If your writer’s soul yearns to connect deeply with your audience, if you long to stir people with your words, come along on a screenwriting adventure in the heartland of Irish filmmaking.
Join award-winning screenwriter Bill Boyle in the magical city of Galway, Ireland. He’ll teach you how to create a powerful, visual narrative that will viscerally engage the interest and imagination of your readers.
Imagine writing your script in a place that shaped some of the world’s most notable writers, a place that lies at the heart of one of the most vibrant filmmaking industries in the world.
Seagulls flock over fishing boats docked near your hotel.
You stroll along the waterfront and breathe the fresh salt air.
As you wander through colorful streets and alleyways, you drink in the sights and sounds of a city steeped in a history of filmmaking, writing and the arts.
Can you picture yourself here?
Traditional Irish music floats above the laughter and conversation of locals and visitors alike.
You stop in a pub to enjoy a draught of fresh Guinness and suddenly a writing problem begins to work itself out.
You have a breakthrough on something you’ve been struggling with in your script and you can’t wait to get the words down in the journal you brought along.
The beer, the music, the setting – everything around you – seems so much more satisfying now.
This is the spark you’ve been missing!
Do you long to rekindle the joy you once had for writing?
Do you want your script to stand out and not get lost in the pile?
Can you envision nailing scene by scene until you have a tightly constructed masterpiece?
Want to learn how to write a screenplay that grabs your audience and never lets go?
If film is first and foremost a visual medium then shouldn’t the screenplay which is the heart, soul and spine of the film also be a visual experience? ~ Bill Boyle
You’re likely to have breakthroughs that surprise you.
- Discover new ways of looking at your writing
- Work through issues that have dogged you
- Find ways to get your writing to flow the way it should
You’ll find inspiration in Ireland.
From the moment our private coach picks you up at Dublin Airport to the time you return for your flight home, you will be wowed by Ireland — its jaw-dropping landscapes, its delightful people, its heart-felt music, scrumptious fresh food (not to mention the Guinness), and a nurturing atmosphere fit for any writer, beginner or expert.
Screenwriting in the City of Irish Filmmaking
Join Bill Boyle, award-winning screenwriter and master of visual storytelling, in this focused screenwriting retreat in Galway City, designated a Unesco “City of Film”.
Through classes and one-on-one coaching, Bill will teach you how to create a powerful, visual narrative that will engage the interest and imagination of your readers.
With Bill’s help, you’ll begin to look at your screenwriting from a new perspective, one that will help you move forward with confidence and a renewed sense of excitement.
For the reader the Visual Mindscape is the gateway to the Visceral Experience. ~ Bill Boyle
Visual Mindscape Screenwriting Program
Award-winning screenwriter Bill Boyle is the lead proponent of a visual style of screenwriting called Visual Mindscape, a visual approach to screenwriting and storytelling that allows the reader to experience a story as each image unfolds, engaging them at a visceral level.
You’ll participate in a series of screenwriting classes through the week that will progressively take you through Bill’s powerful Visual Mindscape method of screenwriting.
He’ll teach you how to create a powerful, visual narrative that will engage the interest and imagination of your readers.
You’ll learn how to:
- Create a powerful, visual narrative
- Write in the immediate present tense
- Use narrative pacing and descriptives
- Establish atmosphere
- Capture the pulse of screenplay dialogue
- Create vivid, engaging characters
- And more
You’ll have two private script consultations with Bill to discuss your current project and ample time during the week to ask questions and chat with Bill.
Day Tour Part One: Cliffs of Moher and The Burren
We’ll take a break from our screenwriting for a day tour on a private coach to some of Ireland’s most beautiful and iconic locations. Our day begins with a visit to the world renowned Cliffs of Moher and an ancient burial tomb in The Burren, County Clare.
The Cliffs of Moher rise 390 feet above the Atlantic Ocean at Hag’s Head and reach their maximum height of 702 feet just north of O’Brien’s Tower.
A round stone tower near the midpoint of the cliffs was built in 1835 by Sir Cornelius O’Brien.
From the cliffs and from atop the tower, visitors can see the Aran Islands in Galway Bay.
The cliffs rank among the most visited tourist sites in Ireland and receive approximately a million visitors a year.
The Poulnabrone dolmen, a portal tomb located in the Burren, County Clare, dates back to the Neolithic period, probably between 4200 BC and 2900 BC.
The tomb is surrounded by a field of limestone blocks (clints) crisscrossed with crevices (grykes) resulting from eons of water erosion.
It is one of the most photographed ancient monuments in Ireland.
Day Tour Part Two: Cong, Ashford Castle, and The Quiet Man
After a stop for lunch (included), we’ll continue our day trip with a visit to the charming little village of Cong and the nearby Ashford Castle where much of the 1952 romantic comedy-drama The Quiet Man was filmed.
The movie starred John Wayne and Maureen O’hara and won the Academy Award for Best Director for John Ford.
The screenplay by Frank S. Nugent was based on a 1933 Saturday Evening Post short story of the same name by Maurice Walsh.
