A writing group can provide structure, companionship, and support as you embark upon the

Are you looking for some support and community for your writing this summer? A writing group can provide structure, companionship, and support as you embark upon the sometimes enjoyable, sometime frustrating job of engaging in your summer scholarly work. Several recent studies demonstrate that working in a writing group can increase your productivity and general well-being as a writer.

Options for groups

This summer, we’ll offer two types of writing groups:

United Writing 

·      These groups meet regularly to write together and help hold each other accountable for writing time. 

Writing in Conversation 

·      While these groups might also write together and help each other stay on task, their focus is to come together to share and discuss each other’s writing. They will be organized based on interest areas. There will be a Faculty Hub group on book proposal writing, but faculty members can also propose their own group or put in a request to find a compatible group.

Special this summer! We also will offer a group for those of you preparing your dossier for promotion to full professor. If you’d like to join this group, please indicate your interest on the registration form. 

Each writing group will receive a budget of $100 per group member for supplies, refreshments, etc. to support their writing.

Meeting times: 

There are four events designed to help writing groups set their goals and reflect on their progress. 

Wednesday, May 22, 12:00-1:00 p.m.: The Writing Group Kick Off Event and Lunch, in-person at the Faculty Hub (3^rd Floor Boatwright Library) Register for this event.

This event will give groups a chance to set goals and learn best practices for supporting each other as writers. 

Thursday, Aug. 8: Writing Retreat and Wrap-Up session [Details forthcoming]

In addition, we invite writing groups to participate together in our Faculty Hub Writing Retreats—which include check-ins and lunch. To register for a writing retreat, please visit our events page.

Outside of these events, groups will set their own schedules. If desired, the Faculty Hub can provide sessions on writing-related topics, one-on-one and group consultations, and modest funding (see below) to support the group’s activities.

We also encourage the groups to take advantage of the Faculty Hub space on the Third Floor of Boatwright Library. The Faculty Hub is open Monday-Friday from 8:30-5:00 all day through summer, and it can also be accessed during non-business hours (please write Jane Bise at jbise@richmond.edu for access). 

The groups will meet from May 30 to August 30. 

Registration 

Please register by May 15 if you’d like to be a part of a group. The registration form will allow you to indicate which type of group is of most interest to you. On this form, please also indicate if you’d be willing to be a group facilitator. 

We will create groups based on interest, but if you already have a group in mind, please indicate that on the form or contact Kitty Maynard (kmaynard@richmond.edu) directly. 

Each writ

sometimes enjoyable, sometime frustrating job of engaging in your summer scholarly work.

writing, and grant writing.

Each writing group will receive a budget of $100 per group member for supplies, refreshments,

etc. to support their writing.