Tuesday 6 December 2022

Online Writing Groups (Not Critiquing, Just Writing) Are Cool

 


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/

 



Image: Free clipart from clipground.com.

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