As a break from academia in 2001, American-born Ella Rutledge decided to try her hand at creative writing.

"I had tried before, several times, but always dropped out, either because I lost momentum or felt disappointed with the results," she admits. "I was not actively looking for a class, but stumbled upon the Brooklyn Writers Group in the city where I was living at the time via the Internet."

Still, she was not sure that she wanted to bare her soul in public. Did she really want to read her work aloud in class, and listen to others doing the same? Then came 9/11, which while not providing a conscious trigger, "certainly made me more decisive and spontaneous." To avoid any further procrastinating, she called the group and went along to observe a class.