Kickstart your creative practice with me!
Introducing NO COUNTRY FOR OLD WOMEN writing hours ✍️
Quick reminder: Jenn Romolini and I are burning up the podcast airwaves with our Gen X lady dirtbag podcast NO COUNTRY FOR OLD WOMEN. If you want to drop in on our weekly yap sessions that just might remind you of the best meandering, goofy, deep, frustrated, sad, grateful, and down-to-clown conversations you’ve had with your own best pals, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! You can also find us on Instagram.
We all know that spending time immersed in creativity, whether that’s doing something creative or taking in something creative, is crucial for feeling rooted in both our own humanity and the world of possibility.
At a time when just about everything about being alive feels increasingly extractive, spending time engaging with art, expression, and thought is one of the few things we can actually control.
And yet.
This also means it’s one of the easiest and usually first things to drop. When just surviving feels harder and harder, and we grow ever more time-poor and attention-fractured, creativity is easy to put in the bucket of “I’ll do that later, when things calm down, when the dust settles, when there’s time.” et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
I know this from my own experience and perhaps you do too. After publishing two books within three years I thought I’d forever be on a roll of unstoppable momentum. Yet six years after turning in my last manuscript, I still don’t have anything I can credibly refer to as a “current writing project.”
I have digital piles of thin manuscripts, docs full of snippets and titles, half-baked short stories, novel concepts without bones. I had momentum on my side until I didn’t. I was motivated, ass-in-chair, for years. Then it all came to a screeching halt.
Big life changes and major transitions meant that I entered a cycle of “when things settle down, I’ll finally start writing again.” Sound familiar? I always thought that “settle down” milestone was just a few weeks away, ok maybe a couple months, welllll maybe next year.
I’m finally accepting that behind every mountain I climb, there will always be another mountain. So best to just get on the trail and get moving already.*
This all brings me to the NO COUNTRY FOR OLD WOMEN writing/creative group. Jenn Romolini and I have been talking about doing some sort of writing something together (classes? retreat? anything???) for a couple years now. Apparently we had to launch a podcast to make it happen. Hey, whatever works. And although we’re focused on writing, we think there’s value in scheduled time and community around any creative practice. Curious?
WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?
On the NCFOW Patreon, we’ve launched our CREATIVE PRO membership. CREATIVE PRO is for:
• Creative people of any stripe looking to establish or re-establish a consistent writing/art practice.
• Those craving that push for accountability and guaranteed scheduled time set aside each week to work with a group in silence (and solidarity).
• Writers looking to chat out writing issues in a private Discord group that’s far away from the prying eyes of, well, everyone.
• Writers interested in real-talk discussions about the business of writing, what’s happening now, and the craft of pulling together big and small projects directly from pros in the field.
WHAT WILL I GET?
• Hosted weekly group writing hours. There will be a minimum of 4 hours per month, with the likelihood of it being twice that. (We have to stay flexible due to life and our actual jobs!)
• Not a writer? That’s ok! We’re intentionally defining our writing hours as creative hours, too. Use that scheduled time to paint, work on music, cartoon, write thank you notes, read a book, sing, whatever! As long as your mic is off and you’re clothed while we’re on Zoom, have at it. This time is for you.
• Live Q&As focused on writing and creative/work life.
• Quarterly interviews with creative pros (editors, agents, authors, and more)
• Access to a community of other creatives, no matter where you are.
• Private writers/creators Discord channel where we can bitch, ask for help, and talk out the kind of minutiae that makes your less tormented and more rationally-minded friends, family, and partners want to run screaming.
• First dibs on classes we plan to offer in the future, including writing book proposals, writing humor pieces, and more.
• First dibs access to future writing retreats (a dream we are taking very seriously!)
HOW MUCH IS THIS? WHERE IS THIS?
• $25/month on Patreon — this is where you become a member.
• Writing hours, live Q&As, and workshops will be on Zoom — this is where we will meet with our faces at scheduled times.
• Community chat is on Discord — this is where we (and you!) can chat any time, virtually.
IT’S ALREADY HAPPENING!
We had our first writing/creative hours this past Tuesday morning and it was a genuine delight. I don’t think I can properly express how good it felt to get started again, even if what I was working on (this post) isn’t how I plan to spend most of my future writing hours.
You just can’t argue with the fact that before our first group writing hours? 0% of this post was written. And after? 75% of it was done. Look, I’m no mathematician but that seems good.
Just pop over to our Patreon to join in the (productive, supportive) fun. We’re pretty excited about this!
*Why I used this as a metaphor is beyond me. I hate hiking and mountains.
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