Last week I was sorting through a pile of cards that I've saved from folks and there was not one, not two, but THREE handwritten cards from you in there, just building me up and encouraging me. Shawn, you have a gift and it's so generative. Thank you for being you.
I have enjoyed the possibilities for collaboration on Substack so much. On this platform, it is often the case that collaboration is not only ordered toward promotion but also toward authentic conversation -- the conversations that come out of such work on the 'stack are fruitful and grow upward and outward over time. It feels a lot less like "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" and a lot more like an actual creative or philosophical community like the ones I have experienced at colleges and universities.
We help each other out of goodwill but also in pursuit of common philosophical goals. The latter helps protect the former!
Thank you for raising this, Shawn. Creatives unite!
I am having trouble writing my comment. I’ve often been in writer’s communities and then over time, they kinda fall apart or fall away from one another. I have been writing online for a long time but most of the time, I have been in beginner-type groups with not a lot of momentum. Which I think is one reason they fail. I have also been part of a group with people at a variety of levels and it stopped functioning because some felt a pressure to be doing what someone else was. It would be nice to have groups with various levels of experience and commitment, not just to the work, but to one another, without the rub of it all, but I haven’t experienced it yet. I do choose to encourage and share whenever I can. But finding a trusted writer community to be with you and for you can be challenging.
When people do stick around, wow, it is a marvelous and kind way to encourage and love one another!
Oh, Shawn, this is so good! I finally put my brave pants on and reached out to a writer friend last year, and we've since been meeting monthly to check in on each other's work and spur one another on. We don't read each other's work (though that's lovely, too!)--we just talk through the things we're working on and pray for one another's writing throughout the month. It's astonishing what a gift this has been and how good it is to have company in this otherwise-very-internal work. And to know that somebody is going to ask me, in a few short weeks, how that assignment I've been putting off is coming along ;)
And I just love that story about your kids. So much.
This is so Shawn and so encouraging. As someone else mentioned below, I recently came across a note that you sent me years ago. That I kept it, says it hit the mark. Thank you for living this out.
I appreciate the analogy of the kids looking out for each other; it helps translate the wisdom I often try to impart to my own kids to be *for* each other to the same approach I try to take in communities of writers. I don't always see that translated back to me in the actions of other writers (or in my kids to each other, quite often), but I'm hopeful that staying the course will -- in the long run -- result in the fruit which benefits us all.
Oh this resonates with me so much: both the metaphor (my six babies all still live at home--some in bunk beds ;)-- but I'm seeing the other side with my oldest who will be 18 in just 4 years) and the application: I feel such a pull to write more but it is so hard to decide to sit down and write. Clearly I need to seek out community, but it is hard to know where to start. Thank you, Shawn, for writing this.
Thanks for this encouraging reminder to writers Shawn! Substack offers the most unique access to writers, both unknown and wildly famous, where interactions and just a few words of encouragement can make an immense difference. My husband Peco and I often write together, discussing ideas, shaping concepts, feeling out weak spots, or spotting new areas of focus, which is a splendid way to go about writing articles; so we have each other's back :) While writers like Paul Kingsnorth, Mary Harrington, and Tsh Oxenreider have helped greatly along the way, it is also the unique interaction with readers on this platform that has shaped our writing in fruitful directions. Thanks for your writing!
This post made me breathe more deeply and remember that I do have support: friends who are writers and friends who aren't writers but who are cheerleaders of my work. Maybe I'll reach out to some of them today.
The paragraph "sometimes it's us vs platform- building..." yes. All of that. Posts like these remind me I'm not alone. Others, too, are spilling their hearts onto the page wondering if its worth it, and will anybody care?
Shout out to four encouraging author friends: Donna VanderGriend, Cheryl Gray Bostrom, Cynthia Cavanaugh and Heidi Hicks. More are welcome 😊
Totally LOVE that your two are getting together for breakfast at college:) That speaks volumes about your parenting and family culture! Kudos to you and Maile. And THANKS be to God!
Thanks Shawn, we definitely need this as creatives. I enjoy writing on Substack in between life with toddler and baby and creativity fuels me. It’s neat to see how a lot of other writers I follow commented here; you must be a connector of sorts :)
Thanks Shawn, really appreciated this piece. Lots here to consider as we look for fellow members of the resistance and defenders of the beauty of creativity.
I think there is a radical middle where the technology can support our creativity, but it’s not the flashy stuff that’s making it into the clickbait headlines.
