Bridge and Gather

Thoughts on words, writing, community, and imagination

We have friends everywhere

by | Oct 1, 2025 |

I have friends everywhere.

It’s what Cassian Andor says when he meets someone new: “I have friends everywhere.”

In the TV show Andor, it’s a password used by people working to resist authoritarianism, to identify themselves to each other.

It’s also true. We have friends everywhere. Let’s talk about that.

I live in Seattle.

I have friends who live in Washington DC.

I have friends who live in Los Angeles.

I have friends who live in Alaska and Oregon, California and Colorado, Ohio and New Jersey, Massachusetts and Montana, New York City and New York state, Utah and Arkansas.

I have friends who work for the Department of Homeland Security in DC. I have friends who work for the National Park Service in Rhode Island. I have friends who work for the National Forests and for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and for the Environmental Protection Agency here in Washington state.

I have friends who are poets, artists, dancers, writers. I have friends who are editors and librarians. I have friends who are massage therapists and nutritionists and nannies. I have friends who are schoolteachers; I have friends who staff operating rooms. I have friends who work for restaurants and rideshare companies, for tech companies and nonprofit organizations. I have friends who study the health of the oceans and the health of Americans. I have friends who study history and philosophy and science and science fiction.

I have friends whose great-grandparents were US citizens and friends whose great-grandparents were kidnapped and brought here and brutally prevented from citizenship. I have friends whose great-great-great-grandparents were here before the US was an idea in anyone’s head. I have friends whose ancestors immigrated to this continent, who built the infrastructure of this nation. I have friends who immigrated here themselves to join in the project of building a better nation.

I have friends who are immigrants with visas and without visas, with citizenship and without citizenship. I have friends whose friends and family members live in Africa, in Asia, across the crossroads of the Mediterranean, in Europe and Australia, in North and Central and South America, and on the islands of Iceland and Taiwan and Hawai’i and Hong Kong.

I have friends who are trans. I have friends who are straight and friends who are queer. I have friends of many genders. I have friends who are Jewish, and Muslim, and Christian, and Baha’i, and atheist and agnostic. I have friends who are disabled.

I have friends who are women—in their teens, in their thirties, in their fifties and sixties and eighties. 



I have friends everywhere.

Our friends are everywhere.

Please, let’s remember that.

A call to academic writing practice — September 2025 edition

by | Sep 2, 2025 | , ,

If you’re looking for support and community while making progress on your writing this fall, check out this list of resources. There’s a whole variety of options, designed for and available to academic writers with or without institutional affiliation or support. Free resources are noted; others involve a fee.

Free online co-writing groups

  • At Writing in Good Company, Kyra Freestar hosts gentle, nonjudgmental co-writing time every Monday (9:00–10:00 a.m. Pacific time). Sign up for an 8-week session beginning September 8, a 6-week session beginning November 10, or to be notified of future sessions by filling out this Google Form.
  • Write Together Wednesdays with Kate Vacek is a free weekly online group (9:00–11:00 a.m. Central time) that helps academic writers maintain a regular writing practice in a supportive atmosphere.
  • The Friday Cowriting Sessions with Katherine Fusco are also free, and run for two hours weekly (10am–12pm Eastern time/7–9am Pacific time).
  • KDM Editing’s Free Writing Group/Office Hours meets once a month for two hours of dedicated writing time, during which developmental editor Karen Dewart McEwen is available for one-on-one consultations in a private breakout room. The consultations are a chance for participants to get on-the-spot feedback, ask writing and publishing questions, or just enjoy a friendly chat.

