Priscilla Long, Author of The Portable Mentor, teaches at The Writers' Workshopppe  

    We are thrilled to have the author of the best-selling book, The Writer's Portable Mentor, Priscilla Long teach a workshop for us, June 30, 2:00-5:00 p.m. . Cost is $75

Within the worlds of creative nonfiction and short fiction new structures are proliferating. These include, to name a few, the abecedarium (in which each section from A to Z starts with a letter of the alphabet), the two-strand or braid, the collage, and a form based on questions. We also have classic dramatic story structure, a handy tool to keep in our writer's back pocket. One way to become a more productive and happy writer is to begin writing pieces into structures. Just as a poet may set out to write a sonnet, so a prose writer can set out to write a braid or an abecedarium. Working into a structure is a great help in generating new pieces and finishing them, while using our own voice and our own most heartfelt material. In this "seminar with writing" we will talk about structures and how to find them, look at a few (using model pieces provided by instructor) and start writing a piece of our own using one of them. You will come away with a great toolbox of structures as you go into your next year of writing.

Priscilla Long's most recent book is The Writer's Portable Mentor: A Guide to Art, Craft, and the Writing Life. Her science column, Science Frictions, appears each Wednesday on The American Scholar website. Her poems, stories, and creative nonfiction appear widely in journals such as The American Scholar, The Southern Review, Raven Chronicles, Web Conjunctions, The Alaska Quarterly, Fourth Genre, Tampa Review, North Dakota Quarterly, and Passages North. Her awards include a National Magazine Award and Seattle and Los Angeles arts commission awards. She teaches writing and is author of a history book, Where the Sun Never Shines: A History of America's Bloody Coal Industry. She serves as Senior Editor for www.historylink.org, the online encyclopedia of Washington state history. For more information please visit www.PriscillaLong.com.

   
  “A writer’s spirit deserves time and space.  Whether you are a journal writer or published author, The Writers’ Workshoppe is here to celebrate the sheer joy of writing. 

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Does your writing group or book group need a place to meet?

      We have two rooms available on Mondays and Tuesdays free of charge. It's a place where writing is honored and people who enjoy books and/or writing feel at home.

     If your group is looking for a place, needs a little change of scenery for a while, or simply wants to come and go without too much preparation and hassle, we'd love you have you call The Writers' Workshoppe your place to meet.

    If your group is from out of town and want to plan a literary get away, we might be just the ticket.

    Simply email Anna at the address under Contact Us and she will be in touch to make arrangements.

     What does a group need? A clean, well lighted space.

Write On!              

Do your daily writing. Here. Every week day. Free.

All Levels Welcome

      “Write On” is a group of writers who meet once a week to write without interruption in a supportive, cozy environment. Let’s face it, sometimes writing can become rather isolating and we need to know we’re not alone in this delirious, euphoric process. It can also be ridiculously distracting to write at home.  So whatever your need, join your fellow writers one day a week or five days a week and enjoy the flow created by the collective energy.

 Grab a coffee from Lehani's or Undertown,  bring your laptop and come get your write on.

Schedule:

Sunday through Tuesday All Day.

Wednesday through Friday, 12:00-1:15 p.m.

(After 1:00 please feel free to stay and trade tips, ask for feedback or offer encouragement.

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Along with workshop updates, each day you’ll receive a writing prompt to keep your momentum going. One of the most difficult things for a writer to do is actually sit down and write. By writing every day you’ll develop a writing habit, you’ll teach your brain to come up with ideas at will-ideas worth writing about and worth reading about. The point is to create a writing habit. It’s like going to the gym. The more you go, the easier it is to keep going. And the more you work out, the better the results. Writing is no different. Work the muscle. Sweat. 

Each and every time you respond to a writing prompt your name will go into the monthly drawing. You can win a cool book or tool from our store or even a workshop. All winners will be announced on the WW Facebook page. 

  Anna Quinn

            Proprietor

 "This shop is for anyone who wants to write, has to write, aches to write, can’t write, wishes they could write, is scared to write. It’s for those who don’t know where to start. Or where to end. It’s for anyone interested in developing the craft of writing."

Upcoming Readings

Saturday, June 2nd,             Children's Book Panel  6:00-7:00 p.m.

    The children’s book section of the bookstores is currently where it’s at, where the strongest sales are being seen.  

     Join a panel of local-area children’s book authors to learn more about this hot market.

     Patrick Jennings, Jolie Stekly, Jesse Joshua Watson, and Richard Jesse Watson span the children’s book publishing world, writing (and illustrating) everything from picture books to young adult novels, and more. They will share their paths to publication, a bit about their books, as well as their current projects. They will also be open to questions from those who want to know more about their work, or the writing process in the many different formats, and they are happy to offer some guidance to those thinking of dipping into the wildly fun world of writing for kids.

Books will be available for purchase and signing.

Patrick Jennings is the author of many books for young readers, including We Can't All Be Rattlesnakes and Guinea Dog, which won the Washington State Book Award in 2011. His book Faith and the Electric Dogs is being developed for the screen. Invasion of the Dognappers, his seventeenth novel, and Bat and Rat, his first picture book, were published in 2012. Patrick writes full-time in Port Townsend, Washington, where he also hosts weekly writing salons for authors nine to fourteen years of age.

Jolie Stekly is a freelance writer and novelist, and an instructor for the University of Washington’s Writing for Children course. She served as co-regional advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrator’s Western Washington chapter. One of Jolie’s greatest honors was being award SCBWI’s 2009 Member-of-the-Year.

Jesse Joshua Watson is a New York Times Bestselling illustrator of books including Ghetto Cowboy, I and I, Chess Rumble, the Hank Zipzer series, and many more. Also an author, Jesse's book, Hope for Haiti, is an inspiring testament to the strength of the Haitian people and the power of soccer.  

Richard Jesse Watson has been creating children’s picture books for twenty-five years.  His version of The Night Before Christmas landed on the New York Times

Bestseller List (HarperCollins 2006), and Tom Thumb won the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Watson has published with Harcourt, Scholastic, HarperCollins, Zondervan and others.

Wednesday, June 20th, 7:00 p.m. : Gemma Whelan

Gemma will read from her first novel: Fiona: Stolen Child.

Whelan is an Irish-born theatre director and educator. After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, she directed more than sixty stage productions and was founding artistic director of GemArt and Wilde Irish Productions. Gemma is also an award-winning screenwriter and film director. She graduated from Trinity College, Dublin in English and French, and has graduate degrees from University of California, Berkeley in Theatre and San Francisco State University in Cinema. Gemma lives in Portland, Oregon.

Second and Fourth Friday Poetry Reading: 5:00 p.m. at The Writers' Workshoppe