EpicWrite

05/27/2026

Maybe you've never heard of the Full-Bodied Writing Retreat.
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I promise it does not involve dancing in the woods naked. (Okay. Maybe that's disappointing...)
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What it does involve is a weekend in the natural beauty of Sacred Waters Retreat Center (formerly known as Saint Andrew's House--but now with extended grounds.) It involves time with your story or poetry, looking out at the mountains and water, standing in the trees and smelling the sap, walking the labyrinth.
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It also involves interactive craft workshops focused on embodiment, a professional review of your pages, group critique if you want it, farm-to-table meals, and a massage with our licensed massage therapist.
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This year our focus is on setting. What are all the tiny details that make up a scene or poem? How can you get them into your hands physically before you write or rewrite?

During the weekend, we'll borrow a page from theatre and create a setting we can physically step into—a setting from your book or poem. I want us to experience place with our bodies before we take it back to the page. You can use this for drafting, revision, or simply for the joy of discovering your work in a new way.

I write to heal the rifts in ourselves and our culture. Embodiment is my thing, and I coach writers who are longing to bring their authentic voice to the world. Sign up for my newsletter and get hope in your inbox!

04/25/2026

If you’re planning to query—now or eventually—this is one of those conversations that can save you a lot of time and second-guessing.
Is Your Book Agent-Ready?​
Sunday, April 26 (tomorrow)
1:30–3:00 PT/4:30-6:00 ET (Zoom)
Recording provided
In this workshop, Chip MacGregor will walk through how agents actually evaluate submissions—and what to do with that information.
We’ll cover:
what signals a manuscript is (or isn’t) ready
how agents read a query or proposal
what belongs in a fiction proposal—and what doesn’t
how to present your work once you are ready
If you’ve ever wondered “am I ready?”—and “what do I do next?”—this is a good place to get both answers.

I write to heal the rifts in ourselves and our culture. Embodiment is my thing, and I coach writers who are longing to bring their authentic voice to the world. Sign up for my newsletter and get hope in your inbox!

04/22/2026

I’m feeling just a tiny bit crazed this month, as we are moving my 100-year-old mom to assisted living closer to us.
So many boxes. One-hundred-plus years of photos and letters. And my fragile mom, who does want to live nearer, but is undergoing more change than she has in a very long time.
Needless to say, I have not kept up with my Substack and other mailings.
I’ve been thinking a lot about scenes lately—how often the real moment is happening just under the surface of what’s said.
One small thing to try: write what your character doesn’t say, just for yourself. It can change everything about the line that stays.
But there is so much good stuff coming up for writers!
Is Your Book Agent-Ready? How Agents Actually Decide—and What That Means for You
Sunday, April 26, 1:30–3:00 PT / 4:30–6:00 ET (Zoom)
Recording Provided
In this Labyrinth Guest Workshop, Chip MacGregor will demystify how agents actually make decisions about fiction submissions—what signals readiness, what raises questions, and what makes an agent lean in.
Then we’ll pivot to the practical next step: how to present your work once you are ready, including what belongs in a fiction proposal, what matters in a query letter, and how to approach an in-person pitch with confidence.
Finding the Truth Beneath the Words: Writing Authentic Dialogue
Labyrinth Craft Workshop (free with membership [link to membership])
Tuesday, April 28, 2026, 4:00–5:30 PT / 7:00–8:30 ET (Zoom)
Recording Provided
Dialogue isn’t just what your characters say—it’s what’s happening underneath.
In this workshop, we’ll approach dialogue through the full landscape of a scene—character action, sensory detail, setting, and interior thought—so that your characters’ words are rooted in something deeper. You’ll explore how to enter your own psyche and your character’s experience to create moments of authenticity and vulnerability on the page.
Jump Start Your Novel
Saturday, May 9, 1:00–5:00 PT
(In person at Everett Community College, Everett, WA)
Does your novel need a good jolt of electricity? Have you got chapters hiding on your hard drive? A story that's lost its spark? An idea that won't leave you alone?
Come bring your project to life. Learn to build a strong structural foundation, coax out the “realness” in your characters, create compelling dialogue and smooth scene flow, and find the rhythm that keeps you writing.
The 9th Annual Epicwrite Full-Bodied Writing Retreat: “Set the Scene”
June 26–28 Friday 4:00 PM – Sunday 1:00 PM
(In person at Sacred Waters Retreat Center, Union, WA)
This year, we’ll explore setting as a doorway to deeper story. Using techniques drawn from theater and film, you’ll design a real-world version of a space from your book or poem—indoor or outdoor, sparse or layered with detail.
As you step into the physical world of your characters, new insights will emerge: about symbol, emotion, and the relationship between self and story.
If you’ve been wanting to go deeper with your scenes, this is where we expand that work into something fully embodied.
Current pricing is in place through June 5.
Labyrinth Membership
Labyrinth Membership is the ongoing home of the Labyrinth—a way to stay in conversation with your work over time.
Some months you may come for a workshop. Other times, to think something through, to listen, or to reconnect with the deeper current of your project.
The intention is simple: that you are no longer working in isolation, but as part of a living creative community.
Membership offers:
One monthly craft workshop included
Points toward workshops, courses, and coaching
Member discussion spaces and Salon Hour
Monthly group coaching for Premium members
One more thing…
My friend Simone Kaplan, who spent years as an editor for Big 5 publishers, is hosting an online picture book writing retreat you should know about:
Saturday–Sunday, April 25–26
Idea to Draft, a two-day, live online retreat for picture book writers who want to understand—and begin shaping—their ideas into manuscripts.
(I’m considering attending myself—and slipping out a bit early to set up our agent workshop with Chip.)
Thanks for making this community a dynamic and supportive adventure.
Love,
Katherine
P.S. Does anyone want to buy some china? 😃

I write to heal the rifts in ourselves and our culture. Embodiment is my thing, and I coach writers who are longing to bring their authentic voice to the world. Sign up for my newsletter and get hope in your inbox!