Writing communities that offer co-working time and more

  • The Academic Writing Studio with Jo Van Every is a writing community built around virtual co-working, group coaching, and additional online resources. It is open to faculty, postdocs, and PhD students, with a monthly fee to participate. A sliding scale and a free 30-day trial are available.  
  • Between the Lines with Candace Epps-Robertson is a gentle, supportive 7-week writing group designed for caregivers who are working on writing of any sort. It includes reflections, prompts, quiet writing in community, and optional group discussions.
  • Fall Into Focus, also with Candace Epps-Robertson, is a 21-day program designed to help you take stock of your writing life with calmness and intentionality. The program includes optional coworking times, but it can be taken as a self-paced experience.
  • Building a Writing Practice that Works for You with Ellen Tilton-Cantrell offers weekly coworking and group coaching for academic writers. The video lessons and group coaching sessions focus on things like navigating emotional and conceptual blocks, setting boundaries to protect both writing time and focus, and putting supportive but flexible structures in place.
  • The Community & Accountability Group run by Katherine Carroll is a weekly writing group that provides accountability, community, and writing advice and tips for moments when you hit a roadblock. It is capped at 6 people and meets weekly for an hour. To enroll in the fall cohort, sign up by September 2.
  • Creating in Community with Katherine Wiley is an 8-week scholarly writing group with cohorts capped at 8 people. Sign up for quiet writing sessions, guided writing exercises, conversation about writing challenges, and chat-based support from Katherine (a developmental editor) during writing sessions. Scholarships are available!
  • The Draft by Draft Writing Groups for post-PhD researchers, hosted by Jess Engebretson, meet for 10 weeks and include a mix of reflective conversation about writing challenges and coworking time. Sign up for Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday groups beginning on September 15.
  • The EMERGE Co-Writing Community with Melanie Sindelar includes options from video courses and co-writing to online community spaces, coaching, planning, and other events. There are three levels of monthly membership, with more coaching and events included in the more expensive membership.
  • Momentum Engine, hosted by Hannah de Keijzer, is an online community for nonfiction writers that includes online meetings, co-writing hours, a Discord server, and more for a small monthly fee.
  • The Researchers’ Writing Academy hosted by Anna Clemens is an online writing community with co-writing opportunities and small-group coaching calls along with other resources, especially for scholars writing up empirical research. The annual fee can be paid all at once or in modest monthly installments. (Anna also offers online courses, as mentioned in the section below on training courses.)
  • Thrive PhD, hosted by Katy Peplin, is an online writing community with a structured curriculum, accountability groups, coaching, and more. It’s intended for PhD students; there is a very small monthly fee to participate.
  • The Alumni Writing Group hosted by Allison Van Deventer is a weekly writing support, accountability, and coworking group for writers who have previously taken the Dissertation-to-Book Workshop or the Book Chapter Shortcut; it may open to other writers at a later date.
  • The semester-length Weekly Writing Groups with Candace Epps-Robertson and Beth Godbee give you a choice of Tuesday or Friday meeting times. Each meeting lasts 2.5–3 hours to include time for check-ins and goals along with writing time. There are sliding fee and payment plan options.
  • The small-group Writers’ Circles at Epilogue Editing, run by Kelly Clancy, include goal setting, weekly meetings and separate co-writing sessions, an optional Slack accountability group, and more. This fall, there’s a Writers’ Circle for administrators, one for mid-career scholars, one for early-career scholars, and one for PhD candidates and postdocs.
  • The WriteSPACE with Helen Sword is an international online writing community that includes online resources and a community forum, events and workshops, and live online Writing Studio sessions. There are two levels of monthly membership.
  • The Writing Accountability Group (WAG) hosted by Ellen Kuwana, Georgina To’a Salazar, and Liz Hazwell signs up small-group cohorts for four 90-minute sessions that include co-writing time, guest speaker presentations, opportunities for 1:1 feedback and coaching, and time to build relationships and share knowledge (e.g., about the federal funding landscape). The upcoming cohort meets Tuesdays starting September 9 (9:30–11:00 a.m. Pacific time). There’s a discount for students, postdocs, and freelancers.
  • The No Time to Write Club, hosted by novelist Sara Read and academic editor Tes Slominski, holds approximately 10 synchronous and asynchronous writing sprints every month. Members join through a modest paid Substack subscription and have access to all sprints, an online chat, and other activities. This one is open to academics, fiction writers, and academics who write fiction!

