The CAVE is limited to 12 participants.
Enrollment opens March 4, 2024!
THE CAVE IS FOR YOU
- If you struggle to protect time for your writing
- If you need distraction-free deep focus
- If you want to jumpstart a project
- If you have trouble claiming your writer self
- If you need to get better at setting boundaries
- If you want to improve your craft
- If you want to find more freedom on the page
- If you want to fall back in love with a project
- If you want to be inspired
ABOUT THE WORD CAVE
(September 26-29, 2024, United States)
This 4-day virtual writing retreat is a time for you to focus on your creative work in your space, wherever you are, with support and accountability.
Here are the key benefits:
Exceptional Facilitation: This is not your average writing retreat. Two decades of teaching and writing have shaped Sarah’s generous approach. She has an incredible ability to hold space and foster transformation, both on and off the page. The CAVE is not competitive; instead, it's a sanctuary. Sarah's approach underscores her powerful belief that art can help repair the world.
Community and Connection: Through twice-daily check-ins, writers build connections, fostering a supportive network.
Personalized Writing Prompts: Sarah's prompts propel writers forward and feel like magic. They offer inspiration and direction, helping writers clear blocks and take more risks on the page.
Packet for Mindful Preparation: The preparation packet you receive gets you ready for the CAVE. The process of clearing and claiming space and time is transformative.
Intensive Writing Focus: Four days of uninterrupted writing time lead to significant progress and breakthroughs in writing.
"Each time I’m in the CAVE, I think this is the best CAVE yet. And every time, I’m surprised with how deeply supportive and enriching the cave is for the work and for me as a writer and a human. The sense of community you weave and the paths you open in front of us gives me such hope for the world we can create. Thank you so much.”
- Rachael Mead
INSIDE THE WORD CAVE:
Four days of protected time for your creative work
Preparation instructions for how to make the most of your time that include suggestions for:
- How to claim your space
- How to clear your calendar
- How to stay offline and off social media
- How to set an intention
- How to schedule your time
- How to reclaim focus and attention for your own creative work
- How to set boundaries
Retreat limited to 12 participants
Two daily group 60-minute check-ins/writing workshops (for a total of 8 hours):
- The first check-in will be at 8 am Pacific Time
- The second check-in will be at 4 pm Pacific Time
A community of support and accountability
Permission to protect time for your creative work and to claim it as your birthright
"Sarah Sentilles's CAVES are the best! She helps you create a space that feels deeply sacred, generative, and inspired. Sarah's writing prompts get you writing and help you to find the poetry, themes, and play in your work. Furthermore, I was astounded by the connections created within the community in only four days. Sarah is an inspiring and supportive guide; she helps you see your writing in a way that creates breakthroughs. I highly recommend the CAVE if you want to jumpstart your writing, or take it to a deeper level. She will help you fall back in love with the craft."
-- Maylen Dominguez, Writer & Dean at New York Film Academy
WHY THE CAVE?
The WORD CAVE empowers writers to delve deeply into their craft, establish connections, and make significant strides in their writing projects, within a supportive and nurturing virtual community.
The CAVE is open to all levels and all creative practices and genres. Beginning writers and seasoned writers are welcome!
"Sarah’s Word Caves and Word Rivers are my writing church, the sanctuary I return to when I need to refuel and recharge so I can go it alone again. It’s not merely writing to a prompt, but writing from inside a prompt, exploring ideas and memories that would otherwise remain uncreated and unremembered. Her workshops are a cross between a workout for your writing muscles and a meditation for your mind. A playground for your creative self to have fun and explore, and where you’ll find a coven of like-minded souls to support you."
-Louise Allan, THE SISTERS' SONG
Meet Sarah Sentilles
Sarah Sentilles is a writer, teacher, critical theorist, scholar of religion, and author of many books, including Stranger Care: A Memoir of Loving What Isn't Ours. Her book Draw Your Weapons won the 2018 PEN Award for Creative Nonfiction. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Oprah Magazine, The Atlantic, Ms., Religion Dispatches, Oregon ArtsWatch, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, among other publications. She earned a bachelor's degree at Yale and master's and doctoral degrees at Harvard.
Testimonials
"Thank you so much, Sarah, for holding us so securely, encouraging us, giving us stimulating writing exercises to get us moving or help resolve challenges in our work, sharing your insights and wisdom and for caring about us all so much. A wonderful 4 days of writing, and I have new focus on my project."
-- Annie Keely
"This Word Cave allowed me the space to crack open a fictional world I’ve been lingering in for years. I finally understood why it’s my story to tell and I feel like I’ll be able to let it go fully when these rewrites are complete. The combination of this rock solid group of people, the generative exercises and your profound encouragement, Sarah, made that possible. So thank you all, really, from the bottom of my heart."
-- Bronwyn Birdsall
"Well, that was amazing, wasn't it? . . . I've never experienced energy like that before in a writing group, and all done by Zoom, no less. It's not something you could describe to anyone else and give it the justice it deserves.
Sarah, thank you so much. I think you're amazing. Again, I've done so many writing exercises but never have they brought forth so many answers as they did in the Word Cave. Perhaps it had something to do with where I am in the process, but either way, The Word Cave was perfectly timed and so well delivered. I felt so supported, loved, respected and heard."
-- Kim Hood
"Thank you for such an enriching, extending and exciting experience! The manner in which you hold the group within the CAVE, Sarah, the deep respect and infinite knowledge you share is something to behold. I feel incredibly privileged to have shared this unique time. The way you emphasis the sacredness and importance of our writing is something I’ll carry in my heart forever."
-- Anne Pitt
"I found myself not wanting to miss a minute. In the eight hours of contact I realized that there was never a conversation or invitation that would not move me forward. The women that showed up were all writers, all enthused by the work and your ability to move us. We all belonged together which I often think is a result of the Consciousness of the instructor. The way you checked in, held all of us individually and as a whole was profound. You are a master. I am grateful to be in your circle and I intend to return as my schedule allows."
-- Sue Reynolds
