Hill Avenue Writers

WRITING WEDNESDAY: With my current work-in-progress, I’ve needed a special laser focus. I’ve spoken about going into hibernation and clearing my social calendar for a couple of weeks. But that doesn’t mean I have to go it alone. I’ve had a couple of dedicated writing sessions with other writers and found that experience helpful. I’m less likely to go down the rabbit hole of looking up something on the Internet and then fifteen minutes later finding myself on websites that have nothing to do with my book. So I’ve starting an experiment of having intense writing/rewriting sessions with area writers at a local library. We reserve a small meeting room and go at it for four hours–breaking for a brief lunch when we can finally socialize. Frankly, I’ve never been so productive and my word count has multiplied in these sessions. Somehow the groove of these intensives have bled in other free time–I found myself easily outlining the rest of my book while I waited for the doors of a play to open. (Yep, I did it on my iphone!) On Facebook, I’ve seen other gatherings of writers around tables of coffeeshops and eateries. (Since I’m such a cheapskate, I like the library situation with sack lunches, but we’re lucky that the library has an outdoor courtyard and patio tables with umbrellas.) Sure, we can meet at someone’s home, but I think there’s something so easy about meeting in a neutral space where you can come and go and not feel responsible for hosting or being hosted. So if you need some structure, do some homework to find a neutral space and ask a couple of other writers in area to join you. I was a little skeptical of whether it works and you know what, it does!

NOTE: We now have an official name: Hill Avenue Writers!