Blog | Katie Allen

Pilgrim Trash, Mindfulness, and an Invitation

May 97 min read

Pilgrim Trash, Mindfulness, and an Invitation

I made something. Look closely. It might not be what you think at first glance: This little art project represents just a fragment of two...

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10 Lessons from Month 1 of Writing Draft 1

Katie Allen

Apr 115 min read

10 Lessons from Month 1 of Writing Draft 1

10 lessons from my first month of writing my first draft of my second book.

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Reflections on Month 1 of Writing Draft 1

Katie Allen

Apr 65 min read

Reflections on Month 1 of Writing Draft 1

I've been in Spain now for over a month after moving from our home for the past three and a half years in Southern California. My husband...

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Katie Allen

Jun 17, 20238 min read

Camino Stories: St. Jean Pied-de-Port

It’s just me, some questionable machine coffee, and my red head lamp here at the monastery pilgrim hostel in Roncevalles, Spain. I’ve...

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Camino Stories: Getting to St. Jean-Pied-de-Port

Katie Allen

Jun 15, 20236 min read

Camino Stories: Getting to St. Jean-Pied-de-Port

It’s four-something in the morning here in Paris. I’ve cracked open the tall, screen-less windows to let in the cool air. It’s still...

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Camino Stories: I Leave Today for a 500 Mile Pilgrimage

Katie Allen

Jun 13, 20237 min read

Camino Stories: I Leave Today for a 500 Mile Pilgrimage

In six hours, I leave for a 500-mile pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain, also known as The Way of St. James or just The Way. I...

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Katie Colpaert

Apr 15, 20235 min read

Writing with Spring

A note: Just as the seasons will look different around the world, many of the things discussed in this piece will occur throughout the...

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Katie Colpaert

Jan 20, 202311 min read

My 9 Favorite Books on Writing

I get asked a lot to recommend books about writing, so I've finally compiled a list of my top nine. Below, I briefly share who might...

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Words & Wilderness: How I Started My Next Book in the Woods

Katie Colpaert

Sep 6, 202211 min read

Words & Wilderness: How I Started My Next Book in the Woods

I’m sitting alone in the woods trying not to think of the posted bear warning signs. I’ve just arrived after a four-hour drive through...

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Day 5: Slowing Down & Words from Natalie

Katie Colpaert

Jul 28, 20225 min read

Day 5: Slowing Down & Words from Natalie

Note: This is post #11 in a series of blog posts about my experience attending a 2-week writing retreat with author & teacher Natalie...

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Day 4: "Dedicate Every Pore to What's Here."

Katie Colpaert

Jul 26, 20228 min read

Day 4: "Dedicate Every Pore to What's Here."

Note: This is post #10 in a series of blog posts about my experience attending a 2-week writing retreat with author & teacher Natalie...

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Writers Live Twice: 1 Year since Natalie Goldberg's Retreat

Katie Colpaert

Jul 24, 20225 min read

Writers Live Twice: 1 Year since Natalie Goldberg's Retreat

I woke up this morning to a wild craving. I wanted the quiet of Madeline Island with a near-madness, the Wisconsin paradise where I spent...

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Still Day 3: A Love Story, A Haiku, A Walk with Grief

Katie Colpaert

Oct 9, 20219 min read

Still Day 3: A Love Story, A Haiku, A Walk with Grief

Note: This is post #9 in a series of blog posts about my experience attending a 2-week writing retreat with author & teacher Natalie...

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Day 3: Natalie (slowly) takes us to the beach

Katie Colpaert

Oct 2, 20214 min read

Day 3: Natalie (slowly) takes us to the beach

Note: This is post #8 in a series of blog posts about my experience attending a 2-week writing retreat with author & teacher Natalie...

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Day 2 with Natalie: "I want you to suffer more."

Katie Colpaert

Sep 25, 202110 min read

Day 2 with Natalie: "I want you to suffer more."

Note: This is post #8 in a series of blog posts about my experience attending a 2-week writing retreat with author & teacher Natalie...

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Natalie asks, "How did you come to be here?"

Katie Colpaert

Sep 8, 20214 min read

Natalie asks, "How did you come to be here?"

Note: This is post #6 in a series of blog posts about my experience attending a 2-week writing retreat with author & teacher Natalie...

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Teaching My Best Friend Writing Practice in Senegal, West Africa

Katie Colpaert

Sep 5, 20214 min read

Teaching My Best Friend Writing Practice in Senegal, West Africa

At the end of the two-week writing retreat with Natalie in the last hour of the last session with her, she said something that made me...

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Day 1, part *2* of "True Secret of Writing" Retreat with Natalie Goldberg

Katie Colpaert

Aug 17, 20216 min read

Day 1, part *2* of "True Secret of Writing" Retreat with Natalie Goldberg

Note: This is post #4 in a series of blog posts about my experience attending a 2-week writing retreat with author & teacher Natalie...

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Day 1, part 1 of "True Secret of Writing" Retreat with Natalie Goldberg

Katie Colpaert

Aug 2, 20217 min read

Day 1, part 1 of "True Secret of Writing" Retreat with Natalie Goldberg

Note: This is post #3 in a series of blog posts about my experience attending a 2-week writing retreat with author & teacher Natalie...

256 views1 comment

Arriving to MISA & Meeting Natalie Goldberg

Katie Colpaert

Jul 19, 20218 min read

Arriving to MISA & Meeting Natalie Goldberg

Note: This is post #2 in a series of blog posts about my experience attending a 2-week writing retreat with author & teacher Natalie...

112 views4 comments