2018 Authors Conference Schedule

Here is the schedule and details you may need to know for the upcoming 2018 Authors Conference by Writers in the Grove in support of community writers and authors and the Forest Grove Senior and Community Center on January 27, 2018.

We are so pleased to have such excellent speakers representing the publishing industry and the Pacific Northwest, especially Oregon. This is a rare opportunity to find them all in one place sharing their wisdom with our writing community.

Lunch is included. It is being donated by Forest Grove merchants and restaurants and we’ve done our best to meet most dietary restrictions and needs. If you have special dietary restrictions, please feel free to bring your own food.

Registration for the special paid sessions are additional and paid at the door. Please bring cash, credit card, or check payable to FGSCC to pay for the session. You will also need to bring printed copies of your written pages for private critique sessions, including a copy for yourself to make your notes.

8:30	Doors Open
9:15	Welcome
9:30	Workshops: Querying and Finding an Agent with Chip MacGregor Pitfalls You Can Avoid with Kristin Thiel Practicing Opening Lines: Hooks with MJ Nordgren
10:40	Break
10:50	Workshops: Character Arc with Jessica Morrell Preparing a Manuscript with Holly Lorincz Special Session ($): Practice Pitching with Kristin Thiel
Noon	Lunch: Lunch has been donated by various Forest Grove area merchants, and should meet most dietary restrictions. Keynote: Deborah Reed
1:30	Workshops: Poetry Workshop with Paulann Petersen Writing a Proposal with Chip MacGregor Special Session ($): Memoir or Fiction with Jessica Morrell Special Session ($): Story Ideas and Plot Points with Holly Lorincz
2:05	Creating a Pitch with Chip MacGregor
2:40	Break
2:45	Panel: Ask Any Question with Jessica Morrell, Holly Lorincz, Kristin Thiel, Chip MacGregor, and Deborah Reed
4:00	Closing

If you haven’t registered yet, do so as soon as possible as we are getting close to filling the seats.

Prompt: What Texture is January

The prompt today is to write about what texture do you associate with January.

2018 Authors Conference: MaryJane Nordgren

Author and writing coach, MaryJane Nordgren, will be speaking at the 2018 Authors Conference on January 27, 2018, in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Mary Jane Nordgren Author MaryJane Nordgren is a published author of novels, plays, and memoirs, and publisher of the Seeds of… anthologies. Her books, Early: Logging Tales Too Human to be Fiction, Quiet Courage, and Frail the Bridge.

She is also the leader of Writers in the Grove, a free and open-to-the-public creative writing workshop held Monday mornings from 9-11am at the Forest Grove Senior and Community Center and the second Saturday of the month at the Forest Grove Public Library.

MaryJane will be presenting a practice session on writing open paragraphs and hooks.

She joins a group of extraordinary professional editors, writers, and poets in our first writer’s conference. Other speakers include Paulann Petersen, Deborah Reed, Chip MacGregor, Holly Lorincz, Kristin Thiel, and Jessica Morrell.

Register today to learn from MaryJane Nordgren on professional editing and writing at the 2018 Authors Conference in January as space is limited.

About Writers in the Grove 2018 Authors Conference

This is a fundraiser for the Forest Grove Senior and Community Center, a non-profit community center and the host of Writers in the Grove weekly meetings. The Center provides free and low cost meals through their dining services and Meals On Wheels outreach program, as well as a wide range of educational, recreational, wellness, and community events and educational opportunities.

Writers in the Grove is a free weekly workshop for those wishing to develop their creative writing skills. The group meets Mondays at the Forest Grove Senior and Community Center on Mondays from 9-11am, and on the second Saturday of the month at the Forest Grove Public Library from 10:30-noon. Writers in the Grove supports the freedom of expression and creative writing spirit in Forest Grove, Oregon, and around the world.

Monday, January 15, 2018, Meeting At Adams Family

Due to the the Martin Luther King Holiday, the Forest Grove Senior and Community Center will be closed. Writers in the Grove will be meeting at the home of Paula and Parks Adams in Forest Grove. Please contact us if you need the address.

