GIVE YOUR WRITING THE TIME IT CRAVES.
FIFTH BRAIN COLLECTIVE
WRITING MEMBERSHIPS
The Fifth Brain Collective Writing Memberships feature weekly writing sessions for writers at any level in an atmosphere of comfort, inspiration, and radiant warmth. These membership groups meet once a week for an hour and a half on Zoom. We honor our desire to write by committing to a weekly writing practice without imposing arbitrary rules that dictate what it means to be a writer.
WHY WRITE IN A COLLECTIVE?
Simply put, what writers need is to share our ideas and have them received with curiosity and respect. We become invested in each other’s writing. This keeps learning constant. We encourage experimentation across styles and genres and welcome variations in voice and content.
WHAT HAPPENS AT A WEEKLY SESSION?
We greet each other and read the FBC Community Values, Frankie gives us a prompt and our Fifth Brains guide our writing for 20 minutes. Members can opt to share their writing and/or what happened during the writing time. Frankie offers feedback focused on what works in our writing. And something always, always works. The other writers reflect what they hear and admire. There is reliable joy in these conversations.
You may be wondering, “what can I really accomplish in 20 minutes?” Anything only gets written one word at a time. When you don’t have time to question your ideas or fret that the writing might not be good, you create momentum. You allow yourself to be present and attentive, and texts emerge.
We are scribbling at it, sometimes filling pages, thinking and drafting.
In this room:
someone messes around with an idea
someone starts a first novel from scratch
someone writes into a new essay
someone writes a poetic line
someone works on a short story
a couple someones nip at memoirs
a couple someones lean into multiple projects
a couple someones return to work they abandoned
This is not a place of rules or expectations.
INVITATION
You have permission to be a writer. There is no God of Permission other than you. Honor your curiosity/intuition/desire and join us!
If you feel that this is for you, this IS for you. Keep reading to learn about the different membership options and sign up now!
If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact Frankie. She takes your human desire to write seriously, and she will answer.
MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS
There are three membership options that meet on different days and at different times, but all follow the same structure. Each group becomes its own ecosystem, so when you join a particular membership, you commit to those people. Writers may join one or two or all three memberships, with discounted bundle pricing options available.
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Writer's Lounge
Tuesdays, 5:00–6:30pm MT
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Blank Page Club
Wednesdays, 5:00–6:30pm MT
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Cozy Morning Author Society
Thursdays, 10:00–11:30am MT
EACH MEMBERSHIP INCLUDES:
Weekly Membership Meetings: sessions include prompts, writing time, optional sharing, and conversation with Frankie and the group.
Monthly Writing Prompts: you will receive 5 additional writing prompts each month, delivered directly to your inbox.
Monthly Membership Front Porch Hours with Frankie: bring your writing questions (craft, writing life, writing doubts, specific project questions) to a 2 hour group zoom call with Frankie.
PRICING
Each membership costs $79 per month, billed automatically. If you want even more writing magic in your life, you can join multiple memberships through a bundled pricing plan.
IMPORTANT: If you’d like to sign up for multiple memberships, please make sure to choose the appropriate bundle pricing plan - the discount will NOT automatically apply if you simply sign up for multiple individual memberships!
If you’re a previous/existing member or have purchased other FBC offerings using the same email address, you already have an account.
SINGLE MEMBERSHIPS
Tuesdays, 5:00–6:30pm MT
Wednesdays, 5:00pm–6:30pm MT
DOUBLE MEMBERSHIP BUNDLES (15% discount)
Thursdays, 10:00–11:30am MT
TRIPLE MEMBERSHIP BUNDLE (20% discount)
HOW IT WORKS & WHAT TO EXPECT
After you sign up for a membership or a membership bundle, you will immediately receive a confirmation email containing information about how to log into your account (if you’ve previously been in memberships or purchased other FBC offerings using the same email address, you already have an account). Once you log in, you have access to the “member site” for each membership you’re enrolled in. Each membership has its own home page including the weekly zoom link and other information.
After that, you will receive a reminder email including the zoom link on the morning of the weekly membership meeting(s) you are signed up for. You will also receive emails from Frankie with monthly writing prompts and information about joining the monthly collective office hours.
FAQs
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We love you! Do not fret! You will hopefully have heard about this new structure in your most recent membership meetings, and if you haven’t already, you will receive detailed instructions via email about how to transition your account. The names are changing, but the core of what makes this space special has not - it’s just shapeshifting!
If you need any help navigating this whole thing, please contact us and we will walk you through it!
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At this time, the only way to switch memberships is to cancel your current membership subscription and sign up for a new one. Here’s how to cancel your membership:
Log in to your customer account.
Click Account, then click Digital products or Subscriptions.
Click the digital product/subscription you want to cancel.
Click Cancel subscription, then click Cancel subscription again to confirm.
After that, you will need to sign up for the membership you’d like to switch to. If you need help, contact us.
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At this time, the only way to switch memberships or change how many memberships you’re in is to cancel your current membership/bundle subscription and sign up for a new one. Here’s how to cancel your membership(s):
Log in to your customer account.
Click Account, then click Digital products or Subscriptions.
Click the digital product/subscription you want to cancel.
Click Cancel subscription, then click Cancel subscription again to confirm.
After that, you will need to sign up for the membership/bundle you’d like to switch to. If you need help, contact us. -
When you first joined a membership/bundle, you should have received a confirmation email from Squarespace explaining how to log in to your account, and once you’re logged in, you have access to a special “member home page” for each membership you’re signed up for. That member home page has the zoom link and other important information.
You will also receive a welcome email within 24 hours of signing up from “Airtable Automations”, and you will get a weekly reminder with the zoom link. Please check your spam folder and contact us if you still can’t find what you need.
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Log in to your customer account.
Click Account, then click Digital products or Subscriptions.
Click the digital product/subscription you want to cancel.
Click Cancel subscription, then click Cancel subscription again to confirm.
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Contact us and we will do our best to help figure out what you need!
MEMBER TESTIMONIALS
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"I've had the privilege of knowing Frankie for 10 years now and I'm better for it. A few months ago when I was at a loss I had stopped working and stopped writing, stopped living, really, and was just surviving. Frankie invited me to join the Fifth Brain Collective. Not to be dramatic, but it changed my life. Each individual input and thoughts are valued, the fellowship within this community is unmatched, fostering an environment where we all thrive creatively and personally."
–DIANA, FICTION WRITER
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"We all write whatever we feel like writing. It's not about ego or money or celebrity, it's about writing and helping each other write. It's everything I wanted. A community of writers who are all there for each other, who are all on the same wavelength creatively, full of ideas they can't wait to share. We care about each other and we’re always encouraging and enthusiastic. More than anything, I never feel like I am writing in a vacuum. They're my readers and I'm their reader, too. We are fans of each other, and we never stopped giving and getting feedback. I have written professionally for money and with some substantial readership before, but I can honestly say that this is the best writing experience I have ever had."
–VICTOR, MUSIC CRITIC & FICTION WRITER
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"That’s the story I was telling myself before I joined Frankie and the Fifth Brain Community. As an academic, I could follow the rules, but I felt suffocated. As a writer/performer, I found joy, but I couldn’t write unless I had an upcoming show. I never wrote for fun. Now I write for freedom. The walls started to come down in my very first Fifth Brain workshop. The words hadn’t dried up; my inner critic was the only voice I was listening to. I was thinking the words to death. Writing with purpose, but without rules, has shown me that not only do I have a hell of a lot to say, but only I can say it. Frankie has created a refuge for writers–we laugh often, we cry now and then, and we tell the truth (even if the truth is fiction). My Fifth Brain peers are kind, creative, and generous with their feedback. Frankie & Co. are rearranging my molecules–I now crave the practice of writing, the ability to share my work with trusted friends, and the thought that one day someone might crack a book I’ve written and feel seen, known, and loved."
–AMES, RESEARCHER, EDUCATOR, STORYTELLER, WRITER
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"I’ve been in writing groups of one kind or another for the last three decades. I joined the Fifth Brain Collective Membership when it began almost a year ago, and I’ve never seen such synergy, such collaborative support, such joy in creativity in a group. No—it’s not all bunnies and daisies. We talk about the hard stuff, that raw personal material we wrangle into language or paint or dance. Just recently, I was sure I could never write the second book in my middle-grade novel series, and just hearing Frankie remind me of the imposter syndrome woke me up: “Omg, I’m doing it. I’m thinking that I can’t write this novel!” Sharing digital space with other creatives, practicing with prompts that Frankie provides, and learning from each other have expanded my skills as a writer and deepened my creative play and craft."
–SANDRA, LIT PROFESSOR, FICTION WRITER