The Value of Virtual Co-Writes

What I’ve Learned From 285+ virtual co-writes

I have hosted 285 Virtual Co-Writes. Firstly, what is a virtual co-write?

Different groups adopt different structures but they are roughly the same:

1. Log into the virtual meeting

2. Each participant briefly shares their intention for the allotted time

3. Everyone goes on mute and, presumably, gets to work. (Mine run for 90 mins)

4. In the final few minutes, everyone shares how they did.

Simple format. Devastatingly effective. With my teaching load and life maintenance, I would not have been able to finish my novel without these virtual co-writes. That said, you don’t have to be a “creative writer” to use these spaces; we have people who use them to complete dissertations or simply to get through their to-do list.

At first, I thought their effectiveness stemmed from accountability. That is true in a narrow sense. But there is a subtler aspect to them.

The Office of Modern Composition Meetup Group for Virtual Co-Writes

Humans are alone, in our bodies and our consciousness, and yet we are social, in our networks and our shared memories and knowledge. In deep projects, it’s easy to feel lonely, like space shuttles drifting in endless blackness, light-years from each other. Modern modes of work — increasingly fragmented and refusing interchangeability - can deepen this isolation. Sometimes, it’s fun to be on our own, spinning a web that only we understand, but isolation can produce doubt, especially with a long project. Sometimes, doubt prevails, nudging me from my creative work to email, to my calendar — the maintenance of life. Those things are important, of course. But the whole point of allotting time to creative work is to NOT do those things.

The doubt is a consequence of an internal conflict that I will probably never fully shake. I fight the sense that writing is….selfish and pointless. There are countless books in the world. Do people really need another one? And who am I to write it?

But when I look up and on my screen I see five or ten people diligently working on their own projects, I think, “Well, if they value themselves enough to invest in their own endeavors — and I respect them; I don’t think they’re selfish —  then maybe I can keep at it for the next five minutes.”

Inevitably, those five minutes become the whole session.

This solidarity I call ‘round-the-fire energy.’ To me, it calls to mind ice-age nomads huddled around a fire. It’s the sense that we are not alone in this star-filled universe. Though the world out there is large and dark and impossible to know, you can surround yourself with like-minded tribespeople. You can draw on them for warmth and energy. And together, you will survive the ice-age.

That is the value of the single virtual co-write session. You can find, from others, the energy to stay focused when, by yourself, you might have succumbed to distraction.

But what is the value of several hundred co-writes?

“Community” is often talked about but the word can lose meaning through overuse. For me, it had become a buzzword that meant little. The virtual co-writes allowed me to rediscover its fuller meaning.

I have seen my fellow co-write members show up week in, week out, honoring their craft. I’ve seen their highs and lows (acceptances, rejections, book deals, completed dissertations). I have seen them put in the hard yards. Seen them have 4/10 sessions, 6/10 sessions, joyful 9/10 sessions. So, when good things come their way, you know how the sausage was made, and you get to celebrate their victory as though it were your own.

If you are at all inspired to give this modality a go, please don’t hesitate to join the co-writes that I host — Office of Modern Composition’s weekly co-write. It is held at 5-30pm CDT, Mondays and 10am, CDT Thursdays.

If you’re looking for a more frequent fix, Shut Up and Write hosts countless Meetup groups.

I hope you do give this modality a try.

Warmly,

Raghav

A Reminder to Pre-Order My Book:

Apologies if you have already done so. But they do say, it takes 7 reminders to actually prompt a decisive action.

Missy by Raghav Rao - Hera Books UK - Cover Reveal

Here’s the pre-order link again. If you ask me what my preferred retailer is, I’d probably say Waterstones just because it’s such a big retailer and a big pre-order number might make them more likely to stock my book in their stores.

For more info about my book and why it’s currently only available for pre-order in the UK or to share it with other interested parties, please see the previous post on this subject.

Warmly,

Raghav