14 things I learned from running a writers group on Zoom
One of the first things I recommend to writers who want to develop their writing is join a writing group. This is something we will be examining within the Enterprising Writers Community once the website launches, with tips for finding a local group, setting up your own writers circle or finding your tribe online. This post is all about how I adapted to running a writers group on Zoom and how it has helped us to stay connected over the past few months.
I have been very lucky to have been a member of my writing group for over ten years. We usually meet locally every other Wednesday at each other’s houses and read our short stories and novels-in-progress aloud to one another over coffee and biscuits, with constructive feedback and plenty of humour.
A week or so before lockdown began, I could see the way things were heading and suggested that perhaps we should think about hosting our meetings on Zoom instead of meeting face to face. As one of the techie members of the group I offered to host and signed up for a Zoom subscription so that I could run the meetings without any of the constraints afforded by the free version of the software.
1. Read the instructions
I confess this was the first time I’d used Zoom properly after having dabbled with it before. I’ve always heard great things about it and there suddenly seemed to be a plethora of articles online saying how fabulous and simple it was to use.
I’m not one for reading instructions and thought I could figure it out for myself. This was my first mistake. The web browser sends you round in a loop trying to get you to download the app and there are so many options and ways of using it, I admit that I found it a little testing. One of the last members of our group to join was very nervous about adopting the technology but they did fantastically well because they took the time to watch the official Zoom instructional videos and got themselves up and running without any difficulty. The videos are really good, so if you’re anxious about using new technology grab a cup of tea and watch a few before you get started. You can find them right here on the Zoom website.
2. Not everyone is looking at the same picture
Everyone is using different devices or versions of Zoom which means that they might not be seeing the same thing as you.
You can use Zoom on your smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop and we were using a combination of different devices between us. The problem is that the controls seem to be in different places on each one, so if someone wants to know how to change a setting it’s likely it will be in a different place to yours. If you’re using the app you have more options than if you’re using a web browser. It also shows people in different places on individual screens so although you may feel like you’re in an episode of celebrity squares (or the opening credits of the muppet show) you’re not going to be showing up in the top left corner or the centre of everyone’s screen.
3. Test your equipment before you meet
Although we attempted to test our equipment with each other before the first meeting, a few of us still had issues with sound or vision. Or both. One participant has a microphone that only allowed them to say 5 words at a time before cutting out — we also had a very convincing Norman Collier impersonation and someone with sound but no visuals. We didn’t get much done in that first session but we did have a good laugh and it was just nice to see (almost) everyone’s faces during what was a very uncertain and confusing time (I’m talking about the pandemic, not the actual Zoom call).
Luckily I tested the mike on my old laptop before the meeting and discovered that it was not working at all so I switched to using my iPad instead and was horrified to see that my own face staring back at me from the much newer HD camera was pretty terrifying. Which brings me to point number 4…
4. Make yourself look a little less scary
I read an article in Metro that explained that the Zoom app contains ‘a special hidden filter called Touch Up My Appearance’. A filter built into Zoom that you can use to make yourself look a bit better. I’m not vain at all (honest), I simply wanted to protect my fellow writers from the terror of my visage at close quarters. (Here are some instructions if you want to try it for yourself)
To be honest it doesn’t make much difference but every little helps, eh?
5. Get the light right
If the filter isn’t working for you, good lighting can soften your features — and helps everyone to see you properly too. It usually gets dark during our meeting so this is something you may have to consider if the light changes during the call. Make sure you have a lamp set up ready to go and that it is illuminating your face — with some gentle backlighting too — so that you aren’t dazzling everyone that tries to look at you.
6. Positioning
Try sitting a little further away from the camera and position your device at eye level so you’re not showing off the contents of your nostrils. I use the Writers and Artists Yearbook and an old Argos catalogue but you could do a Prince Charles and position it on top of a pile of books that you have written.
7. It’s behind you!
Speaking of Prince Charles, the collection of pictures behind him during his Zoom hit the headlines so if you’ve got a bit of a mess behind you — or something that could give your fellow writers the basis of a murder mystery — it is pretty easy to change your background. Zoom has a couple of backgrounds already installed, including one that makes it look like you are floating in space (the novelty wears off within approximately 30 seconds). Or you can add a background of your own, for example a picture of your house when it was tidy — or a picture of someone else’s mansion. Just be aware if you have curly hair like mine, Zooms’ green screen tech isn’t foolproof and sometimes your hair disappears into the background too so make sure you don’t move about too much! (I’ve straightened it in the picture below, so you can see it is working fine — the pic also shows you the tremendous difference that lighting and camera resolution can make to your appearance).
