# Two Trees

> Where Writers Are Rooted


## Posts

- [What Are We Actually Doing?](https://twotreeswriters.com/2026/04/elenas-workshop/): As June gets closer, we have opened a few more spaces for the Solstice Retreat and will be taking rolling admissions until full. Here's a glimpse into what we have in store, beginning with Elena's workshop.
- [Gather Together](https://twotreeswriters.com/2026/01/gather-together/): In my Story Forest creativity course, Little Red Writing Hood, I ask writers the question: what medicine does your story carry?
- [Take Your Time](https://twotreeswriters.com/2026/01/take-your-time/): Last week, I hired a friend to build me a customized bookcase for my writing space. The bookcase takes up two walls.
- [Switching Gears](https://twotreeswriters.com/2025/12/switching-gears/): The writing life is like the Tour de France. Sometimes you’ve just got to slow down to grab your water bottle and a high protein snack. Take a breath. Rest your writing legs without letting them cramp up. Sometimes you end up gliding to a stop and you get off the damn bike completely. But even decades later, some butterfly of an idea might drift in front of you, and back on the bike you go.
- [Essential Questions](https://twotreeswriters.com/2025/11/essential-questions/): As we plan our Solstice Retreat in June, we start with essential questions: What can we offer writers (that they may not get elsewhere)?
- [Fairy Tale Survival Kit](https://twotreeswriters.com/2022/03/fairy-tale-survival-kit/): Maybe a red velvet cloak cannot shelter your world. Perhaps we cannot stop the wolves every time. But we can let the precious things in our life know they are valued. We can try to carry as much of them as we can if we must flee.
- [A Palimpsest](https://twotreeswriters.com/2022/02/palimpsest/): Some thoughts on freeing your writing voice by writing over the old, worn out story.
- [Rubble and Remembrance](https://twotreeswriters.com/2022/02/rubble-and-remembrance/): At Trinity College, Rahna Reiko Rizzuto discusses trauma narratives and healing narratives in connection with the 80th Day of Remembrance for the Japanese American incarceration.
- [The Star: Tarot for the Day](https://twotreeswriters.com/2022/02/star-tarot/): The Star has always been one of my favorite cards, and in the Shining Tribe, Rachel evokes a peaceful Persephone in her image, suggesting spring, nourishment, new life and escape from the underworld. In the Vertigo Tarot, the image (associated with Venus) confronts us with more than battle scars: her head and arms have literally been blown off.
- [Tarot for the Day: Ten of Stones](https://twotreeswriters.com/2020/11/tarot-for-the-day-ten-of-stones/): My preoccupation, lately, has been about my path. What is it, really?
- [Bhanu's Dream](https://twotreeswriters.com/2020/10/bhanus-dream/): "I dreamed last night I came to a clearing in a forest... Have you ever taken a dream, or an image or a question, for a walk? I think the dream is about the coming weekend, about the part of my brain, my own survival system, that is trying to work out what "sacred" means in the context of our disciplinary field, "creative writing." It is a place where we can bring what we cannot carry in our own bodies anymore. As I write these words, something that did not happen in the dream, but which is happening now, I can see the radical others -- human, animal, and from the other world -- who are stepping now, out of the trees. It's by writing that I discover something that the dream did not show: a community of witnesses, of all of the others carrying their own vials, their own inherited forms of time, walking, right now, or by other means, towards this place."
- [Rituals of Release](https://twotreeswriters.com/2020/10/rituals-of-release/): I don’t know about you, but I am tired of shouldering all the burdens, fighting all the battles, and feeling so stuck in the process. Thankfully, the Nine of Birds calls for rituals of mourning and release. This card, of course, is the Star’s shadow self, and a great plug for our intensive, creative, restorative gathering coming up on October 24-25th: The Grove. Four teachers and ten hours of rituals and techniques to clear away, reach for, and gather what you need.
- [Welcome!](https://twotreeswriters.com/2020/09/welcome/): What is the Two Trees Writers Collective? We are established writers and teachers, united by our intuitive approaches and inspired by unconventional ways of nurturing writers and creatives in their own development and growth. We are a community that has every individual’s needs and processes at its root. Collectively, we have decades of experience working with master’s degree candidates, which means we can go anywhere with you: deep into the craft and language of your manuscript or deep into your process and your writer’s soul.
