WHAT IS THE FIFTH BRAIN COLLECTIVE?
a writing community
for all genres • all levels • all voices
grounded in curiosity and radiant warmth
In 2023, FBC founder, Frankie Rollins, set out to create resilient online writing spaces that carve time for writers and celebrate the act of writing. The FBC rejects the habit of negative critique as a development tool, instead modeling for writers how to respond as “super readers,” finding what works in a text (and something always, always works), and illustrating that writing with listening, willing writers leads us towards our strengths, and knowing our strengths leads us towards experimentation and growth in our craft and content.
We come from all walks of life, writing experiences, genres, styles, and content areas. Some of us have been writing for ages, others are just getting started, and some folks are here for the community. This has proven to be a powerful model for all writers involved. We change our lives as we develop our texts.
This is a thriving community of writers run by writers.
ONE-ON-ONE COACHING
We offer one-on-one coaching with Frankie for the development of projects (any genre or multi-genre) which won’t settle, quiet down, or go away. Frankie’s life has been shaped and changed by books written by humans who wrote (whether they considered themselves “writers” or not). She believes in the act of writing as an act of supreme generosity and wants to make sure you have the support you need to get your writing done.
WEEKLY MEMBERSHIPS
We have four separate memberships where the same writers gather each week. We write in response to a prompt for 20 minutes. Writing a little bit at a time is a tried-and-true method for building texts. Those who choose to share receive coaching and feedback from the room. Our membership is diverse - there are writers working in fiction, memoir, poetry, essay, and beyond. We do not ask writers to restrict their work to one genre - or to pick a genre at all! We write from our Fifth Brains, honor our imagination, and trust our own thoughts.
WRITING RETREATS
We offer yearly writing retreats in Tucson, AZ to concentrate on certain themes in writers lives and craft elements. Our first retreat was “On Energy & Writing,” and our 2027 retreat will be “No Permission Needed: Writing as a Sacred Act.”