I hinted this in my end-of-2023 review, but yes! Fellowship of the Inklings will now have a weekly open space to get to know each other and discuss all manner of things from what we’re reading to what the meaning of life is (anybody know?). This will eventually be a paid membership feature, but for now it’s free for all, so take advantage now to meet some amazing new people in our growing community.
If you’re reading this in your email, please join in by clicking the comment bubble below. I really want to hear from you!
Fellowship of the Inklings is a reader-supported publication. If you value this newsletter and have the means to do so, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
For our first thread:
Introduce yourself! Tell us three things you love to talk/write about (if you write a Substack, feel free to introduce us to it!).
Reply to someone else’s comment if you see a shared interest.
My three things are: how fascinating it is that human behaviour shifts dramatically when alone versus in a group (social psychology), the many facets of the foster/adoptive world, and why the eagles couldn’t just fly the Ring to Mordor.
If you know someone who would love being part of this Fellowship, share, forward, or restack this post.
Tiffany - great idea for community engagement. For those who don't know me, my name is Matthew and I write Beyond the Bookshelf. My publication explores how life and literature intersect as well as the stories we find in everyday life. For anyone interested you can find me at https://matthewmlong.substack.com/.
In response to your three things - I have been reading all of Steinbeck's works this year and a common thread through his works is a theory he called the Phalanx which was more or less "group think" and how people act in groups. Really interesting stuff that I would like to learn more about.
My three things that I love to talk and write about:
1 - Books/Literature - This is a no brainer for me. I love to read and to see the correlation between what we read and our lives.
2 - Stories - here I mean the stories of our lives - outside of books. Your story, my story, each of them are so fascinating and unique. I am very intrigued by people's stories. I am looking for people to interview so if you are interested, let me know.
3 - The natural world - I am a luddite and prefer to be as disconnected as possible (even though I am writing this on my computer). I love nature, the wild places, animals, and anything that gets us outdoors.
I look forward to "meeting" everyone here and discovering all your interests.
Hi, Matthew! Just followed! Interesting connection - I teach my students how to find their writing spirit guides and one of my students recently connected with Steinbeck. It's very woo, but also so cool.
Thanks Jade - that is a fascinating connection. Not sure if I have ever thought about a writing spirit guide before but it is intriguing. I might need to learn more!
I've been shocked at how easily students take to guided meditations, including even those recorded ones on the internet that help you find your spirit animal.
I am right there with you. I actually had to run to the store this weekend and I left my phone at home. As I was driving it occurred to me how freeing it was to not have the leash on me! I recalled driving cross-country when I was 20 with no phone and an old paper atlas. It was glorious.
I do that a lot, and I always find myself feeling much more peaceful afterwards. Going off-grid with no reception is my favourite type of vacation hehe.
Collective stories and the natural world. Yes! So much head nodding. The idea of being a luddite is so appealing to me. My nervous system can get so fried with all the digital dings and notifications that bombard my day. I yearn for simpler days (quieter ones). I so resonate with this.
Thanks Allison - I do not have any natural aptitude for technology and I made the decision long ago to turn off all notifications on my devices. It has been so good for my mental health. Even with Substack I don't use the app. I only check it a couple times a day when I hop on the computer. It is great to not feel the pressure of having to immediately respond.
Ok YES to #3!!! I feel like this is actually what I should have written in my list. We just ditched our iPhones and TV in my house. I can honestly say we are so much happier (in just 3 months)!!!! I will say the biggest exception here being on Substack on my laptop. I don't love spending too much time here, but I do love the interesting people so I'm trying to find a balance while also craving more engagement with this community in particular :)
If I had my way, we wouldn't have TV in our house either hahaha. I'm adamantly against iPads, and if I had a way of messaging my international family/friends on a flip phone, I'd get rid of my iPhone too.
Ok this has been a BIG one for us to navigate without iPhones, because my parents are international. I still have an apple laptop, so transferred iPhone threads to my email address so I can reply via laptop for imessaging and FaceTime if and when I open my laptop and feel like doing so. It was a huge adjustment for others who are used to being able to reach us at any time, but now it works! Not for everyone though and there are definite cons lol.
