Facilitated co-writing session
Drafting a chronicle about a co-writing session while sitting in a room surrounded by co-writers feels incredibly meta.
Wendy Baldwin, a trained writing retreat facilitator, has given us a brief introduction to the mechanics and benefits of co-writing. The activity draws on three components: structure, a facilitator and mirroring (“body doubling”). These three puzzle pieces fit together, achieving three elements in turn that are often absent in our individual writing processes: focus, insights into our writing, and positive contact with our work through social writing.
Wendy sets two rules for us: we should silence our phones and put them out of sight, and we should work offline. She explains that the session will be structured in three parts:
- Setting a goal. We each define a writing goal or intention that is achievable in the given writing slot (25 minutes in this case). That goal should be as specific as possible in terms of tasks, function, quantity and quality.
My goal is to produce a first draft of this chronicle – I have a word limit of 600 words – and to make it feel that you, the reader, are here in the room with us.
- Writing. We buckle down and write, all the time working towards our goal or intention, while allowing for changes or discoveries along the way.
So here I am drafting my chronicle, slowly and hesitantly at first until the piece starts to take shape. Wendy writes alongside us and will tell us when time’s up, so there’s no need for me to keep an eye on the clock. (I’m slightly uncomfortable not knowing how long we have left; maybe I’m too used to being in control of my timing.) I feel other people around me deeply absorbed in their work, even when the photographer walks in and takes a few snaps. Corridor chatter trickles in. Then the door closes and silence reigns again.
- Checking back in. We take stock inwardly of our progress, write out our next steps and enter our next writing session in our diaries. Wendy asks if anyone would like to share any insights from our collective writing experience.
Typing fast now, I capture a few comments from my fellow writers during our brief close-out discussion:
“I started writing something I’ve been dreading doing. This setting made a big difference. The feeling of concentration and the silence here were very beneficial.”
“As a creative writer, I got taken into unexpected places.”
“I felt we were all in the same boat, working through similar issues.”
“I was worried I wouldn’t be able to switch off for 30 minutes in the context of a conference. It turns out I could.”
“It showed me you don’t need large chunks of time to write.”
“It was a revelation!”
As for my own insights and progress, I found the activity’s intensity and focus remarkable. I’ve written 450 words and come away with a draft piece that I look forward to revisiting, polishing and submitting when I’m back at my desk.
Wendy wraps up with a nod to MET’s virtual co-working sessions organised by the Humanities and Social Sciences Hub, and acknowledges other MET members present in the room who facilitate their own co-writing events. She encourages us to continue practising co-writing, reflect on our writing and enjoy the writing process itself.
I did enjoy the writing process, and I loved the immediate outcome: a chronicle completed in record time for me, thanks to my co-writing colleagues and an accomplished facilitator. A truly meta experience.
This METM26 presentation was chronicled by Emma Goldsmith.
Featured photo by METM26 photographer Giancarlo Menghini.