Writing retreats

  • Wendy Baldwin of Linguaverse hosts multi-day structured online writing retreats for academic writers. Note that they are scheduled on Madrid time. There is a modest fee to register for each retreat.
  • In the United States, Michelle Boyd, founder of InkWell Academic Writing Retreats, hosts in-person Composed Writing Retreats twice a year (fee information on website) as well as an online program that is available only to writers who have previously attended one of her retreats. However! Michelle also offers a free online half-day Power of Pause retreat twice a year — so check it out.

Scholarly writing courses and workshops

  • Allison Van Deventer also runs the Dissertation-to-Book Workshop, a supportive, Zoom-based 6-week workshop that will show you, via a series of practical, manageable tasks, how to build an argument that emerges from your evidence and develops in each chapter. Use the code EARLYBIRD for a 15% discount through September 12.
  • Leanne C. Powner runs the Book Incubator, a course that emphasizes argument, evidence, and structure. It involves peer and coach workshopping, optional coworking, and regular small homework to keep you moving forward. You’ll leave with a book plan!
  • Leanne C. Powner is also running Advanced Academic Writing, a 6-week workshop that will teach you what you never learned about academic writing. Themes: Text, Paratext, Metatext, Structure, Genre, and Audience. Join the wait list at the link above; the course will meet Nov/Dec 2025, time TBD by wait-list members.
  • Ana Pineda of I Focus and Write offers a free online training on how to write scientific papers.
  • Aure Schrock at Indelible Voice offers a mini-course called Master the Revise and Resubmit along with a membership (with a free option!) to a library of writing resources.
  • Crystal Herron is the creator and host of Scientific Writing Simplified, a self-paced online course in academic writing that includes access to an online writing community.
  • Anna Clemens hosts the Researchers’ Writing Academy, which includes a (fee-based) training course on how to write journal articles as well as a (free) online webinar on writing journal articles efficiently. (The Researchers’ Writing Academy also offers an online writing/co-writing community, as outlined earlier in this post.) Note that the training courses focus on empirical research articles and is not appropriate for scholars in the humanities. The annual fee can be paid all at once or in modest monthly installments.
  • Jane Jones hosts Book Brilliance, a 6-month program that includes a structured curriculum for writing an academic book paired with coaching, critiquing, and editing support, along with an online community. This program is designed for women and non-binary scholars; it is one of the most comprehensive options on this list, with corresponding cost.

Do-it-yourself resources

Ready to find your own writing partners, or create your own writing group on your own schedule?

Note that most of the people mentioned in this list offer writing coaching, workshops, academic editing, and/or other writing-related services and support, in addition to hosting the writing groups and trainings listed here. Do look them up, and follow them on LinkedIn or sign up for their newsletters for more information.

And if you host an academic writing group or retreat, teach a course or workshop, or have attended one that is not yet included on this list, please let us know!

* * * * *

This list was compiled and edited by Allison Van Deventer and myself — based on an earlier list I posted in December 2024 — and is as up to date as possible as of September 1, 2025. Allison and I will be delighted to add any resources we have missed: please comment here or email one of us with any news or recommendations.

You can find this same list online any time at AllisonVanDeventer.com/Resources.

Writing in Good Company: From Seattle to Bangkok and beyond

by | Apr 24, 2025 | ,

I first began hosting Writing in Good Company — as a free, online, academic writing accountability group — in January 2024. Now I run it from my home in Seattle throughout the year, with one-week breaks between each eight-week session.

Here’s what participants are saying:

“Having a set appointment in my calendar for writing was useful, to help me protect that time.”

 

“It is a great way to start the week in community, getting something done.”

 

“I always come away feeling reinvigorated.”

In May 2025, Writing in Good Company expands westward across the Pacific Ocean and beyond … with a new session timed for scholars from Honolulu to Tokyo to New Delhi. I am especially excited to co-host this session alongside Ema Naito, The Clarity Editor, who lives and works in Bangkok.

If this is the first time you’re reading about Writing in Good Company, welcome!

What to expect

Our approach to this writing group is very simple. We meet for one hour each week. We ask two questions at the start of each hour. We ask two questions at the end of each hour. In between, we write.

That’s all.

These are the two opening questions:

  • How are you doing today?

Because all writing starts with a human being human.

  • What will you work on today?

