BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Journals Writerr' Workshop

yes

[quote=Angie]Ms. Jones is the one who challenged everyone to writing at least five minutes every day for the first week and then increasing it to ten the following week and then increasing it thereafter. [/quote] That is such a great idea! I write daily, but when I'm trying to encourage other people to keep a journal, trying to write for half an hour can seem very daunting to them. I love the idea of starting off with five minutes and increasing it. Kind of like running - you don't start off with a marathon. You run around the block once. Next week you run around the block twice. And so on. I took a couple of memoir courses and what amazed me was the stories that so many of us "average" people have. People experience and survive heroic adventures on a daily basis. We all have a story to tell.

We do have chat software here at BellaOnline, so maybe we can talk our journals editor into hosting a weekly chat here!

The trouble I have with so many of these things is arranging a time that's good for everyone. Seems like I've seen so many chats and online seminars that are on weekday afternoons... that time is bad for me and I'm sure for many others. Evenings are good for me but might not be for you!

How DO you figure out a good time, or would one recommend having some kind of open chat room, say on a day where one could come in whenever?

I'm still thinking here. I'm sorry to have been so uncommunicative lately, but I've been very much "under the weather".

I find the same thing with chats, it is pretty much impossible to find a time that works for everyone. Even here at BellaOnline when we have an "editor's chat" that a ton of editors really want to attend, out of 400 editors we might get maybe 15 who can make that exact time and day. So it is just very hard.

An alternative is to set up a forum thread about a specific topic and then make one day - say Monday April 12th - a primary day to post in the thread. So on Monday, when people can, they swing by, see the discussion, add their notes, and feel like they're a part of it. But that way even people who are busy on Monday and who come by on Tuesday can see the discussion and add in their thoughts.

Lisa - I like your idea about forum thread day. I'd totally be up for participating in that. I have a prob, too with daytime chats because of my 9-5 gig.

I have a 9-5 Plus schedule, meaning I do extra stuff many evenings and weekends. I could do a forum thread day...

And I do apologize for not responding. Between my schedule and a truly horrific fibromyalgia flare, I've been really low.

I won't bore you all with the details; that's for my journal (and a captive audience it is)!