Below are simple rules you can use to structure your meetings. I favor structuring them this way-- they are more useful over time because our commitment to them makes room for everyone. When the groups run efficiently and when they begin and end on time, people are more likely to make a commitment.
Structure of a Writing Accountability Groups
(Sherry Anne Roquemore, Shut Up and Write! https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2010/06/14/shut-and-write)
If your primary need is to have a committed group of people to answer to each week, then writing accountability groups may be worth trying.
The structure is fairly simple: four people agree to meet once a week during the summer (either face-to-face or by conference call).
The groups meet for exactly one hour per week and each person gets 15 minutes to discuss the following items:
1) my goals for last week were _______,
2) I did/did not meet them,
3) if I didn't meet them, it’s because of _______ and 4) my writing goals for next week are _______.
Developing a daily writing routine tends to bring up all people's stuff and the group helps to support one another by identifying the limiting beliefs and behaviors that hold members back from productivity. Nobody reads anyone else's writing in this type of group. Instead the focus is on the writing process and moving projects forward so they can get into the hands of people with subject matter expertise (not group members). This structure works well when the primary needs of participants are accountability, support, community, and peer mentoring.
It is ineffective when individuals cannot sustain the weekly commitment to the group or daily writing, and/or their primary need is for ongoing substantive feedback.