Finish your
f*cking book.On my home water.
4 days on Vancouver Island with 5 other writers who already have a draft, and me sitting down with each of you on exactly where it stalled.
They promise you a book.
I promise you pages.
“Come home with a finished book.”
You leave with the structure finished, your opening drafted, and the plan for the rest. Nobody finishes a book in 4 days. Anyone who says otherwise is selling.
“Escape the distractions.”
Room, meals, transfers, schedule, all handled. The only decision you make in 4 days is which scene to write next.
“Daily writing sprints.”
Writing is the schedule. Saturday and Sunday are yours to write, and I am in the room for all of it.
“Work with a published author.”
A 4x NYT bestselling ghostwriter reads your actual pages. Every day. By name.
“20 writers, gorgeous villa.”
6 writers. That is the cap and that is the point. Everybody in the room gets their pages read.
“You will leave inspired.”
You leave with pages. Inspiration has a half-life of about 9 days. A structure does not.
Inspiration is not what you are short of.
You are short of 4 days where the only thing anyone wants from you is pages, and somebody in the room who has read 200 manuscripts telling you what is actually wrong with yours.
A harbour town that has been turning peopleinto writers for a century.
This is the one retreat on the 2026 calendar I call home water. I live on this island year round, and it shows in the details, from the venue down to the closing dinner.
The venue
Handpicked, and revealed to accepted applicants 4 weeks out. I choose it myself and I do not choose it from a website.
Your own room
Your own bedroom, with shared bathrooms unless you are coming with a friend. Nobody writes well after a bad night on a sofa bed.
Every meal
All of them, built around any dietary needs you flag early. You will not spend a single writing block deciding where to eat.
This one is for the bookthat already started.
Victoria 2026 runs Finish Your F*cking Book, for writers who know exactly what their book is and got 50, 75 or 90% of the way there before it stalled. Less time with me at the front of the room, more time with your hands on the keys.
In 2026 Victoria is the only Finish Your F*cking Book date on the calendar. Christchurch and Melbourne are both Find Your Voice, for people starting from scratch.
4 days,and none of them wasted.
Friday · Arrival
Land, settle, dinner together. No writing tonight, just the long conversation about what your book actually is.
Saturday · Writing begins
A quick framework check-in, then straight to the page. This is where the 1:1 coaching starts, dedicated time with me on your actual manuscript, not a lecture.
Sunday · Deep writing and coaching
The heart of it. Long writing blocks broken up by one-on-one sessions on your pages. Real word count, real problems solved in real time.
Monday · The reveal
What it takes to launch and market this book. You go home with a plan, not just a manuscript.
What it has actually looked likeon this island.
Not a mood board. These are from Createcation gatherings I have run on Vancouver Island, and it is the same room energy you will find in October.
What the method actually did.
There isn’t any.
6 writers. Not 7.
I read every application myself. If your book is not right for this room, I will tell you that before you book a flight, not after you land. That is the only promise worth making about 4 days.
$3,500 CAD,all-inclusive.
Split it 3 ways at $1,167 a payment with no surcharge, ever.
What that covers
Accommodation, every meal, all training, all materials, and every 1:1 session on your manuscript. From the moment you land, it is handled.
What it does not
Your travel to and from Victoria. You book that yourself, and I would rather be straight with you about it than bury it in a footnote.
When it closes
Applications close September 26th, which is when I confirm the venue and the table is set. 6 writers, and I read every application myself.
The one thingyou book yourself.
Travel is not included, so here is what to know before you book flights.
Flying in
Victoria International (YYJ) is closest, roughly 25 minutes from downtown. Plenty of writers fly into Vancouver (YVR) instead and take a floatplane or the ferry across, which is genuinely part of the trip.
Timing your flights
Arrive Friday afternoon or evening for dinner that night. We finish after lunch on Monday, so book a Monday evening flight or stay over and fly Tuesday. A Monday morning flight means missing the part that makes the rest of it worth it.
Entry and insurance
Canada’s entry requirements depend on your passport, so check well before booking. Your deposit is locked in the moment you book, so travel insurance is worth having for both your flights and your spot.
The questionsI get every time.
Who is in the room?
5 other writers and me. Everyone in Victoria already has a draft, so nobody is starting from a blank page and nobody is waiting for the others to catch up.
What if my draft is a mess?
Then you are in exactly the right room. A messy draft is material. The retreat that suits a blank page is Christchurch or Melbourne.
What is included in the $3,500?
Accommodation, every meal, all the teaching, your 1:1 coaching sessions and the closing dinner. Flights and travel to the island are yours.
Do I need to be a good writer?
No. You need a draft and a willingness to be told the truth about it.
When do I find out where it is?
4 weeks out, once you are accepted. The venue is handpicked and it is not somewhere you could have booked yourself.
What happens after the 4 days?
You leave with pages and a launch plan. Sunday is entirely about what it takes to get the book out and sell it.
Why only 6 people?
Because 1:1 coaching on an actual manuscript does not scale. At 12 it becomes a workshop, and workshops are where books go to stall.
6 spots.Your book has been waiting long enough.
Applications for Victoria close September 26th. Tell me what you are writing and where it stalled, and I will tell you honestly whether this is the right room.
