Writers team up for anthology

ContraCostaTimes.com Posted on Fri, May. 02, 2003 By Brian Kluepfel CORRESPONDENT

Although writing is often a solitary activity, many authors feel the need to bounce ideas off each other; to become involved in a larger peer group.

Sometimes, they just want to sit around, drink coffee and complain about how editors aren't returning their phone calls or e-mails.

A collective of East Bay women has provided that setting and more for the past decade, and this month celebrate the publication of their anthology, "Wednesday Writers: 10 Years of Writing Women's Lives."

Each Wednesday at 10 a.m., a group of 10 to 15 writers gather at the Rockridge home of Elizabeth Fishel, who edited the anthology along with Terri Hinte. There, surrounded by a collection of folk art and fortified by trays of snacks, the group takes on the collective and individual task of writing.

Fishel, who also teaches writing classes at UC Berkeley Extension, talked about what makes this group unique.

"It's a nice range of people in terms of ages and backgrounds," said Fishel. "Some are just having children, and some have grandchildren. The real pleasure of group is that writers get to know each other deeply through conversation and work."

Varied inspiration

Befitting the East Bay, it's a multicultural group, with writers from Venezuela, India, England and Denmark included in the anthology. The 57 stories run the gamut, too, from a night spent dancing in Brazil to the slaughter of a goat in India. But Fishel delights in finding the magic in a less exotic surroundings.

"Some of my favorite writing is about ordinary surprises of daily life -- not a trek through the Himalayas or open heart surgery, but about the women who found a dog on Ashby Avenue or one who is sending a daughter to high school for the first time."

Fishel said because the workshop is in her home, rather than a classroom, there is a more intimate feel to the group. "It's a bit like a literary salon," she said. "It feels cozy and private."

It is in this atmosphere of immediacy that these women begin to reveal themselves, first through an open discussion of the business of writing, then through "workshopping" two pieces, and finally, through the exercise of "free writing," during which the authors are given a random topic and let fly for 10 minutes. Each section of the two-hour-and-15-minute meeting has a purpose.

The conversation allows Fishel, who's published four nonfiction books, to share some of the secrets of the trade: writing the perfect query letter, for instance. The group leader noted that the dynamic toward professionalism has changed over the years.

"The group has matured," she said. "It used to be for sheer pleasure of (writing), but we are bringing in more and more serious writers."

Berkeley writer Suzanne LaFetra is one who has benefited from the collective vibe. She joined the group last October --there are spring and fall sessions, each lasting about 10 weeks -- and has since been published in half a dozen local and national publications.

"It's a great group for workshopping and community," said LaFetra. "All writers need some kind of emotional and professional support system."

Editing is key

LaFetra met Fishel through a writing course at UC Extension. In fact, like UC, there is a fee involved in joining Fishel's home-based workshop, which perhaps makes the level of commitment more serious.

The "workshop" portion of the meeting helps to bring developing pieces into sharper focus. In fact, many of the works in the anthology are the result of intense discussion, criticism and revision.

"Willingness to be a rewriter is a hallmark of the Wednesday writers," said Fishel.

LaFetra noted the value of constructive criticism. "You learn how to critique," she said. "That's a skill unto itself." She and Fishel both emphasized that the positive points of a work are first discussed, and then suggestions are made for possible improvement.

The result of a decade's discussions is the elegant anthology printed this year. Although the group always produces one at the end of each semester, "Wednesday Writers" is the first that's been professionally designed and printed. It is available in local bookstores, through Amazon.com and directly from Fishel (erfishel@hotmail.com) for $12.

It's all for a good cause. Proceeds from the book go to the UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center. Fishel lost her own mother to breast cancer, and several women in the group have battled it over the years. Much of that struggle is documented in the anthology section entitled "Healing Words."

"A lot of people in the workshop are going through transitions," Fishel said. "Childbirth, death of a loved one, some kind of upheaval. Writing is a way to process it and understand it, and maybe lighten their load a bit."

READING WHAT: Women's Writing Workshop of Oakland reads from "Wednesday Writers." Proceeds of book sales benefit UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center. WHEN: Sunday May 4, 2 p.m. WHERE: Diesel Bookstore, 5433 College Avenue, Oakland INFORMATION: 510-653-9965

Brian Kluepfel is a freelance journalist who has lived in the 'burbs, the Bronx, Bolivia and Berkeley. He can be reached at bkluepfel@hotmail.com.