Also, volunteers are needed to help with the upcoming 2018 Authors Conference on January 27, 2018. We need a kitchen czar to manage the kitchen, food, and setup during the event. We need a couple people to help collect the food from the donors as well, so transportation is important. Volunteers will likely miss some or all of the event, so we are also looking for friends and family to pitch in to help make this a success. I’ve volunteered my husband. Got another family member to spare? 😀

2018 Authors Conference: Additional Special Sessions

As a reminder, in addition to our top notch speakers on writing, editing, poetry, and publishing at the 2018 Authors Conference on January 27, 2018, in Forest Grove, Oregon, we are offering special and optional private and small group consultations with some of our faculty for an additional fee. Registration for these optional consultations will be the morning of the event.

The special sessions are:

15 minute professional consultations (Cost: $10):
- Jessica Morrell on a single sample of a memoir or fiction piece.
- Holly Lorincz to talk through a story idea, plot points, and non-fiction scope and sequence.
45 minute small group session for practicing pitching (Cost: $5)
- Kristin Thiel

These sessions are in addition to the workshops and presentations by our group of extraordinary professional editors, writers, poets, and speakers including Paulann Petersen, Deborah Reed, Chip MacGregor, Holly Lorincz, Kristin Thiel, MaryJane Nordgren, and Jessica Morrell. The conference also includes lunch.

About Writers in the Grove 2018 Authors Conference

2018 Authors Conference: Jessica Morrell

Author and writing instructor, Jessica Morrell, will be speaking at the 2018 Authors Conference on January 27, 2018, in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Jessica Morrell Author Photo Jessica Morrell will be speaking on developing a character arc for your story and novel.

Jessica is a long-time favorite speaker and teacher on writing fiction, and an accomplished author. Her books, Thanks, But This Isn’t for Us, A (sort of) Compassionate Guide to Why Your Writing is Being Rejected, Between the Lines, Bullies, Bastards, and Bitches: How to Write the Bad Guys of Fiction, and Writing Out the Storm continue to be textbooks for writers determined to improve their writing and get published.

Register today to learn from Jessica Morrell on professional editing and writing at the 2018 Authors Conference in January as space is limited.

About Writers in the Grove 2018 Authors Conference

Novelist Deborah Kennedy at Forest Grove Library Saturday Feb 17

The Forest Grove City will be presenting a free morning writer’s workshop from 10:15am to noon, Saturday, February 17, 2018, with novelist Deborah Kennedy, author of Tornado Weather.

The topic for this free workshop is “The Writer’s Craft: Keys to Unlocking the Interconnected Narrative.”

While the event is free, you are encouraged to sign up by calling the Forest Grove City Library at 503-992-3247.

The library is located at 2114 Pacific Avenue, Forest Grove, OR 97116.

How Well-Written Prose Elicits Emotions and Draws Out Passion

Erik Armitage paid tribute on Montana Public Radio to author, James Welch, and the lessons he learned through his universities studies readying the author specializing in Montana history and storytelling.

Taking a writing class at UM seemed like a good idea for someone who likes to read, especially someone who likes to read about Montana history. Maybe I’d even learn how to write something meaningful. Lord knows I’ve tried. I wasn’t attempting to write a best seller, just trying to chronicle some of my own family history on paper. “How hard can it be to just tell a story the way it happened?” I told myself after reading my own drivel. I was reminded of my wife telling me to make white chicken chili. “How do I do that?” I said. “All the ingredients are on the counter. Do this, this and this. I’ll be home at 6:00”. Ok, simple enough. When it was done it tasted like dishwater. After doing the dishes. Writing is the same way. I have all the ingredients; Pen, paper, an ability to read. I’ve read dozens and dozens of non-fiction books so I should have some grasp of at least being able to form a sentence, right? Dirty dishwater.

Armitage wrote about the ethos Welch brought to his writing, telling stories of “sadness heaped on sadness,” and how the author connected with the reader through emotion. He summed it up with:

It is an incredible thing to form words together to elicit emotion and draw out passion. To make you laugh or cry, to make you smell gun smoke. To make you want to talk to your dead grandmother just one more time.

Each Monday (and the second Saturday of the month), Writers in the Grove members struggle with a new prompt by exploring emotions to elicit passions in others in their 15 minute creative writing ventures. We explore sadness, relationships, loss, happiness, joy, mystery, self-examination, doubt, wonder, curiosity, jealousy, anger, regret, and every emotional state to help tell our stories.

