By Melissa Danzo, News Correspondent

Legend has it that Ernest Hemingway, famous for his understated style of writing, was challenged to write a short story using only six words. Proving that he could capture an audience in less than ten words, Hemingway produced the proverbial “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

Taking a cue from Mr. Hemingway, the members of WritersAnonymous put together their own collection of super short stories, adding one word to Hemingway’s six for a grand total of seven. The finished product is “Seven At The Sevens,” a book written, edited and published by WritersAnonymous under the leadership of Northeastern alumnus Grant Trenton Gardner.

But why seven?

The number seven seems to be a recurring theme throughout the meetings of the writers. The group has been meeting at The Sevens, a pub in Beacon Hill. Weekly meetings occur at seven o’clock and the group was whittled down to seven members.

“I’ve found that seven writers is a good number,” Gardner said. “Not too small and not too large. Not to mention it’s a lucky number.”

Gardner, who chose to use his pen name rather than his real one, began meeting with the group of writers after posting an ad on Craigslist in August 2008. According to this ad, which now resides at Meetup.com, Gardner had been inspired by his time in New York City, where he met graduates from New York University, Northeastern and Columbia University in a “writer’s support group” for those hoping to pen “something ambitious/monumental and potentially life changing, their first novel.” Though most writers of WritersAnonymous have separate goals, they set aside their dreams of publishing their own novels while collaborating to put together “Seven At The Sevens.”

“We wanted to do a project to solidify the group forever,” Gardner said.

Though the group has evolved and changed members since the first meeting, a few of the original members have stayed over the past three years. They do not criticize each other’s work and instead attempting to foster the different styles of each individual writer.

“Seven At The Sevens” not only displays the work of the writers, but also that of local and young new artists. Gardner wanted to give these artists an opportunity to “show their stuff.” The artists were given selections of seven words and given free reign to interpret them individually. Gardner hoped this would add the dimension of being able to associate the prose with an image and add a level of depth to the book.

Gardner hopes “Seven At The Sevens will be a steppingstone for future works by the writers. He looks to The Atlantic for inspiration, a magazine also founded in Boston and famous for publishing the works of new writers and poets.

“We hope this will help us to generate many volumes,” Gardner said in regards to the publishing of the book.

With the current success of the book, this dream just may be a possibility.

“Seven At The Sevens” was placed in the staff recommendations section at The Harvard Coop after selling out of copies in one week. It is also available for sale at the Northeastern University Bookstore, Brookline Booksmith, Emerson College, Newtonville Books and Porter Square Books. It is also for sale on Amazon.com, where it has received a unanimous customer review of five stars.

On Amazon.com, reader Josh Howard said he “can’t recommend this book enough.” Reader Michael Bruce said that “in every single section of this book, there is something valuable to be gained,” and that it is made up of “individualistic, diverse and creative styles.” But the path to vindication has not been easy for the writers.

WritersAnonymous was published independently, meaning the group edited the book themselves and did not have a distributor.

“Doing it alone, we are like Davids in a world of Goliaths up against corporate publishing houses and distributors,” Gardner said.

This has hindered the distribution of the book to the point of being turned down by one bookstore because they didn’t have a distributor.

Those behind WritersAnonymous say they are not in it for money or fame of being published. All involved have assumed pen names to hide their identities. It is their love of writing that drives this book, as is made obvious in the Final Word, the conclusion of “Seven At The Sevens.” In the Final Word, Gardner writes “the journey has been everything,” and that the finished product is not as important as the experiences WritersAnonymous had along the way.

Gardner said he believes it is this optimism and passion for the written word that has made this book so accessible to readers. Its message that “anybody can write” is both inspiring and believable.
When asked if he had any advice for aspiring writers, Gardner chose the words of the late Steve Jobs: “Don’t be trapped by dogma.”

“Follow your passions,” Gardner said. “Because this is where you will find what you’re best at and what you should do.”