Because making a decision helps writers get started.

These are the two closing questions:

  • How did you feel while writing today?

Because reflection helps writers observe and learn what works and what doesn’t work for them.

  • When will you write next?

Because naming an intention helps writers commit.

A note about language:

Ema and I, as hosts, will speak English throughout the meetings. However, fluency in English is never a requirement. You will be welcome to write in whatever language you choose. You will be welcome to interact during the meetings and to answer the opening and closing questions in whatever language you choose. Because the goal is for this writing group to support you and your writing process.

What we ask

  • Show up.
  • Be kind — to yourself and to others.
  • Write.

What we hope

  • You will get your writing done.
  • You will become more aware of your writing process.
  • You will learn from other participants.
  • You will become more confident and more satisfied with your writing.

For more information

This writing group is free to attend.

For scholars in Asia:

For scholars in North America:

For scholars looking for something different:

Happy writing, everyone!

 

* * * * *

Ema Naito is a plurilingual cross-cultural English editor who is passionate about clear communication and plain language.

Kyra Freestar is a monolingual English editor and organizer who is passionate about connecting people to achieve shared goals.

Writing in Good Company is designed for early-career professors, postdocs, graduate students, and others writing academic and research-adjacent work. We welcome and encourage women, people of color, first-generation immigrants, and first-generation postgraduate students to join us. Upcoming sessions start on May 12 (North America/Western Europe) and May 13 (East/Southeast Asia), 2025.

An alphabet of love for social science fiction

by | Feb 14, 2025 |

I edit texts of social science and social science fiction. For those who wonder, What is social science fiction? . . .

Well, here’s my definition: Social science fiction is speculative fiction that takes the social world seriously.

Social science fiction asks “what if?” questions based on social science research. Social science fiction explores what people might do . . . given different circumstances, faced with different choices.

“More sociological than speculative,
it is a fiction that grapples with all
that is mundane and holy in this world,
and breaks the reality to pieces
to create a fresh mosaic.”
—Karen Lord, The Blue, Beautiful World 
(acknowledgments page)

I have read and enjoyed works by the “fathers” of social science fiction — from Dune to Foundation, Asimov to Zelazny. Of course, I’m more interested in the mothers.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Ursula K. Le Guin. Joanna Russ. Marge Piercy. Octavia Butler.

And more recent storytellers: Rivers Solomon and R.S.A. Garcia, Madeline Ashby and Malka Older, Max Gladstone and Arkady Martine.

Below is an alphabet of authors of books I have loved. Books that stunned me with insight and wonder, comforted me when I feel alone, or made me fall in love, again and again.

Many authors of social science fiction are missing from this list. Perhaps I liked but didn’t love their books, perhaps I haven’t read them yet. If there’s an author you love that isn’t on this list yet, I want to know!

I reserve the right to add names as I go.

My ABC

A

Lynn Abbey

Katherine Addison

Ryka Aoki

B

Mishell Baker

Gillian Bradshaw

Patricia Briggs

Lois McMaster Bujold

Octavia Butler

C

Becky Chambers

KJ Charles

CJ Cherryh

Zen Cho

D

Corinne Duyvis

E

Kate Elliott

Zetta Elliott

F

Lynn Flewelling

G

Mary Gentle

Victoria Goddard

Nicola Griffith

H

Barbara Hambly

P.C. Hodgell

H.M. Hoover

Nalo Hopkinson

SL Huang

I

Jordan Ifueko

Justina Ireland

J

N.K. Jemisin

Micaiah Johnson

K

Intisar Khanani

Jessie Kwak

L

Ursula K. Le Guin

Ann Leckie

Yoon-Ha Lee

Karen Lord

M

Laurie J. Marks

Everina Maxwell

Anne McCaffrey

Vonda N. McIntyre

Robin McKinley

Foz Meadows

N

Andre Norton

Naomi Novik

O

Margaret Owen

P

Meredith Ann Pierce

Tamora Pierce

Marge Piercy

Q
R

Rebecca Roanhorse

Eden Robinson

Justina Robson

S

Melissa Scott

Delia Sherman

Joan Slonciewski

Sherwood Smith

T

Judith Tarr

Sherri S. Tepper

U
V

Genevieve Valentine

W

Martha Wells

Megan Whalen Turner

Kate Wilhelm

Connie Willis

X
Y

Jane Yolen

Z

Sarah Zettel

* * * * *

A note: This list is tilted slightly toward books I read and loved in my younger years. Not all of these authors’ works have stood the test of time. At least one of these authors’ books is a book that I still love. 