We’ve learned to show not tell as we write in a hurry before the countdown ends. We’ve learned to create characters easily recognized, and tap into storytelling techniques that connect with readers, sweeping them into our stories.

If we don’t connect with our emotions as we write, it’s all dishwater. We have the ingredients, so why do we tend to write dishwater.

That’s the secret sauce for writers shifting from just writing to true storytelling. The recipe before us is the same stuff available to everyone. It’s your passion for the final result that makes your main entree a success, and makes the writing not taste like dishwater.

The Cook

The following is by Writers in the Grove member Gretchen Keefer.

Chapter One

Having the cook was a bit expensive, but worth every dollar. Janelle had totaled up the costs of eating out or getting take-out for a month, including the lunches they both purchased most days, and showed the numbers to Jason. They could save half the cost of a part time cook by avoiding those commercial meals. The meals at home would be delicious, more nutritious and offer more variety than Janelle (and Panda Express) offered.

Jason eventually agreed. The cook came in the afternoon, five days a week, and prepared dinner. She created a shopping list for Jason and Janelle to complete over the weekend. She also cleaned up the kitchen and generated lunches from leftovers before she left.

Jason enjoyed the variety of tasty dishes and Janelle was more relaxed in the evenings. They talked more over dinner and during the evening. They discovered more topics they could discuss without upsetting one another. Entertaining also became easier and more fun. In fact, Jason and Janelle began to enjoy their lives more than they ever had.

More confident and self-assured, Jason was promoted at work; Calmer and more rested Janelle landed the management position she had been striving for. Their combined salary increases more than made up for the cook’s salary. The couple started spending their restful evenings planning the vacation of their dreams for the following year. Yes, the cook was worth every dollar.

Chapter Two

Three years later Jason had gained so much weight his blood pressure shot up and he developed heart trouble. His energy slipped and he did not think as quickly at work as he had. Janelle’s love of desserts had triggered Type 2 Diabetes. She lost the baby she and Jason had carefully planned for during their peaceful evenings. Her ensuing depression led to both of them drinking more wine with their gourmet meals, continuing into the evenings. Soon it became important to add alcohol to lunches as well. Soon Janelle was asked to leave her employment.

Jason missed a lot of work with his health issues and lost his job as well, so the cook had to go. Janelle began to learn more recipes to balance her diabetes with Jason’s weight loss program. They made time to discuss their options, such as moving, downsizing, or living more frugally. It was a difficult spot in their lives. All the good times they had spent chatting and enjoying each other’s company faded as they faced this new struggle.

Eventually they settled into new routines in the small town where Jason had found a suitable job. Their health gradually improved and they felt less pressure to keep up with coworkers and neighbors. Since Janelle was home to prepare meals on time, she felt less stressed about dinners and gradually the relaxing evenings began again. One morning Janelle woke up to realize how happy she was. Truly happy.

Yes, the cook was really worth the expense.

Veteran’s Day

The following is from Writers in the Grove member Gretchen Keefer.

November 11 – Veterans’ Day

Michael’s number was low. He knew that sooner rather than later he would go. After careful deliberation he decided not to take the available alternatives. He felt they were cowardly excuses. Michael did not entirely agree with the politics; he only knew he had to defend the principles of freedom, choices and self-government.

It was in December of his junior year of collage that the expected letter arrived. When he left home on the appointed day his mother cried, his father solemnly shook his hand, his brother hugged him. His friends did not come to see him off because they were embarrassed, or in Canada.

In his letters home Michael told very little about his war experiences. He characterized the other men and related humorous events. He described the food and the lush green of the country – but never the illness or the duplicity of the natives. He completed his assignments, supported his companions, earned distinctions. He didn’t wear the medals he had earned, and didn’t tell his family how many buddies he had watched die.

When Michael came home, his service honorably completed, he was reviled by other young people and ignored by employers. Every time a car backfired or a door slammed, he jumped. His temper grew shorter, his focus diffused. Although the government would have paid, he did not complete his college education, and eventually took a mechanic’s job. He married, divorced, drank, drifted.

Today we say we have learned from those difficult lessons of the 1970’s, and we thank our veterans for their service. However, war has not changed; the experiences are still not describable, and vets still are startled by loud noises.