WORDS AND IMAGES : A Collage of Events : Wordsmiths and movie lovers can choose among lectures, screenings and workshops.

An astonishing variety of activities occur here in our fair, if somewhat waterlogged, community. Literary toilers and word lovers, film buffs and filmmakers are in constant motion sponsoring or attending classes, workshops, screenings and lectures. So turn off the silly sitcoms and shock-talk hosts, whip out your calendars, and pencil in at least one of the following events and suggestions. Are you hearing echoes of your mother’s voice admonishing you to do your homework and practice the piano? Not such bad advice after all.

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Learning Tree University offers two classes for writers on Saturday. Sonia Massie-Ward, who novelized the movie “Far and Away,” will share her formula for how to craft and write the story that sells. And Henri Mondschein, a professional research librarian, will teach “Research Techniques for Writers, Knowing Where to Look.” Both classes begin at 10 a.m. at the LTU campus, 1408 Thousand Oaks Blvd. Call 497-2292.

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Filmed in Nicaragua in 1983, “Alsino and the Condor,” starring Dean Stockwell, is the Classic Cinema offering at the Thousand Oaks Library, 1401 E. Janss Road, at 7 p.m., Saturday. Call 495-1392 for details.

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A travel film on Costa Rica narrated by Sherilyn Mentes will be shown at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Oxnard Civic Auditorium, 800 Hobson Way. Tickets are $6.50. Call 385-8147.

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According to the critics, “Adam’s Rib” is a gently comic and charming film about three generations of women trying to survive in a tiny apartment just before the breakup of the Soviet Union. The Ojai Film Society will screen the movie at the Ojai Playhouse, 145 E. Ojai Ave., at 4:30 p.m., Sunday. 646-7133

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Barbara Gaughen’s all-day “Public Relations and Book Publicity Workshop” begins at 8:30 a.m. Monday at Michael’s Waterside Restaurant in Santa Barbara. The $145 fee includes a gourmet lunch, a detailed manual called “60 Steps to Instant Book Success” and an opportunity to hear and talk with a panel of experts on book promotion. Gaughen has offices in Ventura and Santa Barbara. Call 965-8482 for further information.

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The Chinese Lunar Year of the Rooster 4691 begins Saturday, and the Ray D. Prueter Library, 510 Park Ave., Port Hueneme, will celebrate all week. Diane Lai, children’s librarian, will host a special program at 7 p.m. Tuesday featuring Chinese songs and stories. Fortune cookies will be supplied by the Golden Buddha Restaurant.

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On Jan. 30 at Ventura College, Joan Prestine’s “How to Write Children’s Picture Books for Fun and Profit” will begin at 9 a.m., followed by “How to Find a Publisher for Children’s Books” at 1 p.m. The fee for each workshop is $35, or $65 for both. Call 654-6459 for details.