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portland writing workshop

March 24, 2022

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.

June 26, 2019

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.