The Skinny on Monthly Check-ins

Reporting your writing progress via monthly check-ins is one of the few required elements of Get Your Words Out. 1 week at the end of each month, the monthly check-in is open. The moderators open the monthly check-in by making a post on Dreamwidth with the !monthly check-in tag (track it on Dreamwidth so you don’t miss it!).

Check-in opens the day before the last day of each month (Jan 30, Feb 27, March 30, etc.) and is open for 1 week. Reminders are posted on Discord, Twitter, and Tumblr. On the 1st of the month, an email newsletter with a link to the check-in and relevant community news will be sent to your inbox. Check-ins are open through the 5th of every month.

After the check-in has ended, the moderators update the Pledge Progress spreadsheet available to all members. This spreadsheet lists all members’ year-to-date progress as well as a tally of how many check-ins have been missed. If you lose your numbers, are curious to see how others in your pledge or another pledge are doing, or can’t remember how many check-ins you’ve missed, check here. Only the moderators can update this file, so if you see an error, please contact a moderator to change it.

	May 2023
Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
1 April Check-In April Check-In April 29, 2023 - May 5, 2023 @ See more details •	2 April Check-In April Check-In April 29, 2023 - May 5, 2023 @ See more details •	3 April Check-In April Check-In April 29, 2023 - May 5, 2023 @ See more details •	4 April Check-In April Check-In April 29, 2023 - May 5, 2023 @ See more details •	5 April Check-In April Check-In April 29, 2023 - May 5, 2023 @ See more details •	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30 May Check-In May Check-In May 30, 2023 - June 5, 2023 @ See more details •	31 May Check-In May Check-In May 30, 2023 - June 5, 2023 @ See more details •

Check-In Schedule

January Check-In: Jan 30–Feb 5
February Check-In: Feb 27–Mar 5
March Check-In: Mar 30–Apr 5
April Check-In: Apr 29–May 5
May Check-In: May 30–Jun 5
June Check-In: Jun 29–Jul 5

July Check-In: Jul 30–Aug 5
August Check-In: Aug 30–Sep 5
September Check-In: Sep 29–Oct 5
October Check-In: Oct 30–Nov 5
November Check-In: Nov 29–Dec 5
December Check-In: Dec 17–Jan 1

Checking In

The check-in happens through a Google form. The monthly check-in post and the newsletter have a link to the form where you will be asked to supply your username, your pledge level, and your current pledge total for the year. After you submit your information, the moderators record your numbers in the public Pledge Progress spreadsheet. We use this data to spot trends in the group and we keep a record of how many millions of words and thousands of days GYWO writers have written over the years.

We strongly recommend you track the !monthly check-in tag on Dreamwidth, follow the Check-In Calendar, whitelist our newsletter, or make note on your personal calendar that check-ins are always open during the first five days of every month. Reminders to check-in are also posted on Discord, Twitter, and Tumblr.

Excused & Late Check-ins

If you know in advance you will be unable to complete a check-in, request to be excused through the Membership Management Form linked on the Members Only page and on the Dreamwidth community. Excuses are granted prior to the check-in for travel, planned events, and other occasions that keep you away from the computer during the check-in period. If you have an emergency around the check-in, you can check in late via the Late Check-In Form.

The Check-In Confirmation post is an opportunity for you to confirm your check-in was received and recorded correctly. If you missed the check-in, you may check in late through the Late Check-In Form linked in the Check-In Confirmation post, on the Members Only page, and on Discord. Please do not make a habit of using the late check-in as your method for checking in.

Missing A Check-In

Following the May and September Check-Ins, the moderators will perform a Membership Clean-Up to remove any inactive members. This is a year-long challenge, and the check-ins are an important tool for both the mods and for yourselves to stay on track. Members may check the Pledge Progress spreadsheet to see how many check-ins they have missed.

If a member misses four (4) check-ins by the end of the May Check-In, they will be marked as inactive and removed from the community. If they check-in for the May Check-In, we’ll consider the member active. Congrats!

If a member misses six (6) check-ins by the end of the September Check-In, they will be removed from the community without further warning.

Please add our “gywomod” gmail address to your email address book or personal whitelist to ensure that you receive all GYWO moderator communication.

The Skinny on Monthly Check-ins

May 2023

Check-In Schedule