When we were contacted by Haseena Milea and Daniel Vorbach about "Shut up and Write! Geneva", we had to ask a few questions and understand what the group does.
Why did it start?
Shut Up & Write! began in San Francisco in 2007 when science fiction writer Rennie Saunders had the same problem every writer has: life kept getting in the way. His solution was simple to the point of being obvious: pick a café, pick a time, invite some writers, and write. No workshops, no critique, no performing. Just time on the page together. People kept coming back. Then they started doing it in other cities, because the format worked and anyone could run it. Haseena brought the concept to Geneva in 2018, when she was working on her dissertation, while adjusting to life in Geneva and with two children in middle school. Life always got in the way of writing, but as an organiser, she had to show up!
Writing is solitary work, and solitary work is easy to skip. Sitting down with other people who are also writing changes that.
Was this a long-held idea, or did it come together recently?
Haseena had been running the Geneva group for a while before COVID shut it down. After a few years' pause, she restarted it with co-organiser Daniel, and we're growing slowly and steadily with a group of regulars who come every week.
What has been the biggest obstacle?
Getting back into a rhythm after the pandemic takes some patience. The main challenge now is just reaching the writers in Geneva who don’t know we exist yet. Once people try a session, they usually come back because it's amazing how much you can get done in 90 minutes when you are completely focused in the company of others doing the same.
Where do you see this going? Plans for the future?
The weekly Thursday session is the heart of what we do and will stay that way. But we're also planning some special events: café-bar gatherings after the block of writing time, where people can connect and spend time together. We are also working on having a writing marathon and social, which we hope will become a regular thing, perhaps with one event in the fall and another in the spring. The aim is a real community of all kinds of writers in Geneva, not just a recurring meeting.
What's your favorite part of organising this?
There's something quietly remarkable about a group of people sitting down together and, within a few minutes, being completely absorbed in their work. Novels, dissertations, journal entries, poems, academic
papers, all at the same table, in shared silence.
It’s also fun meeting writers and finding the surprising ways they make use of the SUAW sessions. We had a ghostwriter who also traveled a lot for business; he was traveling through Geneva, and he looked us up and came to a session to get some writing done before his flight. We had an academic who comes to Geneva once a year, and she joined us to work on her presentation. We had a writer working on her first book who had to send a chapter to her publisher every week, and coming to SUAW provided a space and focus to make that deadline every week.
The structure does the work. We just show up.
Why does it actually work?
Most writers don't struggle because they lack discipline. They struggle because writing is lonely, and lonely work is easy to put off. SUAW doesn't fix that through pressure or word count targets. It fixes it through creating community. Writing next to other people who are also writing makes focus come naturally. The method is simple: share your goal for the session, write in silence, say how it went afterwards. No critique, no instruction, no hierarchy. Just protected writing time with other writers.
Do you have quotes from participants?
"I've been telling myself I'd finish this paper for months. Coming here on Thursday mornings is the only time I actually do it. There’s something about writing next to other people that makes it impossible to procrastinate."
"Thursday mornings are locked in my diary. I'm writing a sci-fi novel and having that fixed slot every week means the story actually progresses. I don't have to find motivation or carve out time. That consistency leads to steady progress."
“Having a regularly scheduled session allows for all parts of the writing process. If I’m by myself, and the writing is flowing, I can do that. But if it’s not going anywhere, I may be tempted to do something else to use the time more ‘efficiently.’ Coming to SUAW prevents that, and it enables me to ride out the rough parts of the writing process. It also means no matter what else happens during the week, writing will get done.”
What else should readers know?
Shut Up & Write! runs in 80+ countries with over 1,500 events a week, and it is always free. There are no coaches, no gatekeepers, no distinction between experienced writers and beginners. Just people showing up, week after week.
We meet every Thursday at 9h15 (please check the website for any changes) at the big staircase in the Uni-Mail lobby, spend a few minutes on introductions and share what we're each hoping to write that session, then find a table and get on with it.
After 90 minutes of focused writing, there's an optional debrief and chat for anyone who wants to stick around. Late arrivals are always welcome — just look for the table with the Shut Up & Write! sign. We post in the discussion section where to find us. Like all Shut Up & Write! sessions everywhere, it's completely free.
If you've been meaning to write more, come and join us.
Shut Up and Write! Geneva
Thursdays at 9h15
Uni-Mail (by big staircase in the lobby)
Boulevard du Pont d'Arve 40
1205 Genève
Tram 15 or 17; bus 35 to Uni-Mail.
Join us on the Thursdays for 90 minutes of focused writing.
All writers and all experience levels are welcome. These sessions are about getting your writing done and creating a community of writers.
SCHEDULE:
9h15 - Meet in front of the big staircase in the lobby of the Uni-Mail building. We will spend about ten minutes making introductions and a quick check-in where we share our writing goals for the session before finding a table for a quiet and focused writing session. Being late is OK - we'll post in the comments where we are. Just look for the table with a Shut Up & Write! sign and join us.
9h30 - WRITE
11h - Optional discussion. At the end of the 90 minutes, we’ll have time to debrief how it went and to get to know each other. We don’t host critiques or readings. These events are a safe space for writers of all skill levels and genres to work on their craft, so no one will read or critique your writing.
This is a free, volunteer-run event. Check website before going to make sure the event is still being held.
Main: www.shutupwrite.com
Geneva: www.shutupwrite.com/series/id2tX3jVRD00
