For over a decade I have participated in a group that meets once a month; typically there are five or six of us. Over the years we’ve honed this process to a simple method: Each of us brings a writing prompt—a phrase, a sentence or two—to share with the group. We then pass our prompt to another writer who reads it aloud for us. This round of prompt-reading usually creates much laughter and startled reactions. Then everyone chooses one prompt, or a fragment of one, or follows a thought that occurred because of the prompts, and we all write silently in a circle for ten to fifteen minutes. One of us keeps time and delineates, “You have two minutes left,” and then, “Find a place to stop that you can return to.” Afterward we take turns reading what we’ve written to the group and the others comment. Inspiration happens for each of us when reading aloud. Hearing the words alerts the writer to the cadence and tone of what she’s written and affords an immediate audience response. Some writers combine two prompts in their narrative (one person would famously use fragments of all the prompts from time to time). We observe several “rules” in the process. Rule number one is that responses from the group must be positive, encouraging, or reflective of what “pops” for the listener. The writing is new, and therefore raw, and since the purpose of the group is to generate fresh material, no negative comments that might shut down the writer are allowed. A second rule comes into play as we park our critical selves at the door. When a writer squirms and says, “This isn’t any good” or “I couldn’t even get to the prompt” the group declares, “No critics!” or threatens to shoo the critic out the door. Third, we treat all writing as fiction to protect and honor the writer and allow her to write the most personal story without assuming the writing is autobiographical, which banishes any shame or comments of “I’m sorry that happened to you,” or other such distracting sentiments.
Three things never change in this process: (1) The surprising number of paragraphs and pages everyone writes in the ten-to-fifteen-minute segments during our two-hour gathering becomes a testament to how the presence of others, the energy of community, and positive feedback can boost the creativity of everyone. (2) Knowing that nothing negative will be said about our work releases us to experiment. Somehow the prompts trigger the unconscious mind and unexpected things happen. (3) The group evolves over time as a safe creative space to try different things, learn from one another, and come away with a chunk of new writing—sometimes a complete flash-fiction piece or poem, an excerpt that fits into an ongoing manuscript, or just a boost that banishes the negative feeling of an unproductive period. Generative writing, like rain in the desert, creates new shoots. Playfulness erupts in these meetings, alongside a sense of camaraderie and mutual respect. {read}