Have you ever had big writing goals for your week only to realize it’s Friday and haven’t started yet?
Maybe every day it feels like you don’t have enough time to write.
Or find yourself perpetually sidetracked from your writing project by that next article you must read?
That’s where show up & write can help. It sounds simple, and it is. Showing up regularly to write, especially in a space with fellow writers, can transform your writing experience and infuse you with accountability and focus to achieve your goals.
Here’s what a few graduate students have to say about why they show up & write:
“Show Up & Write helps supports my writing as a deliberate practice. The hardest part is just showing up, but I find that when I do I always get something done and a little pressure is relieved from my workload.”
– Lauren Vilen, Graduate Student, School of Education
“Writing my goals, even if in a session by myself, makes my goal more salient and improves my focus.Over time, I’ve become better at realistic goal-setting. Perhaps for the same reason I add items to my to-do list after I’ve already completed them… but,I find being able to write, ”I accomplished my goal” at the end of a session so satisfying!”
– Laura van der Pol, Graduate Student, Soil & Crop Sciences Dept
“I have been participating and proctoring for Show Up & Write for about a year now. This supportive community has helped instill healthy writing habits as I work towards my graduate degree. The accountability, cheerleading, and positive atmosphere have been invaluable!”
– Annie Halseth, Graduate Student, English Department
How can you bring these gifts into your writing life as well?
show up & write
- Join this Teams session anytime; there are proctors to greet you between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. M – F.
- Write your goals for the session into the chat
- Update fellow writings on how your writing session went before you leave
It can be that simple. Try putting a block of time on your calendar every week when you want to show up and write. Better yet sign up to the show up and write proctor where you know others are counting on you to hold a space for them to show up and write as well.
We all struggle at times with distractions, anxiety, perfectionism, procrastination, fatigue, and more. The writing process is fraught with challenges. You can give yourself a small advantage by committing to show up and write regularly.
CSU Writes is also exploring having in person show up and write sessions again, which have mostly disappeared since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. When you show up & write you show up for yourself. When you proctor, you show up for someone else, too. CSU Writes hopes to offer in person show up & write sessions and we’re looking for proctors to hold that space in the Morgan Library. If that interests you, or if you would like to proctor an in-person or virtual show up and write session, please complete this Google form.
Join show up & write on Teams: https://csuwrites.colostate.edu/show-up-and-write/
Sign up to proctor: https://forms.gle/mjMK8NQch85mpXdn8