Spotlighted Literary Events

Feb. 28th, 12:00 pm: Join Indigo Editing and other representatives of our regions booming literary scene at the Writers Resource Fair. Through the participation of over 30 local businesses, the Writers Resource Fair will provide writers with both tips of the trade and a taste of current literature of the Northwest. Multnomah County Central Library (801 SW 10th, Portland) is hosting the fair. Be sure to come early, the fair only lasts until 3 pm.

Feb. 28th, 6:30 pm: Local authors celebrate places of the heart through prose and poetry. Come enjoy sweets and beverages while listening to readings by Barbara Drake, Heather Strang, Sophie Tree, and Elizabeth Ciz at Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe (45 S State, Lake Oswego).

Mar. 2nd, 7 pm: Emily Alexander of Tears of Joy Theatre breathes new life into a classic by Dr. Seuss. Emily will give voice and body to Horton in various libraries in the Multnomah County system. Her first performance is at the Fairview-Columbia Library (1520 NE Village, Fairview). For more details and additional performances, please visit the event's website.

Mar. 3rd, 7 pm: The Oregon Literary Review and the Blackbird Wine Shop continue their First Wednesday series of readings, performances, and wine-tasting with a great group of writers. Join Mark Thalman, John Blackard, Penelope Schott, and Pedro Ponce for an evening of short fiction, poetry, and wine. The event is located at 4323 NE Fremont, Portland, and is limited to those 21 and over.

Photo Story Prompt: Paris Glow

Write whatever comes to you–short or long, fiction or truth.


We'd love to see what you come up with! Post your story in a comment below, or e-mail it tophotostory@indigoediting.com.

Feel free to comment on each other's stories and just generally enjoy the process of playing with the written word and the world it creates.

Happy writing!

Picture: "Paris Exposition: Night View," Paris, France, 1900.

Brooklyn Museum Archives, Digital Collections [S03_06_01_015 image 2012]

Editorial Tip of the Week: The Italic Job

Italic type was first produced in the beginning of the 16^th century as a cursive typeface, one based on calligraphic handwriting of the Italian humanist Poggo Bracciolini. Whereas the typeface was originally used to print very compact yet legible volumes, italics are currently used to emphasize particular titles, names, phrases, words, and symbols within text set to roman type.

Writers should use italics sparingly to emphasize particular words or phrases. If words or phrases appear italicized too often, they quickly lose their force. Writers can usually vary the sentence structure to provide force to the emphasized words rather than relying on italics to carry the weight of the sentence.

The monster was found under the bed.

Yes, but what do you think of the chocolate cookies?

Unfamiliar words and phrases from foreign languages should be italicized, but familiar foreign words–those often used in English–do not need to be placed in italics. If a foreign word or phrase is used multiple times in a text, only the first instance needs to be italicized.

The motto of my state is esse quam videri.

Sheepskin boots were popular a few years ago, but now they seem passé.

If a word or phrase is used to reference the word or phrase itself, the term should be italicized. These nonfunctional terms may also be set in quotation marks, but italics are the traditional format. This case of nonfunctional terms also applies to letters used as letters; these letters should be italicized.

What is the definition of antidisestablishmentarianism?

Excuse me, sir. How many p’s are in your name?

When used correctly, italics can add force to your sentence, allowing a reader to make a distinction between a word or phrase and the rest of the sentence. From its origins as a separate typeface, italics serve numerous uses alongside roman type. However, it takes careful consideration to master italics.

Spotlighted Literary Events

Feb. 19th, 7 pm: Kaia Sand and Allison Cobb will read from their latest poetry collections, focusing on poetry of place and history. They will be reading at St. Johns Booksellers (8622 N Lombard, Portland). This event is free.

Feb. 23rd, 7:30 pm: Jake Adelstein recounts his experiences as the only American journalist allowed in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Press Club. He will be reading selections from his recent work, Tokyo Vice, detailing his time on the police beat. The event is free and hosted at Powell's City of Books on Burnside (1005 W Burnside, Portland).

Feb. 25th, 7 pm: Dr. Pamela Gilbert will speak about the connections of filth, disease, and culture in Victorian England. This event is part of Everybody Reads 2010, Portland's book group focusing this year on Steven Johnson's Ghost Map. The lecture is hosted at Portland State University's Smith Memorial Center, Room 238 (1825 SW Broadway, Portland).

Ongoing exhibit through Feb. 26: Rare pieces from the early materials of Charles Dickens are currently on exhibit at in the Multnomah County Central Library. The exhibition includes numerous first edition publications, a signed rejection letter to Dickens, and other selections from the author's life. This exhibit can be found in the John Wilson Special Collections of the Central Library (801 SW 10th Avenue, Portland).

Photo Story Prompt: A Different Corner

Write whatever comes to you–short or long, fiction or truth.


We'd love to see what you come up with! Post your story in a comment below, or e-mail it to photostory@indigoediting.com.

Feel free to comment on each other's stories and just generally enjoy the process of playing with the written word and the world it creates.

Happy writing!

Picture: "wham:a different corner" by visualpanic.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/visualpanic/ / CC BY 2.0

Editorial Tip of the Week: Semicolon (Part II)

Continued from Part I of this article.

The semicolon should be used to separate items in a list or series that have internal punctuation. In this use, the semicolon helps to clarify the series, keeping the reader from being confused with the division of the commas.

The four housemates are all in their thirties: Caitlin, 34; Matt, 37; Stephen, 31; Brendan, 36.

After work Brendan, trying to return home as quickly as possible, ran to the bus; gave the bus driver, who gave him a scowl, two dollars; and squeezed into a seat between two passengers.

When using a semicolon with clauses that end in parenthesis or brackets, the semicolon should be placed after the closing parenthesis or bracket. When a sentence uses a quote and a semicolon, the semicolon should follow the closing quotation mark unless the semicolon comes from the quoted material.

The semicolon should be used to separate independent clauses and items in a series that have internal punctuation; this punctuation mark demonstrates an attempt to clarify, a way of connecting two or more related thoughts. If you want to revisit the rules of the semicolon, this comic does a great job of explaining the basic uses of this punctuation. While the semicolon remains a debated figure in contemporary grammar, Lewis Thomas in Medusa and the Snail (Viking Press, 1979) touches upon the simple elegance of the semicolon:

It is almost always a greater pleasure to come across a semicolon than a period. The period tells you that is that; if you didn't get all the meaning you wanted or expected, anyway you got all the writer intended to parcel out and now you have to move along. But with a semicolon there you get a pleasant little feeling of expectancy; there is more to come; read on; it will get clearer.

For more information see sections 6.57-62 in the Chicago Manual of Style.

Spotlighted Literary Events

Tonight! Feb. 12th, 5:30 pm: Atelier Meridian and Ink-Filled Page host a collaborative valentines social, featuring readings from Ink-Filled Page: Red Anthology and an opportunity for you to print your own valentine with viscosity monotypes on the etching press. The event is free. You can take your valentine home for $5, and for that you will receive $5 off the cost of the Red Anthology. Atelier Meridian is located at 665 N Tillamook.

Feb. 14th, 7:30 pm: Portland Poetry Slam will be shaking the walls of Backspace in one of their monthly open slams. Karen Finneyfrock, an all-around poetry slam legend will be coming down from Seattle, WA. The event is free and open to the public. Backspace is located at NW 5th and Couch in Portland, OR.

Feb. 15th, 6:30 pm: Author and journalist Paul VanDevelder will speak and answer questions about the world of nonfiction publishing. Writers on the River is presenting this event at the First Presbyterian Church in Corvallis (114 SW 8th). This event is free and open to the public.

Feb. 17th, 7:30 pm: Barbara Drake and Bill Silverly will be reading selections of their poetry as part of the Mountain Writers Series at the Press Club (2621 SE Clinton). Suggested donation is $5.

Photo Story Prompt: Training for War

Write whatever comes to you–short or long, fiction or truth.


We'd love to see what you come up with! Post your story in a comment below, or e-mail it to photostory@indigoediting.com.

Feel free to comment on each other's stories and just generally enjoy the process of playing with the written word and the world it creates.

Happy writing!

Picture: "Training for War" by William H. Johnson.

Smithsonian African Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, [1967.59.1036].

Editorial Tip of the Week: Semicolon (Part I)

Somewhere between the divider and the full stop, the comma and the period, stands the semicolon. A gentle pause, the semicolon can perform the functions of either of these two forms of punctuation. While proper use of the semicolon was once cause for duels, the mark has seen a decline in usage over the past two centuries. The end of this curious mark may loom nearby, but we must strive to understand the proper use (and the possible joys) of the semicolon.

The semicolon is most often used to separate two independent clauses not joined by a conjunction. These clauses should be related, the latter modifying or clarifying the former.

My cats have grown close; I often find them snuggling in the chairs of my house.

The Chicago Manual of Style, fifteenth edition, is careful to point: "The following adverbs, among others, should be preceded by a semicolon when used transitionally between independent clauses: then, however, thus, hence, indeed, accordingly, besides, and therefore."

My house became cold in December; however, my cats adjusted quickly by sleeping under the covers of my bed.

The semicolon may also be used to separate a clarifying clause from the initial independent clause. It is most common in this case to use the semicolon before phrases such as "that is" or "namely."

We should expect vast changes for the company in the coming year; that is, we should prepare to cut costs on future projects.

Our salmon style guide notes that the semicolon may be used before a conjunction when the conjunction separates two independent clauses. While a comma is typically used in this situation, the semicolon is helpful when the independent clauses have internal punctuation.

Our company was focusing on publishing works of fiction; but requests from new clients, in addition to calls from our current authors, pushed us to accept more works of poetry.

Continue reading in Part II of this article.

Photo Story Prompt: Dirigible

Write whatever comes to you–short or long, fiction or truth.

We'd love to see what you come up with! Post your story in a comment below, or e-mail it to photostory@indigoediting.com.

Feel free to comment on each other's stories and just generally enjoy the process of playing with the written word and the world it creates.

Happy writing!

Photo: "Derigible over Tamarama" by Hall & Co.

State Library of New South Wales, Home and Away, [hall_34701].