Terroir Creative Writing Festival April 14, 2012

Three weeks until the Terrior Creative Writing Festival opens Saturday April 14 at the McMinnville Community Center.  Registration is at 8 am, talks, workshops and readings begin at 9 am and go until 4:30.

Barbara Drake, poet, teacher and co-founder of the Terroir Creative Writing Festival  and indicated she was coordinating the program for the Festival.  There is an impressive program of authors, Chelsea Cain , LEANNE GRABEL , WILLY VLAUTIN ,  MATT LOVE , CHARLES GOODRICH , and EVELYN HESS and many others.

Willy Vlautin will talk about finding inspiration in Oregon.  Matt Love will discuss creative non-fiction and Leanne Grabel will have a workshop on writing and producing your own play.

A chance to meet writers, talk writing and books and listen to writers reading their work.

Creating a routine to create

attentive to what is there

There is a website Zen Habits that is dedicated to changing habits.  In the article "29 ways to successfully ingrain a behavior" they have the simple steps of habit change: 1. Write down your plan. 2. Identify your new routine.  3. Focus on doing the new behaviors every day for about 30 days.   And some great quotes.  "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." which is attributed to Aristotle.   Advice is keep it simple, one behavior at a time and do a 30 day challenge.

With the blog I gave myself a 30 day challenge that started 12/31/11 to do an entry a day.  I did 30 days and I'm into the second 30 days.  Okay so I feel strong.   Next comes a routine for creative writing.  There is a ton of advise on the web.  It comes down to building in the time, the motivation and doing it.  This is my write it down part, not a plan, but saying it out loud. 

William Stafford Memorial Poetry reading

Getting cameras and everything ready for the Annual William Stafford Memorial Poetry Reading at Linfield's Nicholson Library. 

 The reading is hosted by Barbara Drake whose most recent book of poetry is "Driving One Hundred".  This will be the third time we have filmed Barbara and the Stafford event.  I like it because they invite anyone to come up and read a favorite Stafford poem and then one of their own poems.  It makes for a great evening.