BIC Writing Group

Since starting this writing group at Willamette University, I have never written alone. We meet every week day in the bustling campus coffee shop. I bring a fistful of BIC pens, our official group writing instrument, and settle into a threadbare couch to see if the muse (or anyone else) shows.

Here are a few things I've learned:

1. I don't need absolute quiet in order to be able to concentrate. I've learned to tune out the loud discussions of last night's party as I write.
2. I don't need my ergonomic leopard print desk chair and a perfectly organized desk to be able to think straight. I just need to pick a chair, any chair, and get my butt in it.
3. I don't need BIG IDEAS to begin to write. What I do need is a habit, a cup of coffee, and a few other people who are expecting me to be there.
4. I don't need a well-stocked office, the newest laptop, or a two-week residency in a backwoods cottage (though that would be really nice). Forty-five minutes, five times a week, a composition notebook, and a pen: these are sufficient.
5. These meetings are a chance to connect (with others who care about writing) and to disconnect (from coursework and email).

Here are some texts I use for inspiration:

• The Time is Now, weekly writing prompts from Poets & Writers
• The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice by Kelli Russell Agodon and Martha Silano 
• The Writer's Block: 786 Ideas to Jump-Start Your Imagination by Jason Rekulak
• Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg