Left to Write: That thing I've Been Promising #TeamDannie Alumni

Hi Kids!!

Well, it's finally summer break and I have two seconds to breathe. Writing life and life life have been complete chaos so I want to start by taking a minute to thank those of you who have had to put up with my growing pains over the past couple months. And also to those of you who put up with me in general. I make no apologies for who I am--snarky, opinionated to a fault, and often lacking a filter. I know that can be a lot to handle sometimes, especially when I'm wearing my emotions on my timeline and whatnot.

So thanks. For realz.

And now to the good stuff!

If you've been around since PitchWars 2013 you know I had promised I'd do something more for the people who queried me. And I've had a vague idea of what that is since then, but honest to blog less than zero time to implement it. And I'm not much better off at the moment, but we're going to ease into this anyway, now that it's summer and I've got more than ten minutes to devote to Twitter a week.

During the weeks between selecting our PitchWars mentees/alternates and the agent round, you probably heard Sonia, Alexandra, Christy and I babbling about our 'clubhouse' meetings. Once a week, we'd get together in a private G+ hangout and get shit done: brainstorming loglines, working out plot snags, swapping beta reads, venting about writerly frustration.

It's something we've continued to do in the six months that have followed PitchWars on a fairly regular basis and even though I've been at this for a while, it has been an amazing resource for me. We get together about once a month and talk shop, provide support, and work out our writerly shit.

Basically it's a support group for writers. Because writing is hard, y'all. And as our careers grow, we're expanding what we do with the clubhouse.

That's where you guys come in.

We're opening it up to 10 additional #Team Dannie members--the first 10 who comment here with their Twitter accounts so I can DM you the info.

What you can expect in the clubhouse:

A confidential, emotionally safe place to get support during tough writer times
Some killer brains to bounce ideas off of.
Help spreading the word about projects, publications, and the good stuff that needs spreading in our writing lives.
An external pressure to hold you accountable to caretake your writing life!
Random discussions of snacks and an abundance of digital wine.

What we ask for in return:

The commitment of participating in our monthly meetings. The clubhouse only works because we're committed to it and to each other. So if you sign on, please only do so if you intend to participate regularly. The meetings are always on Monday nights after kiddos go to bed. We figure out the date/time as a group to keep it as convenient as we can for everyone.

How it works:

Our next meeting is on Monday, June 23rd at 9pm EST. (A week from tonight.)
I will DM you the details once we've added you to the approved member list (which I'll also DM you about)
Plan to come and chat, bounce ideas, listen and work!
Meetings usually last about an hour but people check in and check out as they can.

Who's eligible:

Anyone I've selected for my "team" in a blog contest. This includes #AgentTreat #PitchWars (including all 60ish people who queried me for the 2013 contest) #NestPitch #PitchMadness and Team Supernova for this year's #TheWVoice (since I was Kim Chase's co-coach.). Basically if I've hosted your pitch on my blog or picked you for my team in a contest, you're a member of #TeamDannie and are thus eligible.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You MUST have a gmail account to enter the clubhouse. Gmail is free, so if you don't have one it's pretty easy to set up an account.

We will add to our numbers as people show interest, and as it works for the clubhouse. If the club gets too big we may have to figure out a way to stagger membership.

Questions? Hit me up in comments or on Twitter!