Zen Fueled Writing Workshop In Astoria (Sept 14)

Many writers and artists sometimes feel themselves thirsting for an awakening or reawakening to begin a new project, refresh an ongoing one, or rethink life in general. But how does one go about making such a thing transpire?

The League of Intertidal Writers, the Astoria based literary arts organization, announces the “Zen Fueled Writing Workshop,” Saturday, September 14 in Astoria, to help writers and other creative types experience a creative awakening or reawakening. I will be teaching the workshop and invite you to join me.

The workshop will feature writing and discussion prompts inspired by classic Zen-themed works of literature, including Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, The Snow Leopard, Siddhartha, The Inner Game of Tennis, and multiple volumes by Thich Nhat Hanh

Over the years, these books have provided me incredible ideas, coded instructions, and motivation to write, create, problem solve, and transcend personal crisis. Much of my writing about dogs, rain, driftwood forts, rivers, the criminal justice system, and the ocean are the direct result of immersing myself in these books. I believe interacting with them can inspire writers, musicians and artists to generate new ways of creating. I might add that participants don’t need to have read any of the aforementioned publications to take the workshop, and that this workshop can help writers of fiction, memoir, poetry, music, any genre.

The participants will also engage in a series of light and collaborative physical activities intended to deepen the workshop experience and help ferment the creative process. There might also be a spontaneous field trip.

The workshop runs from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Astoria in a private home. The class costs $60 and will cap at 12 participants. Participants will pay at the beginning of the workshop or through Paypal. To register, email

me through the blog or web site.