How about ditching the First-World grind to focus on your writing? Leaving that cellphone in a drawer and engaging your manuscript without guilt or distraction?

At Novel Boot Camp in the Jungle we're gonna pack your brain full of literary know-how and make you sweat like a pen-wielding grunt...but it's not just about writing. Boot Camp is about feeding your soul the raw experience it needs to fuel months of creativity. It's about the energy, inspiration and growth that result from stepping out of your comfort zone into adventure. It's about staring life in its wild face, and writing down what you see.

It's happening from February 24 - March 2, 2019 in Nosara, Costa Rica, one of only five "blue zones" in the world, where people regularly live to over 100 years old. Nosara has been voted the number-one place to visit in Costa Rica and one of the top twenty surfing destinations in the world. It's on the forefront of sustainability, has the cleanest water-table in the country and is home to a booming population of wildlife: monkeys, armadillos, coati, crocs, anteaters, 270 species of birds and an unfathomable variety of marine life, including Olive Ridley turtles, who nest down the road at the Ostional Wildlife Refuge. Two of Costa Rica's longest rivers converge at Nosara, a magical nexus of mystery and synchronicity where something unexpected always happens and you cannot escape the plot. Get ready to:

• Practice yoga on a poolside deck overlooking the jungle
• Eat gourmet, chef-prepared meals by a Costa Rican taco genius
• Enjoy happy hour on the beach and watch the sun set over the Pacific
• Night-hike and swim by the glow of bioluminescent plankton
• Surf with Juan Surfo, the Costa Rican Jeff Spicoli
• Ride horses on a white sand beach with a former French pastry chef 
• Stand-up paddle board through mangroves to a picnic of fresh fruit
• Hang out with kindred souls who are just as creative and weird as you
• Read to each other at an Irish Pub set high in the mountains 
• Oh, yeah--and write our butts off

Wanna come? We hope so. Fill a spot. Or two. Our buddy discount will earn you 5% off the retreat fee for both you and your friend (not including accommodation). Details. 

Questions? Live chat or message us right here. Pura Vida!

The next Novel Boot Camp in the Jungle is on the calendar for 2019--and it's going to be better than ever!

From February 24-March 2, 2019, a group of 10 committed novelists will gather in Nosara, Costa Rica to develop and optimize the foundational elements of their stories, making breakthrough after breakthrough on their works in progress.

Here's a glimpse at just some of what we'll be doing:

• Learning and applying the difference between plot and story
• Discovering and deepening your protagonist's fatal flaw or wound
• Tracking your protagonist's growth from inciting incident to revelation
• Writing the revelation scene, in which your protagonist experiences meaningful change at THE END of your novel
• Revamping the way you think about scenes, setting, voice, theme
• Surfing, paddle boarding and riding horses on the beach
• Hanging out in paradise with other writers who get you
• Unwinding with tropical drinks and pool-side, jungle-view yoga
• Night hiking to beachfront restaurants by the glow of bioluminescent plankton...

Participants have lauded this retreat as "life changing," "an MFA in a week," "mind blowing," and "one of the best experiences of my life." 

Click here for details.