I also do short Q&A type interviews. My original idea was just to catch up with long-lost friends during the pandemic, but so far they've mostly been new connections: a scholar of mystical visions, a pain specialist, next week a Spanish artist whose work I used as reference for a cartoon.
Derek - as an officer in the Navy I have been very focused on productivity and leadership. However, I am a luddite when it comes to tech! I know just enough to be dangerous. Look forward to checking out your work.
So cool, Tiffany! Thanks for opening this up. I'm Jade and I write The Rebel MFA Way which is a publication all about bucking the status quo of what we call "education" in society day. I'm also the creator of Writing Fiction to Heal, a method that helps writers take their trauma to the page in an accessible, affordable and healing way.
1. POETRY and BOOKS. I could talk about poems (and read them, and read them aloud to you) all day long. I especially love the poets of the Harlem Renaissance and their inheritors. Another favorite is Gerard Manley Hopkins. A current favorite is Bryana Joy Beard. In the land of novels, I reread Gaudy Night about once a year and could talk about the confusing, intriguing life of Dorothy Sayers for hours on end.
2. AUTISM and NEURODIVERSITY. Both of my children are autistic, and it turns out, so I am (late diagnosed). Understanding the unique current of our brains sheds a clarifying light on so many things, alongside the struggles.
3. HOUSES and HOME. I'm kind of obsessed with houses--the ones that allow for all the things a true home should be. I've moved a ton in my life and called a lot of houses and apartments home, so this makes sense.
Tiffany! Thanks for the opportunity to use this space to share. My name is Dan, and like others here, I'm holding down a regular ol' 9-5 during the day, but launched my newsletter, MidThoughts, about 9 months ago. If I had to distill my newsletter's mission statement into three things they'd probably be:
1. My personal thoughts and observations as a guy in his mid forties, standing on the precipice of middle age, and how I'm currently navigating it.
2. How to retain and nurture your creative energy when dealing with the responsibility of a regular 9-5 job.
3. Obervations as an old soul in a very modern, quickly changing world.
Of course I say this, but recently my newsletter has kinda gone off the rails in all the best ways, and now I find myself writing in a very real, very non-Substacky tone. I've resigned myself to the fact that I just want to have fun with my writing and honor my true self. I don't really care too much about how this tone comes off anymore, and for whatever reason, this recent shift has resulted in a significant increase in views. Lol! Go figure!
I'm currently working on a piece about my memories around those early, primordial days of the internet, pre-millenium, and what a different world it was compared to the flat-out, barely-tolerable burden it has become today. If any of this sounds interesting to you, I welcome you to stop by!
Such important things to think about, Dan. I'm so interested in your thoughts on the pre-internet days. I'm a millennial, so the rapid shifts in technology are pretty disorienting sometimes. When I was in school, we were still researching with hefty encyclopedias and being told, "You're not always going to have a calculator with you," and look at us now.
I love all of this! Especially the retaining and nurturing creative energy with regular 9-5 job. I have a lot of friends who love their 9-5 but also want to be more creative. There is a way, I tell them, but now I'll also send them your way!
I’m Bakhtawar, a mere 20 year old who is exploring my writing along with self through reflection, analysing of things I read, and studying social sphere’s and their progression while I distinguish my role in them. Three things I can talk and write about are:
1. In depth analysis of any book I’m reading at the moment, plus how the reading/writing communities are progressing collectively.
2. Bashing the current systems in place as a coping mechanism because how did we mess up so bad
3. My current learning fixations (Notion coding and organising lol)
My Substack is still a work in progress, but I hope to write on the topics mentioned above, along with some of my writing if I’m brave enough!
Hi! So excited to be a part of this while it’s free, and for your closer paid community later on! Loved reading everyone’s comments above.
My name is Brooke. My three things would be the intersections of fiction and truth, Biblical ponderings, and looking for wonder in every day life. A bit more casual and spontaneous, but happy to share with whoever might get something out of my musings and thoughts of storytelling!
Brooke, I popped over to your Substack and am intrigued by your book! I'm a YA Fantasy writer, too--at work on my first book. So impressed you already have yours out in the world!
Thank you! That’s really neat!! I’m excited for when yours ready to get out into the world. And thank you. It’s a journey that’s just beginning, for sure. And it’s awesome to connect with people on theirs too!
