LEUCADIA — Leucadia has long been an area known as an enclave for artists. Budding writers in North County may be able to find a “haven” there as well.

A relatively new business called Hi-Way Haven 466 N. Coast Hwy. 101 offers writers a place to gather, learn and in general learn ways to hone their craft.

Started by Vera Caccioppili, a transplant from the East Coast who moved out west after she sold a screenplay, the little storefront in a former motel runs workshops and has a number of upcoming events related to books and writing.

“The idea is to form a community in North County,” Caccioppili said. She said when she lived on the other side of the country, she had a large infrastructure of support and writers she could go to for advice and tips.

“I think writers are each other’s biggest asset,” she said.

When she moved to this area, she sought out writing centers like the ones she had frequented earlier.

“Partly I went looking for that and I didn’t find much,” Caccioppili said. Coming up empty-handed in North County, she decided to start something herself.

While she was looking for some kind of offices, she happened to come across a little motel that had been converted to a retail storefront.

Caccioppili wrote an unpublished novel called “Hi-Way Haven” in graduate school about a woman who ran a little motel. The place in Leucadia reminded her of the motel from the story.

“It was a sign,” she said.

After she had the premises, Caccioppili said she wasn’t sure what to do with it. She had no experience running a retail business, but she gave it a go.

She opened at the end of July 2004, and for the first few months largely focused on selling books on writing and other goods. In October, she began offering workshops.

The Haven is no longer open during normal retail hours, having built up enough of a client base to support itself mainly through workshops and private consultations.

“I put myself here and people came to me,” she said.

So far she said she has played it by ear, operating without even a business plan. “It just kind of happened,” she said.

Caccioppili’s business, in addition to workshops, offers manuscript evaluations and individual coaching and assists in finding writers resources such as proofreaders.

The coaching has been particularly popular, Caccioppili said. For people who are trying to finish a longer work such as a novel or a screenplay, Caccioppili will sit down and do a consultation with them.

Together they will come up with a plan that includes deadlines and a timetable for finishing the work.

“We have sort of a contract,” Caccioppili said. “That gives them deadlines, accountability and feedback.”

Continued meetings throughout the writing help writers stay on track, she said.

“It’s a lonely job,” Caccioppili said. “It’s easy to get lost and dispirited.”

“She was so encouraging that in July I’m moving to L.A. to try and make it in the business,” said Theresa Hart, one of Caccioppili’s screenwriting students.

Screenwriting tends to be one of the more popular topics covered by the Haven, perhaps in part because Caccioppili herself has sold two screenplays to be produced — though both have been stuck in development, she said.

“It’s a humbling story of Hollywood,” Caccioppili said. “It’s hell.”

“It’s amazing how many people are working on a screenplay in Encinitas,” said John Grimshaw, another of Caccioppili’s students.

Hi-Way Haven will host a public event June 12. Rex Pickett, a screenwriter and the author of the novel “Sideways” that became an Oscar-nominated film last year, will hold a public question-and-answer session and signing.

In keeping with the wine theme that dominates “Sideways,” Caccioppili said Hi-Way Haven will also host Jeanne Roberts, author of the book “Wine Tasting in San Diego,” that same day along with a number of other literary and wine-related events.

More information is available about the Haven as well as its upcoming events at www.hi-way-haven.com.