Writing Under
the Influence
NYC
Join us for community, commiseration, collaboration and a lot of laughter.
The Prompts
July 28, 2026
We update these weekly, so you always have a fresh start.
Prompt 1
- Imagine you’re at a bird sanctuary on a pleasant sunny afternoon. As you walk through the forest and glades and fields, you see an egret, a blue heron, some turtles, a splash and a head peeking out of the surface of a pond, and you hear lots of different tweeting and birdsong, at least one of them angry. Turn these and related sightings into a scary, violent, multi-scene D&D adventure.
Prompt 2
- Erase your ego, and write about what’s happening around you. Don’t let your ego enter into it. No ego!
How it works
We write together in 20-minute sprints, starting at 7:30 p.m. Between sprints, we take 20-minute breaks to relax, drink and meet other writers. Running late? No worries — there are agendas at each table that can guide you on which phase of the evening you're arriving to.
Where to go
Contact
Jon Rose, Cici Betsill & Nicole Graney. Contact us via direct message at @writingundertheinfluencenyc on Instagram or on meetup.com