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California Rewriting Lab

Location: Motel Inverness, Inverness, California (Point Reyes National Seashore)
Dates: Saturday, October 12 – Sunday, October 20, 2024
Leader: Heidi Hornbacher

Join us in lovely, wild Inverness, California for a week of writing growth.
Open to all screenwriters with some training or experience.

With this specialized version of our Writing is Rewriting curriculum, you’ll examine your script from every angle to identify what’s working and what isn’t, with our insightful mentoring and the support of your cohort every step of the way.

This lab is ideal for any writer to needs time, space, coaching, and accountability to create a seamless, breakthrough draft. We will review our screenwriting tools, workshop your pages, and give you assignments to accelerate your writing process, peeling back all the layers of your characters and story until you feel confident about every nuance of your narrative.

Each day we will have a full cohort meeting. We will examine the deeper elements of your script, including character arcs and story structure, leveling up your writing skills along the way. Each writer will submit pages for table reads and feedback from the whole group. Our workshop leader will be available for one-to-one meetings at other times.

The support doesn’t end there. When the lab concludes, you have two months to take advantage of an in-depth Script Consultation for 50% off. You also become eligible for our affordable Alumni Drop-In sessions, designed especially for those who need a little extra time to finish their draft. Your first two sessions are included in the registration fee, provided they are used within two months.

lighthouse and lab participants with Heidi
Inverness lab participants

Schedule:

Saturday: Arrival & Welcome Dinner
Sunday-Saturday: Morning workshops; afternoon writing time and 1-to-1 coaching
Sunday: morning workshop and departure
CLICK HERE to see a detailed program.

About the Venue: We will be staying in the Point Reyes National Seashore area. The Motel Inverness website contains photo galleries and detailed information about the hotel. All bedrooms are en suite, except for two queen bedrooms (in the Heart’s Desire Suite) that share a bathroom. Rooms will be assigned randomly, but participants wishing to share a bedroom should contact us at the email below.

Scholarships: The deadline to apply for a scholarship to the 2024 lab has passed. Please CLICK HERE for further information about our scholarship.

Price: $3,600

Discount for alumni of Italy retreats, Concept to Pages, or Writing Is Rewriting: $200
Discount for students who wish to share a bedroom: contact us
Discount for commuters: $1,200

Early registration discount: $300 ($200 for alumni)
This discount requires that you apply by March 31 and that you make a 50% deposit upon confirmation of admission.

Registration covers PageCraft coaching, mentoring, and tuition; 8 nights of lodging at the Motel Inverness (per its terms and conditions) and the welcome dinner.

Participants will be invoiced through PayPal. If you wish to use a credit card, you can do so through PayPal.

How to Apply

If you are interested, please write to us at info@pagecraftwriting.com. Unless you are a PageCraft alumnus, please include a 5-page writing sample in PDF format and brief answers to the questions listed below. We will then schedule a conversation with you, so we can discuss your interest and background. (Scholarship applicants should apply via the scholarship page.)

  1. What is your screenwriting or storytelling experience? (max 75 words)
  2. What is a brief description or logline of the script you would like to rewrite? (max 75 words)
  3. Why does this story matter to you? Why do you want to write it? (max 75 words)
  4. What is your favorite piece of writing advice or mentoring that you’ve received? (max 75 words)
  5. What is a writing note you have received that you disagreed with, and how did you handle it? (max 75 words)
  6. How did you hear about PageCraft?

IMPORTANT NOTES

  • Cancellation Policy: Prior to September 1, 2024, payments are refundable net of PayPal fees. On September 1, 2024, 20% of your total registration cost becomes nonrefundable. On or after October 1, 2024, your full registration cost becomes non refundable. We will offer PageCraft credits for costs we are able to recover, but we cannot guarantee whether or to what extent we will be able to do so.
  • It is our belief that great writing groups make great progress. We endeavor to ensure that each retreat is filled with adaptable, capable writers who can have a positive effect on one another. We ask that all participants adhere to our Code of Conduct. We reserve the right to refuse any applicant or remove any participant for any reason, including abusive or unkind behavior toward others. Our cancellation policy will apply.
  • Other than the registration fee (per the terms of our cancellation policy), PageCraft is not responsible for costs incurred by participants or prospective participants, including travel costs.
  • For the discounted script consultation, scripts must be submitted within 2 months of the final workshop day, and it must be a version of the script created or rewritten during the retreat. Otherwise normal rates apply.
  • Two Alumni Drop-In sessions are included in the registration fee, provided they are used within 2 months of the final workshop session, and provided that you present pages from the script created or rewritten during the workshop. Otherwise normal rates apply.