A call to practice — academic writing groups & more, 2025 edition

by | Dec 6, 2024 | ,

I am an introvert. My work is solitary. My hobbies are solitary. Yet when I struggle, I seek company. I want to hear from people in similar struggle. I want to share my questions. I want to share what I learn. I want to be and breathe in company.

This is one of the inspirations for Writing in Good Company — the online academic writing accountability group I host.

If you are looking for company to motivate and celebrate your academic writing practice in 2025, here are some opportunities:

University-sponsored writing accountability groups

Many universities have created ways to help people find or start a writing accountability group (or WAG). Look to your department or college, to writing centers or faculty development centers, or to disciplinary or postdoctoral centers or societies. 

For example, university-affiliated WAGs get organized at the Iowa State Center for Communication Excellence and the University of Pittsburgh Writing Institute, at the Stanford Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and the University of Arizona Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, and at the Johns Hopkins Office of Faculty Development and the University of Illinois Chicago Center for Clinical and Translational Science.

If you don’t find the right group for you within your institution, you can start your own WAG or join a group hosted online, independent of specific universities.

DIY writing accountability groups

You already have all the skills you need to create your own writing group on your own schedule. You can also read more about how WAGs were designed to work, and find both written and video resources, at WagYourWork.com. 

If you are already doing more than enough organizing in your life, you can also join a group that someone else hosts and organizes. Read on for more options.

Hosted online writing accountability groups

  • Writing in Good Company will continue in 2025, with the first 8-week session beginning in early January. I started this group to create a space for folks who haven’t yet found the right space for their writing life. I approach accountability through acceptance and respect, because I believe we accomplish more the more we respect and care for ourselves. To join us in January — or to be notified of future sessions — please fill out this Google Form. (I also announce upcoming sessions on LinkedIn and Bluesky.) It is absolutely free to attend; tips are welcome too.
  • Academic writing coach Leanne C. Powner hosts a weekly online co-writing group on Wednesdays. There is a no-cost option, or you can contribute a small amount when you register to attend. Leanne also offers workshops and small-group coaching for academic writers.
  • Jennifer Polk of From PhD to Life also hosts free weekly 90-minute co-working sessions on Zoom. Register on the website or follow Jennifer on LinkedIn to get information about 2025 dates.
  • Academic developmental editor Katherine Wiley hosts 8-week Creating in Community scholarly writing groups that meet for 2 hours each and include discussion and activities. There is a modest fee to register. Katherine also offers writing coaching and developmental editing services.
  • Academic writers, teachers, and coaches Candace Epps-Robertson and Beth Godbee host semester-long Weekly Writing Groups with a choice of Wednesday or Friday meetings. Each meeting lasts 2.5–3 hours to include time for check-ins and goals along with writing time. There is a modest fee to register, with sliding fee and payment plan options. When you sign up for this group, you get a one-day writing retreat each semester, too!
  • Novelist Sara Read and academic editor Tes Slominski together host the No Time to Write Club on Substack, with approximately 10 synchronous and asynchronous writing sprints every month. Members join through a modest paid Substack subscription and have access to all sprints, an online chat, and other activities. Open to academics and fiction writers (and academics who write fiction!).
  • Starting in 2025, editors and writing coaches Beth Wright and Eliot West host a weekly online writers support and accountability group that is focused on discussion of writing process and practice (no co-writing time). This group is open to writers of all genres; there is a modest fee to attend.

