Kind Words from Past guests
Writing Wildly was magic. From the minute I landed, I felt the energy of the place and immediately felt at home. That first morning we woke up, the words just poured out of me and I wrote "this is the whole fucking point", and I feel like that sums it up for me. I remembered my "why" and am rooted so deeply in it that it's created a drive that I haven't had in a really long time. I also remembered what it was like to be surrounded by people who really get it. Who see you and support you fiercely and honestly, I feel like that softened a part of me that I didn't even realise had been gripping so tightly (cool, now I'm crying in the airport). I've been solo for so long and this trip showed me that I really don't want to be (SNOTTY SNIFF). I want all of these people in my corner, forever. I was so inspired by them all and hearing them claim their own conviction invited me to do the same in the most beautiful way. It wasn't just the people on the retreat either. The community we were immersed in felt like a home I didn't want to leave (I WILL be back). I felt so taken care of the entire time in a way that allowed me to just switch off and let my creative capacity overflow. The food was stunning (loved every single thing and felt so nourished the entire time) too. Dani you were honestly incredible at handling all the little details that didn't go unnoticed. Nothing ever felt like trouble to you and I don't think I've ever felt so taken care of. THANK YOU. Lois, the way you gave every single person your time and energy was so so so appreciated (and impressive). Of course, your knowledge is incredible, but your company was more so. Witnessing you as the deepest embodiment of what you do firsthand felt like the greatest gift. I burst with gratitude that I got to experience that. Seriously, I could go on, but THANK YOU.
Emma Orlando
_ marketer, writer + podcaster
Every idea is filtered through a prompt. Every sentence is shaped by the algorithm, by presuming what a stranger might think. Every newsletter is flattened into the same three hooks that the creator economy agreed, collectively and without a vote, would "convert" this quarter.
We have more writing tools than any generation in human history, yet the internet has never sounded more like one voice. One cadence. One brand of mildly spiritual, mildly productive, mildly provocative but repeated wisdom pouring out of a thousand separate mouths.
Every thinker, writer and creative is outsourcing, without even really noticing, the only thing that ever made them a thinker in the first place, which was a unique voice and an actual point of view.
Actually no, let me be more precise. Something has been done to the way we write.
Something has happened, in the last few years, to the way we write.
That story burning inside you. The idea that burns your throat. The message you really want to share. The one you’ve been carrying around for years, maybe decades. The one that makes your heart race when you think about putting it out there. The one that terrifies you and excites you in equal measure. Yeah, that one. It’s time to let that bad boy out.
it’s probably not perfect,
you’re probably not ready,
the world might not be clamouring for it.
And you certainly don’t owe it to anybody....
But keeping it locked inside will slowly kill your soul
Your messy, imperfect, still-in-progress, ordinary, messy-first-draft, maybe-been-said-before-but-not-by-you stories and ideas, have the power to change lives. But they mostly have the power to change yours.
They have the power to connect, to heal, to inspire. To make someone laugh. To change someone’s mind. To start important conversations. To make someone remember who tf they are. And they have the simple power to remind YOU who YOU are and what YOU are here to say. But only if you have the courage to tell it. To get it out. But you know all of this already, that's why you're still here, reading.
the hustle
There's a version of your voice you haven't met yet.
respectfully,
Fuck
SO...
What's holding you back?
Fear of judgment? Fear of not being good enough? Fear of being misunderstood? Fear of being known? Fear of silence? Fear of being held accountable? Fear of changing your mind?
They are all valid fears. Especially in a culture that celebrates editing yourself to be more digestible to the masses. But those fears don’t go away. Not really. You just learn to create despite them. You learn to let your voice shake and speak anyway. You learn to hit publish even when your finger hovers over the button for way too long. You learn that silence, rejection, criticism are nowhere near as bad as not saying The Thing.
You learn to bear the beautiful agony of creation, because the alternative, the agony of keeping it all inside, is far, far worse. Writing changes things — mostly you. So let’s start. Wherever you are. However imperfect it feels. Your work matters, simply because you matter.
Moving between focused writing sessions and outdoor adventures that activate different parts of your creative brain, we'll encourage parts of your creativity to re-aliven in new ways.
