Lunchtime write in Misha Herwin

 

Sometimes when the writing is going very slowly, or the marketing has ground to a halt meeting up with a fellow writer can be a necessary spur to action. Before the pandemic Jan and I used to go out for a coffee every week where we would discuss our work in progress, or bemoan our lack of progress and share hint on how to extricate ourselves out of the mire of procrastination or self-doubt.

We also considered setting up a regular writing slot, perhaps once a month,  where we got together with other writers,  to write and then to give each other feedback. Although in principal it sounded like a good idea there must have been some reluctance on both our parts because it never happened.

Then came the pandemic and everything changed. Locked down, Jan and I discovered Facebook video calls. The writing group I go to went on line and I began to Zoom or FaceTime regularly with friends. So when I found that Kris Johnson runs a lunchtime write in in the Mslexia Salon each Monday in May, I wasn’t totally averse to the idea.

Logging on I wasn’t quite sure what I would find. Do I keep my camera on or off? Will I be expected to contribute any feedback? Will there be any direction as to what, or for how long I should write? Would I get bored? Or distracted?

In the event it was a truly amazing experience, an hour of concentrated writing in the company of other women, all of whom were engaged in their own work. Some people used the chat function but most of us just wrote.

The time passed really quickly and very productively and at the end of the hour I was pleased with what I had achieved.

I was also curious as to why this sort of session was so useful and I came to the conclusion that although my time is my own, it is still hard to shut off from all distractions. Alone in front of my PC I don’t feel able to justify ignoring domestic or family demands. Engaged in a Zoom call it’s quite a different matter and I can’t wait until next Monday when I will log on and write.