Scholarly writing courses, communities, and retreats

  • Your Year of Focus and Writing: The Bootcamp is a free three-day online training to be held January 13–16, 2025. Presented by Ana Pineda of I Focus and Write, the three 1-hour classes and three 2-hour co-writing sessions focus on writing strategies for scientists, goal-setting, and planning for a productive writing year.
  • Directed Draft is a guided writing group for scholars in the social sciences and humanities hosted by academic developmental editors and writing coaches Micha Rahder and Karen Dewart McEwan. It includes multiple weekly co-writing sessions, opportunities for ad hoc private consultations with the hosts during those sessions, and structured individual coaching. There is a fee to attend: slightly higher with the individual coaching, slightly lower without. A new session begins January 27, 2025.
  • Academic writer, editor, and consultant Kelly Clancy hosts 8-week online Writers’ Circles  that include goal setting, weekly meetings and separate co-writing sessions, an optional Slack accountability group, and more. A new small-group session begins in January 2025, and there is a fee to attend. Kelly also offers workshops on writing and revision and in-person academic writing retreats.
  • Academic developmental editor Ellen Tilton-Cantrell will offer a 9-week online workshop and writing accountability group called Building a Writing Practice that Works for You, in the fall of 2025. She also hosts online workshops on writing scholarly books specifically. Fees are posted on the website, and there are discounts for early registration.
  • Academic writing coach Katy Peplin hosts the online writing community Thrive PhD, which includes a structured curriculum, accountability groups, coaching and more. It’s intended for PhD students; there is a very small monthly fee to participate.
  • Academic publishing consultant Lisa D. Munro’s 14-week Scholarship Success Collective combines co-writing, community, and instruction focused specifically on writing academic journal articles. There is a fee to attend.
  • Academic career guide Jo VanEvery hosts the Academic Writing Studio: an academic writing community built around virtual co-working, group coaching, and additional online resources. It is open to faculty, postdocs, and PhD students alike. There is a monthly fee to participate, with two membership tiers plus options for a sliding scale.
  • The Researchers’ Writing Academy hosted by academic writing coach Anna Clemens includes a training course on how to write journal articles, an online writing community, co-writing opportunies, and small-group coaching calls. This course focuses on empirical research articles and is not appropriate for scholars in the humanities. The annual fee can be paid all at once or in modest monthly installments. (Anna also offers a free online webinar on writing journal articles efficiently.)
  • Wendy Baldwin, academic editor at Linguaverse, hosts multi-day structured online writing retreats for academic writers that look quite interesting. Note that they are scheduled on Madrid time. There is a modest fee to register for each retreat.
  • Also in Europe, Structured Writing Retreats — both online and in person versions — hosted by the Writing for Research and Academic Practice (WRAP) network.
  • In the United States, Michelle Boyd, founder of InkWell Academic Writing Retreats, hosts in-person Composed Writing Retreats twice a year (fee information on website) as well as an online program which is available only to writers who have already attended one of her retreats. However! She also offers a free online half-day Power of Pause retreat twice a year — so check it out.
  • Academic book coach Jane Jones hosts the Elevate program, which includes a structured curriculum for writing an academic book paired with coaching, critiquing, and editing support, along with an online community. This program is designed for minoritized women; it is one of the most comprehensive options on this list, with corresponding cost.
  • Helen Sword, writing teacher, writing researcher, and author of multiple books on the art of academic writing, offers an abundance of resources on her website. The WriteSPACE is an international online writing community that includes online resources and community forum, events and workshops, and live online Writing Studio sessions. There are two levels of monthly membership fees, both extremely reasonable. (See also the free video series with inspiration and structure for a 5-day personal writing retreat at home or in the vacation spot of your dreams.)

Online academic writing courses

While I was researching writing groups, I also collected links to several interesting online courses in academic writing. In case you might be interested!

  • Crystal Herron hosts Scientific Writing Simplified, a self-paced online course in academic writing that includes access to an online writing community.
  • Malini Devadas’s course The Scholarly Writer also focuses on building a writing practice, learning to write and edit effectively, and submit journal articles with confidence. She also offers webinars, workshops, and an online writing community.
  • Letitia Henville offers an 8-week asynchronous online course on Becoming a Better Editor of Your Own Work. (And a synchronous version, co-hosted with several other amazing editors, each May and June; 2025 dates TBA.)
  • Laura Portwood-Stacer offers online courses and workshops such as the Book Proposal Accelerator for writers of academic books.
  • Katelyn E. Knox and Allison Van Deventer offer an online Dissertation-to-Book Workshop, as well as other workshop options for those writing academic books.
  • D. Scott and Thoko Kamwendo offer an online course on using Conscious and Inclusive Language in Academic Contexts. 

