Just Checking In ...

Three times a week the morning begins with a text message, “Time to write!” It comes from a faithful member of my writers’ group. And depending on the moods the rest of us have begun the morning with, we reply with an emoji — thumbs up, a sunrise, pen and paper or, if it’s not a great morning, a scowling face.

 For the next ninety minutes we write. We don’t stay tuned in with each other during our writing time, we just go for it and take comfort in knowing none of us are creating in a vacuum. Writing is lonely enough, but the prolonged isolation of this pandemic lockdown has caused anxiety for some of us and made concentration on writing projects difficult.

At the end of the ninety minute writing session we log into Zoom for a ten-minute meeting. We began our sessions as an accountability tool. But our chats have become much more. This is where we talk about problems we have encountered and acknowledge writing victories. It’s not a short critique session.

We still have our hourlong critique sessions, on Zoom for the time being, where we give each other's manuscripts a close reading. Our check-ins are where we let off steam and ask for help when we need it. We have all read at least part of the projects we talk about in our few minutes together so we can offer advice on the issues raised.

 We offer each other encouragement. We often pass along tips from workshops we have taken. We share resources. We even commiserate. It’s nice to have some company — with familiar faces — on a regular basis in this process.

We started with two check-ins each week, but found them so helpful we have expanded to three times. Even when one or more of us don’t write, we know we’re still welcome to join the conversation. We’ve been a tight-knit group for several years, meeting in person at Lincoln Center on New York City’s Upper West Side, until we couldn’t. I’m pleased that our new little discipline has brought us even closer during our time apart.

 Our next challenge might be finding a way to keep our check-ins going when we return to some semblance of our pre-pandemic life and go back to offices and classrooms. I hope we can do that.