ABOUT ZIP CODE PARTIES

Purpose: The purpose of a zip code party is to facilitate the friendship of writing women living near each other and to spread word about the Guild. Ideally, regular meetings will ensue. A get-acquainted zip code party should include members, ex-members and also, if space allows, those who at one time inquired about the Guild but have not yet joined as members.

Names and Addresses: The names and addresses of prospective zip code party attendees may be requested from the IWWG New York office. Generally speaking, more than one zip code will be needed in order to make an adequate mailing. Depending on where you are located, it may be more effective to supply the Guild office with the names of specific cities/towns or with area codes that pertain to the region that you consider your area or neighborhood. Once you have made your request for names and addresses, these will be sent to you on ready-to-mail labels and also on sheets (the latter will list phone numbers and email addresses).

Mailing of Invitations: The zip code party hostess does her own invitations and mailings. It is advisable to do the mailing at least 2 and 1/2 months before the event (this leeway also affords Network the opportunity to announce the date on its calendar). The invitations should include the date, address and time of the event and also the purpose for the event: to form Kitchen Table(s) which meet regularly in small groups to share work), along with a request to RSVP by a certain date. It might also include something about yourself, your interests and what motivates you to send these invitations in the first place. A sample invitation available for download is on the Guild’s website, www.iwwg.org.

If women are responding who are friends of friends or who have otherwise heard of the event, please log their names and addresses and send to the Guild for our general mailing list. Very important is to collect letters that are returned because people have moved and to send these with or without their forwarding addresses to the Guild offices for clearing of the mailing list.

Refreshments, etc.: Refreshments should be simple and easy on the pocketbook. Cookies, coffee, tea and soda and/or a veggie plate and dip. Guild brochures should have been requested beforehand and available. Be sure that the seating arrangement is in a circle, if possible. After most of your guests have arrived, go around the room and ask each woman to say her name, where she lives, and encourage her to speak about herself. Remember that even if no other activities are planned, a leisurely going around the room and speaking about yourself, as well as hearing from others, will have made the afternoon worthwhile. Some zip code parties plan simple writing exercises, but that is optional.

Formation of a Kitchen Table/Cluster: After each person has introduced herself and/or has read what she has written, that is the time to ask who would like to belong to Kitchen Table. A Kitchen Table is a group of women who have decided they would like to meet at a particular time and place on a regular basis in order to read and lovingly critique each other's works. Bear in mind that such a cluster should always have a supportive attitude. A group of up to seven women in a cluster feels comfortable --- but larger groups can work too since not everyone shows up. Do not feel badly to close a cluster B - in other words, if several women are well-matched and are working well together, it sometimes does not serve to add a new person to what has already moved forward.

Regional Contacts

Elizabeth Julia Stoumen is the Guild's Regional Contact Coordinator. Please write or call the Guild if you are interested in serving as an IWWG regional contact, would like to start or find a Kitchen Table group, and the like. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Most states have at least one regional contact. (click on Member Info tab for a list of Regional Reps)

(AN EXAMPLE OF AND A VIEW INTO A REGIONAL IWWG KITCHEN TABLE GROUP)

Tapestries
by Renee Cassese

Nora sounded so serious on the phone that I was afraid this might not be such a great idea. I had found her phone number in the IWWG “Network” newsletter. She had advertised that she was interested in starting a women’s writing group and she only lived about five minutes from me. The ad simply proved to me that when I really need something the universe will conspire to make it appear. But on second thought, I interpreted the tone of Nora’s voice as a signal that she was as dedicated and serious about her writing as I was about mine.

A few weeks later I went to Nora’s house to meet with her and three other women to discuss and share our writing goals and dreams. Nora was as warm and friendly as her cozy home. Her Rottweiler, Sasha, was the canine representation of softness and strength that every writer needs from her companions.

Five women sat in Nora’s dining room and shared coffee, cake and words that had come from our hearts. The neat little black letters lined up on white sheets of copy paper vibrated with the emotions they described.

And so “Tapestries” was born. Nora, Karen, Melinda and I began our friendship with that first meeting. Over several months a couple of women came and went and now we are a group of six, Julie and Marie Louise as well as the original four squares of fabric. We have been meeting for three years and chose the name “Tapestries” for our group because it represented the tight weaving of diverse threads of writing genres, personalities and ambitions. With each monthly meeting the warp and weave gets tighter and we grow, not only as individual women, but as a group of writers and friends. But, like a quilt, “Tapestries” is composed of a variety of fabrics that bring to the whole many different colors and textures.

