Join my first writing group of the season

Your link to today's In Writing Creative Hour.

Let’s get this show on the road

I don’t have kids, and I don’t work in education, and I’m not studying, and I’m 40 years old – so ‘back to school’ really has nothing at all to do with me. Still, you don’t escape 18 years of education without something imprinting on you, and one of the better things that left a mark is the sense that September is full of glittering promise. It doesn’t matter what’s happened over the last year, says September; you’re going to achieve great things between now and next summer.

I’ll be online from 5pm UK time today (3rd September) to host the first In Writing Creative Hour of the autumn – you can join in even if it still feels like glorious summer where you are. There’s a timezone converter here for those who aren’t in the UK – just put your own location into the second section and it will let you know what time to show up.

If you haven’t attended a Creative Hour before, it’s a get-together for paying subscribers online. We say hello and have a brief chat, then write together in companionable silence for fifty minutes. It’s a small act of writerly solidarity, an opportunity to get to know other writers, and a lovely, uplifting way to end the week.

What I really love is putting faces to the names of those who subscribe to In Writing, and chatting about the projects you’re working on. This time, I might call on you to say what your writing hopes are for the rest of this year – are you going to focus on short stories? Do you want to finish the first draft of your novel? Are you going to try and journal regularly? Are you going to show up to every single Creative Hour (please do)? It doesn’t have to be an ambitious goal, but I find it’s helpful to be clear in your mind about what your intentions are.

If you’re planning to join us, let me know in the comments below, if you like.

The schedule:

5pm GMT (that’s UK time): Click the link below to open Google Meet.

I’d love you to switch your camera on for the first few minutes while we settle in, and keep it on throughout the hour if you can bear it (it adds to the feeling that we’re all working side by side). As for microphones, we’ll follow a general rule of staying on mute, but unmuting when we want to speak. Please chime in during the chats at the beginning and end – I’d love to hear from you.

5.05-ish: Writing time. If you’re running late, you’re welcome to slip in whenever, but don’t be offended if we don’t say hello. As for what to write – it’s totally up to you. Pick up a project that you’ve been neglecting, start something new, or if you’re stuck for inspiration, do some journalling or write a letter.

5.55-ish: We’ll return to wrap up the hour and reflect on how it went.

6pm: Say goodbye, and feel pleased with yourself for the rest of the day.

The link: