PORT TOWNSEND — The craft of writing is the business of a shop in Port Townsend that caters to both those who want to make a living and those who just want to enjoy themselves.
“A lot of people just want to write. It’s just what they do,” said Anna Quinn, co-owner of the Writers’ Workshoppe, which is upstairs at 820 Water St.
“It’s not all about getting published.”
Quinn, 52, and her husband, Peter, opened the shop two years ago, at the beginning of what became tough economic times.
While “we are not getting rich,” the atypical business has held its own, owners say, offering a combination of workshops about writing and the specialized books that support the craft.
Last week, the shop doubled its 600-square-foot space, adding another room that makes it possible to run two workshops at the same time.
This allows the shop to carry more writer’s paraphernalia, coffee mugs and T-shirts featuring clever sayings and literary references.
Tourists who are writers love these little toys, and anyone might see the novelty in a $5 disposable fountain pen.
“There is a lot of tourist activity in the summer that allows us to make it through the winter,” Quinn said.
The business attracts people from all around the Puget Sound region who want to learn how to write, she said.
She attributes part of the business’ success to the cost of workshops — many are $10 — and to the fact that writers can choose, buffet style, what they want to learn.
The shop grew from the owners’ desire for a service for themselves.
Quinn moved to Port Townsend from Bainbridge Island in 2006 after a teaching career. She wanted to write a novel.
She knew there were a lot of writers in the area, but they had no way to connect.
“We were looking to create a writing community,” she said.
“I go to the Centrum writer’s workshop every year, but that only lasts a week.
“There was no place to go where I could bounce my ideas off another writer and listen to their ideas.”
The 2011 Port Townsend Writers’ Conference will be July 17-24, based at Centrum, an arts organization at Fort Worden State Park. For more information, see www.centrum.org.
Quinn agrees with the common saying that the best way to improve one’s writing is to write, but she thinks that collaboration and studying the craft can move the process along.
The shop also has some 700 books that can tell people how to polish their prose.
Quinn, who is close to finishing her novel, said that technology has changed the craft of writing.
“The computer lets me manage and organize a large project, she said.
“I don’t know why people still write things out longhand anymore. It’s exhausting.”
For more information about the Writers’ Workshoppe go to http://writersworkshoppe.com or call (360) 379-2617.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