- [WOW!  An Adriatic Adventure in Croatia](https://twotreeswriters.com/2019/02/wow-an-adriatic-adventure-in-croatia/): Framed as a “creative cultural sojourn,” this amazing retreat gives equal time to writing, relaxing and sightseeing.
- [VORTEXT 2019](https://twotreeswriters.com/2019/02/vortext-2019/): VORTEXT is an extraordinary weekend salon for women at the famed Whidbey Institute, led by renowned women writers.
- [Dear Writers](https://twotreeswriters.com/2017/11/dear-writers-2/): Dear Writers, I have been thinking a lot about community lately: what it means to be a community of writers.
- [Join us in 2018](https://twotreeswriters.com/2017/11/join-us-2018/): Enjoy this video of our 2017 memories and imagine yourself escaping to Hawaii in the cold! 2018 dates are February 28-March 6th.
- [Awakening! Tarot for Writers](https://twotreeswriters.com/2017/10/awakening-tarot-writers/): If you are interested in using the Tarot to communicate with your muse, here is an example of how you can use it to offer a message for your writing life, process, and work.
- [Art As Activism](https://twotreeswriters.com/2016/12/art-as-activism/): This interview with Reiko was originally published on the Women Authoring Change blog for Hedgebrook, an amazing retreat for women writers.
- [On the Art of Waiting for Writing](https://twotreeswriters.com/2016/12/art-waiting-writing/): Recently, Beth Kephart asked me to talk about my writing process and rituals, and writer's block. She shared my answers in her Junctures newsletter.
- [Pele's Fire. Join Us.](https://twotreeswriters.com/2016/11/join-us/): Now more than ever, we need creative community, safe spaces. We need to raise our voices. Enjoy this video slide show of our 2016 experience.
- [Dear Writers](https://twotreeswriters.com/2016/11/dear-writers/): I’m guessing that, for the majority of you, your first desire to write was a way to express an emotion that you were having difficulty feeling or understanding.
- [Pele's Fire Memories](https://twotreeswriters.com/2016/10/peles-fire-memories/): "Honestly, I was surprised at just how amazing this retreat was.
- [To Whet Your Appetite](https://twotreeswriters.com/2016/10/to-whet-your-appetite/): Many thanks to Rose Sabangan who took out her phone to photograph her breakfast!
- [Elena, Bhanu and Reiko: A Conversation](https://twotreeswriters.com/2015/12/conversation/): Pele’s Fire was birthed from the very core—hearts, minds, passions, and desires—of three women: Rahna Reiko Rizzuto, Elena Georgiou and Bhanu Kapil.
- [The Three (21st Century) Rs](https://twotreeswriters.com/2015/10/the-three-21st-century-rs/): Every year, I take a week off. Ostensibly, it’s a vacation in Cape Cod, but it always turns into a mini writing retreat.
- [Don't Write?!](https://twotreeswriters.com/2015/10/dont-write/): [et_pb_section fb_built="1" _builder_version="3.22"][et_pb_row _builder_version="3.25" background_size="initial" background_position="top_left" background_repeat="repeat"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="3.25" custom_padding="|||" custom_padding__hover="|||"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.6.0" background_size="initial" background_position="top_left" background_repeat="repeat" hover_enabled="0" sticky_enabled="0"]I’ve been thinking a lot about being a writer in this world.
- [Notes on Hybrid Forms](https://twotreeswriters.com/2015/09/notes-on-hybrid-forms/): by Bhanu Kapil A few years ago, as part of my on-going research for a creative writing seminar I was teaching at Naropa University, The Hybrid, I spoke with a "Mad Scientist"; actually, I met him as part of my on-going attempt to be the mother of a son in love with volcanoes.
- [Rock The Casbah (Redux)](https://twotreeswriters.com/2015/08/rock-the-casbah-redux/): First: Take a large breath.
- [The Gifts of Retreat](https://twotreeswriters.com/2015/08/gifts-of-retreat/): It’s 94 degrees in Brooklyn, and I am writing in a pair of blue cashmere fingerless gloves.

## Pages

- [Writer in the World Unsubscribe](https://twotreeswriters.com/witw-unsubscribe/): Sorry for the runaround here, and thank you for your patience.
