Membership Spotlight: Wendy Blake

by Sunny Monroe

As writers, what are we looking for? Companionship, encouragement, commiseration, and, maybe most importantly, a gentle voice that will tell us the truth about our work in a firm but compassionate way. As I sipped an iced latte on the first warm afternoon of spring, Wendy Blake sat across the table and spoke of her love of the developmental process and helping others find the best work within themselves. I thought, This woman is the answer to a writer's dreams. And for those of you who have submitted your poetry and prose to Uncapped, you are lucky enough to have obtained her guidance for free.

With a master's in English composition and an English teaching position at Pierce College, Wendy's in her element as a developmental editor. She knew that was the right niche for her at the first Writergrrls Zine meeting back in 2001, when she volunteered to be a lead editor for the Exploration section. Helping writers improve their work is her favorite part of this job. The writers' testimonials on the e-mail list speak to the quality of Wendy's craft. She makes it sound easy by breaking it down into a five-step process:

• Read the piece with an open mind.
• Find the truth in the piece.
• Comment on where that truth is strongest.
• Ask questions that lead the writer to look at the weaker parts.
• Begin a conversation (usually through an e-mail message) with the writer on all of these points.

Most writers who work with Wendy find her to be essential to their rewrite process—even when they had no idea they needed a rewrite. But there was one instance when Wendy critiqued the poem of a Writergrrl poet. She had many submissions for that issue of the Zine, and the out-of-towner's was not the one chosen. She didn't hear back from this Writergrrl for several months. Then Wendy received an e-mail message from her apologizing for her lack of response. The Writergrrl had been annoyed by Wendy's comments on her poem and by the poem that was chosen. But, as the comments settled in her mind, they began to ring true, and she had decided to rework the poem. She submitted it again, and this time it was chosen. The Writergrrl poet became more open to ideas of revision, and Wendy began to formulate the plan to expand from a single Zine poem to a poetry section.

Among Wendy's copious contributions to the Seattle writing community is Seattle Live Literature (SLL). Compiled by Wendy and her fellow Explorations editor, Nicole Jones, this site offers Seattle's first written/spokenword events calendar. SLL also includes event reviews, articles on the local literary scene, and links to other writing organizations, such as Hugo House and PoetsWest. While SLL currently lists around a third of Seattle's literary events, Wendy and Nicole hope that more event planners will seek them out as the site becomes better known. Eventually, they would like to add author showcases, poetry chap books, audio files, and links to authors' sites.

As for her own creative voice, Wendy lives in several genres. She writes poetry in the style of Charles Olson's projective verse, which is the origin of beat poetry. Currently, two unfinished fantasy novels reside on her to-do shelf. One of these she describes as Alice in Wonderland meets Seinfeld. Wendy admits this one needs a major overhaul and hopes to rework it into a novella. Her day-to-day writing consists mostly of articles for Uncapped and SLL and notes to her students and Writergrrls. According to Wendy, this is some of the most rewarding writing she does.

For those Writergrrls who have hesitated to submit your heartfelt poetry or prose for fear it will be rejected on sight, relax—there is truth in almost every piece. Wendy can help you find your truth and bring it to the surface most eloquently. Trust her with your work, listen to her feedback, and you may end up crafting a piece that is most genuine to your heart.

Sunny Monroe is an ex-techie who's entering her 30's and her second career as a freelance editor.