I’m personally a long-time believer in study groups, writing groups, whatever you want to call getting together with someone else to work independently. I finished my Master’s thesis at Waseda University while writing together with my friend in our university grad student lounge – we would write together in the afternoon, take occasional conbini (convenience store) breaks, walk outside to get dinner at a nearby restaurant, then walk back to our grad lounge, and continue writing together before the 終電 (last train home). Being in a shared space where someone else is working quietly with me (but not too quietly, because if it’s too quiet I feel like I’m disturbing everyone else) helps me feel like I should be writing, too.
Looking back, I remember most our shared conbini breaks so I could get iced coffee and sweet-but-not-too-sweet galbo chocolates at the nearby 7-11. The sterile air of our grad lounge would swiftly become perfumed by the artificial strawberry-chocolate fumes of my galbo. I like that the tangy-ness and slight sour note (which meiji describes as 甘酸っぱい) of the strawberry wakes me up.
In fall 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I started working at my university writing center and started leading a virtual group writing space. I think now that everyone has gotten used to Zoom and virtual meetings, writing groups feel good as an online meeting as well. I’ve also formed my own writing groups while writing my dissertation. I have a writing buddy who I meet with almost every week for the past two years! So yes, I love writing/working groups!!
All that is to say, I’ve just made a group writing/working space called Open Air – it’s for myself and my clients to work quietly together, ask questions, have a quick chat, or just hang out. We meet once a week, every week, for one hour on Zoom – no pressure, no commitment. The space is invite-only and intended for my consultation clients and participants from my writing retreats and workshop events.
I made this space for 3 reasons: 1) I wanted clients to be able to access me long after we’ve finished our consultations, 2) I wanted folks to have protected space and time to work, and 3) my clients are interesting people and I think some of you would have lots of things to talk about together, particularly those of you who are academics. But again, no pressure – I know a lot of people who don’t like writing groups. I’m still thinking about exploring other time slots that might work for more people as well.
The name of Open Air is inspired by the term “open gym,” which generally describes free time in a gym for people to work on their routines independently while using the equipment and space. Open gym sessions don’t always guarantee the presence of a trainer, but I will definitely be present for the Open Air group space!
Currently, we meet every Friday 11:30am-12:30pm Pacific Standard Time on Zoom. Consultation clients and retreat/workshop event participants will receive an invite to the Open Air Zoom sessions.
Open Air session times may change depending on holidays or schedule availability, and I’m still thinking about exploring time slots that would work for more people. If I need to cancel or reschedule sessions, I will contact participants in advance. Updates will be posted on the page here.
Anyway, I hope to see you in the group space some time! Feel free to drop by whenever you’d like.
What are your favorite snacks to have while writing/working? I definitely reach for something chocolate-y. I miss conbini.
Thank you for reading~~
Dr. Write-Aid 
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