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.

Answer to Word for Wedneday

The word was Diatribe.

Did you guess what it means?

Well a diatribe is a bitter, sharply abusive denunciation, attack, or criticism. If you want to read more about it, check it out on dictionary.com

Word for Wednesday - a game for Writers

Guess what the word means - put your guess in the "comments" then come back around 3:00 to see if you were write or wrong ;)

WORD FOR WEDNESDAY: Diatribe

ECOwomen.net Give Away

Check it out here. It's the ECOwomens' birthday and they are celebrating by giving away gifts - how's that for inovative?

Tuesday Twitter Tip

Writers are readers - so log on to Twitter and follow all your favorite agents, writers, publishers and editors. You might just get the scoop on some info you can't find anywhere else.

Plus, remember to follow me too :)

Magazine Market Monday

Boy’s Life

The Magazine for the Boy Scouts of America age of readers: 6-18. This magazine is looking for how-to photo features, general interest, hobby and craft ideas.

Word Length: 500-1500. Pays $400-$1,500

Query by mail with SASE: Boys’ Life PO Box 152079, Irving, TX 75015

Web: www.boyslife.org

(Hope this helps some of you writers out there :)

ECO AWESOME-Earth Friendly Friday

We all have to wash our hair so why not love the planet and our hair at the same time? It's easy and organic! Going green doesn't mean giving up style. You can get gorgeous with a shampoo that has 71% organic content, no parabans, no artificial colors, no synthetic fragrances, and no sodium laureth sulfates. Plus, the tube is 50% post consumer recycled material. So check out Bed Head's Eco Awesome Shampoo and Conditioner.

Sometimes all it takes is looking a little to find healthy, earth-friendly options.

And here's one review of these particular products from a college kid who tried it for me and then let me know what she thought of it:

About the shampoo:

I really love the scent!!! The mint kind of wakes me up in the morning. It's kinda like aroma therapy in your shower :D and I love that it's mostly organic!

The only downside is that after I'm done rising, my hair doesn't feel as slick right out of the shower as I'm used to, but I think it's because I'm going really lightly on the conditioner.

(Thanks Mackenzie)