A Great Start and the Next Step

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Our first online Silent Write-In went remarkably well.  We had 11 participants, seven on Twitter, two on Facebook and two via email.

The feedback I heard told me that it was a productive hour, so I’m excited to keep the momentum going.  The next scheduled Write-In is scheduled for this Tuesday, 9 pm EST, but rather than waiting, I thought we might try one this weekend.  What time? Well, I’ll put out it there for a consensus.  Weekend schedules can be crazy, so please let me know via comment what day and time works best for you.

With interested writers from across the U.S., Canada, Australia, the UK, and beyond, timing can be dicey, so I’m open to scheduling Write-Ins whenever they’re needed or wanted.

I will also mention that anyone is welcome to use the #SilentWriters hashtag.  If you have a group of writers you work with, and you want to get together online to write, please feel free to use it.

Thanks again for all the interest, and please spread the word.  We writers need to keep each other motivated!

You Write by Sitting Down and Writing

Jon Winokur, on his ever inspiring website, Advice to Writers uses the words of Bernard Malamud for today’s quote of the day:

You write by sitting down and writing. There’s no particular time or place — you suit yourself, your nature. How one works, assuming he’s disciplined, doesn’t matter.

— Bernard Malamud

It’s true. How one works doesn’t matter, as long as one IS working. But that’s the challenge, isn’t it? It’s so easy to get caught up in the endless distractions that pull us away from writing. A few distractions can turn into a few days, or weeks, or (yikes!) even months, of not writing and then our excitement turns to dread.

The only way to break out of that cycle is to follow Mr. Malamud’s advice:

Sit down and write.

If you have a hard time motivating yourself to do that, join The Silent Writer’s Collective for our Silent Write-Ins.  By committing to a group effort, many writers find it’s easier to stay motivated and reach goals. Writing, as we’ve all heard many times, is a solitary endeavor, but sharing our efforts with a group makes it easier, and can help us reach our writing goals.

Next Write-In, Tuesday 4.13.2010

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Our next Silent Write-In will be this Tuesday, April 13 at 9 pm EST (6 pm PST).  We will meet via Twitter using the hashtag #silentwriters.

The Write-In begins promptly at 9 pm EST, with a few minutes of chat, news, tips, questions, etc. Then the we go silent and commit one hour to writing.  At the end of the hour, participants can continue writing (and are encouraged to do so).

No RSVP necessary, just show up on Twitter, watch for the hashtag and join in.

If you aren’t on Twitter, you must be on Facebook, right?? Search Silent Writers Collective on FB and you’ll find us there.

Email me if you have any questions, and hope to see you Tuesday!

Welcome to the Silent Writers Collective

Time to be quiet and write

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If you find it difficult to put distractions aside and just write, you might want to join us.

Our mission, quite simply, is to write.

My name is Olivia and I started this group in 2008 when I realized that I wasn’t writing as much as I wanted.  Between work, home, family, and all the other distractions of life, writing had dwindled to grocery lists and work memos.

I talked to other writers I knew who faced the same challenge, and we committed to meeting for at least one hour each week to write in silence.  One hour may not sound like much, but it’s a start.  We found our successes building on themselves, and once again, writing became a priority.

When I moved from Baltimore to Phoenix, our group did not want to end, so now we meet online. Our gatherings start with a few minutes of socializing, sharing info, etc, but after that we agree to shut up and write.

I decided to open the Silent Writers Collective up to anyone who is serious about finding the time to write. We’re in the early stages of organizing, but we welcome you to join us.

Feel free to email me for more info or sign up for the RSS feed to get details on our next Write-In.

Thank you for visiting the Silent Writers. We hope you’ll join us.