I am really appreciating the newly-discovered-by-me online writing groups that are apparently going for many hours, every night and day. After centuries of working alone at home I now get to work alone at home knowing there are these four or fourteen folk working away at their own tables, just there in the left half of my computer screen.
Mostly we are silent, and some turn off their video while working, but there
are a lot of pluses to having them there.
1) I know the window in which this event is happening, and if I don't get
cracking, I'll miss the boat.
2) Having living beings right there silently working calms me, somehow. I do
get a bit anxious about settling down to write or plan, so that calming effect
is very welcome.
3) At certain points there is brief checking in. This goes against the sense
of isolation that can be there in the background, generally not anywhere I
notice it. Having it contradicted by the check-ins has brought a sense of
relief and camaraderie, so clearly the isolation is there, even if undetected.
3a) In some groups this begins with a query in the chat: "What are you
working on today, Mael?" This helps me focus on a single, clear task
instead of allowing myself to wander off into side-shoots. Focussing better
makes me feel more secure in my efforts, and more satisfied with what I have
done that day.
3b) There is generally a check-in at the end, or in the longer meetings, a
couple of hours in. "How did it go for you?" That question makes the
process more conscious, and therefore easier to consider. How did it
go? Is there something I ought to have done to make it go better? (Like eat
first.) Or was it just fine? In which case, hurrah!
3c) As faces become familiar, as I learn a little of what people are working
on, how it's going for them, their aims and their worries, how they support and
encourage each other and me, I begin to feel affection for them, and a sense
that I want them to be happy with their work. In other words, even though we
talk very little, a sense of community begins to emerge.
4) They end. Just as the beginning of the meeting prompts me to stop
whatever I'm doing and get to work, the end says, "You're done! Go have
fun." As someone who tends to work till I drop, this is a great thing to
begin playing with. You mean, stop before it's finished? Assume I can return
the next time and pick it up? Wow.
I just committed to the next two meetings I plan to attend, getting on the
roster and writing them down in my calendar. (Yeah. Paper. Weird.) I looked at
what was already scheduled for those days and thought, "Yeah, I'd like to
put an hour of writing in there." Remembering how blissful it was last
time to break after an hour for my (online) yoga class, as I will again this
week, and come back to writing renewed and invigorated. Instead of that
unscheduled hour trickling by as they are wont to do, I know I will get a contained
dollop of work done. And I felt -- excited! What a wonderful way to feel about
work that I love but tend to get anxious about. How perfect is that?
If you are interested in trying out a writing group like this, the one below
is one of the groups available. It may be the largest, with many hosts across
the world with their own meetings and formats. You can meet online, as I do,
but they also have live events where folk gather in a coffee shop or some such
thing. It's called Shut Up and Write:
https://www.meetup.com/pro/shut-up-write/
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