Most of these people also offer writing coaching, workshops, academic editing, and/or other such services — do check them out.

And … just trust me!

I encourage everyone to watch the free video replay of Laura Portwood-Stacer’s conversation with Black women’s studies scholar Stephanie Y. Evans (author of the recently released book Black Feminist Writing).

“This 60-minute webinar is for scholarly authors who want to learn how to write in ways that center mental health and wellness.”

I wish you all happy writing in 2025!

* * * * *

Do you host a writing group or teach a course relevant to academic writers? Tell us about it!

**Read the comments for updates and new opportunities added after January 1, 2025.**

Celebrating the writing process

by | Aug 28, 2024 |

Each week of my Writing in Good Company accountability group, I offer a question to reflect on. This is the question I ask on the eighth and final week of a session:

How do you celebrate your writing efforts, accomplishments, and successes?

After 30 minutes of quiet writing on that last day, at the end of the hour, I ask each person to make a list of all the things they accomplished over our time together. Including, very especially including, very small things: things we thought, or felt, or asked for, or showed up for, or tried for the first time.

We then share our accomplishments with each other. We celebrate together.

With the permission of the participants in the very first 8-week session of Writing in Good Company, here is a list of the wins — large and small — that we celebrated:

  • Prioritized a commitment to saving one hour a week for writing
  • Kept at it even when struggling, with exhaustion, depression, guilt, lack of inspiration, or just afternoon blahs
  • Cancelled meetings in order to prioritize writing
  • In various other ways made space to write and think and focus on one’s own projects
  • Finished a research manuscript, or two
  • Submitted a grant proposal, or two
  • Finished a book chapter
  • Submitted a proposal and syllabi for a new series of classes
  • Figured out how to split one dissertation chapter into two
  • Wrote (and delivered) presentations, transcribed materials into English from other languages, edited literature searches and thesis chapters for others
  • Learned that short writing time can be useful
  • Took breaks from writing to go for a walk or a run or to garden or to celebrate family and friends
  • Asked for and received support from a colleague within the writing group
  • Provided support to a colleague in the writing group
  • Connected with another writer in the group for ad hoc daily writing sessions [aka body doubling]
  • Joined two additional writing groups per week in addition to this one
  • Felt a sense of movement, consistency, confidence, or space to think, which led to a new relationship to writing
  • Felt a sense of community in writing
  • Thought about starting a writing group of one’s own
  • Learned from each other
  • Celebrated each other
  • Did A LOT of writing

Congratulations to all of the writers in good company!

As one person added to the Zoom chat at the end of our celebration:

“I have to go but just wanted to say I am very grateful to you all and I celebrate all of you and all of your efforts! Thank you for helping me find community!”

 

* * * * *

Writing in Good Company is open to early-career professors, postdocs, graduate students, and others writing academic- and research-adjacent work. It is designed for women, people of color, first-generation Americans, and first-generation postgraduate students. Everyone is welcome. At this time, there is no cost to attend.

The next session of Writing in Good Company starts September 9, 2024.
Perhaps you’d like to join us.

A few of my favorite things — resources for academic writers & editors

by | Mar 13, 2024 | ,

This is my personal list of favorite writing ideas, tools, and techniques — resources I have learned from, admire, and return to. Please email me (or comment on this post) to share your favorite writing resources!

