Some of Our Operating Rules at Cascadia Writers

Who is invited to join Cascadia Writers? Are you an adult writer over the age of 21? Do you agree to follow our general operating rules? Great! We welcome writers of all skills, all genres, and from all locations! Sign up to attend writing sessions at www.meetup.com/cascadiawriters . Cascadia Writers is not just limited to writers who live locally. Some of our writing sessions are online, making a writer's physical location irrelevant. And you can decide whether to join us at our in-person writing sessions and retreats on a case by case basis, as your schedule allows -- even if you only choose to attend once or a couple times per year. Of course we'd love to have you join us at each and every writing session, but we are happy for whatever time you have.
Is Cascadia Writers a non-profit? No, Cascadia Writers is not a registered non-profit and annual dues, payments, and fees are not tax deductible.
Where does Cascadia Writers meet? Writing sessions may be held virtually online via Zoom and in person at a local coffee shop in the Hawks Prairie area (Cutters Point Coffee 1340 Marvin Rd, Olympia, WA 98516, for example). Meeting locations may vary. Cascadia Writers workshops and retreats may be held in different locations in Western Washington if sufficient members show interest. I would like to choose interesting locations that might offer writers inspiration from nature/history and surroundings. I am personally very drawn to our Pacific ocean, lakes/rivers, and lush evergreen forests. If sufficient members show interest, I would love to have marinas, ocean beaches, and rainforest resorts as venues for our annual Cascadia Writers workshops and retreats.
RSVPing is required for planning purposes. If you RSVP and then your plans change, please adjust your RSVP via Meetup, rather than no-show.
Members who fail to RSVP for any writing session, workshop, or retreat and who just "show up" at an event must understand seats are 1st come, 1st serve. Of course we'll try to make room for you if we can, but it's possible you may need to sit apart. For retreats, it is possible there may be no seat available. If there is any additional fee to attend, please arrive early with your checkbook prepared to settle up before we start. Please RSVP ahead of time so we can plan better. Any overnight accommodations/meals, etc., must be arranged/purchased by each writer.
No writer is obligated to read their work aloud, or to share or discuss their written work.
No writer is obligated to give or to receive feedback at any session.
No writer may pressure or bully or intimidate any other writer into sharing their work OR their personal contact information. (Translation: do not treat this writing group as a dating pool.)
I believe in voluntary participation. This means our writers decide their personal level of engagement at any Cascadia Writers gathering. Writers share only what they are comfortable sharing. We may encourage each other, but there is no pressure, no obligation.
Each writer is free to write whatever they choose with the clear understanding that fellow writers (in person or online) are not to be treated as a captive audience. Nor should any gathering be used as a platform to promote hate, racism, discrimination, intolerance, or any extreme religious, political, or military ideologies or philosophies, etc. Be kind. Be respectful. Let's make this a fun and enjoyable experience.
Creeps and angry political/religious zealots should look elsewhere.
Please get a sitter; do not bring beloved pets or children/minors with you.
Cascadia Writers is a private writing group. Each new prospective members must be pre-approved (by me) and it might take me a day or to get to your request. Please be patient. If/when you are approved, you should receive a short "welcome" email from me automatically. There is a 2-week grace period before new members must pay their annual dues. It is paid yearly on the anniversary of your membership submission.
The right to deny/remove/block a prospective member or an admitted member. As the organizer/host, I reserve the right to deny, remove, or block any writer for complaints, conduct violations, failure to pay dues, duplicate registrations, fake names/fake photos, irrational ranting/spamming in the event chats or private chats, harassment, unwanted contact or private messages, or for any lawful reason with or even without notice. Whew. That escalated quickly. Look, just be kind, be normal. Let's behave like professional writers and we should all get along fine. No party fouls. If a writer accidentally oversteps boundaries with me (or with a fellow writer who then reports it to me), that writer might get a warning and we will try to discuss it, learn from it, and move on if possible. But if the bad behavior warrants removal, I will do absolutely do it for the good of the rest of the group. I want this group to be fun for everyone-- not a cause for worry for fellow writers.
INCLUSIVITY/EQUALITY MATTERS: Our writing group is committed to inclusivity and equal opportunity for adult writers regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or Veteran status. I feel like it goes without saying. But I just want to say so for the record.

