Create Your Group

Organizer Resources · Running Your Group

Once you've finished organizer onboarding (application, training, and your call with the Community Team), creating your group takes just a few minutes. A group is a recurring series of sessions — weekly or every other week — that forms the backbone of your writing community. (You can also add one-off special events later; that's covered in Manage Your Group.)

Getting Started

Navigate to the Groups & Sessions page (in the top navigation when you're logged in) and click Create New Group. You'll be asked to choose between Create In-Person Writing Group and Create a New Online Writing Group. This choice is permanent, so pick based on how you plan to host. The creation form has three sections — Schedule, Location (or Video Conferencing for online groups), and Description — with a live preview at the bottom showing exactly how your group will appear to writers.

Step 1: Schedule Your Sessions

• First Session Date: Give yourself at least a week before your first session — enough time to promote and prepare. Starting too soon often means low turnout simply because no one has discovered your group yet.
• Start Time: Consider your audience — early mornings suit retirees and remote workers, evenings suit people with day jobs.
• Duration (In-Person Groups): The default is 90 minutes: introductions, about an hour of quiet writing, and a closing check-in. Most groups stick with it — long enough to find a flow, short enough to commit to.
• Duration (Online Groups): The default is 60 minutes for online groups: a short welcome, quiet writing, and a closing check-in. You can lengthen it if your community prefers a longer stretch.
• Frequency: Weekly or Every Other Week. Pick a rhythm you can sustain long-term — "Every Saturday at 10 AM" is easy to remember and plan around. If you want to host on two different days (say, Tuesdays and Thursdays), create a separate group for each day.
• Organizers: You're automatically listed. Add a co-organizer by searching for their name — highly recommended so sessions can go on when you're away. Co-organizers need to have completed organizer onboarding; if you can't find someone's profile, reach out through the contact form.
• Timezone: Auto-detected, but double-check it. Members see session times in their own timezone, so your group's home timezone must be accurate.

Step 2: Location (In-Person Groups)

• Venue Name: The name of your meeting spot (e.g., "Blue Bottle Coffee" or "Main Street Library").
• Full Address: The location search connects to Google Places — type until the right address appears and select it from the dropdown. This sets the map pin so members can find you and get directions. If multiple locations match, make sure you pick the right one.
• Choosing a venue: Look for good seating, reasonable noise, and ideally free Wi-Fi. Cafés, libraries, and bookstores are popular. It's polite to check with staff, especially as your group grows — libraries will often waive room booking fees for non-profit groups like ours. Visit the venue yourself before your first session, and note any specifics in your description ("we meet at the northwest picnic area").

Step 2: Video Conferencing (Online Groups)

Set up your video meeting before creating the listing. Any platform works — Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Discord, and Jitsi are all common in our community. Make the meeting recurring (or use a persistent personal room) so the link stays the same every session, and test that it works before publishing.

• Meeting Link: Paste the full URL, including https:// (e.g., "https://zoom.us/j/1234567890"). Members use this link to join your sessions.
• Meeting ID and Password (Optional): Adding these means members see them when they commit to a session — far fewer last-minute "how do I join?" messages.
• Security Settings: Enable the waiting room and disable participant screen sharing before your first session. See When Things Go Wrong for the full security setup.

Step 3: Description & Details

• Group Title: Clear, inviting, and searchable. Include your name ("Sarah's Writing Sessions"), location ("Downtown Oakland Writing Group"), time of day ("Morning Writers"), or focus ("Fiction Writers Circle"). Avoid generic titles like just "Writing Group" — specificity helps writers find you.
• Description: The form comes pre-filled with a standard description covering the basics. Personalize it with the rich text editor — a personal note ("I'm a novelist working on my third book, and I'd love to write with you!") or practical details ("we usually sit in the back corner near the window") make your group feel real and welcoming.
• Academic Group (Optional): Running a group at a college or university? Check "This is an academic writing group" and optionally name your institution. Your group gets an Academic tag and shows up when writers filter for academic groups — see Academic Organizers.
• RSVP Settings: Choose how commitment shows up for members — see RSVP Modes below. New groups default to RSVP Requested.
• Attendee Limit (Optional): Available in every RSVP mode; organizers never count toward it. For online groups, 10–20 is comfortable; for in-person, match your venue. You can always adjust it later.
• Cover Photo (Required): A bright, clear, landscape image at least 1200x630 pixels — your venue, a welcoming writing scene, or a shot from a previous session. A good photo dramatically increases sign-ups. Free options are in Assets & Downloads.

RSVP Modes

RSVP Settings control how commitment shows up for members. Members can commit privately and add sessions to their calendar in every mode — the difference is whether RSVPs are featured on the session, and how strongly you ask people to commit.

• RSVP Requested (default): RSVPs are not required to attend — members are invited to RSVP so you can plan. If you set an attendee limit, RSVPs close after that many confirmations, but non-RSVPers can still check in (in-person) or use the Join Session button (online) when the session starts.
• RSVP Required: Members are expected to RSVP before attending. For online groups, the Join Session button is disabled for anyone who didn't RSVP. In person, check-in stays at your discretion. With a limit set, RSVPs count toward it and the session shows as full when it's reached; leave the limit blank for unlimited required RSVPs.
• RSVP Off: RSVPs are not shown on your sessions — no public going lists or counts. Members can still commit privately and add sessions to their calendar. With a limit set, members see "Limited to N," and Check In or Join Session disables once the room reaches capacity.

You'll also choose an RSVP window — how far ahead of each session RSVPs open (1, 2, 4, or 8 weeks; 4 is the default). Writers can see future sessions on the calendar anytime; committing or RSVPing opens inside the window. In Off mode this same setting reads "When can members commit to sessions?"

Preview & Publish

The live preview updates as you type, so check that your title, description, and timing read the way you want. When you're happy, click Publish Group. The platform validates your inputs and tells you if anything needs fixing. Once published, your group is live!

After Publishing

• Where your group appears: In-person groups show on the writing groups map, searchable by location; online groups appear on the online events page, visible worldwide. Your group also shows in your Writing Hub under "Groups I Manage."
• Sessions generate automatically: The platform creates future sessions from your recurring schedule — no need to list each one.
• You'll get notifications when someone commits to a session, joins your group, or posts in discussions. Tune these anytime in your Settings.

Quick Fixes

• No Create New Group button? Make sure you're logged in and that you've finished organizer onboarding. Check your Writing Hub for an Organizer Onboarding action item if you're still in progress.
• Address won't validate? Type more of the address (city and state). For very new businesses, use the nearest landmark and add directions to your description.
• Photo upload failing? Keep images under 10MB in JPG or PNG format.
• Group not appearing after publishing? Give it a moment and refresh the discovery page. Still missing after a few minutes? Contact us.
• Made a mistake? Everything is editable after publishing — see Manage Your Group.

Next Steps

• Manage Your Group — editing sessions, announcements, attendance, and more
• Promote & Grow Your Group — spread the word and attract members
• Host a Session — run a smooth, welcoming first session