Went to Willamette Writer's meeting

On Tuesday, March 1st, I went to the Old Church to listen to screenwriter Randall Jahnson talk about why he moved away from L.A. to Portland.

He says P.O. is the perfect place to reinvent yourself as a screenwriter. And he should know. The author of "Slaughter Alley," "The Doors" and "The Mask of Zorro" talked about his early days and aging in tinseltown.

He talked a lot about Portland, which he didn't need to sell me on, heck, I live here and love it too. But he also spoke about the new "digital culture" and making friends with Code Monkeys.

At first, I thought it wasn't so nice to be referring to people as "monkeys" but then I talked to my son, who writes code. He explained to me that it's not an offensive term at all. Programmers call themselves "code monkeys". I had no idea.

So, I learned a few things.

Randall said, "I was drawn to Portland's creativity and quirkiness."

Aren't we all?

The city is rife with the arts. And, one perfect example is Willamette Writers. They host these wonderful writers and have them share their words of wisdom with all us wannabe writers for $5 to $10 per month. So, the price is 'write' and the bargain is even better. So, if you're in Portland on the first Tuesday of the month, you might want to check out what's going on at the Old Church.

All Willamette Writer guest speaker meetings are held at the Old Church, SW 11th and Clay (1422 SW 11th). Doors open at 6:30 pm; the speaker or panel starts at 7 pm. Meetings are free to members of Willamette Writers and students; guests of WW members are $5. Non-members pay $10 to attend meetings. Refreshments are served.

Writer's Resource Fair

Sunday I went to the Central Library for the Writer's Resource Fair.

There were publishing companies, writers, editing companies and more-all there showcasing their wares.

One company that had their friendly staff people on hand was Declaration Editing & Design.

De-klə-rā-shən - Says you should "Say it like you mean it"

All you writers out there, we all need a little editing now and then. This looks like a fun company you might want to consider: Declaration Editing and Design.
with helpful staff, you should check out their website and read more about their editing services which include: "Editorial Response Letters, Developmental Letters, Developmental Editing" and more.

Friends of Mystery were on hand too. Their next meeting will be Thursday, March 25, 2010 with the Spotted Owl Winner, Phil Margolin & Robert Dugoni. This event will be at the Terwilliger Plaze, 2545 SW Terwilliger in Portland at 7:30 p.m.

Willamette Writer had a booth and was promoting their Tuesday night meetings which are free to members and $10.00 for non-members.

Also the Oregon Council for the Humanities was on hand and giving out complimentary magazines (and FREE is always a good price).

There were so many organizations on hand (and it was all FREE) that I can't put it all in one post. But next year, if you're in Portland, keep your eyes and ears open for this fun and informative event designed specifically for writers.

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend!