Why a Writers’ Retreat in Whistler?

“…the first value of a writers’ workshop is that it makes the young writer feel not only not abnormal but virtuous. In a writers’ community, nearly all the talk is about writing. Even if you don’t agree with most of what is said, you come to take for granted that no other talk is quite so important… Talk about writing is exciting. It fills you with nervous energy, makes you want to leave the party and go home and write. And it’s the sheer act of writing, more than anything else, that makes a writer.”  On Becoming A Novelist, John Gardner