updated February 18, 2023

Thanks for being a part of our community!

Our community guidelines are designed to ensure that My Writing Shed is an enjoyable, inspiring, and safe physical space and social community for everyone. This code of conduct applies to writing hours as well as all events and activities hosted by My Writing Shed, on our premises, and/or on our virtual spaces.

My Writing Shed’s community encompasses all types of writing, so we ask that our members be 18 years of age or older. Mature writing topics may be discussed during writing hours or at events.

Our aim is to maintain a safe and welcoming environment for all of our writers. If a writer exhibits behaviors that threaten the physical or mental safety of others or consistently disregards the expectations detailed in our community guidelines, the Board of Directors may take action including but not limited to:

Direct communication with the writer about the concerning behavior(s), how those negatively impact our writing community, and how to better align with our community guidelines.

The writer may be asked to pause attending activities until the board has the opportunity to make a determination.
Depending on the severity of the situation, the writer may ultimately have their writership revoked with the expectation they will not return to My Writing Shed.

Our hope is that by specifying our expectations up front, we will not need to take these measures.

1. Respect Our Community

Our doors are open for writers of any walk of life, sexuality, gender, religion, race, and ethnicity. My Writing Shed is an environment for everyone to grow in together!
If you use the wrong pronouns, don’t make it about you and your intent. Instead, make sure to get it right in the future. Do not intentionally misuse pronouns. Please never utilize the deadnames of trans members of our community.
It’s okay to not enjoy every type or approach to writing, because we all have preferences, but there isn’t a need to belittle or talk badly in a way that could make others feel like less of a writer.
We encourage each other to share and participate. We give others the space and respect to speak and finish communicating their thoughts without interrupting.
Insults, name calling, and bullying are not acceptable behaviors. We don’t belittle others for their opinions.
We don’t treat our fellow writers at My Writing Shed as a captive audience to hear about our work or services unless they consent first. It’s awesome to be excited about our projects, but there is a difference between writers having a two way conversation and one person explaining their entire project in great detail to someone who is trying to work.
We encourage you to prioritize your time at My Writing Shed to write, take notes, research, read, or work on our craft in general. It’s fine to have short chats with others in a quiet voice or to openly chat if no one else is working at the time. But if you see others currently writing, please try to keep the conversation short so as to not interrupt their concentration. The same goes for phone calls–if you receive a call you need to take, please keep it short and with a hushed tone, or step out front if the call is going to be longer. Please do not take calls on speakerphone.
If someone communicates they are uncomfortable with something, please do your best to respect that request. Boundaries are not negotiable.
We also do not take photographs of printed, written work shared without obtaining consent.
We give credit to creators for their work. We do not encourage nor accept writing generated by AI or chatbots as creative or valid works at our events.
We do not sell contact information or use it to spam/advertise.

2. Choose Kindness

My Writing Shed offers free, single-use masks near the front door if you don’t have one with you. For the health and safety of all our writers, we clean My Writing Shed after every event. Hand sanitizer is located near the front door, in the bathroom, and in the snack area.
Please also consider wearing a mask if you are otherwise not well or have been around people who are sick.
My Writing Shed is a cozy space and strong odors may linger and affect the health of others.
Our community members have a wide range of experience and skills, and we celebrate those differences rather than making comparisons or viewing other writers as competition. We all win when one of us is successful.
We hope to continue this practice and we recognize that some people will pay more than others. We ask everyone to be honest with themselves as they choose their pay-what-you-can amount and not just choose $0 because it’s there. But if you need to - please absolutely do. We ask for kindness and for our community to not speak or behave negatively to others based on any person or group’s perceived contribution amounts. We do encourage everyone to spread the word, especially to friends and family who aren’t writers but want to support our writing community, that My Writing Shed happily accepts monthly, annual, and one-time donations.
Items in these areas could create a dangerous situation like a tripping hazard or block someone from freely moving around the space.
We take care of our cups and wrappers and pick up things we drop on the floor. If we bring in food, which everyone is welcome to do, we throw our containers and bags away in the bin by the city parking lot. We have small trash cans and no trash service.
We are courteous to others by not standing near the door of My Writing Shed or any neighboring businesses while smoking. My Writing Shed is a smoke-free and illegal substance-free environment.

