For Portland-area writers: join me at a Power Writing class

Written By: Jessica Morrell - Jan• 09•20

It’s still foggy here this morning and I enjoy gazing out at the contrast of the fog muffled against the tall Douglas firs that line this property. I’ve got ongoing editing projects and my own projects so yesterday when I was driving to meet a client for lunch I was ‘writing’ in my head. Later I came home and translated those ideas into a document before they disappeared. I hope you all have methods for capturing all your ideas because I know how easily they can and will vanish if not captured.

In my work as a developmental writer I also line edit and enhance language to make it more potent, sensory, and resonant. Not only have I learned a lot of tricks over the years, but I’ve also been studying the history of English for the past 18 months and am looking forward to explaining how understanding Anglo-Saxon origins can pump up your writing.

This means I’m stoked to share a lot of new techniques in my classes, including my upcoming Power Writing class. If you live in the Portland, Oregon area, join me at the Mt. Hood Community College main campus in Gresham on Tuesday afternoons from 3-6 starting on January 21.

The class is listed here.

The registration info is here.

Course description:

Powerful writing simmers, brims, sweats on the page and slips into the reader’s brain, senses and emotions with a compelling vibrancy. With this in mind, Power Writing offers a means to put your thoughts into words, improve and energize your writing style, and breathe life into sentences. Sessions will illustrate how to create writing that is sensory and grounded while using sounds and precise language and images to communicate meaning. We’ll also focus on voice, how figurative language adds ‘music’ and depth; how to employ high-energy verbs, ‘word grenades,’ and sound bursts for punchier prose. Other devices will be explored to help writers create more immersive stories and essays that leave a lasting impression. The sessions will include writing exercises, examples, and handouts.