I’ve finished eight romance novel manuscripts (ranging from 68k-115k words per book) since 2022, and there are two primary things I can attribute that success to:

  1. My pathological need for challenges with daily data and badges to earn (see: the now-defunct November National Novel Writing Month challenge)
  2. Building routines and accountability with regular writing community co-working sessions

We’ll get to my obsessive need to see my progress in spreadsheet/Girl Scout badge format another time, but for now, let’s talk building a co-working writing community.

Now, of course, this concept is nothing new- we wrote about it last week! If you’ve ever met a friend at a cafe with your laptop or notebook to work separately together, you’ve built a micro-writing community. But the older I get, and the more community I build outside of my immediate geographical area, the harder it’s become to gather people for the purposes of productivity.

Would you believe my friends prioritize “just having a nice conversation” or “doing something non-monetizeable” when they make plans with me?!

But it’s rare I came out of a “nice conversation” with a fellow writer friend of mine without both bemoaning our lack of progress on a passion project, or a lackluster showing for a New Years Resolution about writing more regularly, or just generally making time for being creative amidst life, family, work, etc.

These days, not a week goes by that I don’t get at least an hour or two of writing done, and usually closer to five, and that’s with a bustling freelance schedule, a full plate of family obligations, a digital marketing class I’m taking in the evening, and a very needy dog (scroll to the bottom for a picture- she’s worth it!). Soon I’ll guarantee an extra hour per week… and perhaps you will too?

How?!

Creative co-working with a writing community, friend! Here’s the 2 vital aspects, to my mind:

  1. A reliable friend: there are many creative people in my life who I love dearly and who I would not invite to a creative co-working community, because we do not have the same work style, or because they can’t commit to a schedule, or because they can’t be in a cafe or a Zoom without gabbing the whole time.
  2. A regular, repeatable schedule: showing up at the same time on the same day every week, ideally, but at the very least, at the end of each session, schedule the next one.

That’s it! Now, because I’m me, I like to make things more structured, but as a starting point, this is just about accountability, and having a buddy to force you to show up.

Need a buddy? Here we are! We host community writing hour every other Thursday at 4pm PST/ 7pm EST over on YouTube. Won’t you join us?

How we run a writing community co-working session

  • 10 minutes: catching up, checking in, general chatting, info-dumping on my latest romance novel fixation
  • 5 minutes: focusing in on what our writing challenges have been recently and what we want to work on for this session
  • 20 minutes: focused silent writing time
  • 5 minutes: break! Chat about how it went, ask for advice, share a favorite line, grab a snack, go to the bathroom, etc
  • 20 minutes: focused silent writing time
  • 5 minutes: break!
  • 20 minutes: focused silent writing time
  • 5-10 minutes: check in on how it went, make plans for next session

The simplest version I do with some friends, though, is merely:

  • 10-15 minutes: catching up, checking in, general chatting
  • 5 minutes: focusing in on what our writing challenges have been recently and what we want to work on for this session
  • ~1 hour: focused writing time (or however long we set aside)
  • 5-10 minutes: check in on how it went, make plans for next session

I prefer the mini sprints to one long session, for my neurospicy brain as well as because I’ve noticed I get more productive the less time I have to be productive within. It’s the same reason I can write 60k words in a month when I’m being externally challenged to do so, but without that framework I struggle to write 5k in the same amount of time.

The other benefit is that mini-sprints allow for me to shift my focus to different elements of my process rather than banging my head against a single wall the whole time. More on that next week, though.

Ultimately, it’s entirely up to you what your brain and working style comes up with- as long as it’s repeatable, sustainable, and working, good on ya!

Also, taking regular breaks while working/studying is apparently “good for you” or whatever.

The benefits of creative co-working

  1. Building routine. I’ll be honest: last year, there were several sessions I did with my Monday friend (my friend I write with on Mondays) where writing… did not get done. However, unless we had to cancel due to scheduling conflicts, we showed up week after week regardless. This meant our standing meeting didn’t slip away, we didn’t get into the habit of making other plans, and we trained our brains to show up and sit in place once a week with the intention, even if we didn’t always succeed in execution, of writing.
  2. Priming yourself for creativity. When I know, because of my routine, that I’m writing with someone that day, you know what I’m doing up until I show up? Thinking about writing! About what I specifically plan to write that day, about a challenge I’m having with my latest project, about the world I’m going to spend time in. That anticipation is a vital part of the writing process, and it’s part of the process we don’t get if we don’t have an expectation of being creatively productive that day
  3. Building community. Not only is it easier to be accountable when someone else is watching, but writing novels can often be a solitary pursuit in ways that don’t always serve us creatively. Surrounding yourself with other writers is incredibly important for solidarity, for feedback, hell, for sanity! Not to mention, now you have someone to practice your pitch to, or ask for brainstorming support when you need it, or to brag about inventing the concept of “MSG cum” for your new fated mates alien sci-fi romance (don’t ask) (unless you REALLY want to know)

Sold? Maybe you’d like to join us for Writing Community Hour over on The Rogue MFA YouTube channel every other Thursday evening at 4pm PST/ 7pm EST. The full calendar of dates is on our Community page.  Subscribe to get notified, and if you’re even a little bit interested, please fill out our quick survey so we can expand these in the future with you in mind.