3. Respect Our Space

Instead, please encourage your writer friends to sign up for a pay-what-you-can writership to access the information. The SHEDule sneak peak is also available for public consumption, but the interactive SHEDule is not.
Please do not tilt back in chairs, lean on the retro bar, or utilize furniture in a way that may damage or compromise it. Please use the coasters, provided in multiple locations around the room, under beverages to protect our desks and stands and so others won’t unknowingly put their notebooks or laptops on a damp surface.
We hope to help you keep writing by not having to leave if your pen runs out of ink or you need a cup of coffee. Some items are meant to be kept by our writers and some are meant to stay at My Writing Shed. Please ask if you’re not sure what items fall into which category. Most of the items to take/keep are things like pens, pencils, notebooks, notecards, and sticky notes.
Many of these items (laptop stands, keyboards, lap desks, mini fans, plant buddies, etc.) are intended to be re-used by others as needed, and damaging an item takes away from other writers.
If My Writing Shed is a co-hosting an event with Lit. On Fire Books and their owner-operator has given permission to access the courtyard through their back door, you are welcome to do so.

4. Other Stuff That May Seem Obvious

We benefit from our close proximity to a bookstore as Lit. sells books, journals, and stickers that our writing community might enjoy. If you are a published author who asks Lit. to sell your books on consignment, please consider bringing only one or two copies and actively encouraging your readers to visit Lit. On Fire Books to buy them.
While we do our best to ensure this is a safe space and will always have a director on the premises to keep an eye out, please always be aware of your personal items and where they are. We cannot replace items that have been lost or stolen.

Please reach out to us directly if you have any questions or need clarification about the content of our Community Guidelines. If you have any concerns or complaints regarding your time at My Writing Shed, we absolutely encourage you to reach out to us as soon as possible! One of our directors will always be on the premises during scheduled writing hours and events, and we will do our best to handle any concerns quickly and with respect to your confidentiality. You may also email us at any time at WriteHere@mywritingshed.org.

Happy writing! May your words flow freely and your ideas be plentiful.

Community Guidelines

1. Respect Our Community

We work together to make My Writing Shed a safe space for everyone.

We respect the communicated and preferred pronouns of others.

We respect the different genres, styles of writing, approaches to writing, etc. of our fellow community members.

We are intentionally inclusive, especially during events.

We are tolerant of others’ viewpoints and we practice respectful disagreement when opinions don’t align.

We use events like Open Book and our online profile pages to solicit our work and services to our writing community.

We are mindful of others working during writing hours.

We respect the privacy, personal information, and personal space of others.

We do not take photographs, video, or recordings of others without obtaining that person’s consent first.

We do not copy, steal, or plagiarize the work of others.

We do not misuse our access to members of our community.

2. Choose Kindness

During events with high attendance, we wear a mask to protect others, including our immunocompromised friends.

We don’t come to My Writing Shed if we are experiencing a fever, covid symptoms, or have tested positive for covid.

We are mindful of scents resulting from fragrances, personal hygiene, smoking, etc. brought into My Writing Shed.

We lift people up rather than bringing them down.

We understand that My Writing Shed has pay-what-you-can writerships, which allow all writers, 18 years of age or older, from our local community to participate without personal finances being a barrier.

We do not obstruct walkways, doorways, or access to the back area by the snack/beverage bar with chairs, electrical cords, or belongings.

We help to keep My Writing Shed clean by picking up after ourselves.

We step out front to smoke, vape, or use chewing tobacco.

3. Respect Our Space

We do not share BackSHED Pass links, materials, etc. in any capacity, including but not limited to email, social media, etc.

We treat the furniture with care so all of our chairs, desks, stands, etc. will remain functional for other writers.

We understand that we are welcome to utilize the writing supplies, reference section, and snack and beverage bar.

We treat the community shared supplies with care.

We do not utilize the back door of My Writing Shed unless a director has deemed it necessary.

4. Other Stuff That May Seem Obvious

While My Writing Shed is a separate entity from Lit. On Fire Books, we occupy adjoining spaces and partner together for events.

My Writing Shed is not responsible for personal property.

Please do not bring weapons into My Writing Shed.

Please wear footwear, as well as a covering of the upper and lower body, at all times for hygiene and safety purposes.

Please do not solicit funds, beg, gamble, or campaign in My Writing Shed.