What we’re about
A group for those who always wanted to be a writer. An inclusive and supportive community welcoming those picking up pen & paper for their first time, and those who have done it for years and achieved substantial milestones... and for everyone in between!
This is more than a meetup group. HOW TO BECOME A WRITER is a welcoming home for writers of all kinds. We will foster a diverse community of writers who are on a journey of learning and crafting with words... and we invite you to join. Events will be both online and in-person (in Jakarta, Indonesia).
ABOUT THE COMMUNITY
This is a place for sharing and celebrating each other's successes; for learning from each other's struggles and experiences; and for helping each other overcome the blocks preventing us from becoming the best writers we can be.
Our community is open to everyone without discrimination on the ground of arbitrary traits, social constructs, or levels of experience. We value diversity, inclusivity, respect, and authenticity. We won’t tolerate harassment or discrimination of any kinds.
We have a low barrier to entry for anyone interested in writing. The writing itself is difficult; joining our community should be easy! A crucial tenet of our community is to realise that we are all on a journey. Members are asked to be respectful of each other and join with an attitude of solidarity and openness. This community should help us elevate each other!
Our community is also a place to share helpful resources, important news, writing competitions, useful contacts, and the like!
ABOUT OUR EVENTS
We will have both online and in-person events (in Jakarta, Indonesia). The group will host a blend of workshops, practical excercises, fun writing challenges, showcases, community discussions, and more! From time to time, we will invite special guests to share their experience, expertise, tips, and suggestions. We will also host a dedicated, spam-free online community (WhatsApp or Discord – link to follow) and share helpful resources for writers to get started and bring their writing to the next level!
You can browse past and future events on the group page, and don't hesitate to ask any questions in the comments!
WHOM IS THIS GROUP PERFECT FOR?
Writers of all genres and expertise are most welcome to join! Novices might have ambitions and enthusiasm that have abandoned established authors; seasoned writers might experience blocks that beginner writers might not have yet encountered. Our differences make our strength: We will be able to learn from each other's experiences in different genres and media. There are unifying traits in all types of writing! Finding them will help us become better writers.
No one should feel obliged to share any of their experiences or writings until they are ready to. Introverts and folks who'd like to be active listeners are most welcome, too. Writers in this community can also informally ask and offer their help (for example, for feedback on pitches, or to finding beta-readers).
ABOUT THE HOST(S)
Corrado Nai would describe himself as a science writer although he has experimented with many genres (including poetry, short stories, and one unpublished novella). He has a written features and commentaries for New Scientist, Smithsonian Magazine, Asimov Press, Small Things Considered, Fungi Magazine, Science, Reactor, and many more. He’s a recovering academic with a PhD in microbiology and has written and edited dozens of papers and theses.
Corrado Nai is currently writing a science comic about the forgotten woman who used a dessert (agar-agar) to revolutionise science and medicine, Fanny Angelina Hesse (website | Instagram) for which he raised over 10,000 USD on Kickstarter. He recently launched a Patreon page. Corrado's been a meetup host and organiser for over three years.
HOW TO JOIN AND SHAPE THIS COMMUNITY
Joining this group come with a monthly fee of 3 USD to cover the running costs of the meetup app for organisers, to make sure we can keep organising plenty of events, and to reward the efforts of the organiser. We have a free 90-day trial phase to allow people enough time to decide which event they want to join. Membership needs to be paid before attending their first event. I kindly ask to pay membership through the meetup app or by pledging support with a membership on Patreon (Tier 1 = 2,49 USD/month is OK!). Membership gives access to all events during 30 days after payment, as well as all events of Jakarta Creatives (usually held in person in Jakarta).
I’d be happy to allow members to host their own event for free as long as it is aligned with the community goals, spirit, and philosophy. Just drop me a line!
Featured event
ABC of CROWDFUNDING (Online Workshop) 🤑💰😎 How to fund your writing projects!