Our day culminates with a celebratory feast in The Dungeon at Ashford Castle (included) before returning to our cozy beds in Galway.
The screenwriter’s audience is not the reader. It is the “viewer” within the reader. ~ Bill Boyle
I want my script to stand out and connect.
The lovely Harbour Hotel on the docks in Galway City
Your home during the retreat will be the lovely family-owned Harbour Hotel located on the waterfront in the heart of Galway City.
The hotel is ideally situated just a few minutes’ walk from Eyre Square, the city center, Shop Street, and the lively bars and cafes of Quay Street.
After a busy day of screenwriting and exploring the city, you’ll rest peacefully in your ultra-comfortable bed with fluffy duvet and crisp white linen.
You’ll enjoy complimentary wireless internet, a writing desk, plasma TV and other amenities to help you feel right at home.
Choose a shared or private room when you register for the retreat.
Fresh, delicious food right off the boats and from nearby farms
You’ll enjoy fresh, delicious meals.
Meat, dairy products and produce are sourced from local farms. Seafood is procured daily right off the fishing boats at the Galway docks.
7 breakfasts, 2 lunches and 4 dinners are included.
A royal feast at Ashford Castle
Our day trip will end with a special treat, dinner at The Dungeon in Ashford Castle (included).
Yes, it’s the dungeon, but it will be a meal fit for royalty!
In 1951, the film director John Ford came to the west of Ireland to film The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.
The grounds of Ashford Castle, as well as nearby Cong, formed the backdrop for much of the action in the film.
Galway City, a Unesco “City of Film”
Galway City on the western seaboard of Ireland is the country’s third largest city. It is situated next door to Ireland’s largest Gaelic speaking area (Connemara) and across Galway Bay from the famous Aran Islands.
In 2014, Galway was granted designation as a Unesco “City of Film”.
Key medieval landmarks include the Spanish Arch, Lynch’s Castle, Eyre Square, and Blake’s Tower.
Galway’s lively, vibrant city center with traditional medieval streets, its extensive shopping and business facilities, its youthful population and its living culture of music, theater and language, ensure its enduring appeal.
Galway and Seattle formally became sister cities in 1986. To commemorate the relationship, a stone monument was unveiled in Galway in 1993 that marks Seattle’s geophysical data.
A companion monument with the geophysical data of Galway was unveiled in June 2000 on Seattle’s waterfront at 2200 Alaskan Way opposite Pier 66.
Wow, this sounds heavenly! It's time to find some joy in my writing.
Retreat Schedule
Monday, May 14
11:00 am Coach departs Dublin Airport for Galway
3:00 pm Check-in at Harbour Hotel
5:00 pm Orientation and welcome drink
6:30 pm Welcome dinner
Tuesday, May 15-Sunday, May 20
Retreat Program
Monday, May 21
11:00 am Check-out and return to Dublin
3:00 pm Arrival at Dublin Airport
(Arrival time is approximate. Plan your flight accordingly.)
What’s Included
- Screenwriting program with award-winning screenwriter Bill Boyle
- 2 Private script consultations with Bill Boyle
- 7 nights shared or private room in the lovely Harbour Hotel in Galway
- Round trip coach from Dublin Airport to Harbour Hotel
- Delicious meals include: 7 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and 4 dinners
- Day trip to Cliffs of Moher (with admission), The Burren (with admission), Cong and Ashford Castle
What’s Not Included
- Flights
- Meals not listed in the inclusions above
- Tips, souvenirs, and other items not listed in the inclusions above
Facilitators
Bill Boyle
Bill Boyle is an award winning screenwriter who has become one of the most popular script consultants in the industry. Creative Screenwriting Magazine rated him among the top 10% of screenwriting consultants. He lectures at universities and film schools throughout the United States and Canada, has taught at UCLA Extensions in Los Angeles and is quickly gaining a worldwide following, with clients in North America, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Bill is the lead proponent of a visual style of screenwriting called “The Visual Mindscape of the Screenplay” and has sold or optioned every screenplay he’s ever written. He attributes much of his success to the Visual Mindscape method of screenwriting.
The Visual Mindscape method allows the reader or viewer to ‘discover’ elements of the story rather than being told. By being able to actively participate in the unfolding of the story, the overall experience for the reader becomes a more visceral and luminous experience. I feel this is the true magic of the screenplay. ~ Bill Boyle
Diana Osberg
Diana Osberg is the owner and founder of Mia Terra Retreats. She produces extraordinary retreats to inspire writers, artists and creative souls. Diana is a screenwriter and has worked in the entertainment industry for over 30 years in production, creative development and administration. She is a world-traveler, or as she likes to put it, a “world citizen,” and loves to go on unusual adventures.
Diana has helmed a 165 meter barque off anchor and into the Strait of Gibraltar under the command of the ship’s captain. She has sailed as crew on tall ships in New Zealand, Spain and the Canary Islands, participated in an English immersion program with Spanish business people in Spain, and tracked Mustangs in the wilds of the Nevada mountains on horseback. She has kissed the Blarney Stone, but did not get the gift of the gab. She’ll have to kiss it again, I guess.