Yang, the author of “The Runaway Restaurant: Stories,” says she only found out about this particular retreat from Libby Cudmore, Hartwick College Staff Writer and a four-time participant of the Barrelhouse Writer Camp.
Yang got her application in just before the deadline and was very glad she did. “I typically type as many writers nowadays do, but I was actually handwriting in a notebook, which made it feel substantially different for me. I can sit at home and I can write in my office, but something about being in a different place really turbo-charged my writing.”
As far as teaching goes, Yang says one of the many things she got out of this camp is the importance of the writing process.
“That’s something that I like to emphasize with my students, process over product, because again, it takes so long to get that product into a publishable shape. It’s also just great for me to know that this exists. I like to let my students be aware of opportunities to write outside of Hartwick because their time at Hartwick is short.”
Yang is currently working on her first novel and the time away was much needed. “I’ve been doing a lot of reading this summer to try and inform it. I’m on my second draft and having gone to Camp and taking a bit of a creative break from it, I now feel a lot better about it than I felt before I left.”
Yang had never heard of Port Matilda before this trip but plans to become familiar with this Pennsylvania borough. She not only wants to go back but is talking to her writer friends about attending as well!