Let's face it: making money as a writer isn't easy. 😢 Here, I'll will present strategies and experiences with CROWDFUNDING so that you, too, can get (financial) wind in your writing career! 😀💸🤩
I will give a presentation of financies strategies on two platforms: KICKSTARTER and PATREON based on my own succesful project which has raised more than 10,000 USD last year on Kickstarter "The Dessert that Changed the World". I will also talk about my Patreon page which I just recently started and which is off to a great start.
The focus will be on my own (science) writing, but you will learn tools applicable to raising funds for any writing.
After a presentation (about 30-45 minutes) about crowdfunding, focussing on what worked well, and what didn't work that well, we will have a group discussion and there will be time for questions.
At the end of the presentation, everyone will be prompted to prepare a short plan and pricing of their (mock) public facing crowdfunding campaign. You will be asked to answer the following questions: What products you'd like to offer as reward to supporters? How would you price them? What other strategies could you use to get succesfully funded? What are your goals? After about 20 minutes of work on your assignment, we will discuss together (some) of the plans presented by attendees.
From this workshop you will get away with is and plans for your own writing project. You will gain plenty of ideas, inspirations and suggestions that can be used on any projects, genres, mediums, plans you are developing, and crowdfunding platforms you want to explore.
I will also share the slides with all attendees so that you can keep and revisit whenever you need to!
This will be an online event, with link for video call shared a few days ahead!
Please be on time as we want to start together. Please make sure you understand that we have a monthly membership fee in place. I kindly ask to pay membership fee through the app (3 USD/month) or by becoming a paid member of my Patreon page (👉🏼 www.patreon.com/corradonai | Tier 1 = 2.49 USD/month is OK!). Please confirm payment before at least a few moments before joining the event and be ready to show a confirmation of payment to save time. Thank you! Membership gives access to all events of HOW TO BECOME A WRITER for 30 days after payment as well as to all events of Jakarta Creatives for 30 days after payment, and can be stopped on a monthly basis.
For any questions not answered in the project description, feel free to post a comment in the event page.
ABOUT THE HOST
Corrado Nai would describe himself as a science writer although he has experimented with many genres (including poetry, short stories, and one unpublished novella). He has a written features and commentaries for New Scientist, Smithsonian Magazine, Asimov Press, Small Things Considered, Fungi Magazine, Science, Reactor, and many more. He’s a recovering academic with a PhD in microbiology and has written and edited dozens of papers and theses.
Corrado Nai is currently writing a science comic about the forgotten woman who used a dessert (agar-agar) to revolutionise science and medicine, Fanny Angelina Hesse (website | Instagram) for which he raised over 10,000 USD on Kickstarter. He recently launched a Patreon page.
See you at the event!
Corrado
Upcoming events
2
- •Online
ABC of CROWDFUNDING (Online Workshop) 🤑💰😎 How to fund your writing projects!
OnlineLet's face it: making money as a writer isn't easy. 😢 Here, I'll will present strategies and experiences with CROWDFUNDING so that you, too, can get (financial) wind in your writing career! 😀💸🤩
I will give a presentation of financies strategies on two platforms: KICKSTARTER and PATREON based on my own succesful project which has raised more than 10,000 USD last year on Kickstarter "The Dessert that Changed the World". I will also talk about my Patreon page which I just recently started and which is off to a great start.
The focus will be on my own (science) writing, but you will learn tools applicable to raising funds for any writing.
After a presentation (about 30-45 minutes) about crowdfunding, focussing on what worked well, and what didn't work that well, we will have a group discussion and there will be time for questions.
At the end of the presentation, everyone will be prompted to prepare a short plan and pricing of their (mock) public facing crowdfunding campaign. You will be asked to answer the following questions: What products you'd like to offer as reward to supporters? How would you price them? What other strategies could you use to get succesfully funded? What are your goals? After about 20 minutes of work on your assignment, we will discuss together (some) of the plans presented by attendees.
From this workshop you will get away with is and plans for your own writing project. You will gain plenty of ideas, inspirations and suggestions that can be used on any projects, genres, mediums, plans you are developing, and crowdfunding platforms you want to explore.
I will also share the slides with all attendees so that you can keep and revisit whenever you need to!
This will be an online event, with link for video call shared a few days ahead!
