Photo credit: Deror avi, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
by Debbie Burke
Accountability.
Without an editor’s deadline hanging over us, our imaginations can come up with a thousand other things to do…except write.
Enlisting support from other writers works wonders. For years, critique groups kept me accountable and producing words because I had to turn in pages every week or month…
…or kick myself if I didn’t.
Another way to be accountable is by group writing. Several people designate an evening a month where they gather in a classroom or coffeeshop and write together for an hour or two. Because I’m used to writing alone without distractions like coughs and chairs scraping the floor, that practice always sounded a little difficult.
But my mantra is if it works, do it! Although I haven’t tried group writing, I’m always open to new tricks to be more productive.
Dr. Sarah Rugheimer – photo credit: Ben Gebo
Several months ago, my good friend Sarah Rugheimer (whom I’ve talked about on TKZ) proposed we do a weekly zoom meeting to write together. She’s in Toronto and I’m in Montana so we don’t get to see each other often. Zooming is the next best thing.
The format she proposed was to meet for an hour. For the first five to 10 minutes, we catch up, discuss what we’re working on, and state a goal for that session. Then we turn off the audio but leave the video on. She sets a timer for 50 minutes and we write. The last five minutes we report what we accomplished then say goodbye until next week.
Having a regular appointment means you have to show up. If you don’t, you let the other person down. We don’t want to disappoint our friends or colleagues. That’s accountability.
I mentioned we turn off audio but leave the video on. The first meeting, it felt kind of odd. It wasn’t meant to be a security camera watching to make sure we were writing. But it changed my normal concentration. When Sarah moved her laptop to a different spot or got up to make a cup of tea, I was aware of what she did.
Then I noticed her frowns and expressions of puzzlement. That was interesting because I suspect I make similar faces when I’m struggling to find the right word or frustrated if a sentence isn’t working.
I empathized because I was going through the same thing. In a weird way, 2000 miles apart, we were sharing our solitary experience.
I’m glad to report Sarah’s system works. We’ve been zooming weekly for few months. There’s a sense of satisfaction in telling a fellow writer when you accomplish a set goal. Family and non-writing friends smile and nod politely but only another writer truly gets it.
“Hey, I edited Chapter 14.”
“Great!” she says. “I finished the grant application that’s due tomorrow.”
“Cool! That’s a load off your mind.”
At our last session, I told Sarah I planned to write a post for TKZ about our zoom meetings. She grinned then told me about how she’d used zoom accountability with another friend, Dr. Sarah Ballard. Both were working on a self-care podcast. Sarah B. talked about using the zoom sessions for “SBT,” which Sarah R. initially thought referred to “Sarah Ballard Time.”
Turns out SBT means “Shame Based Tasks.”
You know, those projects you dread, the ones that cause you the greatest anxiety, and make you feel guilty for not doing them. The ones you worry over at 2 a.m. when you can’t sleep.
Because SBTs make us uncomfortable, we tend to put them off…and off…and off…
But zoom accountability sessions are the perfect time to complete SBTs.
At the beginning of the meeting, you state the goal out loud to your partner: “Today I’m going to email that agent who’s had my manuscript for nine months.”
Now you’re committed.
Your friend encourages you and may offer ways to tackle the problem you hadn’t thought of.
They reassure you and give you confidence that you actually can do it.
Your self-doubt lessens.
You dig in.
In the next 50 minutes, by golly, you actually do it.
You report to your partner who congratulates you.
You gleefully cross that shame-based task off your list.
Whew!
But what if you don’t have a friend to zoom with?
You can join an online group like the London Writers Salon that sponsors Monday through Friday writers’ hours. They offer hour-long zoom meetings at various times of the day for different time zones around the planet.
Two women started the program during the pandemic when they couldn’t have in-person meetings. The format was so successful that it continued and grew. Currently the program helps more than 800 writers be accountable and productive.
Zoom accountability works in ways I didn’t expect, especially with SBTs.
Plus, it’s always a pleasure to “see” my friend.
Thanks for suggesting this trick, Sarah!
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TKZers: Have you ever tried zoom accountability with another writer? How do you keep yourself accountable and producing words? Please share your tips.
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TKZ goes on our annual two-week break soon. Warm holiday wishes to TKZ friends and see you on the other side.
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Debbie Burke holds villains accountable in Fruit of the Poisonous Tree.
Cover by Brian Hoffman
Please check out the latest thriller at this link.
Yes! I join a Zoom accountability two-hour group every Wednesday. It’s small enough that if anyone is missing, we know (and harass them to no end … jk, we check to make sure the missing person is okay and hasn’t forgotten). It’s super effective; I can’t concentrate for two hours straight on my own.
Glad your Wednesday group works for you, Priscilla.
