Monday, July 26thMatt Lauer calls author Jeff Yeager "the ultimate cheapskate." Wit

Write whatever comes to you--long or short, fiction or otherwise.

Each issue of Poets & Writers Magazine includes Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begins. This first sentence, possibly the most important in your work, opens the door to draw in the reader. In fact, you hope it can reach ou

Monday, July 19thJulia Whitty explores the three-dimensional ocean river, far more powerful than the Nile or the Amazon, encircling the globe. She reads from "Deep Blue Home: An Intimate Ecology of Our Wild Ocean," At Powell's Books on Hawthorne.When: 7:3

Write whatever comes to you—short or long, fiction or truth.

Dialogue can be a great way to tell a story. It allows your reader to pick up on details that would otherwise have to be blatantly explained. Dialogue gives characters their personality. If done well, a character will go from flat to round by way of the things they say and the way they interact with other characters. Conver

Friday, July 9thExperience the diary as you've never seen it before at the release of Jesse Recklaw's Ten Thousand Things to Do. Multimedia comic diaries by

Write whatever comes to you--long or short, fiction or otherwise.

Whether proofreading, revising, or polishing your work, you'll find it helps to read it aloud--or even shout it.Ben Yagoda, in The Sound on the Page, tells this story:Flaubert...would go out to an avenue of lime trees near his house and proclaim what he'd written at the top of his lung

Thursday, July 8thWhat has happened to the world economy? Understanding the Crash starts with that simple question that still haunts us all. With the kind of striking precision that only graphic nonfiction can provide, Seth Tobocman and Eric Laursen explain just how we got into this

Write whatever comes to you—short or long, fiction or truth.

Using adverbs can be so satisfying. You're typing away and arrive at a crucial point. It is imperative that you make your reader understand the importance of the given thought, opinion, or description. Underlining is out of the question and you're certainly not going to utilize the caps lock. Maybe italics...no, that only m

Monday, June 28thBrett Easton Ellis reads from his new book, Imperial Bedrooms, the sequel to 1985's Less Than Zero.When: 7:30pmWhere: Powell's Books, 1005 W BurnsideCost: FreeThursday, July 1stThe Basil Hallward Gallery presents original br

Time to look at how all plays with other words:When is all of necessary? Leave of at home when all modifies a noun. But when a pronoun follows, all of takes the lead, as in this example from Karen Elizabeth Gordon's,

Saturday, June 19thPowell's Books welcomes Janet Fletcher, author of the cookbook, Eating Local, who will be sharing recipes and discussing the importance of consuming fresh foods grown nearby. She is joined by one of the CSA farmers mentioned in

Write whatever comes to you--short or long, fiction or truth.

What do you think of this sentence?He ate a lot that day: Fritos, a frozen pizza, a box of Klondike bars, Laffy Taffy, plain cake doughnuts, a club sandwich, and a jar of pickles.Do you appreciate it for its presentation of informa

Friday, June 11thPortland City Art and New Avenues For Youth host a celebration of youth work inspired by their lives on the street. Speakers, music, food/drink and a silent auction will be features of this

Our first day of workshops was a hit, so we're already planning our second. Mark your calendar for Saturday, August 21, and join us to hone your skills of writing across genres, attracting the attention your book deserves, and providing top-notch readings. Each class is limited to nine students, so register early!

Write whatever comes to you—short or long, fiction or truth.

BLACKBIRD WINE SHOP PRESENTSBook Talk and Memoir WorkshopThursday, June 10th 7:00 pm – 8:00pm4323 NE Fremont ST.Portland, OR 97213

A few weeks ago, an intriguing grammatical topic came up in my Writing Careers for English Majors class. We had been discussing the problem areas in our writing--long sentences, commonly misspelled words, comma use and someone asked the professor what his writte

Saturday, June 5thOregon Encyclopedia editor-in-chief, Rick Hardt, hosts an event to brainstorm with the public about new additions to the book. Anyone is welcome to share their thoughts!What: Libraries as Commun

Write whatever comes to you--long or short, fiction or otherwise.