Language skills

Tools, templates, and self-paced online courses in academic writing skills from Dr. Crystal Herron at Redwood Ink

A variety of resources available on Dr. Letitia Henville’s website, Short Is Hard, including her online course on Becoming a Better Editor of Your Own Work

Guidance on conscious, inclusive language in academic and science writing at the ACS Inclusivity Style Guide

Writing and publishing skills

Academic writing coaching, workshops, and online resources from Dr. Malini Devadas at MD Writing & Editing, including an upcoming free webinar on “How to write, submit, and publish regularly”

For those writing an academic book, the Book Proposal Accelerator course and associated online resources created by Dr. Laura Portwood-Stacer at ManuscriptWorks

A series of videos on Practical Strategies for Pain-Free Academic Writing, from a writing workshop by Dr. Alexis Shotwell

Technical skills

Lists of academic editors for hire, including BIPOC editor directories, along with BIPOC and white editors volunteering time to support Black and/or Indigenous scholars at the Academic Editing Circle 

Tips, tricks, and training on how use Microsoft Word more easily and skillfully from Adrienne Montgomerie at Editing in Word

Additional training in Microsoft Word, PerfectIt, and Endnote from Cadman Training Services by Dr. Hilary Cadman

Resources on diversifying reference lists: 
Tools for focus and scheduling:

Research and ideas

Books that have shaped my approach to academic writing groups:
Books that have shaped my approach to editing academic writing:

 

— notes —

[1] I am aware of Dr. Pinker’s reactionary politics. I also found that reading the first half of this particular book on language changed my editing eye radically for the better.

Writing in good company

by | Dec 7, 2023 |

You are invited to join a weekly online writing group for early-career professors, postdocs, graduate students, and others writing academic- and research-adjacent work. I am calling this group Writing in Good Company.

I have designed this group to support especially women, people of color, first-generation Americans, and first-generation postgraduate students, who frequently do not receive adequate cultural and institutional support for their careers. Everyone is welcome. At this time, there is no cost to attend.

The next session will begin in the week of September 2, 2024, and run for 8 weeks. 

If you’re ready to join in, click this link to fill out a short sign-up form. 

Writing in Good Company is loosely organized around the concept of academic writing accountability groups, or WAGs. (Read more about WAGs at the Washington University Postdoc Society writing accountability group page or in the paper on Intentional and Unintentional Benefits of Minority Writing Accountability Groups published by Trends in Microbiology.) At Writing in Good Company, instead of rigid ideas of what constitutes “accountability,” the goal is for each participant to learn what kinds of practices support them individually as a writer, scholar, and career scientist. This learning will take place through practice, reflection, and sharing.

Each weekly meeting will provide a quiet, structured space for dedicated writing time. The only requirement is to show up as often as possible. There will be options to participate (or not) in brief weekly check-ins on anxiety levels and accountability goals; to join a writing-silently room or a chat-and-ask-questions-as-needed room; and to join a room dedicated to people of the global majority. There will also be time to ask and answer questions and share resources about the writing side of academic life.

The group will be held on Zoom at a time arranged based on the current members’ schedules and re-evaluated for every 8-week session. It will be organized and hosted by Kyra Freestar, of Bridge Creek Editing and the Academic Editing Circle. 

We will begin with the following goals: 

  • To increase your writing productivity
  • To increase your writing awareness, confidence, and satisfaction
  • To meet and build connections with other early-career academic writers
  • To build the skills and confidence to lead your own academic writing groups in the future 

We will begin with the following group agreements:

  • We focus on our own and each other’s strengths and believe in each other’s success.
  • We participate (or not) in the ways that work for us.
  • We take care of ourselves. Stretch, eat, drink, take a break, etc.
  • We give each other the benefit of the doubt and ask questions.
  • We keep confidentiality: Learning goes, stories stay. 

To learn more or sign up, click here to fill out a short survey. 

To meet Kyra and ask questions directly, click here to sign up for a 20-minute Zoom call. 

To recommend this group to others — friends, colleagues, and colleagues you’d like to be better friends with in the future! — please send them the link to this page or the link to the online sign-up form itself. 

You are always of course welcome to email me, at kyra@bridgecreekediting.com, at any time.

I look forward to hearing from you!
Kyra

Kyra Freestar headshot

Meet Kyra online

       

For Black and/or Indigenous scholars

Find pro bono editing support at the
Academic Editing Circle

How to schedule editing
with Kyra