OWC News | Oregon Writers Colony

Elsewhere, Elsewhen, and Elsewise with David D. Levine

April 20, 2018 By Jan Bear

Hugo-winning science fiction writer David D. Levine will host a week-long examination of the challenges and opportunities of the worlds of science fiction and fantasy. The workshop, Elsewhere, Elsewhen, and Elsewise, will be a laid-back week whose content is largely determined by the attendees, but potential topics for discussion include:

Integrating character, plot, and world building
Using sets and props to define character, clarify the world, and build emotion
Using all the senses (there are more than just five)
Developing an idea into a story.

There will be plenty of time for writing, questions, and group discussion.

The workshop will be held Monday through Friday, July 15-20, 2018, at Colonyhouse. There are two options for attendance:

$400 total for classes Monday through Friday, including double-occupancy lodging from Sunday after 4 p.m. through Friday noon.

$200 for Monday-through-Friday class only.

David D. Levine is the author of The Andre Norton Award winning Arabella of Mars (2016) The second book of the series, Arabella and the Battle of Venus was released in 2017. The trilogy concludes with Arabella the Traitor of Mars, scheduled for publication by Tor on July 31, 2018. He has written more than 50 SF and fantasy stories. His story “Tk’Tk’Tk” won the Hugo, and he has been shortlisted for awards including the Hugo, Nebula, Campbell, and Sturgeon. His stories have appeared in Asimov’s, Analog, F&SF, and multiple Year’s Best anthologies, and his award-winning collection Space Magic.

Elsewhere, Elsewhen, and Elsewise

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For last-minute information only.
Elsewhere, Elsewhen, and Elsewise Workshop*
- Workshop with lodging, $400
- Workshop without lodging, $200
Cancellation Policy
Cancellation Policy All cancellations are subject to a $50 cancellation fee. Cancellations received at least FOURTEEN (14) DAYS before the conference date are refundable, subject to the cancellation fee. Sending in this form indicates that you have read and understand the cancellation policy.

Flash Fiction: Writing Very, Very, Very Short with Becky Kjelstrom

April 20, 2018 By Jan Bear

Oregon Writers Colony will host a workshop titled Writing Very, Very, Very Short, led by Becky Kjelstrom.

The workshop happens the week of June 11-15, 2018, at Colonyhouse.

The workshop offers two price options:

$350 for classes from 9 a.m. Monday through 4 p.m. Friday, including double-occupancy lodging in Colonyhouse.
$175 for classes only, Monday through Friday. No lodging.

Becky will guide participants through the world of flash fiction and other short forms. We will explore haiku, senryu, six-word stories, dribble (50 word), drabble (100 words), sudden fiction (up to 750 words), hybrid shorts, one-paragraph synopses, blurbs, and query letters.

Each day will include a morning class. Afternoons will be a time to write on assignments from class and your own works in progress. After dinner, we will convene for a gentle critique or discussion. Becky will also be available for one-on-one critiques.

Class and discussion topics:

Finding Muscular Words to Carry a Story
Jumpstart with Brainstorming and Clustering
Group Write Plots and Character Sketches
Using Prompts, Images and Six Things Lists
Getting Comfortable with a Variety of Forms
Brutal Editing.

Monday evening, soup and bread will be on the menu. Thursday evening, we will enjoy cocktails and share potluck. Coffee, tea, yogurt, oatmeal, fruit, bagels, and muffins will be available for breakfast.

Becky Kjelstrom is the president of OWC and author of a novel published by Bantam Books. Her short stories have appeared in several zines and anthologies. Her writing aesthetic comes from her past work as a parole officer, corrections, counselor, staff trainer, and curriculum writer. She and her writing partner created a blog for short work, TheNightMail.com, and are shopping around a pilot for an edgy series set in Old Town Portland. Becky sculpts and gardens in her spare time.

Build Characters with Bill Cameron

April 16, 2018 By Jan Bear

Mystery author Bill Cameron will teach a workshop titled Getting to Know You: Building Character from the Ground Up Friday, June 22, 2018, at Colonyhouse.

In this interactive workshop, we’ll work together to create characters who are messy, engaging, troubled, powerful, scary — you name it. Through a series of exercises, some individually and some in teams, we’ll explore a variety of techniques for creating characters that jump off the page and come to life in the minds of your readers.

