in a retreat.  No writing sample required. 2. On the Google Form, there will be a link near the end that brings you back to us for your application fee of $35. Pay, grab the secret code on the bottom of your application payment form, and then go back and submit your form using this code. It's sounds like a IQ test, but it's easy!   Once we have both your answers submitted in the Google Form and your fee, we will review your application in the next round (usually weekly) and get back to you in approximately one week’s time.  Any questions, you can always reach out to us at twotreeswriters@gmail.com.  - [The Solstice Retreat @ The Creative Campus at Goddard](https://twotreeswriters.com/product/goddard-retreat/): And We Are Back! Kick-start your summer writing with time in the Green Mountain State Step out of the noise of daily life and step into a quiet sanctuary. This rustic retreat takes place on 200 acres of lush land that was once a dairy farm, then an innovative college, and now a creative campus, which is exploring a variety of ways to embrace sustainability. Nestled on the edge of the tiny village of Plainfield, this bucolic timber and stone campus is the perfect setting for writers who want a relaxed atmosphere, to focus on their work in a supportive environment that offers solitude, inspiration, and community. How to know if this retreat is for you? Do you need some time away from your daily routine to kick-start a new project or to find your way forward from a project in progress? Do you need some alone time to hear yourself think, as well as the opportunity to be in community with other writers? Do you wish all your meals were planned for you? Are you interested in coming home to yourself in a magical place infused with the spirit of writers who studied and created here over decades at one of the most innovative and ground-breaking colleges in the country? If you have answered yes to the above, then you’re invited to apply!   Two Trees @ the Creative Campus at Goddard June 11-15, 2026 APPLICATIONS OPEN OCTOBER 1st, 2025. Mark your calendars and come back then for more details, costs, and the application process. To get on the list for updates and reminders, add your name to the list in the contact form below. - [Oracles and Enchantments: A Generative Mini-Retreat](https://twotreeswriters.com/product/oracles-and-enchantment/): This is a time of rest and renewal for us, but that doesn’t mean the creative juices aren’t flowing!   It's been a year since our last in-person retreat, and we have been getting a lot of requests asking, "What comes next?" We've been looking into some exotic spots for future gatherings, but meanwhile, let's get together on Zoom.   Join Sherri and Reiko for a FREE afternoon of deep creative play and tapping into your intuition. Get something going, or see it in a new way. Clear out the channel.  Whatever you need, we are here, and we can't wait to see you again!   Virtual Retreat Saturday, May 6th, 2023 10 AM to 12 PM Pacific/ 1PM to 3PM Eastern - [The Grove 2020: Retreat Where You Are](https://twotreeswriters.com/product/grove-retreat/): What is a RE-Treat, when we cannot be together?  Especially in these times when we need one more than ever?  Two Trees is offering an opportunity to RE-Start, RE-Group, RE-Fresh with four Mentors and four entirely different approaches. RE-Turn to your writing. RE-Engage with a new creative community.  But most importantly RE-Connect with your own inspiration and intuition.  Join us for an immersive zoom weekend for creative writers in all genres, for all levels: ten hours of intuitive creative strategies and practices like no other! - [The Grove 2022: Come Together](https://twotreeswriters.com/product/the-grove-2022/): This is not just another writing retreat - it's time for deep creative play.   Join award-winning authors Rahna Reiko Rizzuto and Sherri L. Smith in the mountains of California and reignite your creative spark. - [Tarot Reading](https://twotreeswriters.com/product/tarot-reading/): Treat Yourself to Your Own Perfect Wisdom   Whether for the writer or the writing, the Tarot is the perfect way to consult the oracle that is you.   What is it?  A 90 minute session with Reiko to discuss and examine any aspect of your book or project using a custom Tarot spread created on the spot and just for you. Includes a recording and screen images, as well as brainstorming, coaching advice and writing strategies as appropriate. ## Optional - [Agent (MCP protocol)](websites-agents.hostinger.com/twotreeswriters.com/mcp) [comment]: # (Generated by Hostinger Tools Plugin)