4 days. 6 writers.Your book, finally.
Createcation™ is my writing retreat for business books, personal development and memoir. A small room, every meal handled, and me at the same table reading your actual pages. You fly home with your outline, your throughline and a chapter or 2 written properly.
The straight answer
Createcation™ is my 4-day writing retreat for 6 writers, never 7. Both 2026 rooms, Christchurch NZ and Melbourne AU, are sold out. Createcations in 2027 will be held in Victoria BC, Niagara-on-the-Lake ON, Queenstown NZ and Sydney AU. Available globally. Thursday you arrive, Friday you learn the framework, Saturday you write, Sunday you plan. 2027 rooms are $7,500 USD, paid in full (with 3 bonus 60-minute calls) or in 3 instalments with no surcharge, or $15,000 USD with 12 x 60-minute 1:1 coaching sessions afterwards.
This is what 4 daysactually looks like.
Real rooms, real writers, real pages. Every photo here is mine. Not a single stock model in sight.
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
No mystery.No vibes-based itinerary.
Arrive
Dinner together. Nobody makes you share anything, read anything or introduce your book to the room.
Learn it
The storytelling framework I’ve used on 4x NYT bestsellers, pointed straight at your material. By dinner you know what your book is actually about (usually not what you arrived thinking).
Write it
All day. Nowhere to be, nobody needing anything, and me on hand the moment you hit the wall. Most people write more today than in the 2 years before it.
The plan
What happens to this thing now, how it gets finished, and how it gets launched. Then lunch, then home.
“Her create-cations are incredible. I attended one in Queenstown and learnt so much about myself.”Amy Scott · Keynote Speaker, Dots Communication
4 new rooms.Pick your view.
6 writers per room. Applications close 4 weeks before each one opens.
February 18-21, 2027rain outside, words insideVictoria, BCSee the room →
July 8-11, 2027word count first, wine afterNiagara-on-the-LakeSee the room →
November 11-14, 2027your greatest adventureQueenstown, NZSee the room →
December 2-5, 2027a harbour view, darlingSydney, AUSee the room →Pay in full. Get 3 extra hours of me.
Every 2027 room is $7,500 USD. Pay in full and I add a 60-minute pre-retreat strategy call plus 2 bonus 60-minute coaching calls. Or split it into 3 instalments. Book it with coaching and the pair is $15,000, which saves you $2,500 (roughly the flights you’re about to book anyway).
Can’t do 4 daysin a group?
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.
Private 1:1 Createcation · just you and me
4 days, 1:1, in a place with no meetings and no laundry. You get every hour of my attention instead of a sixth of it, and you leave with the book mapped and real pages written. Travel on top.
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.
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 costs less per writer than anything else I sell.
Don’t take my word for it
People who were in the room, saying it better than I can.
Flights are the only extraEverything exceptthe flight.
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The house, the meals, the lot
Accommodation, every meal, all the training, all the materials and every 1:1 session. From the moment you land it’s handled, including the restaurant you’d never have found on your own.
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Me, all 4 days
30 yrs of doing this, at the same table as you, reading your actual pages. Every single day. (Heart glasses included at no extra charge.)
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Zero mystery before you arrive
Times, the plan, what to bring, who else is in the room. I ran a luxury events company for years... this part I’m good at. You will never eat off a buffet.
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The room after the room
Everybody who comes through stays in touch with the rest of their room. That part I didn’t design and can’t take credit for.
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0 lines of AI
Every word on the page comes out of you. Anyone can generate 60,000 words of beige by Tuesday. Nobody can generate yours.
I’ve heard all of these.Most of them came anyway, and finished the book.
It’s not a good time.
It never is. There’s no year where the business gets quieter and the calendar clears itself. It’s 4 days versus another year of telling people about the book.
I don’t have enough material.
You do. You’ve said it out loud dozens of times. Friday is the day I prove it to you, and it’s my favourite day of the 4.
What if there’s no book in it?
Then I’ll tell you, for free, on a 30-minute call, before you spend a cent. I’ve talked people out of books before.
I’m not a real writer.
Neither are most of my clients. They’re experts who can talk. Turning talking into pages is my job.
I’m scared to write the true version.
Good. That’s usually where the book is. The room is small and nobody reads anything out loud unless they want to.
What if life happens and I can’t make the date?
Then I move you. Life happens, I’m a human being, and I’d rather have you in the next room than lose you entirely.
What people actually ask me first.
The questions that come up before every single Createcation, answered properly.
Is my book right for this?
Probably, if it’s non-fiction. The group rooms are built for business books, personal development and memoir, because that’s where I live and that’s what the framework is made for. 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). Tell me what you’re working on and I’ll tell you straight whether I’m the right person for it.
What about fiction?
I love a good novel, and I do take fiction on, just not in the group rooms. If you’re writing fiction, a private Createcation™ or 1:1 coaching is the right fit. Ask me on your application and I’ll point you to the one that works.
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.
Do you use AI in any of this?
Not for writing. Hard no. 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.
I’d rather tell you nowthan watch you resent me by Sunday.
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You want somebody to write it for you
That’s ghostwriting, and it’s a different conversation (a good one, just not this one).
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You can’t give it 4 days
The room only works because nothing else gets your attention.
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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.
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You want AI to do the heavy lifting
Not here, not in your pages, not ever.
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You’re after a certificate, a framework to resell, or a stage to network from
Everybody here’s 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 4 weeks before the retreat, the same day applications close, or in instalments before then 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, your deposit is non-refundable, and it’s paying for the house and support, who are already booked and don’t much care about my feelings.
If I cancel
Every cent back, including the deposit, within 14 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.
6 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.
Rather talk it through first?
30 minutes, free, and you’ll leave knowing whether your book is ready for a room and which one fits.