Bill Cameron is the author of gritty mysteries featuring Skin Kadash: Lost Dog, Chasing Smoke, Day One, and the Spotted Owl Award-winning County Line. Bill’s stories have appeared in publications like Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Portland Noir, and Killer Year. His work has been nominated for multiple awards, including the Spotted Owl Award, the Left Coast Crime Rocky Award, and the CWA Short Story Dagger. Property of the State, a young adult mystery featuring the troubled yet resourceful Joey Getchie, was named one of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2016: Teen.

The one-day workshop with Bill Cameron costs $60. Add $50 for a one-night double-occupancy stay at Colonyhouse.

Bill’s workshop is part of the Colonyhouse Mix-It-Up event, with three workshops for one bargain price.

Photo by Carson Arias on Unsplash

Mining Your Life for Laughs, Humor-Writing Workshop with Bob Balmer

April 16, 2018 By Jan Bear

Oregon-based humorist Bob Balmer will lead a humor-writing workshop titled Mining Your Life for Laughs at Colonyhouse Wednesday June 20, 2018.

Students will explore humorous writings in class and then discuss what about them makes us laugh: from exaggeration to characterization, from one-liners to irony and many other techniques. Special attention will focus on how the authors used events from their lives for humorous material.

Bob Balmer’s first humorous essay was published in The Oregonian in 1992. His work has appeared in The Smithsonian, The Oregonian, The Seattle Times, The Seattle Weekly, Golf Illustrated, and many other publications. It has aired on the radio shows The Savvy Traveler and MarketPlace as well as on Oregon Public Radio and Television. Balmer has an MFA in creative writing from Portland State University and attended the Iowa Summer Writing Workshop and the Tin House Summer Writing Workshop at Reed College.

The one-day workshop with Bob Balmer costs $60. Add $50 for a one-night double-occupancy stay at Colonyhouse.

Bob’s workshop is part of the Colonyhouse Mix-It-Up event, with three workshops for one bargain price.

Photo by Alan King on Unsplash

Colonyhouse to Host Obituary-Writing Workshop

April 16, 2018 By Jan Bear

Cemetery Angel

A workshop in obituary writing will provide participants to take a close look at their life so far.

Award-winning writer Sharon Wood Wortman will lead the workshop Monday and Tuesday, June 18-19, 2018, at Colonyhouse in Rockaway.

The two-day workshop is limited to the first five registrants. It includes snacks, handouts, and a free copy of On Writing Well, by William Zinsser, and A Heaven in the Eye, by Clyde Rice, the latter the winner of the Western States Book Award and published the year Rice turned 81.

The cost of the workshop is $120 for the workshop, $100 additional for bed and breakfast (double occupancy) at the Colonyhouse.

On Day One participants will learn about the history of obituary writing, including costs (and the ways to save money and still say all that you want). They will study examples of all types and lengths of obituaries, paying particular attention to unusual forms, first sentences and lead paragraphs, and to those known to have been written by their subjects. They will also see the 2016 film Obit, the first documentary to look into the world of newspaper obituaries, via the obituary desk at The New York Times.

On Day One and Day Two, they will write using prompts and writing exercises provided by the leader. They will then sit by the fireplace reading their life stories aloud to each other. At the end of the weekend, they will have a 600- to 900-word epitaph, which can be published as an obituary at some time or used to evaluate the writer’s life direction and future.

Sharon says, “At the very least, save others from this emotional task and reflect on your journey thus far, whether or not what you write ever gets published! In other words, you don’t have to be a writer to participate.”

Participants are encouraged to bring a timeline of the milestones in their lives — not just a listing of accomplishments (we are not applying for a job or writing a resume), but one with the people, places, and things that altered our trajectory during our ride.

Sharon is a poet, memoirist, journalist, and obituary writer whose work has been published by Calyx, The Oregonian, and Windfall—A Journal of Poetry of Place, among many other publications. The recipient of three Regional Arts & Culture Council grants and a former Oregon Chautauqua scholar, she served as founding editor of The Colonygram Newsletter in 1984 and has been a lifetime member of OWC for almost as long. She is best known as the author of The Portland Bridge Book and for the bridge walks she led for Portland Parks & Outdoor Recreation for almost 20 years.

Questions? Email Sharon (phone number on registration form available for download).

Download the form to pay by check.

Elsewhere, Elsewhen, and Elsewise with David D. Levine

Elsewhere, Elsewhen, and Elsewise

Cancellation Policy

Flash Fiction: Writing Very, Very, Very Short with Becky Kjelstrom

Build Characters with Bill Cameron

Mining Your Life for Laughs, Humor-Writing Workshop with Bob Balmer

Colonyhouse to Host Obituary-Writing Workshop

Register online for the workshop

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