- [redo test](https://twotreeswriters.com/redo-test/): [et_pb_section fb_built="1" fullwidth="on" _builder_version="4.11.1" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_fullwidth_header text_orientation="center" background_overlay_color="rgba(53,35,0,0.14)" logo_image_url="https://twotreeswriters.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/twotreeswhitelogo.png" _builder_version="4.11.1" _module_preset="default" background_image="https://twotreeswriters.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/mudlane-header-crop-scaled.jpeg" parallax="off" height_tablet="613vw" height_phone="48vw" height_last_edited="on|phone" custom_margin="0px||0px||false|false" custom_padding="0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false" hover_enabled="0" border_color_all_image="RGBA(0,0,0,0)" global_colors_info="{}" sticky_enabled="0"][/et_pb_fullwidth_header][et_pb_fullwidth_menu menu_style="centered" submenu_direction="upwards" fullwidth_menu="on" active_link_color="#FFFFFF" dropdown_menu_bg_color="rgba(1,35,0,0.92)" dropdown_menu_line_color="#FFFFFF" dropdown_menu_text_color="#FFFFFF" show_cart_icon="on" show_search_icon="on" cart_icon_color="#FFFFFF" search_icon_color="#FFFFFF" menu_icon_color="#FFFFFF" _builder_version="4.11.1" _module_preset="default" menu_font="Overlock|700||on|||||" menu_text_color="#FFFFFF" menu_font_size="21px" menu_letter_spacing="1px" menu_line_height="0em" background_color="#003310" background_enable_image="off" background_layout="dark" height="5vw" height_tablet="5vw" height_phone="8vw" height_last_edited="on|phone" custom_margin="0px||0px||false|false" custom_padding="0px||0px||false|false" menu_text_shadow_style="preset2" menu_text_shadow_color="#000000" global_colors_info="{}"][/et_pb_fullwidth_menu][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built="1" admin_label="FAQ" _builder_version="4.11.1" background_color="rgba(0,168,30,0.13)" use_background_color_gradient="off" custom_padding="100px|0px|100px|0px" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_row use_custom_gutter="on" gutter_width="4" _builder_version="3.25" animation_style="fade" locked="off" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="3.25" custom_padding="|||" global_colors_info="{}" custom_padding__hover="|||"][et_pb_text _builder_version="4.11.1" text_font="||||||||" header_font="Overlock||||||||" header_2_font="Overlock|700|||||||" header_2_font_size="38px" header_2_letter_spacing="1px" header_2_line_height="1.4em" header_3_font="Poppins|700||on|||||" header_3_text_color="#edbb5f" header_3_font_size="14px" header_3_letter_spacing="1px" header_3_line_height="2em" text_orientation="center" max_width="550px" module_alignment="center" global_colors_info="{}"][/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color="#edbb5f" divider_weight="2px" _builder_version="3.2" max_width="60px" module_alignment="center" height="2px" global_colors_info="{}"][/et_pb_divider][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure="1_2,1_2" _builder_version="3.25" custom_margin="|||" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_column type="1_2" _builder_version="3.25" custom_padding="|||" global_colors_info="{}" custom_padding__hover="|||"][et_pb_blurb title="Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet adipiscing elit curabitur arcu erat amet sit?"
- [new home](https://twotreeswriters.com/): [et_pb_section fb_built="1" fullwidth="on" _builder_version="4.16" _module_preset="default" global_colors_info="{}"][et_pb_fullwidth_header header_fullscreen="on" button_one_text="The Solstice Retreat @ The Creative Campus at Goddard in Plainfield Vermont.
- [](https://twotreeswriters.com/278359-2/): The Backstory: In 2015, Reiko and Elena fanned a spark into a flame to launch Pele’s Fire–an annual writing retreat at Kalani Honua, a nonprofit wellness center on the Big Island of Hawaii.
- [new home?](https://twotreeswriters.com/new-home/)
- [The Grove Participants' Information](https://twotreeswriters.com/grove-preparation/): Welcome to Two Trees! We have been dreaming this weekend for weeks now, and are really looking forward to sharing The Grove with you.
- [Thank You](https://twotreeswriters.com/thank-you/): We received your order. You should get your confirmation by email. Any questions or concerns, send us a query using our contact page.
