- Virtual and In-person 2-hour sessions
- New addition: sprint & write. on Tuesday mornings to support focused drafting
- Check the webpage for virtual Teams access and the times/locations of in-person sessions
Writing is a fundamentally social act. In other words, we always write to another. Even when we journal seemingly only for ourselves, we write to our current or future self, the other part of ourself who needs to reflect on our thoughts, ideas, experiences, and dreams. We need to see what is whirling around in our minds represented on the page to catch our reflection or to provide structure to the whirlwind of thinking.
Writing is also often a solitary act. Particularly in academe, we require the spaciousness of mind that allows us to communicate clearly with future readers of our work. If, however, we are too alone with our thoughts and writing, our focus can turn inward. We can lose sight of our purpose, meander on the page, or become fearful, even anxious, about what we are tasked to write.
How can writing be both social and solitary? There is an obvious a tension between our need to connect with others through our writing and our need for solitary spaciousness to produce our writing.
That’s where write-on-site spaces and events are most helpful.
Writing together in the same place but on our respective projects can help us navigate the tension (social v. solitary) and pressures of research and scholarly writing. Research on retreats and other write-together groups has shown that writing with others can lower task-related anxiety and help writers produce more with greater satisfaction than they would on their own (McLeod, et al. 2012).
To write more efficiently and productively this academic year, we recommend you add show up & write. sessions your calendar, and then simply “show up and write.” You can show up virtual or in-person. You can show up for 15 minutes or for 2 hours or more. Hosted sessions are listed on the CSU Writes website. Most in-person sessions are held on campus in the Walnut Building and are limited to 2-hour time blocks. The virtual sessions are held on MSTeams, and you can drop in whenever suits your schedule, deadlines, and writing energy levels.
Increased focus on goal completion is another benefit of participating in show up & write.. It helps to focus your mind and get settled into your project. When you describe specifically what you are working on to a show up & write. colleague or to yourself in a writing log, you help clarify for yourself, you prime your mind, to focus on the writing task at hand. show up & write. sessions are designed to support writer focus, productivity, and wellness.
show up & write. hosts do not provide feedback on your writing. If you are seeking feedback or a consultation, join a CSU Writes writing group or request a consultation. If English is not your first language, attend INTERNATIONAL Writes where you can talk with a professor of applied linguistics who is trained in providing guidance to English language learners who write for degree completion, publication, or proposal submission.
We are grateful for the fall 2024 host writers who hold a space for writing and are onsite at the times and locations below to write alongside you virtually or in-person:
- Clara Mosso – Mondays/Wednesdays 8-10am & Fridays 2-4pm Walnut 119
- Kimi Conro – Mondays 9-11am, Thursdays 12-2pm, Fridays 12-2pm Virtual on Teams
- Melissa Pickett – Mondays/Wednesdays 12-2pm, Virtual on Teams
- Lauren Vilen – Tuesdays/Thursdays 8-10am, Virtual on Teams
- Kristina Quynn – Tuesdays 9-11am, Walnut 101 & Virtual on Zoom
- Jason Boes – Tuesdays 11am-1pm, Walnut 101
- Kristina Moen – Tuesdays 1-3pm & Thursdays 12-2pm Walnut 101
- Tamanda Chabvuta – Wednesdays Walnut 119
- Luke MacHale – Thursdays 2-4pm Walnut 119
The benefits of writing together are many. show up & write. at a time/location above this semester and see if you too experience greater ease and increased productivity this year.