The right sentence can change how someone sees something. The right idea can change what someone does next. The right piece of writing can alter the direction of your work entirely... but only if it first exists.
Monday, 6:47am. The birds have been at it since five. Your coffee has gone cold, a thing you have noticed but declined to correct. You have just written something you wouldn't have had the nerve to write at your desk. A toucan swoops by. You barely look up.
Tuesday evening. Hammock. Fireflies. The bit you wrote after lunch.
You read it back, and it's honest in a way you haven't been honest in writing since you were twenty-two and writing for no one. You are, you notice, mildly annoyed with yourself for ever having sounded so cautious.
Wednesday night. Long table. Candles. The card deck. Someone pulls a question you can't wait to hear her answer. Someone else reads a paragraph she wrote that morning, and nobody hurries her. A woman you met four days ago says something about your writing that no one has ever said to you, and you realise, with a small delay, that she has read what you are actually trying to say. You have not eaten this slowly in years.
Thursday afternoon. A class IV rapid on the Pacuare. Four days of slow mornings and full notebooks behind you, and now your mind, for the first time in four years, is entirely empty. You can't draft an Instagram caption while a waterfall is hitting you in the face. Half an hour later, dripping in the van, you are scribbling, because something has come loose up there and you would rather not lose it.
Friday afternoon. On your way home. You've got forty-six pages of writing in your notebook that didn't exist a week ago. Some of them are the finishing of the thing you've been almost finishing for a year. One of them, you already know, is the opening line of something bigger. You have a group of new friends whose writing voices you can already recognise.
This is where we make it exist
Picture this...
I added the final draft of our writings to my website and the offer sold out. What you got me to do in the jungle, what you made me see in my story.
I have no words for you about how you saw me, how you see me, so eloquently and unafraid. I am in a deep bow for meeting you and having you in my life now as a mentor, teacher, friend and sister. Thank you from all the light in the sky.
–Lizi Joubert
"So much has happened since Costa Rica!"
Thank you for inviting me into the Writing Wildly first circle. I can't stop telling everyone about the experience.
It was extraordinary beyond my expectations. I can't wait to return for the next one. 2025 SIGN ME UP!
-Kathy McAffee
"Your words overwhelm me and touch my heart on a very deep level"
This retreat made me realise what I really needed to do was come home to myself. Stop giving away my power. Believe in my capacity to create. I don’t feel peace about most things. I worry over decisions. Overthink interactions.
But even in the whitewater rush, my inhales were calm. My head clear. I'm prepared for wherever the river may take me next.
-Kayla Dean
"I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but the shoulds were keeping me small"
I'm not thanking you for finding and bringing us to this place or pulling together the most incredible set of humans, or for taking us on our first rapids. My thank-you is for showing me that a girl from Lancashire can (and will) do great things. My ambition is what brought me to Costa Rica, I knew I was meant for more but couldn't figure out what that was. And I am leaving knowing my thread, FUCK! What a gift!
-Laura Hadcroft
"One day, I promise, I will articulate what this weekend, you, have done for me"
I am much more confident in sharing my voice. I was stalling on making certain decisions before this retreat. I was unsure of what I wanted to do next, or why. All my attempts felt so forced. I now feel ready to move forward with an aligned vision. And I've already started! It finally feels so clear and so natural.
-Cadie Muldoon
"I have a newfound clarity about what I want to say, where I want to say it, who I'm saying it for, and why."
according to our past guests...
Things that will be true six months from now.
Coffee going cold because the paragraph was working
The draft you finally stopped protecting
Wet notebooks and sentences that surprised you
Getting out of your head and rafting a world-class river
Laughing until you cry at dinner
transformation that lasts long after you leave costa rica
write something you don’t have to water down before you publish it
turn a single idea into work that carries across platforms, offers, and conversations
hold your ground in your own thinking, even when it would be easier to soften it
create work that feels new, specific, and recognisably yours
build from your ideas instead of constantly searching for new ones
Because I know what this place has the power to do. This is not a beach resort. It's my home.The volcano I wake up to every morning, the river my son throws rocks into, the people who have become my family. There's something about the way the green gets into your lungs here. I've watched this land crack people open in the best way. I've seen women arrive wound tight and leave softer, slower, more themselves. It changed my writing, it changes everyone who comes.
