Description
What’s an Accountability Group and Why Join?
The name says it all! An accountability group exists for writers to support other writers to generate words and meet goals and deadlines. This group is hosted by Brooke Warner (publisher, memoir teacher, author – see full bio) because Brooke, too, is writing her own memoir—and she will be writing alongside you in every session. Brooke has a long history of making public her writing process. She’s written six books, but this is her first memoir—so this group will be about coming together to honor our commitment to ourselves and to each other to put words on the page. One of the original mottoes of She Writes is “writers don’t let writers write alone.” As a fellow memoirist wanting to generate content, Brooke invites you to *not* write alone. Brooke and any writer who registers to join will show up on Zoom to write two days a week, Thursdays and Sundays (see schedule below). Your registration will take you through February (regardless of when you register) and you show up as often or as infrequently as you want or need to, though the more often the better. After six months we, as a group, will evaluate how it’s going and whether to continue.
What Do You Get By Joining This Group?
This group is born from a desire to carve out time to write, and to make a space among other memoirists for accountability. At the start of every session, Brooke will choose a topic, or take a suggested topic from the group, and do a 5-minute teaching on that topic. These will be craft topics, or other topics specific to memoir writing and memoir process. As part of this group, you will also have access to: (1) a Private Facebook Group to connect to other writers in the group, (2) Brooke’s recorded video archives of the 5-minute craft/process lessons, and (3) a built-in community of other memoirists with whom to make connections for the purposes of swapping writing, beta reading, and more.
How Will the Sessions Go?
Sessions will start on time. At the top of the hour, Brooke will address and teach on a single, specific topic pertaining to memoir craft or process (ie, reflection, characterization, showing, narrative arc, inciting incident, do you have to worry about getting sued?, tense questions, structure considerations, and much much more). This opening lesson will get us into the Memoir Mindset, and then we will write (and only write) until the end of the 2-hour mark. Cameras can be off or on. Brooke will also be writing, so these writing sessions will not be moderated, and questions in the chat will not be answered during the writing sessions. All chat threads will be saved, however, and as things come up, we can save them for the final Sunday of each month where instead of writing, we will hold a process and sharing session. During this time, there will be no writing, only sharing. Writers will be invited to share struggles, breakthroughs, and insights, to explore structural questions, or even to share and discuss other memoirs we’re reading. Please note, you come to the sessions you’re able to and want to attend. There will be no roll-taking. You’re embraced if and when you show up, and never shamed if you can’t or don’t make it. This space is for us, and we’ll make use of it as the time serves us!
When Do You Get Access?
Access to the Zoom link and to the Facebook group is provided upon registration. Since this group is set up to be accessible, cost-wise, we’re operating on a honor system in which you’re trusted not to share links.
What’s the Cost?
This accountability group is set up to be very low cost: $99. Since Brooke is writing, too, this is about holding the space and supporting one another with our goals. The cost represents a commitment to show up when you can. Regardless of when you join us, the cost is still $99. So writers who join in September pay $99, as do writers who join in February.
Why Does Show Up & Write Exist?
As a writing coach and publisher, Brooke knows intimately how valuable accountability is. She knows firsthand that it’s oftentimes THE thing that pushes writers over the finish line. We all need support to make space in our busy lives to show up for the things we really want to do, and memoir writing comes with all kinds of resistance and fears and doubts. This is all normal! Brooke has been coaching and teaching memoir for fifteen years, and students constantly query about groups, accountability partners, share circles, and more. This is the first longer-term group Brooke has ever offered, in no small part inspired by her own desire to write in community. If you want to write and throw down words, this structure guarantees you will. When you show up and write in community, words will appear on the page—because that’s all you’re showing up to do. Whatever magic happens inside and outside the group is just the gravy. So give it a try! Make a commitment to this group—and to yourself.
Schedule
SEPTEMBER:
Write: Thursday, Sept 7 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Write: Sunday, Sept 10 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Sept 14 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Write: Sunday, Sept 17 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Sept 21 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Share: Sunday, Sept 24 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Sept 28 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
OCTOBER:
Write: Sunday, Oct 1 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Oct 5 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Write: Sunday, Oct 8 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Oct 12 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Write: Sunday, Oct 15 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Oct 19 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Write: Sunday, Oct 22 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Oct 26 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Share: Sunday, Oct 29 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
NOVEMBER:
Write: Thursday, Nov 2 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Write: Sunday, Nov 5 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Nov 9 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Write: Sunday, Nov 12 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Nov 16 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Write: Sunday, Nov 19 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Thursday, Nov 23 – NO SESSION – THANKSGIVING
Share: Sunday, Nov 26 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Nov 30 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
DECEMBER:
Write: Sunday, Dec 3 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Dec 7 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Write: Sunday, Dec 10 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Dec 14 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Write: Sunday, Dec 17 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Dec 21 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Sunday, Dec 24 – NO SESSION – CHRISTMAS EVE
Write: Thursday, Dec 28 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Share: Sunday, Dec 31 – 10am-noon PT | 3-5pm ET (share will revolve around end of year and new commitments for 2024)
JANUARY:
Write: Thursday, Jan 4 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Write: Sunday, Jan 7 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Jan 11 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Write: Sunday, Jan 14 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Jan 18 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Write: Sunday, Jan 21 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Jan 25 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Share: Sunday, Jan 28 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
FEBRUARY:
Write: Thursday, Feb 1 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Write: Sunday, Feb 4 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Feb 8 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Write: Sunday, Feb 11 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Feb 15 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Write: Sunday, Feb 18 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
Write: Thursday, Feb 22 – 11am-1pm PT | 2pm-4pm ET
Share: Sunday, Feb 25 – 4pm-6pm PT | 7-9pm ET
—We will evaluate as a group whether or not to continue/renew at the end of February—
Questions for Brooke?
She welcomes you being in touch at brooke@warnercoaching.com.