Last week I was sorting through a pile of cards that I've saved from folks and there was not one, not two, but THREE handwritten cards from you in there, just building me up and encouraging me. Shawn, you have a gift and it's so generative. Thank you for being you.
I have enjoyed the possibilities for collaboration on Substack so much. On this platform, it is often the case that collaboration is not only ordered toward promotion but also toward authentic conversation -- the conversations that come out of such work on the 'stack are fruitful and grow upward and outward over time. It feels a lot less like "I scratch your back, you scratch mine" and a lot more like an actual creative or philosophical community like the ones I have experienced at colleges and universities.
We help each other out of goodwill but also in pursuit of common philosophical goals. The latter helps protect the former!
Thank you for raising this, Shawn. Creatives unite!
I am having trouble writing my comment. I’ve often been in writer’s communities and then over time, they kinda fall apart or fall away from one another. I have been writing online for a long time but most of the time, I have been in beginner-type groups with not a lot of momentum. Which I think is one reason they fail. I have also been part of a group with people at a variety of levels and it stopped functioning because some felt a pressure to be doing what someone else was. It would be nice to have groups with various levels of experience and commitment, not just to the work, but to one another, without the rub of it all, but I haven’t experienced it yet. I do choose to encourage and share whenever I can. But finding a trusted writer community to be with you and for you can be challenging.
When people do stick around, wow, it is a marvelous and kind way to encourage and love one another!
Oh, Shawn, this is so good! I finally put my brave pants on and reached out to a writer friend last year, and we've since been meeting monthly to check in on each other's work and spur one another on. We don't read each other's work (though that's lovely, too!)--we just talk through the things we're working on and pray for one another's writing throughout the month. It's astonishing what a gift this has been and how good it is to have company in this otherwise-very-internal work. And to know that somebody is going to ask me, in a few short weeks, how that assignment I've been putting off is coming along ;)
And I just love that story about your kids. So much.
This is so Shawn and so encouraging. As someone else mentioned below, I recently came across a note that you sent me years ago. That I kept it, says it hit the mark. Thank you for living this out.
I appreciate the analogy of the kids looking out for each other; it helps translate the wisdom I often try to impart to my own kids to be *for* each other to the same approach I try to take in communities of writers. I don't always see that translated back to me in the actions of other writers (or in my kids to each other, quite often), but I'm hopeful that staying the course will -- in the long run -- result in the fruit which benefits us all.
"Comment on the thread." Say it louder for the people in the back!
This entire post resonated with me. Thank you.
Oh this resonates with me so much: both the metaphor (my six babies all still live at home--some in bunk beds ;)-- but I'm seeing the other side with my oldest who will be 18 in just 4 years) and the application: I feel such a pull to write more but it is so hard to decide to sit down and write. Clearly I need to seek out community, but it is hard to know where to start. Thank you, Shawn, for writing this.
Thanks for this encouraging reminder to writers Shawn! Substack offers the most unique access to writers, both unknown and wildly famous, where interactions and just a few words of encouragement can make an immense difference. My husband Peco and I often write together, discussing ideas, shaping concepts, feeling out weak spots, or spotting new areas of focus, which is a splendid way to go about writing articles; so we have each other's back :) While writers like Paul Kingsnorth, Mary Harrington, and Tsh Oxenreider have helped greatly along the way, it is also the unique interaction with readers on this platform that has shaped our writing in fruitful directions. Thanks for your writing!
This post made me breathe more deeply and remember that I do have support: friends who are writers and friends who aren't writers but who are cheerleaders of my work. Maybe I'll reach out to some of them today.
The paragraph "sometimes it's us vs platform- building..." yes. All of that. Posts like these remind me I'm not alone. Others, too, are spilling their hearts onto the page wondering if its worth it, and will anybody care?
Shout out to four encouraging author friends: Donna VanderGriend, Cheryl Gray Bostrom, Cynthia Cavanaugh and Heidi Hicks. More are welcome 😊
I like your voice.
Totally LOVE that your two are getting together for breakfast at college:) That speaks volumes about your parenting and family culture! Kudos to you and Maile. And THANKS be to God!
Thanks Shawn, we definitely need this as creatives. I enjoy writing on Substack in between life with toddler and baby and creativity fuels me. It’s neat to see how a lot of other writers I follow commented here; you must be a connector of sorts :)
Thanks Shawn, really appreciated this piece. Lots here to consider as we look for fellow members of the resistance and defenders of the beauty of creativity.
I think there is a radical middle where the technology can support our creativity, but it’s not the flashy stuff that’s making it into the clickbait headlines.
Wise words here! Let’s fight AI with a human army of writers.