Because I got tired of writing my best work in the margins. In the hour before everyone wakes up. In the cracks between calls. On planes and in waiting rooms and in the notes app at 11pm. I wanted a week where the writing wasn't squeezed in
Because the most important things I've ever written came out when I was far from home. Unscheduled. Unhurried. Surrounded by people who didn't need me to be anything other than a writer.
Because I know what it's like to have a thousand ideas. To feel something important brush past you in the shower, in the middle of a conversation and watch it dissolve before you can catch it.
I created this because I needed it first
Here's how it works:
A TYPICAL DAY
Mornings are for writing. You'll wake up to toucans and hummingbirds and the jungle coming to life, and write on the terrace overlooking the mountains with the rising sun. This is our infamous "shut up and write" session. Then a slow breakfast. Then more writing. You will have plenty of space to write and just... be.
The guided sessions happen in the afternoons, with space for discussion and sharing. I write a new workbook and personalised prompts for every group because no two groups need the same thing. Some days you'll write for hours. Some days for twenty minutes before something cracks open and you spend the rest of the morning in a hammock trying to figure out what you actually meant.
01
The river, the trails, the waterfalls
Some of the best ideas won't come at the desk. They'll come halfway up a mountain, or standing under a waterfall, or in the strange silence after a class IV rapid when your whole body is shaking and your mind is finally, completely empty.
We move here. We raft. We hike. We get in the water. Because the body knows things the mind hasn't caught up to yet. There are ideas that only come loose when you're breathing hard and a little bit scared and so fully in your body that you forget to edit yourself.
02
This is not the Costa Rica you see on Instagram. Turrialba is deep inland, surrounded by volcanoes, cloud forest and river valley. It's the part of the country most tourists never see, which is precisely why the writing that happens here sounds different.
You'll sleep in a lodge on the edge of the rainforest and fall asleep to the river and wake up to birds that have no concept of a reasonable hour. I live here. This is my home. Every meal, every guide, every transfer is a local Costa Rican business. You are not visiting a foreign-owned retreat centre. You are being let into a place that changes the way people think, because it is very hard to keep performing your smaller self when the land around you is this alive.
03
the unmatched rainforest of turrialba, costa rica
THE PHOTOGRAPHY
You will not be asked to pose for a single photo. A professional photographer joins us at the retreat + we get photos on the river and in nature. Their only job is to be invisible and to catch you in your element. Writing on the terrace with your hair doing whatever it's doing. Laughing at dinner. Walking back from the river with wet shoes and a face that looks like someone who just remembered something important.
The kind of images and b-roll video you could never stage and would never think to ask for. You'll go home with a notebook full of new work and a camera roll of world-class photographs of you actually doing it.
04
SHARED MEALS AND "THE" DINNER TABLE
Three chef-prepared meals a day, all organic, all local. Breakfast is slow. Coffee and fruit and eggs and nobody rushing anywhere. Lunch is long. Snacks appear when you need them and sometimes when you don't. And dinner is the thing you'll talk about for months afterwards. Three courses around a long candlelit table. A local chef who cooks like she's proving a point about what food is supposed to taste like. Regional ingredients you won't find in a supermarket at home. A surprising amount of the retreat happens here, in the evenings, around this table. With the candles doing That Thing they do. All meals, all snacks, all drinks, all transport, all activities are all included. You do not think about logistics for five days. You don't reach for your wallet once. Just get yourself to San Jose airport.
05
THE PEOPLE
This is where titles dissolve. Past groups have included: a yoga teacher's teacher. A leadership consultant. An author who's written twelve books. A journalist. The one who never called herself a "writer" but felt called to write. Marketing experts. A CFO. A therapist. An education consultant. A jewellery brand founder. Copywriters. A business coach. A communications strategist. A features editor. A creative director. And literally everything in between.The thing they all had in common is that they came with something pressing on their chest and no space in their lives to let it out. That was it. That was the only prerequisite. There's no pressure, no ego, no forcing. You will get real feedback from people who are actually paying attention to your work. You will make friends and collaborators for life.
