oregon writing workshop

Joy Writing Workshop in Astoria October 14

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Writers:

Albert Einstein once wrote, “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”

To that end, I am teaching a “Writing From a Place of Joy” workshop in Astoria on Saturday, October 14 and I hope you can join me and collaborate with an outstanding, inspiring group of writers.

A squirrel in the yard demanding peanuts. A bubbling lasagna pulled from the oven. A dog going nuts on the beach. An osprey diving into a river and emerging with an eel clutched in its beak. Finally reading War and Peace. Listening to a Billie Holiday record. Receiving a goofy post card from a friend. A7-iron that lands a golf ball inches from the hole. Standing in front of a 500-year old redwood. Reading Henny Youngman’s jokes at a dignified social gathering. Watching a sunset on a strain of sativa.

These are moments of immense joy for many of us. We all have our special secret list of what brings us joy and it is my strong belief that writers need to dive into these moments and write from a place of joy. Too often, we write only under pressure or gripped by angst. Why not examine and reflect upon the opposite of that in your life? A writer can never know where that process might lead.

In the workshop, I will run participants through a series of writing and conversation prompts related to the practice of discovering and cultivating joy. We’ll share some of our responses and conclude by writing a short piece about joy that will go out to the larger, often joyless world.

I hope you can join me and rejuvenate the League of Intertidal Writers, the organization sponsoring this event. It’s always so wonderful to bring a group of writers together in Astoria who support one another. It’s a unique community that provides immeasurable literary and psychic benefits.

The workshop will run from 10-12:30 pm and cost $50. Payment will be made at the workshop. It will be held in a private home. Weather permitting, the workshop will be held outdoors on a lawn of a private residence. In the case of inclement weather, the class will be moved indoors. The class is limited to 12 participants. To register, send me an email.

May 7 Writing Workshop in Portland: “Firing Up Your Writing Project”

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Writers:

On Saturday May 7, I will teach a writing workshop in a Portland back yard. The workshop is called “Firing Up Your Writing Project” and the idea is to take whatever writing project you are working on (or contemplating) and move forward. I’ve taught this class multiple times in recent years and it seems to have helped writers derive some much needed energy to get going on an idea, myself included.

We will sit outside on a lawn and think, write, talk, share, pitch, laugh, listen. We will complete exercises that will help stimulate your creativity and discover new ways to fire up your project. Sometimes writing one sentence in practice or hearing a tidbit of discussion can help unlock an idea.

I feel it essential for writers with projects in mind or development to come together in a relaxed setting, write for writing’s sake and articulate your passion for your project. I believe it helps writers finish and build a community for the projects. It’s also how we make new friends and support other writers’ endeavors.

The workshop will run from 1-4 p.m. And hopefully we can have a little social time afterward.

The cost is whatever you want to pay/can afford and you can pay at the workshop. Let me know if you are interested. The class is almost full.

Zen Fueled Writing Workshop In Astoria (Sept 14)

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Many writers and artists sometimes feel themselves thirsting for an awakening or reawakening to begin a new project, refresh an ongoing one, or rethink life in general. But how does one go about making such a thing transpire?

The League of Intertidal Writers, the Astoria based literary arts organization, announces the “Zen Fueled Writing Workshop,” Saturday, September 14 in Astoria, to help writers and other creative types experience a creative awakening or reawakening. I will be teaching the workshop and invite you to join me.

The workshop will feature writing and discussion prompts inspired by classic Zen-themed works of literature, including Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, The Snow Leopard, Siddhartha, The Inner Game of Tennis, and multiple volumes by Thich Nhat Hanh

Over the years, these books have provided me incredible ideas, coded instructions, and motivation to write, create, problem solve, and transcend personal crisis. Much of my writing about dogs, rain, driftwood forts, rivers, the criminal justice system, and the ocean are the direct result of immersing myself in these books. I believe interacting with them can inspire writers, musicians and artists to generate new ways of creating. I might add that participants don’t need to have read any of the aforementioned publications to take the workshop, and that this workshop can help writers of fiction, memoir, poetry, music, any genre.

The participants will also engage in a series of light and collaborative physical activities intended to deepen the workshop experience and help ferment the creative process. There might also be a spontaneous field trip.

The workshop runs from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Astoria in a private home. The class costs $60 and will cap at 12 participants. Participants will pay at the beginning of the workshop or through Paypal. To register, email

me through the blog or web site.

Maps and Journeys Writing Workshop in Astoria March 24

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Writers:

Almost everyone past a certain age has a paper map story of discovery or frustration. Are you a map person? What is the metaphorical map to a person’s past or future? What were the unforgettable journeys in our lives? What are the ones we hope to take in the future?

Maps and cartography hold a special place in human imagination and history. Writers write about journeys all the time. In fact, stories and poems about journeys are some of the oldest writing known to humankind. Just think The Odyssey and Moses wandering in the wilderness.

Join author, editor and writing instructor Matt Love, Saturday, March 24, for a “Maps and Journeys” writing and creative thinking workshop in Astoria. In the workshop, Love will guide participants through a series of writing prompts, cartography exercises and discussions that employ the realities and metaphors of taking journeys and consulting/making maps. Writers of prose, poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, songs and scripts will each find unique inspiration for their work as they delve into the investigations of maps and journeys.

The workshop runs from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Astoria in a private home. The class costs $65 and will cap at 15 participants. Participants will pay at the beginning of the workshop. Scholarships are also available. To register, email Love or contact him through this blog.

Kindness/Gratitude Writing and Publishing Workshop in Astoria

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(Season’s greetings readers. I will take a break from the blog until the New Year. Thanks for reading and making contributions to support the effort.)

Writers:

At one of our recent workshops, I proposed the idea of producing a small print publication with a specific non-fiction theme. The idea was warmly received and we tentatively settled on kindness/gratitude after some stellar writing and sharing on the topic.

I want to propose a kindness/gratitude writing/publishing workshop Saturday, Feb 3 from 10-2 in Astoria. At the workshop, I wold run us through a series of prompts/readings/discussion topics and a process for making editorial decisions about the publication (e.g. naming it, size, color, etc).

Basically, it would work like this: participants would write their pieces (approximately 200-300 words in length), email them to me, I would edit, email it back for a final revision, and then the pieces are returned to me. Then I (or someone else with better skills) will design the publication (probably a two-page, front/back, 11” by 14” broadsheet), have it printed, and then we all distribute a thousand copies in our various communities or wherever we go. We could even hold a little event to publicize the release. I envision the publication coming out in the spring.

The cost of the workshop/publishing venture is $80 and that includes the printing cost for the publication. We need about 10 paying people to make this project fly and have enough voices in the publication to provide the desired variety of perspectives. If you cannot attend the workshop but still want to participate in the project, I can email the prompts and work with you that way. The writing has been so wonderful and unique this past year and deserves a larger audience. Let me know if you want to join and of course, if you want to recruit a writer friend to join us in this endeavor, by all means invite. Email me through the blog or at my email address and let me know if you want to join this project.