Chapters

A Chapter is a small group of writers who keep each other going. Each one holds up to 20 writers, so it stays a room you recognize, not a crowd. The point is shared accountability: an optional word goal, scheduled sprints, and a feed where you can see each other show up.

The dashboard itself is about showing up, not chatting. When the group wants to talk, that happens in the Chapter’s own chat and forum, covered below.

Finding a Chapter

Browse open Chapters at /chapters. Filter by interest, by whether a Chapter has open spots, or by whether a sprint is running right now. Sort by recently active, newest, or most members.

• An open Chapter lets you join right away.
• An invite only Chapter asks you to send a short note, and the owner or a moderator approves it.

When you ask to join an invite-only Chapter you can say something about your writing. That note is optional.

Starting a Chapter

Creating a Chapter is free, like joining one. Every plan can start and run a Chapter.

Use Start a Chapter to make your own. Give it a name, an optional description, and decide who can join. You can set a shared word goal with a deadline, set how many writers the Chapter holds (up to 20), and add a few interests so writers can find it.

There is a November challenge template built in: it fills in a 50,000 word goal, a November 30 deadline, and the right tag in one tap. Nothing special happens behind the scenes; it is just a starting point you can edit.

Inviting writers

Beyond letting people find you in the directory, an owner or moderator can bring writers in directly:

• Invite by username. Send a single-use invite straight to a writer. They get a notification and can accept from it.
• Share an invite link. Create a link that anyone can use to join, up to the Chapter’s member limit. Hand it out wherever your group already talks.

Either way, an invite stops working once the Chapter is full, and a link invite stays good for a couple of weeks. You can revoke a pending invite at any time.

Showing up together

Inside a Chapter you get a few views:

• Overview is the dashboard. It leads with the group’s momentum (the shared word goal, the day’s streak, or the critique count, depending on how the Chapter is set up) and a feed of what members have been doing: finished exercises, published pieces, and kept streaks. It never shows anyone’s drafts or private work, only deliberate moments from the last 30 days.
• Members lists who is in, with their progress.
• Sprints lists upcoming and recent writing sprints. Owners and moderators schedule them, everyone gets a heads-up about ten minutes before one starts, and any member can join, on any plan. You write in your own piece; the room shares the countdown, the leaderboard, and a chat for cheering each other on.
• Announcements is a one-directional channel. The owner and moderators post notes; everyone can react.
• Pieces holds work members have shared into the Chapter. A piece can be public and also shared here, or shared with the Chapter only, in which case just the members can read it. See Publishing your work.

Depending on how it is set up, a Chapter may also have a Critique swap board or a Revision checklist. See Chapter critique.

Every Chapter also has a member Chapter Chat and its own members-only forum. The chat is for quick back-and-forth; the forum is for longer threads. See Messages and Forum.

The shared word goal

A word goal is optional, and it works with any kind of Chapter. A daily check-in group, a critique circle, or a revision room can each carry a shared goal alongside its own rhythm. Owners and moderators set or change it (and its deadline) in the Chapter’s settings.

You log your words right from the Chapter’s Overview: type a number and add it. Reporting is additive, so logging 500 adds 500 to both your running total and the group’s shared meter. No one ever sees your writing, only the number you choose to report.

Roles

• The owner created the Chapter and has the final say. They can archive or delete it, and they decide who is a moderator.
• A moderator helps run things: posting announcements, approving join requests, and scheduling sprints.
• A member takes part: joining sprints, reporting progress, and reacting.

Handing a Chapter on

An owner can pass the Chapter to someone else. From the Members tab, choose Make owner on a member and confirm. They become the owner, and you stay on as an admin. The Chapter keeps running without a gap.

When an owner goes quiet

A Chapter should outlast any one person drifting away. If an owner has not been active in their Chapter for 30 days, the rest of the group can vote a new owner in so the room keeps going:

• The Chapter’s admins vote. If it has no admins, every other member votes.
• When a candidate reaches a majority of those who can vote, they become the owner.
• If the original owner comes back and gets active again within the 30 days, the clock resets and any pending votes clear.

This only ever moves a Chapter forward. It cannot be used to push out an owner who is showing up.

Leaving and archiving

You can leave a Chapter at any time from its page, and you can ask to rejoin later. The owner can archive a Chapter instead of deleting it. An archived Chapter stays visible to its members, but no one new can join and no new content can be posted.

Chapters are free end to end. Creating one, joining, sprints, word wars, the chat, and the shared word goal all work on every plan.