06
You will write (a lot) but you will also connect with other creatives, feel deeply seen in your craft, receive personalized support in how you can fine-tune your voice, remember the impact you're meant to make in the world, and outrageously inspired.... After the retreat, you will come back to your "normal life" not the same. You will feel like things have shifted, whether subtly or pronounced— it will be the shift that you needed. Like you finally found the soundtrack that goes perfectly with this chapter of your life. This is the kind of experience that changes your life. If you feel the call, answer it.
-Katie Rose
"Writing Wildly is your actual haven..."
Writing is one of the most powerful tools you have at your disposal for understanding yourself, your work and what you're here to do.
Your words are what make your ideas spread. And when you know how to use them well, when you know what stories to tell, honestly it really does feel like magic.
-Ray Bradbury
"Writing is a process of self-liberation, self-revelation & self-discovery."
This experience was INCREDIBLE. There's nothing like the view of the jungle to awaken your creativity. I cherished those early morning writing sessions, putting pen to paper while watching the sun rise over the mountains and the hummingbirds dance in the flowers. I feel so much more inspired to share my creative expression. This retreat helped me realize that I don't just love doing this kind of writing for myself. I actually do have things I want to share!
-Kayla Dean
"There's nothing like the view of the jungle to awaken your creativity."
I used to think of writing in two clear categories: the writing that is for the world (creative) or the writing that is for me (reflective), but the retreat made me realize that there is a third option: creative writing that is for me, that allows me to process my memories and experiences and thoughts. Now I understand writing as a tool to release the narratives that dance around in my head incessantly, causing shame and blame and anxiety.
-Laura Hadcroft
"Now I understand writing as a tool I can use to tell my own stories back to myself."
Who this is for
The one who's blocked
You've had the same idea following you around for years. In the shower, on walks, at 2am when you should be sleeping. You keep thinking you'll get to it when things slow down. Things haven't slowed down.
The one who's bored of their own work
You know the difference between content and writing. And you're hungry for the second one. The kind that doesn't start with strategy and leaves you feeling like you said something that mattered, even if you're not sure what to do with it yet.
The one who's just getting started
You believe there's a version of your voice you haven't fully met yet. You feel a book or a poem or a passage or a line is waiting to unravel within you. She's been waiting. Under the professionalism, the life, the editing, the making it palatable. You're ready to let her out, even if you don't know exactly what she'll say.
The one who needs to move
You've never done your best work at the desk. It comes on walks, in water, mid-conversation, somewhere between the third laugh and the long exhale. You know your body holds ideas your mind can't access and you're done pretending otherwise. You want to write from aliveness, not discipline.
When I think about my love for words, it always takes me back to my mum. Our house was a maze of books, stacked on tables, spilling off shelves, perched precariously on top of long-forgotten cups of tea. There was never a day when she wasn’t lost in a story, and it’s from her that I inherited this all-consuming belief in the magic of words.
Writing has shaped my very bones, it's how I understand myself, my business and how I’ve navigated both. Writing is a way of life. It’s how I’ve built my career, it's how I've connected with people all over the world, it's how I've helped clients make millions.
and I'll be your host
All good things start
with a well-told story.
Hi, I'm Lois
In this retreat, we’re exploring writing as a practice of transformation:
→ A process of unraveling the myths you’ve been taught about creativity and originality, and stepping into a more expansive, authentic relationship with your ideas.
→ A way to question, challenge, and rewrite the stories that have shaped you.
→ An invitation to cultivate creative courage, not uniquely for the sake of visibility, but for the truth that emerges when you allow your writing to be messy, personal, and free. And how that alone can change your life.
Diego is the reason this retreat works in the way that it does. He’s a professional whitewater kayaker who has competed at the highest level, and he has been on these rivers for most of his life. He oversees everything. The transport, the timing, the routes, the logistics that make the week feel seamless rather than complicated. He has been taking groups through Costa Rica for over two decades, which means he knows exactly what guides to bring in, where to go, and how to build a team that feels both incredibly capable and genuinely warm. Every guide you meet during the week is licensed, SWIFT whitewater trained, and chosen by him. They are people we know well. People we trust and who care about what they do and about the people they’re guiding. There is, quite honestly, nobody else I would trust to take a group through this experience. You are in very, very good hands.
Meet the crew...
