Friday Night Writes – October

FRIDAY NIGHT WRITES

Friday night socializing for writers! Come hang out with other writers, get some work done on your current project (or start a new one!), and eat chocolate. What more could you ask for a Friday night?

Members: $5
Non-Members: $10

Free for writers who have an Open Studio Subscription.

Prepay by clicking here or pay at the door.

We’ll be doing parallel play writing sessions—write for 45 mins, chat and triage stories for 15 minutes, each chocolate, rinse and repeat. We’ll have a few word games and writing prompts on hand for inspiration.

After 2 or 3 writing sessions, you’ll have some serious writing done, you’ll have socialized, and you may just have made a new friend. Friday night done! (Or, you’ll be done early enough to catch the late show or head out with friends guilt-free because you got some writing done!)

About Parallel Play:

One of our favorite writers, Eric Witchey, gives us this model for getting a ton of writing done based on his background in linguistics along with studies in neuroscience and productivity.

How it works:

• Write for 45 minutes, focused on your own writing project, whatever you want to do (new words, editing, world-building, etc.).
• No phones, texts, internet, or other interruptions allowed for the writing session.
• Take a 15 minute break to solve plot problem or troubleshoot troublesome characters with your neighbors, have a stretch, and get some chocolate and tea.
• Then we’ll start it all over again.

Why it works:

• Neurosciencey research says early school training gives us about a 50 minute focus time (based on school periods). If we stop just before that time, our brains feel incomplete and want to get back to solving whatever problem we were working on. When we sit down, we’ll get into flow state faster.
• A short break gives the brain new stimuli while the subconscious works on the problem in the background.
• Brain science also says we only have about 45-50 minutes of brain energy. By getting up and stretching or having a short walk, and having a snack and some liquids, we’ll replenish our brain fuel.
• There is no laundry or other work to distract you. Plus other people are being productive around you so you’ll be inspired to be productive, too.