Write with me today, 5pm London time

...although I'm in Paris. Here's the Google Meet and all the details.

Ernest Hemingway (far right) in Paris in 1926, pictured standing next to Sylvia Beach, founder of the Shakespeare & Company bookshop. Neither of them are joining us, but allow me some creative license

Here are the details for today’s In Writing Creative Hour, which starts at 5pm UK time, though I’m actually in Paris at the moment. If you’re lucky, you might even hear an angry French citizen setting fire to a town hall during our call. (I haven’t personally witnessed the rioting, and I really enjoyed Hannah Meltzer’s description of the friendly atmosphere of a typical French protest, in her latest newsletter.)

Anyway! The Creative Hour is a get-together for paying subscribers on Google Meet. 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 way to end the week.

What I particularly love is putting faces to the names of those who subscribe to In Writing, and having the opportunity to ask about the projects you’re working on – in fact, this time round, I might ask you to type what you’re working on into the chat box in Google Meet. I have some editing to do to a magazine article I filed last week, so might spend the time on that (though it’s tempting to work on my book instead).

If you’re planning to join us, do say so 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: