You’ve said it on 11 stages.
It exists in 0 books.Awkward.
Your method lives in your head, a keynote deck and 14 Google Docs. It belongs to whoever writes it down first. Same goes for the memoir you’ve been circling for years, the one nobody else can write.
A Createcation™ is 1-4 days, small rooms, and me at the same table reading your actual pages. You write. I tell you the truth. Kickstart your book writing journey.
The straight answer
Createcation™ is my 4-day writing retreat for 6 writers, never 7, held in Victoria BC, Christchurch NZ and Melbourne AU. Mornings are teaching and structure, afternoons and evenings are for writing. It's $3,500 in your own currency (CA$, NZ$ or AU$), payable in 3 instalments with no surcharge. Christchurch and Melbourne are the last 2 rooms at this price. From October 21st, 2027 rooms are $7,500 USD.
Books that exist because of a room
They walked in with an idea they had been carrying for years. Close to 80% of the people who do the 4 days keep going with me afterwards. These 3 did.
Chief Executive OfficeHer
Kristy Duncan
“So I booked Crystal on her own and got her entire attention for it. The book is out this fall and I’m launching it from stages in front of thousands of women.”
Kristy Duncan
Founder & CEO, Women in Payments · private 1:1
Pass the Torch
Manja Horner
“My book went from idea to print in 8 months because of Crystal’s coaching and guidance. Her framework is magic. I had my entire book planned within 3 days.”
Manja Horner
President, Boost · 4 days, then coaching
Not All Diamonds Are Worn
Avril Henry
“I came in thinking I was writing a business book and left with a life-changing memoir. The space, the support, the structure, it pulled the real story out of me.”
Avril Henry
5x bestselling author · 4 days, then coaching
Same method.Every size room.
Every one runs on the Word Magic Method™. What changes is how many people are in the room, how long you have, and who picks the place. Pick the one you can actually say yes to. Payment plans on everything over $997, just ask. Can’t do 4 days? There’s a private 1:1 Createcation ($10,000 USD + travel), a $997 Mini-Createcation and a free 3hr Espresso. Ask me and I’ll point you at the right one.
Book coaching, on its own
12 x 1-hour sessions, 1:1, weekly, built around your book and the way you write. Ends with a finished first-draft manuscript, ready for an editor. No room, no plane, no chef.
Coaching + Createcation
Your 4 days in a room, plus 90 days of coaching: 12 x 1-hour sessions, 1:1, weekly, built around your book and the way you write. It ends with a finished first-draft manuscript, ready for an editor. The retreat is where the book starts. The 90 days is where it stops being a lovely idea you mention at parties. Flights are yours, everything else is handled.
4 rooms in 2027. Dates below.
Private group Createcation · your place, your dates
Flat fee for the whole room, up to 6 writers, travel on top. You pick the city and the dates and I get on the plane. Split 6 ways, it’s the cheapest seat I sell.
Word Magic small group Createcation · 4 days, 6 writers
I handle the planning while you simply show up, book idea in tow. Accommodation, meals and all the teaching.
4 rooms in 2027. Dates below.
Your method has a name.
Someone else is about to give it a better one.
Over my dead body.
The next rooms.6 writers each.
Victoria BC · October 9-12, 2026
ClosedFinish Your F*cking Book. For writers who already have a draft and got 50, 75 or 90% of the way there before it stalled. Applications closed 29 September. See the room →
Christchurch NZ · November 19-22, 2026
Find Your Voice. For people starting from scratch, or close to it. Applications close October 20th. See the room →
Melbourne AU · December 10-13, 2026
Find Your Voice. Same format as Christchurch, different hemisphere weather, in a UNESCO City of Literature. Applications close October 20th. See the room →
2027: 4 rooms. 6 writers each.
Victoria BC · February 18-21, 2027
Niagara-on-the-Lake ON · July 8-11, 2027
Queenstown NZ · November 11-14, 2027
Sydney AU · December 2-5, 2027
Every 2027 room is $7,500 USD. Book it with coaching and the pair is $15,000, which saves you $2,500 (roughly the flights you’re about to book anyway). Lock it in by October 20th and the pair is $12,500.
You pick. I’ll pack.
There’s a city in your head right now, possibly one I’ve never mentioned. 6 hands makes it a room. 1 hand makes it private, on your dates. Either way, tell me where and I’ll come to you.
Who has asked so far
6 hands in one city and it gets dates.
Don’t take my word for it
People who were in the room, saying it better than I can.
What the priceactually covers.
Everything except the flight
Accommodation, all meals, all training, all materials and every 1:1 session. You book your own travel and I handle the rest, including the restaurant nobody would have found on their own.
Me, all 4 days
30 yrs of doing this, sitting at the same table as you, reading your actual pages. Every single day of it. And I don’t disappear when you fly home.
The room after the room
Everybody who comes through a Createcation™ stays in touch with the rest of their room. That part I didn’t design and can’t take credit for.
Zero mystery before you arrive
Times, the plan, what to bring, who else is in the room. You’ll never stand in a hallway wondering where to go, and you’ll never eat off a buffet. I ran a luxury events company for years... this part I’m good at.
No AI in your writing. Not one line.
Every word on the page comes out of you. Anyone can generate 60,000 words of beige by Tuesday. Nobody can generate yours.
What people actually ask me first.
The questions that come up before every single Createcation, answered properly.
Is my book right for this?
Probably. About 95% of what I do is business books and memoir, because that’s where I live. Every so often, somebody turns up with a genre or idea I didn’t see coming... I welcome it anyways, because the material’s good and the human is right. Plenty of people arrive with their 2nd book. Or their 7th. Usually because something was missing from the last one and they can’t name it (it’s the throughline... it’s almost always the throughline). The method is structure and voice. Neither of those care what genre you’re writing in. Tell me what you’re working on and I’ll tell you straight whether I’m the right person for it.
Do I have to read my writing out loud?
Nope. It’s between you, me and the tree you wrote it on... unless you choose to.
What’s included, and what’s not?
Included: accommodation, every meal, all the teaching, all the materials and every 1 to 1 session. Not included: your flights and your travel insurance. You book how you get there. I handle everything from the moment you land, including the restaurant you would never have found on your own.
I’m not a real writer. Does that matter?
You have said that sentence to yourself more times than you have said your own name, and it has never once been true. Your job in that room is to get the thing out of your head and onto the page in your voice. The craft is my job, and I have done it with 200+ authors. The knowing part was always yours.
Do you use AI in any of this?
Not for writing. Hard no. But it can be supportive and dare I say helpful for pre-planning, launch and some other fun hacks. I’ll show and share how to ethically use it or when to rely on the real A.I. (Author Intelligence). That’s you, btw.
I’m travelling on my own. Is that weird?
Almost everyone comes alone. By Thursday dinner there are 5 other people who know exactly what your book is about, which is more than most of your friends can say.
I have dietary requirements.
Tell me on your form and they’re handled before you land. Coeliac, vegan, allergies, the lot. Nobody gets handed a sad side salad while everyone else eats.
What about accessibility?
Tell me what you need before you book and I’ll tell you honestly whether that house works for you. Some of these places are old and beautiful and full of stairs. I’d rather be straight with you than have you arrive and struggle.
Do I need a visa for Queenstown or Sydney?
Most visitors need an NZeTA for New Zealand and an ETA or eVisitor for Australia. Both are online, cheap and quick, but the rules depend on your passport, so check your own government’s site and sort it early. I’ll send the details once you’re booked.
The part where you tell me it’s not the right time
I’ve heard all of these. Most of them from people who came anyway, and finished the book.
This is the wrong room for you if
I’d rather tell you now than take your deposit and watch you sit there resenting me by Sunday.
You want somebody to write it for you. That’s ghostwriting, and it’s a different conversation (a good one, just not this one).
You can’t give it 4 days. The room only works because nothing else gets your attention.
You want a holiday with a notebook in your bag. There’s a whole industry for that and it’s lovely. This is a working room.
You want AI to do the heavy lifting. Not here, not in your pages, not ever.
You’re after a certificate, a framework to resell, or a stage to network from. Everybody here is busy writing their own book.
The money bit, in plain English
No fine print, no surprises at checkout.
Holding a seat
A $1,000 USD deposit holds your place. The balance is due 60 days before the room opens, or in instalments if that’s easier. Just ask.
If your plans change
More than 90 days out, your deposit moves to any other room in the following 12 months. Inside 90 days it still moves with you, and the balance is refundable up to 60 days out. After that it’s paying for the house and the chef, who are already booked and don’t much care about my feelings.
If I cancel
Every cent back, including the deposit, within 10 business days. This has never happened, and I’d rather it stayed that way.
If the room doesn’t fill
Rooms run with a minimum of 2 writers. If one doesn’t reach 2, you pick: move to another room, or take a full refund. Cancellations come with at least 30 days’ notice. Travel insurance is encouraged.
Before you apply
The questions I get before every retreat.
Answered properly, so you’re not guessing at 11pm with a credit card in your hand.
How to choose a book writing retreat
Every wellness influencer with a ring light is hosting one now. Here’s the checklist I’d want if I were the one applying.
Read itWhat a retreat actually costs
The sticker price, the flights, and the line nobody adds up until they’re already committed.
Read itVictoria, Christchurch or Melbourne
3 rooms, 3 very different books. How to tell which one yours belongs in.
Read it6 spots a room.I read every application myself.
Tell me what you’re writing and which room you think you belong in. If it’s the wrong one I’ll say so, and I’ll tell you what’s right instead. The book has been in your head long enough. Let’s get it somewhere people can read it.