- [One-on-One](https://twotreeswriters.com/one-on-one/): Two Trees Mentors know that writers need a variety of modes of input and advice on the development of their work; sometimes, you require a jumpstart; other times, you require accountability and check-ins; and oftentimes you need feedback on manuscripts-in-progress and completed drafts.
- [Sherri L. Smith](https://twotreeswriters.com/sherri/): My goal is to help you to get to the heart of the matter with your work.
- [Policies](https://twotreeswriters.com/policies-2/): By visiting the Two Trees Writers Collaborative website; making an order or inquiry with us; registering for a workshop or session; subscribing to our newsletter; contacting a Two Trees Mentor for one-on-one coaching or manuscript development; or engaging in any of our Offerings and with members of our community; you agree to be bound by the following Terms of Service.
- [Rahna Reiko Rizzuto](https://twotreeswriters.com/reiko/): My goal is to help you deepen the urgency and heart in your work, and to tease out the surprises and idiosyncrasies that are unique to your story and your voice.
- [Elena Georgiou](https://twotreeswriters.com/elena/): My goal is to help you map out your journey—where to begin, where to focus, and how to progress.
- [Pele's Fire Blog Archive](https://twotreeswriters.com/277103-2/)
- [Our Story](https://twotreeswriters.com/our-story/): The Backstory: In 2015, Reiko and Elena fanned a spark into a flame to launch Pele’s Fire–an annual writing retreat at Kalani Honua, a nonprofit wellness center on the Big Island of Hawaii.
- [Who We Are](https://twotreeswriters.com/mentors/): The Two Trees Writers Collaborative is part sanctuary, part “sacred grove in the heart.” We believe in alchemy and transformation, which is to say that our goal is to help you tap into your inner voice, sometimes in unorthodox ways, and then to turn your inspiration into art.
- [Our Approach](https://twotreeswriters.com/write-with-us-2/): Our favorite thing is to get together, get inspired by our surroundings, our ideas, and each other.
- [Two Trees Home](https://twotreeswriters.com/mask-test/)
- [Cancel](https://twotreeswriters.com/cancel/): You have canceled your PayPal payment.
- [Paid](https://twotreeswriters.com/paid/): Thank you! Your payment has been received. Stay tuned.
- [Welcome!](https://twotreeswriters.com/welcome/): Thank you for your subscription to the Two Writers Collaborative news and updates. We appreciate your interest.
- [Unsubscribed!](https://twotreeswriters.com/unsubscribed/): [et_pb_section admin_label="section"] [et_pb_row admin_label="row"] [et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Text"]Thank you for contacting us.
- [Subscribe](https://twotreeswriters.com/subscribe/): [et_pb_section fb_built="1" admin_label="section" _builder_version="3.22"][et_pb_row _builder_version="4.6.3" _module_preset="default"][et_pb_column _builder_version="4.6.3" _module_preset="default" type="4_4"][et_pb_signup provider="mailpoet" mailpoet_list="Stay in Touch|5" success_message="Success!
- [Pele's Fire](https://twotreeswriters.com/peles-fire/): In 2015, we fanned a spark into a flame to launch Pele’s Fire--an annual writing retreat at Kalani Honua on the Big Island of Hawaii.
- [Contact us](https://twotreeswriters.com/contact-us/): General questions and inquiries come here.
- [Product Categories](https://twotreeswriters.com/product-categories-grid/)
- [In Their Own Words](https://twotreeswriters.com/testimonials/): You can find out more about Two Trees' week-long in-person retreat in California offering by clicking here for an archived link.
- [News And A Few Thoughts](https://twotreeswriters.com/news-blog/): The posts below reflect our thoughts on writing, teaching, and the workshops and retreats we have offered over the last decade, extending back to the launch of our original retreat in Hawaii, Pele's Fire, in 2015.
- [Logout](https://twotreeswriters.com/my-account/logout/)
- [My Account](https://twotreeswriters.com/my-account/)
- [Checkout](https://twotreeswriters.com/checkout-2/): Your code to confirm payment for the Solstice Retreat Google Form application is TADA!