“…harass them to no end” made me chuckle. When our in-person group the Authors of the Flathead was first meeting, if someone missed a week, we elected them president! Wow, did we have good attendance for years with that trick.
I have not done it but I note that it is becoming more popular. If I’m not mistaken, Sisters in Crime does something similar as well.
I don’t have it on my radar to try for 2024, but who knows. Maybe 2025. 😎
Brenda, I usually prefer to be a lone wolf while I’m writing–no one around, no distractions. But zoom sessions were surprisingly effective. It’s worth a test drive.
I join many Zoom or Google Meet each week to write. The fact that I have to report how many words I wrote or edited keeps me on task. Some write ins are on video where others are Zoom webinars where only the host is on camera. I do 5-25-5-25-5 format. These help me find my writing muscles.
Alec, anything that improves “writing muscles” is terrific. The 5-25-5-25-5 time format would break my concentration too much but whatever works for you is the best system.
I’ve done one of SinC’s Write-Ins. I found it … meh. First, there was the wasted time at the beginning when I Could Have Been Writing. Then everything un-Zoomed while we wrote for (I think) 45 minutes. I do that fine on my own, and have my word count spreadsheet to hold me accountable. Also, one of my crit partners and I use Google Chat to check in, and I share my word count throughout the day with her.
Having a set time to write, and having to stick to a schedule like that wouldn’t work for me, I fear. But I’m hitting and exceeding my word count goals, so my solitary method is working for me.
Terry, you’re the role model for self-discipline and productivity with 30+ books. Your system ain’t broke so no reason to mess with it.
After I attended a writer conference last year, a zoomroom was set up for any of us who were interested. A couple groups do the format you described–share goals, turn off video/voice, and end by sharing accomplishments. My dayjob interfers with these groups, so I go on a couple of other times when there are 2-4 of us, who write silently together, sometimes sharing our goals in the chat. Interspersing zoomrooms with solo writing time spurs me to keep on.
Lisa, glad you found a combination system that works for you. The most productive writers don’t look for excuses. Instead they figure out ways to work around real-life obligations like jobs, family, etc.
I probably have a video call 7-10 times a week. Many have collaborative documents included. Snipets of code get sent over chat. It works very well.
There are some downsides. Convincing my boss that it is faster (and cheaper) than having someone fly a few hundered miles for an one hour conversation. Also convincing my boss there is only one copy of the document. Jim just changed paragraph 4. Tina has a suggestion for the top of page 2. They are in the make change/save/send/read/suggest/repeat mindset.
Alan, zoom collaboration wasn’t around when I was in business. Instead, we picked up the phone or emailed.
Hope your boss eventually realizes zoom is cheaper than plane tickets.
Haven’t done it, Debbie, but this clip just might help me try it:
In the next 50 minutes, by golly, you actually do it.
You report to your partner who congratulates you.
You gleefully cross that shame-based task off your list.
Whew!
Thanks for sharing this with us. 🙂
Deb, SBTs were a new concept to me. I’ve crossed several nagging projects off my list using the zoom time.
Debbie,
This sounds like a great idea. Not only does it keep the writer accountable, but it helps build relationships. Solitary, often introverted, authors can use such a tool.
I’m going to put this on the list to try in 2025. Thanks.
Kay, great point about building stronger relationships with kindred spirits. For me, it’s a welcome opportunity to connect with faraway friendswhile still producing words.
I’m a co host for a local Shut Up and Write group. We meet every two weeks, but I have also participated in a number of zoom based writing exercises.
There are also online Shut Up and Write grtoups on meetup that you can find.
Its good to have a time and place to get some work done, and you get to meet interesting people who may be into different genres but its good to get outside your rut.
In particular, most of the collegial writing here is done in Iowa City and surrounds, and I don’t know whether the Emerald City knows of our existence.
But there is a peasant revolution burning in the countryside.
One of my favorites is The Cabin, which does drop in free writing workshops.
https://www.thecabinidaho.org/attend/writing-workshops
Robert, thanks for adding more possibilities to help with accountability. Online groups are esp. helpful for writers in remote locations.
Belatedly posting here, Debbie. It’s been one of *those* days, mostly just very busy. At any rate, my old writer’s group did a version of this during the pandemic but we turned off our cameras during the writing portion. If I were to do this again, I’d leave it on exactly as you and your accountability partner do. Also, I’d be tempted to leave the check in until after the writing part. In our case, our check ins could become quite lengthy, even weekly–tried to keep it to a half hour (there were four of us). That said, it was a Godsend then.
Dale, you’re never late cuz TKZ is always open.
Online meetings were a Godsend during the pandemic. Zoom opened the world to writers whom we never would have met otherwise.
Check-ins can gobble a lot of time esp. when members have news. You’re right that it’s probably better to save that to the end.