The loss of even one square of the tapestry would leave a gaping hole that no other swatch (or woman) could fill. And, as it has seemed lately, the addition of a new square would throw the quilt off balance. More is not always better and we have learned this when trying to add a member to our group and finding that her stitches just won’t come together.

The whole tapestry bears description as well as each individual piece. Nora, who was the impetus in starting this group, is a court reporter, married, with two sons. She writes courtroom drama and crime novels, but most significant is the memoir she wrote about growing up in Bensonhurst. Her images are so strong that we have often tasted the flavors of Italian meals that she describes in her stories. The pictures of her family and their escapades leap off the pages so vividly that we can imagine the scenes being played out in a television series. Her words have grasped the humor of her adventures so tightly that we have laughed through her readings. Nora is the hub of our group in that she began with a clear idea of what a good writing group would be and she effortlessly brought us together into our quilt of writers. She is tall, with dark hair and a ready smile. She has a special way of keeping us on track no matter how many times we slip off the loom.

Then there is Karen. Tall, with honey blonde hair and a spirituality that leads us with a gentle heart and hand. Karen is a school secretary, but her writing is far beyond that of clean crisp business letters. Her children’s story, her poems and her personal essays have made us laugh and cry. One story she wrote about a particularly personal experience in her life I believe was the turning point in tightening our friendships. Her trust in us in sharing her personal experience let us see just how closely we had grown as a group.

Karen graduated from a Creative Writing program and has attended many auspicious writing retreats and workshops. She shares the knowledge she has accumulated as warmly and securely as she shared her story. There is a warmth about Karen that makes us all feel safe in her presence. As an editor of our work she cuts to the quick and sharpens our own skills at rewriting and revision. As a woman she shows a strength and determination to achieve her goals that serves as an inspiration to all of us.

Melinda is also a sharp editor and we always wait eagerly for her to smooth out the warp and weave of our writing. Her struggles with writing have become ours as well. And her personal struggles we have sewn into our tapestry in the hopes that we can soften them for her. Melinda’s writing is always more of a personal journey. She culls many years of journal writing to hone her life into intricate stories to share with our group. Her confidence as a writer has grown and hopefully her confidence as a strong woman has grown too. The threads she brings to our tapestry are strong and supple. She carries a light in her eyes that guides us even as those eyes seek guidance from us. Her friendship is one of the many jewels sewn into our squares of fabric.

Marie Louise grew up in war torn Germany and her stories of her childhood are written with such fine description that we can almost feel the cold and hunger she herself felt. At each monthly meeting we encourage her to bring these stories together in a book. As she reads each piece her lovely accent and measured cadences bring each scene to life. Marie Louise adds spark to our tapestry with her artful and colorful clothes. She is a heartfelt caring woman of warmth and glitter. She seems a deep well who offers us her soul one cool tin cup at a time.

Julie joined our group the same day as Marie Louise and added to our quilt the ribbon and finery of a shabby chic style, cunning wit and humor, and the ability to get into our psychological dramas and reveal them to us in arms of support. Maybe it’s because she is a therapist, but I think more so because she cares about us---it shows in everything she does and says in our meetings as well as in her bright smile and spicy eyes. She has written a screenplay about her marriage to a professional athlete. Not only to express her feelings, but, as always, to help others through difficult times.

And finally there is me. I joined this group because I had a genuine goal of being a published writer. I have succeeded at that goal and long still to expand on that success. My mind however, does not stay on track and takes many side trips through a variety of artistic projects and interests and a year of school to advance my career as an education administrator. Even when I was away from Tapestries for a time I could still feel the pull of the threads that sew us together as writers and women. Coming back to the group was like coming home. When my inspiration to write wanes I can count on my monthly dose of support and motivation. I’ve been grateful for that as well as the editing my fellow writers help me with. If I write nothing else all month at least I know that the evening after our meeting and the following Sunday will be spent fixing up what I had read in group and moving to the next scene or another story.

Tapestries is a cloth of tightly woven heart, soul and talent. When one of us succeeds we all feel the joy and applaud the triumph without a stitch of competition. As we grow as individuals we will add to the swatches of fabric that make us writers and friends.