- [Cart](https://twotreeswriters.com/cart/)

## Products

- [The Solstice Retreat @ The Creative Campus at Goddard](https://twotreeswriters.com/product/solstice-retreat-creative-campus-goddard-application/): Your Invitation to APPLY! Kick-start your summer writing with time in the Green Mountain State. Step out of the noise of your daily life and step into a quiet sanctuary, where you will find inspiration, space, and community—all designed to help you deepen your connection to your writing life. June 11-15, 2026 @ The Creative Campus at Goddard Plainfield, Vermont APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN! TO APPLY: 1. Click on the button to begin your application. You will be directed to a brief questionnaire on Google Forms to help us get to know you and what you are looking for in a retreat. No writing sample required. 2. On the Google Form, there will be a link near the end that brings you back to us for your application fee of $35. Pay, grab the secret code on the bottom of your application payment form, and then go back and submit your form using this code. It's sounds like a IQ test, but it's easy! Once we have both your answers submitted in the Google Form and your fee, we will review your application in the next round (usually weekly) and get back to you in approximately one week’s time. Any questions, you can always reach out to us at twotreeswriters@gmail.com.
- [The Solstice Retreat @ The Creative Campus at Goddard](https://twotreeswriters.com/product/goddard-retreat/): And We Are Back! Kick-start your summer writing with time in the Green Mountain State Step out of the noise of daily life and step into a quiet sanctuary. This rustic retreat takes place on 200 acres of lush land that was once a dairy farm, then an innovative college, and now a creative campus, which is exploring a variety of ways to embrace sustainability. Nestled on the edge of the tiny village of Plainfield, this bucolic timber and stone campus is the perfect setting for writers who want a relaxed atmosphere, to focus on their work in a supportive environment that offers solitude, inspiration, and community. How to know if this retreat is for you? Do you need some time away from your daily routine to kick-start a new project or to find your way forward from a project in progress? Do you need some alone time to hear yourself think, as well as the opportunity to be in community with other writers? Do you wish all your meals were planned for you? Are you interested in coming home to yourself in a magical place infused with the spirit of writers who studied and created here over decades at one of the most innovative and ground-breaking colleges in the country? If you have answered yes to the above, then you’re invited to apply! Two Trees @ the Creative Campus at Goddard June 11-15, 2026 APPLICATIONS OPEN OCTOBER 1st, 2025. Mark your calendars and come back then for more details, costs, and the application process. To get on the list for updates and reminders, add your name to the list in the contact form below.
- [Oracles and Enchantments: A Generative Mini-Retreat](https://twotreeswriters.com/product/oracles-and-enchantment/): This is a time of rest and renewal for us, but that doesn’t mean the creative juices aren’t flowing! It's been a year since our last in-person retreat, and we have been getting a lot of requests asking, "What comes next?" We've been looking into some exotic spots for future gatherings, but meanwhile, let's get together on Zoom. Join Sherri and Reiko for a FREE afternoon of deep creative play and tapping into your intuition. Get something going, or see it in a new way. Clear out the channel. Whatever you need, we are here, and we can't wait to see you again! Virtual Retreat Saturday, May 6th, 2023 10 AM to 12 PM Pacific/ 1PM to 3PM Eastern
- [The Grove 2020: Retreat Where You Are](https://twotreeswriters.com/product/grove-retreat/): What is a RE-Treat, when we cannot be together? Especially in these times when we need one more than ever? Two Trees is offering an opportunity to RE-Start, RE-Group, RE-Fresh with four Mentors and four entirely different approaches. RE-Turn to your writing. RE-Engage with a new creative community. But most importantly RE-Connect with your own inspiration and intuition. Join us for an immersive zoom weekend for creative writers in all genres, for all levels: ten hours of intuitive creative strategies and practices like no other!
- [The Grove 2022: Come Together](https://twotreeswriters.com/product/the-grove-2022/): This is not just another writing retreat - it's time for deep creative play. Join award-winning authors Rahna Reiko Rizzuto and Sherri L. Smith in the mountains of California and reignite your creative spark.
- [Tarot Reading](https://twotreeswriters.com/product/tarot-reading/): Treat Yourself to Your Own Perfect Wisdom Whether for the writer or the writing, the Tarot is the perfect way to consult the oracle that is you. What is it? A 90 minute session with Reiko to discuss and examine any aspect of your book or project using a custom Tarot spread created on the spot and just for you. Includes a recording and screen images, as well as brainstorming, coaching advice and writing strategies as appropriate.

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