WORD CAMP : a fun & supportive writing group

Common Fears & Concerns

“I am afraid of missing some of the sessions, and then feeling like I wasted this opportunity.”

Life happens! You might miss a session or two, and that’s okay.

I will be recording every session, so you are always welcome to follow along on your own and write “with” us at a different time during the week.

“I am struggling with the idea of paying for a writing group when writing is not something that I do for money. I keeping bumping up against this belief that my writing should be used in a monetary way (at least tangentially) in order for me to allow myself to invest money and energy in writing.”

Hello, capitalism! lol.

Please consider this your permission slip to spend money on yourself. You are allowed to spend money and time and resources and energy on the things that bring you joy, the things you’re curious about, the things you’re interested in and drawn to. If that is this group, great! We’d love to have you. But if it’s not this group please still take my permission slip and spend money on your own joy and care in a different way, if you are able.

You are allowed to invest in yourself — not because doing so will make you more productive, but just because. Because you want to. Because not allowing ourselves to enjoy our own lives is such a bullshit scam, no? We deserve better!

* steps off soapbox *

“I’m afraid that I won’t fit in, or that I won’t feel like I belong in the group.”

This is me every single time I sign up for anything, to be honest. I’m always like, “omg but what if I am too weird and no one likes me and what if I talk too much or not enough — will everyone silently be judging me the whole time because I am not cool enough to be there and they will all know it?!?”

Aw, our cute & vulnerable little hearts.

Can I promise that you will meet your new lifelong best friend in this group? No. But I can indeed promise that just like with every other group and gathering and retreat I facilitate, I will take the utmost care to create a feeling of digital togetherness among us all.

I’ll also offer this as something to consider:

Why are you drawn to my work? Which messages of mine have had the biggest impact on you? And then who are the types of people that you think would also be drawn to this work and, therefore, this kind of writing group? (spoiler alert: it’s all the other folks who are just as nervous and quirky and open-hearted as you!)

“I’m afraid that I am too introverted for this kind of group.”

You can leave your camera off for the entire time if that feels best. You never have to share out loud or in the chat if you don’t want to. You can engage at your own comfort level and your own pace, always. Everything is optional!

“I’m worried that I won’t have enough to write about, or that I don’t yet know what I’d be spending this time working on.”

You do not need to walk away from our group with a completed project. Above all this is a practice group — wherein we come together on a regular basis to honor our writing practice. If you’ve got one specific project you’d like to work on, great! But if not that is okay too. What matters is whether or not you feel the call in your heart to spend more time and energy on the act of writing during this season of your life. If so: you are welcome here :)

“I’m afraid that if I’m not ‘productive enough’ during these sessions I will feel like I wasted my money.”

Oof, this is so relatable to me. I often feel this same way at the start of a vacation, where it’s like I am almost panicky about whether or not I’ll have “enough fun” and so I stress about how to “make the most” of my time off. This seems like an extension of capitalism in that it puts us in an extractive frame of mind. But what if there could be a different way of looking at things? What if we could set new success metrics for ourselves, that don’t require us to hit our absolute upper reaches of maximum idealized productivity in order to feel content? That is what I want for myself. And maybe you want that too.

“What kind of big shot do I think I am to join a writing group? I don't even feel like I'm a real writer.”

If you are making words, you are writing.

I know that this truth is much easier said than felt, because I too struggle with what it means to be a “real” writer. Does it mean writing regularly? Does it mean publishing a book? Does self-publishing count? What about having a newsletter? What if you don’t want a newsletter or a book or anything, and instead you want to write stories for the same reason you want to take walks along the beach — because it delights you. Is that enough? Is the designation of a “Real Writer” one that can only be bestowed upon us by rich, old, white, male gatekeepers who own publishing houses?

I don’t think so.

But also: I’ve decided that I don’t care. We can write regardless of whether we feel like “real” writers or not. I don’t first need to feel like a “real” writer in order to write. And in fact maybe we will find that the act of writing itself is what makes us feel how we want to feel!

