A former law office located near downtown Ames buzzed with newcomers on a chilly night back in November.
It was the monthly Gathering of Artists held by the Ames Community Arts Council, a free monthly get-together for local artists to meet, share their work and create. This gathering came with a special announcement — and location. It was held in a small building that was set to become Fifth Street Writers, a coworking space launched by Ana McCracken of the Ames Writers Collective.
Opening the space, which is located at 612 Fifth Street, has been a longtime dream for McCracken, who for four years has held gatherings and work sessions for writers at various locations around Ames. When she got the opportunity to purchase the building, she took it.
“I was so intent on my dream, I went home, made a drawing, decided to knock down a couple walls,” she said on IPR’s Talk of Iowa. “I put in windows and walls, and now we have this wonderful open cafe space with a library and two boardrooms and a kitchenette.”
McCracken wants the space to be a haven for central Iowa writers, especially those who aren’t pursuing degrees in writing at nearby institutions like Iowa State University. While living in California, she joined several nonacademic writing clubs, and while she saw similar programs flourishing in literary hubs like Iowa City when she moved to the Midwest, she noticed a feeling of isolation among central Iowa writers.
“I think people are craving community,” she said. “I know I'm craving community. That's why I started it. I missed the writers that I knew out in California, and so to find them, I created a community here.”
Fifth Street Writers drew 11 newcomers during its soft launch open write event Jan. 4. Some attendees came with big goals, others just wanted to start writing. McCracken said one attendee came just to set aside time to write Christmas thank-you notes to friends and family.
And that’s just fine — as long as you’re writing, you’re welcome at Fifth Street Writers. They hold free open write events the first Saturday of every month.
The space is filled with a variety of comfortable seating to choose from — there are benches, cozy armchairs, stools at high-top tables. There’s coffee available and a strict no-phone, no-noise policy to let writers focus. Writers can share their work and goals and complete stories by using writing prompts meant to fuel their creativity.
“There's synergy and energy when people come together like that and write. I don't know what it is, you're very productive,” McCracken said.
Like other coworking spaces, writers must become paid members to utilize the facility and its resources, which gives them access to a writers-only portal that connects to genre-specific writing groups, as well as invitations to special programs and events.
McCracken says she's already seen the benefits writing regularly with others can bring. Not only has it made her a better writer, she says, it's brought together writers to share their passion with one another outside of academia.
“I think that's one of the very important things about it, is that by engaging in writing, especially where there's a community of writers, you'll find a community for yourself," she said.
To hear this conversation, listen to Talk of Iowa, hosted by Charity Nebbe. Samantha McIntosh produced this episode.