02/15/2026

SUBMISSION OPPORTUNITIES FOR NOTES FROM THE LABYRINTH (Katherine's Substack)

Calling for Your Sentences!
This week I want to feature…you in my Substack! What are you working on right now? Have you had a moment when the words came together and you got that lovely tingle?
Choose up to three favorite sentences from your unpublished work and send them my way, along with your working title and your writing name. I can’t publish everyone, but I’ll choose from among the submissions and then all of us can savor them!
You can submit through messenger or, if you’re a subscriber, just hit “reply.”
Deadline: 11:59 PM, Monday, February 16

Calling for Your First Page!
In the last week of February, I’ll offer critique on the opening page of a novel, memoir, or work of creative nonfiction. Feeling brave? Submit your first page (generally between 200 and 350 words) double-spaced, in 12 point type, in a Word-compatible document. Post in Messenger or, if you’re a subscriber, hit “reply.”
Deadline: 11:59 PM Friday, February 20
https://substack.com//note/c-214956294?r=2ipki&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web.

08/14/2025

Hi!

I've been putting together these master classes with seven amazing guests, and they start next Wednesday, the 20th at 6:30 PM Pacific/9:30 PM Eastern.
We're going to answer the question, "How do we keep going creatively when the times are so urgent?"
Each free 90-minute session brings you:
→ A candid conversation about creating in times like these
→ A practical craft or publishing tip you can use right away
→ A giveaway to keep your momentum going
The guests are:
Dr. Gloria Burgess – author of Pass it On, an international speaker and catalyst for courageous leadership, whose father’s life was changed by William Faulkner.
Kevan Atteberry – creator of the most annoying paperclip in history, who now creates tender, funny picture books that celebrate empathy.
Chip MacGregor – literary agent, editor (and immigrant) who has spent decades in Christian publishing, championing books that change readers.
Kirby Larson – Newbery Honor winner, whose novel Dash—about Japanese American internment—was removed from classroom shelves in Florida.
Dana Sullivan – author-illustrator of the Dead Max books, who partners with a grassroots school in Kenya that is literally saving lives.
Janet Lee Carey –whose new edition of The Dragons of Noor, with its wise trees, feels especially timely right now.
Joni Sensel – author of the memoir Feeling Fate and of luminous children’s fiction, who brings readers to the threshold of the liminal.

Light: Five Days of Creative Renewal
Also, I wrote a little book last weekend. Well, I didn't write all of it last weekend--it's got poems in it from my archives, and those have been written for a while. It's called Light: Five Days of Creative Renewal, and it gives you five days of mind-body, creative, and connection-to-others tasks to help you refocus if you've been discombobulated.

Speaking of discombobulated...
I've got a team putting together a video that invites people to all of the above and gives you the book when you sign up. What I've seen so far looks amazing!
But because making videos isn't my expertise, it was a huge learning curve where my sound stopped working or didn't line up, or I had weird blurry lines around my face, and I couldn't get my messy office to disappear without the blurry lines, until I finally figured out another place to film.
Two all-nighters resulting in zero usable footage caused me to (stifle my tears and then) ask my son Tom for help and then dig in again. Finally, success!
But it's all still being worked on by the team that patiently awaited said footage, and the clock is ticking and I don't have my links for signing up set up yet, so I. am. freaking. out (a little).
Fortunately, I've discovered EFT Tapping. (Look it up if you live in your limbic system a lot.) So it is not a continuous state of freak-out.

This is just to say, there are some amazingly cool, free master classes, and an amazingly cool, free book coming at you very, very soon.
So could you help me out here? Can you spread the word to ALL your friends who love writing and creativity, and who may be in a despair spiral over current events? You can start by inviting them to sign up for my mailing list (in the link)
I want as many people as possible to sign up for the master classes, because I believe that together we can lighten each other's loads, and with our creative power we really CAN change the world.

Yours from minor freakoutdom,

Katherine

I write to heal the rifts in ourselves and our culture. Embodiment is my thing, and I coach writers who are longing to bring their authentic voice to the world. Sign up for my newsletter and get hope in your inbox!

07/23/2025

I’ll be honest: I’m feeling a little world-weary this week.
I read the news and feel that dull ache I know many of us are carrying. It’s been messing with my sleep.
What helps? Getting into flow with my own story world. It not only moves my project forward—it energizes me. And right now, I need that creative energy.
I’ve heard that collective energy can shift things. I think I believe that. I want to.
I do know my mood lifts when I’m creating in the company of others. I leave changed. The Labyrinthians who come every Thursday say the same: they walk away more hopeful, with new words and new ideas.
Come join us tomorrow, Thursday from 2:30–4:30 PM Pacific at our free Labyrinth Write-In
We’ll open by setting intentions, then write for about 45 minutes. After an optional check-in, we’ll write again until 4:25, and close with a final check-in before we head back into the world.
No pressure. No assignments. Just company and peace.
Click the picture to find the sign-up link.
Feeling nervous? Bring a friend.
See you soon,
Love,
Katherine
P.S. I’ve been dreaming up a new series of Master Classes—each one with a different guest. Together, we’ll explore the question: “How do I go on creating in times like these?” And we’ll tie that to concrete craft strategies you can use in your own work. Stay tuned.

I write to heal the rifts in ourselves and our culture. Embodiment is my thing, and I coach writers who are longing to bring their authentic voice to the world. Sign up for my newsletter and get hope in your inbox!