“I have a fear that if I force myself to write at certain times I’ll get stuck and it won’t flow.”

Who knows what will happen once we commit to these writing sessions together. It is a mystery! Maybe we will be in the mood to write when we said we’d write, or maybe we won’t! Maybe the days we aren’t in the mood will end up being the days when our most authentic writing breaks free. Who knows! Let’s stay curious to the process, and let’s also remember that resistance is a mischievous trickster who gives us all kinds of excuses not to write — one of which being that we need to be ‘inspired’ otherwise why bother showing up. But I have found, more often than not, that showing up itself is the point.

“My biggest worry is that my day job/unreliable schedule/other responsibilities will get in the way of participating.”

This is a near-universal concern, because of course we all have many things going on in our lives in addition to our writing. And so I will not promise you that ~life~ won’t creep in, because of course it might. So instead I will say two things:

1. Speaking solely for myself, I will be honest with you and share that there is often a gap between how important I say my writing is and how I actually schedule my day. Writing has traditionally been the first thing to go when I get busy. And sometimes this is unavoidable; emergencies do happen. But in 2024 I would like to practice drawing a new kind of boundary around my writing, one in which it is as close to non-negotiable as possible. I deserve to write. You deserve to write. So what can we do over the course of our time together to make that happen? Perhaps it means asking for support from our spouses, friends, roommates, co-parents. Perhaps it means blocking off our work calendars so that we are unavailable to others. Perhaps it just means permissioning ourselves to put our desires first instead of last, all the while accepting that that can feel uncomfortable as hell.

2. I will be recording each writing session for you. So if one week you cannot join us live, all you need to do is hit “play” on the recording and you’ll be able to write with us on your own time.

“I am afraid that I'm a crap writer, and that nobody wants to read what I write.”

We are all crap writers. We are all good writers, too. And mediocre writers. And great writers.

By which I mean that no writer’s work is good all the time, and no writer’s work is shitty all the time.

Also, who gets to decide what “good” writing even is? One of my favorite self-soothing tools when I am doubting my own writing is to go on Amazon and read the 1-star reviews of books that changed my life. Books I love. Knowing the impact these books had on me while reading just how much other people haaaated these same books is a great reminder that art is subjective and that our job is just to put the words on the page.

I also like to remind myself that editing is a thing, and that our writing gets better the more we do it. Improvement as a writer is a matter of volume, just like anything else. First I write, then I improve.

“It has been so long since I’ve written and I am afraid of feeling rusty and not being able to keep up with everyone.”

There is no such thing as ‘keeping up’ in this group, because we will all be working at our own pace. Sure we’ll be showing up together in the same Zoom room, but that’s it. If you come to the 90 minute session and spend a third of it writing and the rest of the time laying on the floor, that’s great. You are welcome with us regardless of how rusty your writing feels!

“I don’t want to share what I’m working on — I just want a container to write with some lovely fellow writers.”

Then you’re in the right place! Sharing our work is not part of the main group container, nor is any kind of feedback from me about your writing. (If, however, you’d like to use our group’s contact spreadsheet to self-organize for this kind of additional supportive, go for it!)

“I am afraid that this group will just be one more thing I join and then give up on. I’m afraid of letting myself down.”

Admitting that you care about your writing can feel so vulnerable. Deciding to listen to that little voice inside of you that wants you to invest in your writing practice (while you are simultaneously hearing another voice that tells you you can’t do this, you won’t stick with it, you’ll only wind up disappointed) is even more vulnerable.

To which I say: it is okay to want something.

It is okay to try again, even if you feel that you have let yourself down in the past.

And yet: it is also okay to pause. To take whatever time you need to be honest with yourself about your existing commitments and energetic capacity, to truly evaluate if this group is the right fit for you right now. It won’t be the last time I offer it, so please don’t feel any kind of unnecessary urgency or FOMO.

If you want to write with me, if you want to be part of this group, I reckon you’ll feel that inside of yourself — even if you’re also scared. Being scared is totally normal! We can want something and be afraid of it at the same time. Both/and, forever and ever amen.