Laura Davis

  • Home
  • About
  • Writing Retreats
  • Classes
  • Virtual Vacation
  • Prompts
  • Blog
    • Laura’s Blog
    • Featured Students
  • Contact

Sign up to hear from Laura today and receive the Writer's Journey Roadmap.
Free writing prompts and inspiration sent to your inbox every week.

The Virtual Vacation Mexico: The New World Of Publishing

February 14, 2014 By Laura Davis 2 Comments · · · · · · Read & Respond

The Virtual Vacation Mexico - The New World of Publishing

The San Miguel Writer's conference, in its ninth year, attracts writers from all over Mexico, the United States, Canada, and this year included participants from England, Australia and Morocco. This year, there are 300 full conference attendees, and some of the keynote speakers draw as many as 900 people. There are workshops on everything from travel writing to playwriting, from how to find an agent to how to make characters come alive, from young adult novels to book promotion, and so much more. This morning, I attended a panel on the new era of publishing, covering everything from traditional publishing to do-it-yourself and everything in between. The panelists described five types of publishing, all ... [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Mexico, The Virtual Vacation Tagged With: creative writing, entrepreneur, marketing, memoir, mexico, teaching, travel, writing practice, writing tips

The Virtual Vacation Mexico: Between The Cracks

February 15, 2014 By Laura Davis 2 Comments · · · · · · Read & Respond

The Virtual Vacation Mexico - Between The Cracks

The most fun thing about coming to a writer’s conference is not what happens in the officially scheduled sessions, but what happens in the cracks between sessions. There’s the fun of exploring San Miguel, but there’s also the conversations, connections and adventures that happen with fellow participants over meals, while getting lost, while shopping, or sometimes while drinking tequila. Last night, for instance, I was supposed to have dinner with Ellen Bass, my co-author, who’s doing a keynote speech at this conference, and her dear friend Beverly, who lives nearby and is spending the week with Ellen.  I made some reservations at a nearby restaurant with a great view of the city, but when it was time to meet, Ellen told me she had to go to a special event with the other keynote ... [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Mexico, The Virtual Vacation Tagged With: creative writing, entrepreneur, marketing, memoir, mexico, teaching, travel, writing practice, writing tips

The Virtual Vacation Mexico: David Whyte

February 15, 2014 By Laura Davis 4 Comments · · · · · · Read & Respond

The Virtual Vacation Mexico - David Whyte

A small snippet from David Whyte’s keynote address about why readers need to live a courageous life:

"Writer's block has to do with the attempt to keep a conversation going long beyond its shelf life."
As an antidote, David suggested the discipline of asking ourselves "beautiful questions," questions that enable us to have a conversation between our history and the ground on which we stand and the new, unknown horizon before us. These are some of the beautiful questions David suggested:
  • What is my relationship to the unknown?
  • What is my relationship to silence?
  • How much am I in a real conversation with something other than myself? What relationship do I have to voices other than my ... [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Mexico, The Virtual Vacation Tagged With: creative writing, entrepreneur, marketing, memoir, mexico, teaching, travel, writing practice, writing tips

The Virtual Vacation Mexico: The Loneliest Book Club in the World

February 16, 2014 By Laura Davis No Comments - Read & Respond

The Virtual Vacation Mexico: The Loneliest Book Club in the World

Since the San Miguel Writer’s Conference is a tri-cultural festival, the conference features evening keynotes from authors from the US, Mexico and Canada. This year’s Canadian author was Yann Martel, best known for his bestselling novel, The Life of Pi. The conference brochure described Yann’s talk as follows: “At a time when the arts are increasingly marginalized, reduced to being mere entertainment, Yann Martel will speak about how the act of creating art and the act of receiving it are fundamental to human understanding and happiness.” My favorite part of his presentation was his vivid, wry description of the guerilla book club he founded—a unique book club with a membership of two. [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Mexico, The Virtual Vacation Tagged With: creative writing, entrepreneur, marketing, memoir, mexico, teaching, travel, writing practice, writing tips

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Like this Virtual Vacation?

You can also read about Laura’s travels to:

Peru 2017

In which Laura and Karyn and 18 writers explore Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley of Peru.

Serbia 2017

In which Laura leads a workshop at the Incest Trauma Center.

Greece 2016

In which Laura explores the wonders of Crete and Santorini with a wide-eyed group of Write, Travel, Transform adventurers.

Vietnam 2015/16

In which Laura, who grew up during the Vietnam War, goes to Southeast Asia and finds out what Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are really like today.

Commonweal 2015

A journey toward healing loss and grief in a magnificent Northern California setting.

Scotland 2015

In which Laura returns to Scotland with a new group for another jaunt through the wonders of the Scottish Highlands.

Scotland 2013

In which Laura attends the Edinburgh theatre festival and leads 14 writers to a magical retreat in the highlands of Northern Scotland.

Bali 2013

In which Laura visits Australia, and spends three weeks diving, exploring, and teaching in three regions of Bali.

Florida 2014

A journey into old age in America in which Laura brings her 86-year-old mother to Florida so she can see her last surviving sister one final time.

Mexico 2014

In which Laura attends the San Miguel Writer’s Conference and explores the artistic towns around Patzcuaro.

About Laura Davis

In the course of my career as a communicator, I have also worked as a columnist, talk show host, radio reporter, radio producer, blogger, editor, and speaker. Words have always been at the core of my work and my self-expression. Read More . . .

Photo taken by Jason Ritchey

Tag Cloud

Aging Parents Alzheimer’s Bali Commonweal creative writing dementia Ellen Bass entrepreneur greece marketing memoir mexico Mother-Daughter poetry Scotland teaching travel travel adventure Vietnam write travel transform writing practice writing retreat writing tips writing workshop

Recent Posts

What I Do for Love

“Use what talents you have; the woods would have little music if no birds sang their ... [Continue Reading]

Other Posts:

  • Turning Points
  • My Loneliness
  • When the Bill Comes Due

Writing Retreats

Whether you are a beginner, an established writer, a published author, or are looking for a creative vacation with your spouse…I have a retreat for you.

Read more . . .

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2019 Laura Davis · Website by Websites For Authors