I've had the privilege of knowing Frankie for 10 years now and I'm better for it. A few months ago when I was at a loss I had stopped working and stopped writing, stopped living, really, and was just surviving. Frankie invited me to join the Fifth Brain Collective. Not to be dramatic, but it changed my life. Each individual input and thoughts are valued, the fellowship within this community is unmatched, fostering an environment where we all thrive creatively and personally.

Diana

Fiction Writer

We all write whatever we feel like writing. It's not about ego or money or celebrity, it's about writing and helping each other write. It's everything I wanted. A community of writers who are all there for each other, who are all on the same wavelength creatively, full of ideas they can't wait to share. We care about each other and we’re always encouraging and enthusiastic. More than anything, I never feel like I am writing in a vacuum. They're my readers and I'm their reader, too. We are fans of each other, and we never stopped giving and getting feedback. I have written professionally for money and with some substantial readership before, but I can honestly say that this is the best writing experience I have ever had.

Victor

Music Critic and Fiction Writer

“The words dried up 10 years ago. I have nothing to say. I missed the window.”
That’s the story I was telling myself before I joined Frankie and the Fifth Brain Community. As an academic, I could follow the rules, but I felt suffocated. As a writer/performer, I found joy, but I couldn’t write unless I had an upcoming show. I never wrote for fun. Now I write for freedom. The walls started to come down in my very first Fifth Brain workshop. The words hadn’t dried up; my inner critic was the only voice I was listening to. I was thinking the words to death. Writing with purpose, but without rules, has shown me that not only do I have a hell of a lot to say, but only I can say it. Frankie has created a refuge for writers–we laugh often, we cry now and then, and we tell the truth (even if the truth is fiction). My Fifth Brain peers are kind, creative, and generous with their feedback. Frankie & Co. are rearranging my molecules–I now crave the practice of writing, the ability to share my work with trusted friends, and the thought that one day someone might crack a book I’ve written and feel seen, known, and loved.

Ames

Researcher, Educator, Storyteller, Writer

I’ve been in writing groups of one kind or another for the last three decades. I joined the Fifth Brain Collective Membership when it began almost a year ago, and I’ve never seen such synergy, such collaborative support, such joy in creativity in a group. No—it’s not all bunnies and daisies. We talk about the hard stuff, that raw personal material we wrangle into language or paint or dance. Just recently, I was sure I could never write the second book in my middle-grade novel series, and just hearing Frankie remind me of the imposter syndrome woke me up: “Omg, I’m doing it. I’m thinking that I can’t write this novel!” Sharing digital space with other creatives, practicing with prompts that Frankie provides, and learning from each other have expanded my skills as a writer and deepened my creative play and craft.

Sandra

Lit Professor, Fiction Writer