Sockmonkey Hosted In Person Writing Group Looking for Input and More Local Writers

 

Image: An orange/beige background with a circle frame in the center that has a small spray of different colored leaves on the upper left and lower right portions of the circle. The PCSockmonkey Writers Est 2009 logo with Polly Esther and Pierson is in the lower left corner. Brown all caps text in the center of the circle reads: Sockmonkey Hosted Writing Group In The Proctor Area Looking For Input.

Hello there, Sockmonkeys!

I hope you're all doing well. This post will be a quick one, but if you live in or near the Proctor area of Tacoma and you'd like to get together with some other local writers at a cafe, please read on.

One of our members posted the following announcement in our Sockmonkey Discord looking for suggestions:

Image: Screenshot of white text on a black background that reads: Hey folks! My writing group is gearing up for some extra writing meetups in November. We have our usual 'shut up and write' style meetings every Thursday at 5pm at Knapp's Restaurant in Tacoma (in the Proctor neighborhood), but we want to host a few extras, maybe on weekend mornings. Anyone have a suggestion for a day or time when you'd like to attend an in-person meetup?

So far, I have seen no replies to this question, so I reached out to the author and asked if I could share it with the rest of the group at large. The reply was yes; thus, this post.

To make it simpler for interested parties to reply, and easier to collate responses over a variety of potential social sites where people could leave comments, I have created a one-question Google form you can look at and select options on, if you think you'd be attending something in that area this November. Based on her post, and past experience hosting November events, I limited the choices to Saturday and Sunday mornings. You are free to click on as many as might work with your schedule. I will close the form the last week of the month (or sooner, if asked to) so that the organizer can use the information to plan events and I can get them on the calendar. If you don't live in or near Proctor or are not interested in attending in-person meetups in that area, please disregard this post and ignore the form.

I am not collecting emails, so I will not be contacting you directly with updates. Keep an eye on the blog and the Google Calendar for more details.

Here is the link to that form if you're hoping to attend and want to let the organizer know which days/times might work best for you: Proctor Writing Meetup Google Form .

If you have specific questions not answered by this post, please contact the organizer via our Sockmonkey Discord.

(Belated) 2024 Winter Potluck and Book Exchange Wrap-up

Image: Brown table with green Sockmonkey bucket in the center surrounded by smaller Sockmonkeys with Polly Esther and Pierson on the right. Behind the bucket are wrapped book exchange books.

Hello Sockmonkeys!

I only just realized, as I was uploading photos from my phone for a post about our most recent potluck, that this never got posted. Unfortunately, I was having technical difficulties getting the blogging platform to orient my photos correctly, which was frustrating, and the post sat in drafts just waiting for its polish and release. That time is now.

Image: Two Sockmonkey writers at the book table trying to select their 2nd book.

We had a small but fun group at our final event of 2024, but we ended up having more books donated than there were people in attendance, so, everyone got to pick an extra book. Everyone enjoyed looking at the clues and trying to figure out what kind of book it might be. I wonder if anyone has read one or both of the books they picked?

Image: Two attendees decked out in their silly winter holiday wear. The one on the left in a shark themed sweater and leggings with snowmen, snowflakes and other winter designs, who is holding Polly Esther and Pierson. The one on the right is wearing a brown reindeer/Rudolph onesie.

One thing that often makes this seasonal potluck so fun is the wearing of silly winter holiday clothing. The variety changes each year; some clothing items have been more subdued but still quite funny. Above is a photo of the two attendees who had fun dressing up for the event.

Image: Six of our attendees at the end of the event standing next to one another, each holding up one or both of the books they chose at the event. Polly Esther and Pierson are also being held by the attendee standing second from the left.

There was a lot of good food and much fun conversation at this potluck and book exchange - including discussions about several books. It was so good to see these writers again and get updates on writing and life, even for only a few hours. 

Plans are in the works for the next Winter Potluck and Book Exchange, although I don't have specifics yet, because I am not allowed to reserve a meeting room this early. I am hoping to hold it on Saturday, December 6th, 2025, but more specifics and the exact date will be posted as soon as I'm able to make that reservation. I hope that announcing it earlier makes it easier for more Sockmonkeys to attend - especially since it isn't about the end of the November Novel challenge anymore, it's just about getting together in community, sharing some food, some company and exchanging books with other Sockmonkey writers.

I hope you're all doing well!