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Summary

Medium is inviting writers to join free open writing hours every Thursday to work on their drafts, with optional prompts provided and the opportunity to connect with other writers.

Abstract

Medium has initiated a series of free weekly open writing hours as part of their Creator Workshops to provide a dedicated space and time for writers to focus on their work. These sessions, which include instrumental music to aid concentration, are designed for writers to independently write, edit, or brainstorm. While the initial sessions were held through the end of March, Medium has provided tips for starting personal writing groups due to the discontinuation of these hours. The first session saw a turnout of over 75 writers and featured three optional writing prompts to inspire participants. The initiative aims to encourage writers to practice their craft and publish their work in 2022.

Opinions

  • Medium values the importance of dedicated writing time and community support for writers.
  • The platform acknowledges that writing can be a solitary endeavor and aims to create a sense of togetherness by hosting these sessions.
  • Medium believes that providing writing prompts can be beneficial for those seeking inspiration or facing writer's block.
  • The initiative reflects Medium's commitment to fostering a supportive environment for creators to share and develop their ideas.
  • Medium is responsive to the needs of its community, as evidenced by their willingness to adjust the timing of writing hours to accommodate a wider audience in the future.

You’re Invited to Write With Us in 2022

We led our first free, open writing hour today — and there’s more to come

Image: Julia Moburg

May 2022 Update: While we are not currently continuing these writing hours, we do have some tips on starting your own, which can be read here.

This year, alongside our free Creator Workshops, we’re hosting weekly open writing hours for anyone who needs some dedicated space and time to stare at a draft and move some sentences around (or add a few! or even delete one). We’ll provide some optional writing prompts, but we encourage you to bring any draft or idea you’ve been working on. For most of the time, we’ll write independently (accompanied by some focus-inducing instrumental music).

These sessions are completely free, and we’re hosting them every Thursday at 1:30 p.m. PT / 4:30 p.m. ET through the end of March. Use this meeting link to join (the passcode is: Medium).

We led our first writing hour of the year today — and over 75 writers joined us. Here are the (totally optional) prompts we shared:

Prompt #1

Describe one very specific thing you’d like to leave in 2021. This could be a physical object, an emotion, or a piece of yourself. Why won’t you be taking it with you?

Prompt #2

Share a piece of advice you think everyone should follow (maybe a bit of wisdom you always share with friends or colleagues) that you yourself are not great at following. Why is it so important? Why do you have trouble with it?

Prompt #3

What’s a topic you could talk about for 30 minutes with zero prep or research ahead of time? It could be anything: your job, your favorite TV show, your city. Write the transcript to a 30 min (or less!) TED Talk on the subject.

If you joined today’s writing hour and want to share a link to a draft or published story you’ve written, feel free to drop a link in the responses to this post.

We’re hosting our next writing hour on January 27 at 1:30 p.m. PT / 4:30 p.m. ET. (Again, use this meeting link to join; the passcode is: Medium). There’s no need to register in advance, you can just show up! And importantly: We’re aware this time will not work for everyone, so we plan to offer writing hours at new times later in the year.

Writing, as we all know, takes practice. We’re hoping this dedicated space will help at least some of us press “Publish” on our stories, ideas, and perspectives in 2022.

— Harris Sockel, Amy Shearn, and the Creator Support Team @Medium

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