What we’re about
Hi there! There are plenty of good writing groups out there, but I am tailor-designing the structure of this group to my personal preferences with the hopes of achieving a writer's night out that is fun and comfortable to all interested members.
Like so many writers out there, I am introverted into my bones, however, I do enjoy fulfilling the traditional role of an extrovert every once in a while, and feel it's necessary to get out there and mix it up with some fun and play. I feel rhe E9 Firehouse & Gastropub is the right atmosphere that's light, fun, and low-key on Thursdays. The owner of E9 does request that all attendees order at least one drink or food item.
I feel a little competition can be fulfilling, so that's where the “Wars” come into play. I'm sure exact rules and structure will form and fine-tune very soon, but right now the general construct of the night is around the game. Upon arrival, each member will grab a number out of a bag. That will be their assigned Writer's Number for the evening. We will use a random word generator to come up with a writing prompt. Once we have the prompt, we will commence gameplay with a 15-30 minute timer in which each member is to write in any form and genre that they desire to that prompt. The prompt should be pretty central to the writing rather than just casually mentioned. When time is up, so is the writing, at which point we will draw numbers from another bag. This number will be the writer whose work you will be reading. You may end up drawing your own Writer's Number and reading your own writing. That's all fine and good. The point of drawing all the numbers is just to maintain some level of anonymity for fair gameplay purposes. After all writings are read, we will put it to an anonymous vote. Each member will submit their votes on a piece of paper labeled with their own Writer's Number. Each member will choose their favorite work of the night, and also choose their runner-up. Members may not vote for their own work for favorite or runner-up. Every vote a writer's work receives for favorite gets 2 points, and every runner-up vote receives 1 point. The winner of the game is the writer with the highest point total designated to their work at the end of the anonymous vote.
That's pretty much it! I will arrive at least a half hour before gameplay commences if anyone wants to join for pre-game socializing. If you prefer to just show up right at game time, that's all good. Although I would advise getting there at least a few minutes before game time (7pm), so you can put in your food or drink order. I will get a consensus, but I am considering making this a small, friendly wager event. Somewhere in the neighborhood of $5-10 per person with the winner taking all. I will provide notepads, pens/pencils, and earplugs for anyone wanting to quiet their atmosphere down during writing time.
Right now I am aiming to do this every other Thursday evening, with arrival time at 6:30pm for socializing and approximately 7pm game start time. It is possible that if gameplay goes by quickly, people can choose to stick around for a 2nd round. Depending on my personal schedule, the event has an outside possibility of shifting to Wednesday or Friday night on a week to week basis. I am open to suggestions, whether it be a location to try, gameplay rules, or general construct of the night. Like I said, I'm sure details will be fine-tuned, largely on a consensus basis with all interested members. Donations are not necessary, but I will have a bucket out and it's super appreciated if any of you are willing to drop a dollar or two in there because I just found out organizing this group costs moneys 😅
Hope to see some of you writers out there!