If you have worked with me in any capacity, you will have come into contact with Daniela. She's my right-hand woman, and without her, this experience could not exist. She’s local to the area. There’s a steadiness to her that you feel straight away. She pays attention. She notices people. She knows when something needs sorting, and when something just needs a bit more care. She moves easily between the practical and the personal. One moment she’s coordinating the details that keep everything running smoothly, the next she’s sitting with someone, listening properly, making space for whatever’s coming up. Nothing about it feels forced or performative. It’s just how she is. By the time you leave, you’ll know exactly what I mean. She's here for everything, the little details like forgetting a toothbrush to the big details, like a reminder just how powerful you really are.
This retreat is built with people I trust completely. I’ll be there with you, writing, hosting, making sure the week feels as good as it possibly can. But the experience itself is held by a team of people who know this place far better than I ever could. This part of Costa Rica is not something you can replicate or manufacture. It’s shaped by the people who were born and raised, live and work here, and everything we do during the week is supported by local businesses, guides and friends of ours who have been part of this landscape for their whole lives. They are the reason this feels the way it does. They are also the reason you can relax into it.
By the end of this experience you will...
Leave the jungle with a newfound clarity of purpose, a deep connection to your voice & personal writing style & a transformed sense of yourself as a writer and a creative force.
plus, you will:
Be overflowing with ideas and inspiration. With stories unearthed, perspectives deepened and the inspiration of the jungle, you’ll have enough words to fuel your creative work for years to come.
Remember writing is an act of self-discovery. By the end of this retreat, you’ll have not only uncovered hidden stories but also reconnected with parts of yourself you may have forgotten or overlooked.
Build a sustainable practice. Learn rituals, prompts, and techniques to keep your creativity alive long after the retreat. You'll build a practice that fits your life long after you get home and consistently fuels your creativity.
Whether you’re here to write a book, reimagine your brand or simply reconnect with your creativity, you’ll leave with tools to express your purpose in ways that change the game.
Feel empowered to take bold risks in your writing and share your work with the world in a new way. You'll be reminded that the hardest work of a writer, is often less about the writing itself and more about removing the blocks between you and your boldest ideas.
Kind words about writing wildly
Participating in Writing Wildly at the time that I did reconnected me to my business in a critical way, at a time that I felt lost, disconnected from my identity, and unsure of my path forward. It was a process of remembering, deepening, realizing that I am already enough AND that I have more to give.
Since Writing Wildly I have created so much more prolifically, which has a direct impact on the success of my business, my launches have been MASSIVELY more easeful (because I know what to say) and successful (because people are connecting with my words) and I know that pattern will continue, and even magnify, as I get even more integrated with the tools I learned at the retreat.
Sometimes the work is simply putting yourself in places where your best ideas can find you.
Will I leave with actual writing, or is this more about inspiration?
Q:
You will write. You will be encouraged to write. A lot. The mornings are dedicated to focused writing time, and the environment makes it much easier to stay inside that creative state for longer than you usually can at home. People leave with drafts, essays, outlines, unexpected ideas, and often the beginning of work that becomes much bigger later. But just as important, they leave with a renewed relationship to writing itself, one that tends to continue long after the retreat ends. AND, if you get here and decide what you need is simply quiet to think, space, peace, good conversation, good workshops and to be challenged to think deeper, not just write -- you'll get that here too. The dinner table at Writing Wildly is infamous for sharing, hearing and living the most writeable stories.
Do I have to participate in all the adventure activities?
Q:
No. The hikes, rafting, and time in nature are invitations, not requirements. Many people love them because they help shift the body and mind into a different creative state. Others prefer to stay back and write, rest, or spend quiet time alone. You’re always free to follow your own rhythm.
What if I already write for work, but I’m craving something deeper than content?
Q:
This is actually one of the most common reasons people come. Many participants already write professionally, captions, newsletters, brand messaging, marketing, strategy, thought leadership. They know how to communicate clearly and effectively. But somewhere along the way, writing became functional. Writing Wildly creates space for the kind of writing that exists outside of strategy and optimisation, that asks bigger questions, explores deeper ideas, and reconnects you with the voice underneath the work you’ve had to produce.
I’m a mum / business owner / the one everyone relies on. Is this for me?
Q:
Very much so. Many of the writers who come are caretakers and service-providers — for families, teams, businesses, clients, communities. I'm a mum, many of my clients are, too. One of the most powerful aspects of the retreat is simply having uninterrupted time where you are not responsible for anyone else’s needs. Just space to think, write, and reconnect with yourself.
