The Baltimore Jewish Writers Guild is looking for a few good wordsmiths.
“We are nowfour women and one lone man,bless him,” says longtime member Edy Bondroff. “It’s so much fun to be with people who share the love ofcreating a scenario on paper.”
The BJWG has existedfor more than a decade, meeting the first Monday evening of every month in thelibrary of the Owings Mills Jewish Community Center.
Six years ago, thegroup consisted of more than 10 members. But today, the BJWG is a small buttight-knit group of regulars who discuss their current writing endeavors, participatein joint writing exercises and review each other’s work.
Some members are publishedor self-published, while others aspire to be published. Still others write justfor their own spare-time amusement.
All writing genresand experiences are welcome, say members, including fiction, literarynonfiction/memoir, poetry and humor. Some of the writing contains Jewishthemes, but not all.
Ahead of time,members can submit anything they have written, and they receive each other’swork via email. During their weekly meeting, they take turns speaking aboutwhat they’ve written during the past month or so.
Then, they workshop andcritique each other’s work, so that they all can continue to improve. Theirtime together also includes creative writing prompts, such as looking at apicture to inspire a story related to a past experience.
The writing promptscan be a very creative and thought-provoking exercise. “It’s really fun to seethe different takes each of us has on the subject/prompt,” says Linda Miller.
Still, the focus forthe group is on the writing that they bring to share. “It’s a critique group,but we take it apart gently,” says MarleneWolff Solomon.
The writing offeringscan evoke emotions in the group, and they are there for each other throughlaughter and tears.
“You love what youwrite,” says Bondroff, an Owings Mills resident. “And if you love what youwrite, you want to share what you write. I can write things and the classcracks up in laughter.”
The group of regulars— Bondroff, Solomon, Miller, Mark Carp andDiane Gensler — getalong so well that they often go out to dinner first to socialize and catch up.
“Our current membersare devoted to our group,” says Miller. “I love our camaraderie and sharing ourwork.”
Terri Kane used tolead the group, but had to resign. Today, the group is self-led, with noteacher or moderator. They have had guest speakers in the past.
“I find the instant creativity to be the most fun ofthe evening,” said Bondroff. ”In one exercise, Terri asked us to put a doton the middle of the page and write about it. We all wrote about what wasinside the dot. Terri then said, ‘Why didn’t anyone write about what isoutside the dot?’ It really made us think about that darned dot in otherways.”
Meanwhile, members say they areeager to welcome new members and attract some young blood.
“If you walk past usmeeting, you’ll find happiness and laughter,” says Bondroff. “We get along verywell. It’s a great atmosphere. I’m always happy to be there.”
Adds Solomon: “Weall meld and mesh together. Each person has a little role. I love everybody inthe group.”
The Baltimore Jewish Writers Guild hosts meetings the firstMonday of every month at 7:15 p.m. at the Owings Mills Jewish Community Center.Participation is free and the group is open to writing enthusiasts of all backgroundsand experience levels. For information, call 410-356-1553, visit https://baltodi.wixsite.com/bjwg oremail edybondroff@gmail.com.
Anna Lippe is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance writer.
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