Open Chalet at Mountain Rise 2024
In the heart of the beautiful summertime Swiss Alps, Helen hosted her annual virtual retreat sessions from Chalet Alpenheim in Wengen. Each session offered a tour of the retreat venue, followed by some reflective writing designed to shift writers into the relaxed-but-energized creative mindset of "retreat mode."
If you missed this event, you can register below for the video recording of the live session, or read Amy’s personal account and follow the exercise prompts below.
Here’s WriteSPACE Event Manager Amy Lewis’ personal account of the live event:
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Wengen is not only an ideal place to hike and admire nature, it is a fabulous place to write. Maybe it’s something in the air that sweeps in through the beautiful valley. Perhaps it’s simply the exceptional company of like-minded writers. Whatever it is, inspiration flows freely there!
This year, Helen took her Open Chalet visitors on a simulated retreat, journeying up and back down the mountain with multiple writing prompts. It’s definitely a good idea to dedicate half an hour to follow along with the live video (click the green button above), or you can sample the first few reflective prompts below:
Where are you starting from on your journey today? For example, ‘I am starting from a place of anxiety’ or ‘I am starting a new project that is exciting but needs quite a lot of mental heavy lifting.’ How far have you travelled to get here? (2 minutes)
Where do you want your next writing journey to take you? Interpret this question however you want! It could be your very next chapter or your next 6 months of writing… (2 minutes)
In Wengen, you can take the cable car up the mountain and walk up to the viewing platform shaped like a crown. What are some of the values and interests that have brought you to this place? (2 minutes to brainstorm)
Of all the interests and values that you’ve identified, what are some of the brightest jewels in your crown?
For the full series of prompts, register for the video above—it’s well worth it!
I want to say a warm thank you to this year’s retreaters (it is you who make Mountain Rise so special), to all the writers who came along to the Open Chalet this year and simulated their own retreats, and to Helen for guiding us through these fun and insightful writing prompts. After seeing the drawing of my dissertation structure, I hope you might be inspired to create your own structural map of your project or a reflective map of your professional writing journey. And if you would like to share it with us, you can send it via this link! I would really love to see it.
See you again at the next event!
WriteSPACE and WS Studio members can find the Open Chalet at Mountain Rise 2024 video in their Video library.
Not a member? Register to receive an email with a link to the video of the first hour.
Better yet, join the WriteSPACE with a free 30 day trial, and access our full Library of videos and other writing resources as part of your membership plan.