Do I need to be a “serious writer” to come?
Q:
A: No. Some people arrive already publishing marketing, essays, features or working on books. Others arrive with notebooks full of half-finished thoughts, voice notes, or the quiet feeling that there is something inside them that wants to be written. Writing Wildly isn’t a place for professional titles or literary credentials. It’s a place for people who care about words and want to take that relationship seriously. If you feel the pull to write, that’s enough.
Got more questions? DM me on Instagram @loismac_
I'm always delighted to recieve lengthy voice notes and chat about whether this feels like a place you want to spend some time. I take your comfort + safety very seriously <3
What kind of writing do people work on at the retreat?
Q:
A: Everything. Past participants have worked on: essays and Substack pieces, books and memoirs, brand messaging and creative business writing, poetry and personal reflections, newsletters and thought leadership, the first draft of something they didn’t know they were writing until they arrived, a vision, a decision or idea versus tonnes of writing. The common thread isn’t the format. It’s the honesty.
The questions you might have before you say yes...
What kind of people usually attend Writing Wildly?
Q:
We honestly get a bit of everything! Writers, creative entrepreneurs, artists, filmmakers, strategists, mums with a book to write, thinkers. People who care deeply about ideas and expression and are excited to connect with others who do, too. Many have built successful careers in other fields but feel a pull toward writing as something more than marketing or communication, something that shapes how they understand themselves and the world. What tends to unite everyone in the room is curiosity, thoughtfulness, a good sense of humour and a willingness to explore what they might be capable of creating.
What happens before / after the retreat?
Q:
Practically speaking, we have a group chat where people stay connected, host a group call before you arrive and a reunion group Zoom call after you leave, to check in and see what kind of work has been coming up, answer any questions, and generally just support with integration. Non-practically speaking, people usually return home with:
• new writing they’re proud of
• clarity around the ideas they want to explore
• renewed creative momentum
• friendships with other writers
For many participants, the retreat becomes a turning point, because they’ve experienced what it feels like to give their creative work real space.
And that’s surprisingly hard to forget.
What about the food? Dietary restrictions?
Q:
We can accommodate most dietary needs. Meals are prepared by local chefs using fresh ingredients, and we’ll collect dietary information before the retreat so everyone is well taken care of.
How do we get to the retreat location?
Q:
We stay at a beautiful accommodation in the central valley, right in front of the Turrialba Volcano, in the rainforest, near mountains, rivers and lots of fresh air and tropical birds. You’ll fly into San José International Airport (SJO) in Costa Rica. From there, we organise group transportation to Turrialba, where the retreat takes place. After you register, you’ll receive a detailed travel guide with recommended flights, arrival windows, and everything you need to make the journey simple. If you need help planning more time in Costa Rica before or after the retreat, don't hesitate to reach out.
swipe
Recorded this podcast the day the first Writing Wildly wrapped with guest, Xanthe. Still a bit feral, still trying to describe something we hadn't come down from yet. If you want to know what this exprience actually feels like out there, start here.
Anna found her message, purpose & launched her dream business
"It was lois who first really saw what i now know is my purpose."
She quickly identified the parts of me that I want to be known for. It was her that truly understood and saw what I now know is my purpose. She gave me the confidence to be bold with my messaging.
"it was so helpful distinguishing my voice, my message and who i want to be."
Lois really sought to understand me so we could bring that into my copy. She is such a warm, loving person to be around and I deeply appreciate that about her. While working together I defined my voice, my impact, my message, grew over 60,000 followers to hit above 90k and had my biggest program launch to date.
I spend weeks obsessing over the woorkbook for each new retreat before every group arrives. I write them from scratch every time. The prompts, the exercises, the order they land in, the shape of the whole thing. Each one built specifically for the women walking into the jungle that week and the work they've come to do.
So why keep them to myself?
You can buy a bundle of two of them for $44. Two workbooks, two retreats' worth of writing, in your kitchen, at your desk, on a Sunday morning with a cup of tea and absolutely no one asking you what's for dinner. A taste of the jungle in your writing before you arrive.
Bing some of the jungle to your daily practice