Write way to spend Saturday

As the warm summer sun shined into the long, narrow room fronting Cannon Street, eight women trained their eyes directly on Archie Burkel. Her pink fingernails, a stark contrast against her white feathered hat, darted through the air quickly as she explained the right way to begin a story.

I'm guessing she'd probably give this one a D-minus.

For three hours Saturday morning, a handful of local women gathered at the Center For Women in downtown Charleston to learn how to write their own memoirs. Their teacher, the aforementioned Burkel, walked them through everything from her 11 commandments of writing (things like "Ignore your high school teacher," "Strive for progress, not perfection" and "Don't think, just write") to specific ways to jog the memory and organize one's thoughts.

As for why these women felt the urge to take the class, make no mistake, none of them expects to crack The New York Times best-seller list any time soon, but they do hope that by getting their personal experiences down on paper that their families will be able to better understand them many years from now.

Mount Pleasant resident Estelle Brasch wanted to take the class because she thought writing a memoir would allow her children and grandchildren to know more about their family and be proud of it.

Summerville resident Karen Wood said her reason was even simpler: "My kids said, 'You don't need to mother us so much -- you need to go do something for yourself.' "

The rest of the class felt much the same way as Brasch and Wood. Many had stories of profound sadness and joy they wanted to share, and this class provided them with the basic skills necessary to do just that.

As for their teacher, well, Burkel's had the bug for writing ever since she was 10 years old. But it wasn't until much later in life, when she quit her job as a guidance counselor in Chicago and moved to Charleston, that she decided to do something with that passion. Eventually it led to her teaching the semi-annual memoir-writing class at the Center For Women.

"This has been such a thrill for me through the years," she said.

As she wrapped up the morning's session, Burkel shared one last nugget of wisdom with the group:

"There will always be three sides to every story. His. Hers. And the right one. Just try to be honest and this will be an incredible experience."

The End.

Bryce Donovan also attempts to write three columns each week: "It Beats Working" on Thursdays in Charleston Scene, "15 Minutes with Bryce" on Saturdays and a Family Life column on Mondays. Reach him at 937-5938 or bdonovan@postandcourier.com. You can also check out his blog "The Bryce is Write" or follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/brycedonovan.