Answers to your Questions
Q. When and where does VOWƏL meet?
A. VOWƏL is an online writing community that you attend using Zoom, a free video conferencing tool. The sessions are offered every Friday, 9:00 a.m. to noon (PDT).
Q. How do I participate?
A. Sign up via the "Join Us" box on the Home page or send us an email via the Contact page. You will receive a Zoom Meeting ID and a link by email. The moderators will also send a welcome email with more information about the group, the schedule, and our community guidelines.
Q. How do I use Zoom to attend a VOWƏL session?
A. This short video will show you how to join a meeting. To receive the Meeting ID for the session, please go to the Contact page or provide your email in the "Join Us" box on the Home page.
Q. What can I expect from a VOWƏL session?
A. Once you click on the link provided in the email invitation, you will enter the waiting room where you will be greeted by a goal-setting statement. A moderator will admit you to the VOWƏL session. Your microphone and video camera will be off by default. We ask that you keep your audio muted and turn on your video only if you feel comfortable. The session will last for 3 hours. You are welcome to join us and leave us at any time during the writing session. A moderator will be present (and writing alongside you!) for the duration of that time. The purpose of this time is to make progress on your individual writing goals while participating in a global writing work session.
Q. What happens if I can't be there at the beginning or can't stay the entire time?
A. You can join the group at any time on Fridays between 9:00 a.m. to noon (Pacific Time/UTC -07:00). Your entrance/departure will not disrupt the group because your audio will be turned off. We encourage participants to start small and build up your writing stamina with longer and longer sessions over time.
Q. What if I don't want others to see me?
A. That's fine. You can leave your video off. Your profile picture, if you've chosen one, will display instead.
Q. So ... do I need to wear pants?
A. VOWƏL is a no judgment zone, but we also want to make sure everyone's comfortable. Please do wear clothes, but don't feel obligated to dress up or to prepare anything in advance. Many of us will have just rolled out of bed or arrive blurry at the end of a long day (depending on our time zone). Some of us will be juggling parenting duties or gently shoving cats off our keyboards. Eat, drink, listen to music, talk to yourself -- anything that you'd normally do as part of your writing process is fine as long as it doesn't affect other people's ability to be productive. To see more about our community etiquette, go to the Community page.
Q. Who are the moderators?
A. The moderators will rotate on a weekly basis and include three writing enthusiasts -- and we're always looking for guest moderators! VOWƏL was founded in 2019 by Kate Elliot, Julia Lane, and Stephanie Lenox. If you want to know more about us, go to the About page.
Q What's with the backwards "e"? What does VOWƏL stand for anyway?
A. The backwards "e" is called a schwa in linguistics. The symbol represents the most common sound in the English language. It's the "uh" sound of an unstressed vowel. For example, it's first syllable in amazing: uh-MAY-zing. If you look up a word in the dictionary, you'll see this symbol used to help people know how to pronounce a word. We chose it for VOWƏL to stand for the unspoken "everyone" in our name: Virtual Open Writing Lab (for everyone).
A. VOWƏL is an online writing community that you attend using Zoom, a free video conferencing tool. The sessions are offered every Friday, 9:00 a.m. to noon (PDT).
Q. How do I participate?
A. Sign up via the "Join Us" box on the Home page or send us an email via the Contact page. You will receive a Zoom Meeting ID and a link by email. The moderators will also send a welcome email with more information about the group, the schedule, and our community guidelines.
Q. How do I use Zoom to attend a VOWƏL session?
A. This short video will show you how to join a meeting. To receive the Meeting ID for the session, please go to the Contact page or provide your email in the "Join Us" box on the Home page.
Q. What can I expect from a VOWƏL session?
A. Once you click on the link provided in the email invitation, you will enter the waiting room where you will be greeted by a goal-setting statement. A moderator will admit you to the VOWƏL session. Your microphone and video camera will be off by default. We ask that you keep your audio muted and turn on your video only if you feel comfortable. The session will last for 3 hours. You are welcome to join us and leave us at any time during the writing session. A moderator will be present (and writing alongside you!) for the duration of that time. The purpose of this time is to make progress on your individual writing goals while participating in a global writing work session.
Q. What happens if I can't be there at the beginning or can't stay the entire time?
A. You can join the group at any time on Fridays between 9:00 a.m. to noon (Pacific Time/UTC -07:00). Your entrance/departure will not disrupt the group because your audio will be turned off. We encourage participants to start small and build up your writing stamina with longer and longer sessions over time.
Q. What if I don't want others to see me?
A. That's fine. You can leave your video off. Your profile picture, if you've chosen one, will display instead.
Q. So ... do I need to wear pants?
A. VOWƏL is a no judgment zone, but we also want to make sure everyone's comfortable. Please do wear clothes, but don't feel obligated to dress up or to prepare anything in advance. Many of us will have just rolled out of bed or arrive blurry at the end of a long day (depending on our time zone). Some of us will be juggling parenting duties or gently shoving cats off our keyboards. Eat, drink, listen to music, talk to yourself -- anything that you'd normally do as part of your writing process is fine as long as it doesn't affect other people's ability to be productive. To see more about our community etiquette, go to the Community page.
Q. Who are the moderators?
A. The moderators will rotate on a weekly basis and include three writing enthusiasts -- and we're always looking for guest moderators! VOWƏL was founded in 2019 by Kate Elliot, Julia Lane, and Stephanie Lenox. If you want to know more about us, go to the About page.
Q What's with the backwards "e"? What does VOWƏL stand for anyway?
A. The backwards "e" is called a schwa in linguistics. The symbol represents the most common sound in the English language. It's the "uh" sound of an unstressed vowel. For example, it's first syllable in amazing: uh-MAY-zing. If you look up a word in the dictionary, you'll see this symbol used to help people know how to pronounce a word. We chose it for VOWƏL to stand for the unspoken "everyone" in our name: Virtual Open Writing Lab (for everyone).