There have been a few news reports of people Zooming with their other half wandering around naked in the background so if your partner likes to let it all hang out, a virtual background can cover their modesty and spare you some blushes too.
8. Remember to send the invite
If you’ve got a Zoom subscription then you can set up a ‘Zoom room’ to use for every meeting. I discovered that my group preferred to get an invite every time, as links often get lost in email folders and it helped to remind them we’ve got a meeting coming up. I forgot to send it one week and there was a bit of a flap right before we were due to start, when I realised what I’d done and everyone was trying to email me.
9. Security
When you’re setting up your invite it’s a good idea to put a new password on the meeting and also set up a virtual waiting room so you can admit the participants as they arrive for the meeting. There have been a few security concerns around Zoom (which the company have acknowledged and have been working to address) and this I a good way to ensure you don’t get any uninvited guests dropping in — a process known as ‘Zoombombing‘
So those were the key technical things I learned about hosting a meeting, listed below are a couple of things I learned about structuring and running a meeting:
10. Pick a host
I’d say it took us three meetings before we really nailed it. Where we could see everyone, hear everyone and we actually got some constructive critiquing done. It was at this third meeting one member had the bright idea of picking a host to convene each meeting. Whilst I am the Zoom host for every meeting, what we needed was someone to chair. This is what we do at our face to face meetings. Whoever is hosting the meeting in their home chooses who is going to read, how we are going to proceed and when to break for coffee — and this was what we were missing on our Zooms. There can be quite a bit of confusion and talking over each other on Zoom unless you have someone to call order and once we had established a host, everything became easier.
11. Make time to read the work before the meeting
What usually happens at our writers group meeting is this:
- We all bring something to read (generally up to about 2000 words).
- We read the piece aloud and then the group offers feedback.
- We drink tea and coffee and eat A LOT of biscuits
Initially unsure about how this might work with Zoom, we decided to upload the writing to our shared Google Drive instead. This was to be uploaded a couple of days before the meeting so that everyone had time to read each others work before each session. Unfortunately I kept forgetting to make time to read it beforehand and found myself rushing through everything at the last minute. Reading, digesting and preparing feedback takes time. We had a few problems with people not being able to access the drive so some people emailed submissions instead and whoever hosted the meeting emailed a list of works received prior to the meeting to check that everything had been submitted.
12. Set a short challenge each time
I missed the reading aloud element of our meetings so I was pleased when we agreed at the third meeting to have a challenge each time. At the end of each meeting the host gave a writing prompt and set a challenge for each member to write a short story of around 100 words to read at the next meeting. These were not uploaded to the drive but read aloud at the next session before we start the main critiques. Prompts included a set of words, the first line of a story, a scenario or a picture prompt. This brought back the fun element to the meetings as most of the stories were funny, with a twist or a punchline that raised a much needed laugh.
13. Be patient
One of the most important things I learned was to be patient. Everyone had different devices, different software and different broadband connections. Here in the wilds of Exmoor I have an overland Airband connection that plays up when it rains. One evening during some particularly heavy rainfall I discovered that the Zoom connection would carry on working without me even if my broadband connection dropped, so that was reassuring to know and despite me disappearing, the meeting carried on.
14. Have fun
It was pretty great to continue speaking to these lovely people — particularly in that first week of lockdown when nobody knew what was going on. We shared our experiences of lockdown and Coronavirus both through our writing and chatting to each other about what we were going through. Creativity is incredibly important at a time like this and if you are able to engage with other writers via Zoom when we can’t meet face to face, then I believe that we — as a group — would heartily recommend it.
This article by Ali first appeared on the Enterprising Writer blog. We will be launching our new membership website Enterprising Writers on the 14th December 2020. Til then you can find us on the blog or in our Facebook Community Group where we get together to support each other and discuss our work. We also have an Enterprising Writers Facebook page and you can find us on Twitter and Instagram.