Please be on time as we want to start together. Please make sure you understand that we have a monthly membership fee in place. I kindly ask to pay membership fee through the app (3 USD/month) or by becoming a paid member of my Patreon page (👉🏼 www.patreon.com/corradonai | Tier 1 = 2.49 USD/month is OK!). Please confirm payment before at least a few moments before joining the event and be ready to show a confirmation of payment to save time. Thank you! Membership gives access to all events of HOW TO BECOME A WRITER for 30 days after payment as well as to all events of Jakarta Creatives for 30 days after payment, and can be stopped on a monthly basis.
For any questions not answered in the project description, feel free to post a comment in the event page.
ABOUT THE HOST
Corrado Nai would describe himself as a science writer although he has experimented with many genres (including poetry, short stories, and one unpublished novella). He has a written features and commentaries for New Scientist, Smithsonian Magazine, Asimov Press, Small Things Considered, Fungi Magazine, Science, Reactor, and many more. He’s a recovering academic with a PhD in microbiology and has written and edited dozens of papers and theses.Corrado Nai is currently writing a science comic about the forgotten woman who used a dessert (agar-agar) to revolutionise science and medicine, Fanny Angelina Hesse (website | Instagram) for which he raised over 10,000 USD on Kickstarter. He recently launched a Patreon page.
See you at the event!
Corrado2 attendees 
•OnlineShut up and write! ✍️ Online silent writing event Vol. II
OnlineYou can't become a writer without writing. It's as simple and as brutal as that! How many hours do you write every day? How many words you get down on a page every week? every month? every year?
In this event we aim to give each other support and motivation... by just writing together in silence! We will meet online and mainly, JUST WRITE (plus, connect virtually, of course). The whole point is to have a communal experience of quiet writing. Everyone will be on their laptops and working on their own projects, no matter what! (I'd happy to help you finding a writing project or give you prompt, if you'd need me to.)
So sign up, log in, tune on, and fill in the page! Join online from anywhere in the world! I will share the video call link to all confirmed attendees a few days before the event.
You will experience how different and more productive it is to write quietly with a group of fellow writers doing the same! I'd encourage everyone to keep their camera on to be accountable, but no one should feel forced to!
After 1 hour of quite writing, we will take a quick break, and get the chance to introduce ourselves and say hi. Then, we will continue our session of online quiet working. After 2 hours we will have a short wrap up of the session, say farewell, and log off. We can also share questions and ask for feedback to each other.
The aim is that we will create a community of writers that will be able to support each other (I also explain more in the group description!). We will share useful online resources and informally ask and offer their help (for example, for feedback on pitches, or to finding beta-readers). Please keep an eye on future (online) events, too! Soon I'll share a link to a dedicated, spam-free online community (WhatsApp or Discord – link to follow).
Please be on time as we want to start together and listen to each other presenting their work. Please make sure you understand that we have a monthly membership fee in place. I kindly ask to pay membership fee through the app (3 USD/month) or by becoming a paid member of my Patreon page (👉🏼 www.patreon.com/corradonai | Tier 1 = 2.49 USD/month). Please confirm payment before joining the event and be ready to show a confirmation of payment to save time. Thank you! Membership gives access to all events of HOW TO BECOME A WRITER for 30 days after payment as well as to all events of Jakarta Creatives for 30 days after payment, and can be stopped on a monthly basis.
For any questions not answered in the project description, feel free to post a comment in the event page.
ABOUT THE HOST
Corrado Nai would describe himself as a science writer although he has experimented with many genres (including poetry, short stories, and one unpublished novella). He has a written features and commentaries for New Scientist, Smithsonian Magazine, Asimov Press, Small Things Considered, Fungi Magazine, Science, Reactor, and many more. He’s a recovering academic with a PhD in microbiology and has written and edited dozens of papers and theses.Corrado Nai is currently writing a science comic about the forgotten woman who used a dessert (agar-agar) to revolutionise science and medicine, Fanny Angelina Hesse (website | Instagram) for which he raised over 10,000 USD on Kickstarter. He recently launched a Patreon page.
See you at the event!
Corrado1 attendee
Past events
5
