Local Writing Group Here to Help

By Michele Robertson

Writing is a form of expression. When putting pen to paper, or keystrokes to keyboards, thoughts become visualized. Sometimes the distraction of home can impede progress on writing projects, whether personal, school-related, or work-related.

Joshua McDowell, owner of Dark Stranger Meadery, has started a branch of Shut Up & Write in Carlsbad, a global organization that creates space for writers to show up in a welcoming, distraction-free environment to work on writing projects and help each other stay accountable and focused on writing goals.

“I heard about Shut up & Write while I was researching NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) alternatives,” McDowell said. NaNoWriMo dissolved in March 2025; traditionally, it was meant to be a time to write a 50,000-word novel between November 1 and November 30.

“Back when I was participating in NaNoWriMo, my favorite part of the month was the local meetups. It was fun to gather with other writers and spend time together just writing. I couldn’t find anything like that now that NaNoWriMo is no more, so I figured I’d start a writing group on my own,” he said.

“The process to get set up with the organization (Shut Up & Write) was super simple. If you go to their website, you can sign up to host events. There is a really quick survey you need to take, and then you hear back from them in a day or two. You’ll need to set up time for a Zoom meeting where they have a Q&A, but once that’s done, you’ll be able to officially start posting events on the meetup app,” McDowell said.

Started in 2007, Shut Up & Write has helped communities create space to inspire writers, either in-person or online, by providing resources, tools, and methodologies to build supportive and inclusive writing groups.

“My goal with the organization and the events I’m hosting is two-fold: 1) I’m hoping to keep myself accountable with my own writing and 2) I want to provide an opportunity for other writers to get out and meet other writers—maybe even make some friends along the way,” said McDowell.

He said anyone can join the meetups, and there is no age restriction. The only thing they ask is that once the timer starts, you don’t bother any of the other writers. “The goal of the organization is to get people to stop procrastinating and sit down at their computer or notebook and just write. It doesn’t matter who you are, just put words down on paper or screen,” he said.

McDowell said there are two ways people can participate in Shut up & Write. The first and easiest is to go to their website https://www.shutupwrite.com/ and join an online writing meetup. In this case, they will join an online room and write until the event organizer tells them to stop.

The second way to participate is to visit their website and look up local writing groups in the Meetup app. Once they find a local group, they just show up at the appointed time and follow the organizer’s instructions.

“Every group is different and may have different challenges you can participate in, but there are a few guarantees you will have when joining a Shut up & Write group: You will never have to share your work in progress. You will get a full hour (or more) of uninterrupted writing time. There will be a consistent time and place where you know that you can get some writing done,” McDowell said.

“With my group, I’ve set up a Trackbear group where we can track our word counts together. I’m also promoting another writing group, the Pathfinder Writing Collective, because they offer writing challenges throughout the year. Currently, there is a Ninety-Day Novel Writing Challenge going from now until the end of January,” he continued.

McDowell’s group meets on Saturday afternoon at the Carlsbad Public Library, 101 S. Halagueno St., at 4:30 p.m., and they write for one hour.