DUES, ADDITIONAL FEES/COSTS, CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS, CASH/CHECK PAYMENTS, REFUNDS:

DUES: Cascadia Writers dues are $60/year for new members, of which a small portion is kept by Meetup/CC processer Stripe and I hope to use the remainder to help offset my costs. Still less than the cost of a monthly latte. Your credit card will automatically be charged after your free trial period ends if you have added a card to your Meetup profile and renewed annually thereafter. Most events are free for members. A Cascadia Writers member is defined as a writer who is current on their annual dues. Your membership renews automatically on your anniversary date. Annual dues must be paid in full in order to be considered a member in good standing and to be eligible for special member rates for events.
ADDITIONAL FEES/COSTS NOT INCLUDED: Retreat/workshop fees, meals, accommodations, and any personal expenses are always the sole responsibility of each writer for any writing session we host.
Seats may be limited at some of our in-person Cascadia Writers meetings, events, or retreats and an additional fee may apply to attend for members and non-members. Seating is 1st come, 1 serve, thus it is possible there may not be room for all of our members as Cascadia Writers membership grows faster than expected. This is definitely the case when we meet at the local coffee shop to write. There is a large reserved table that fits 8 writers. When more than 8 writers show up for our writing session, we do our initial introductions/round-robin together, then go find an open seat in the coffee shop to do our 1-hour timed writing, and then we all rejoin after the writing timer goes off for the final round-robin.
Less the credit card processing fees, all payments for Cascadia Writers go to host/group leader Carmen Lane. Cascadia Writers is not a 501(c) non-profit.
CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS FOR ANNUAL DUES VIA MEETUP: Annual dues payments via Meetup are processed through their credit card processor, Stripe, and are renewed automatically via Meetup. If you pay your Cascadia Writers annual dues online, your credit card will be charged after your free trial membership ends. After the free trial membership ends, unpaid prospective members are removed from the group but may request to rejoin later when they are ready.
PAYMENTS IN PERSON VIA CASH OR CHECK: Contact me in advance if you need to pay annual dues or an event fee in person with a local check or cash so we can make arrangements. Once I physically receive your payment, I can manually mark you as paid.
HOW DO I LEAVE A GROUP ON MEETUP?: See https://help.meetup.com/hc/en-us/articles/39234513548941-How-do-I-leave-a-Meetup-group If your plans change or you find we are not a good fit for your writing practice, you must leave the Cascadia Writers Meetup group on or before your free 2-week trial period ends or your annual renewal date if you no longer wish to be a member and automatically be charged annual dues. You must follow Meetup's instructions to either remove yourself or contact me directly to remove you before your credit card is charged.
DONATIONS: Extra donations to Cascadia Writers are optional and very much appreciated. Donations are in addition to the annual dues and event costs and will be applied toward costs such as meeting space, website/domain hosting, and the paid Meetup subscription. Donations are not tax deductible because Cascadia Writers is not a registered 501c3 tax-exempt non-profit.
REFUNDS: All payments, dues, fees, donations are 100% non-refundable. All payments, dues, fees, donations are 100% non-refundable. However, if you pre-paid to attend a special Cascadia Writers workshop and it is cancelled by me, per the rules of Meetup, writers who already paid to attend that event will receive a full refund for that event. Refund amount for events cancelled by Cascadia Writers is limited to the amount received by Cascadia Writers. Otherwise there are no refunds for annual dues, donations, writing sessions, or workshops even if you do not attend.
Each Cascadia Writer member maintains copyright of their own original works. Mention on this website is a courtesy for encouragement and does not constitute endorsement or transfer of rights or responsibilities.

OUR APPROACH TO WRITER CRITIQUE/FEEDBACK SESSIONS:

CRITIQUE/FEEDBACK SESSIONS may be held periodically if we have sufficient interest. These will be clearly identified as such. Session may cancelled if no one signs up before RSVPs close. Our session purpose will be to allow one or more writers to present a portion of their work (or a writing issue/dilemma) to the group for feedback and moderated discussion and Q&A between the Writer and the Responders.
For writers who seek a more critical response with the goal of encouragement and improvement on their work in progress, we will use our adapted version of Liz Lerman's Critical Response Process where the roles are defined as Writer, Responder, and Facilitator. Where we have only a few members attending, a member may serve more than one role. When necessary, we may abbreviate our agenda or process.
For writers who seek only positive feedback and encouragement on their written piece, we will provide only positive feedback and encouragement to that writer.
For writers who aren't ready to share their writing but who have a general writing issue/dilemma, they may present it to the group for feedback/discussion to help consider possible solutions.

We may update these General Operating Rules on our website as needed https://www.CascadiaWriters.com but this should cover it for now. Thanks for reading. ~Carmen