I love this invitation to mingle here, Tiffany. Such a great idea. Thanks for opening this up.
My name is Allison and I write a Substack titled DARE TO BE DRY. My “real” job is that I am a real estate attorney. But I crave way more creativity than that allots. I gave up alcohol in 2021 and ever since then I’ve been discovering more and more about myself. Sobriety brought me back to writing which brought me back to me. My Substack is sobriety focused but there’s so much more to it. I write about navigating the teeter totter of midlife, raising a teen and a tween and just the strength it takes to human most days.
Three things I can talk and write a lot about:
1. How raising my children is really just a process of parenting myself in reverse. It amazes me how much of my inner child stuff (attachments, wounds, all that gnarly work) gets kicked up as I raise my son and daughter (ESPECIALLY my daughter).
2) How much I disdain the hustle culture world we are thrust into. I subscribe to the concept of slooooow productivity (no, it’s not an oxymoron). I yearn to live in a world where we stop telling each other how busy we are.
3) Nature and canines. My daily walk in the woods with my dog is truly where/when I am most at peace. My kids have also recently nicknamed me a bird nerd. Suddenly at age of 45 I am a huge bird enthusiast 🦤🤓
If anyone wants to join in my musings you can find me at:
Allison - welcome! I gave up alcohol about a year ago because a relative was an addict and I realized I wanted to support their journey to sobriety. While I was never a big drinker, I definitely have felt no remorse at the lifestyle change. Very supportive of this! Great work.
Hi Matthew! Oh, I think that is so awesome - that you gave up alcohol in an effort to offer support for your relative. In so doing, you are also raising awareness that we don't "NEED" alcohol to play such a dominant role in our culture. Thanks for offering this kind of support - it's far reaching!
Hi Allison, I'm glad you're here! You are doing amazing things. I relate so much to all three of your things. Recently I've also been thinking a lot about how parenting my children is me reparenting myself. In a way it's been really healing to be the kind of parent I wished I had when I was a child. And yes, hustle culture.. Being busy is such a weird badge of honour in our society, and it REALLY shouldn't be. I wish we could give ourselves and each other permission to step back and just be.
I created this blog to exercise the ideas that have haunted my mind. This blog will discuss and contemplate story, imagination, formation, Christian education, icons, symbols, pictures, and poetry. Journey with me as we delve into the deep cavernous thoughts of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald, Malcolm Guite, James K.A. Smith, N.T. Wright, Charles Taylor, and The Holy Scriptures. If you are interested in or hate this content, join the conversation, as I will blog about these subjects and authors every Sunday morning.
My name is Joanne, and while I don’t currently write on Substack, I’m in the midst of finding a home for my novel. I love how words and stories can provide bridges the world over. To that point, I’m enjoying reading everyone’s comments here.
My three things:
1. Grief, loss, and trauma: how our respective experiences shape our perspectives, actions, and our understanding of who we are. The ways they influence how we connect with others. How we find community through these universal, yet vastly different experiences.
2. Heritage: I love learning about people’s stories, backgrounds, customs—everything we’ve been handed down through the generations, how we’ve arrived at this point in our lives.
3. Personality: I am firmly an introvert, and it took years to understand and accept that being “me” in a world that seems to favor extroversion is perfectly fine. I’m fascinated by the different ways we socialize and build connections (similar to your first point, Tiffany, about human behavior).
Oh, these three things are meaningful to me, too, in much the way you describe. What genre is your novel? I am on the second draft of my first novel--YA Fantasy--that I hope will be in the hands of readers one day!
I am so glad they resonated! Mine is YA Contemporary, and also my first novel. Rooting for you on this exciting, and sometimes strange, journey. I also read your recent post on your memoir, and it sounds lovely!
Joanne - have you read Quiet by Susan Cain? I am also an introvert and that book was such a great resource helping me to realize how being introverted in a very loud world is ok.
Hi Matthew, I’ve heard great things about Quiet and look forward to reading it. Thank you for the recommendation, and I’m so glad it’s been a helpful resource for you. It’s always nice to connect with fellow introverts!
Hi Joanne, I must say that I find all of your three favorite things interesting! Specifically number one. I am currently learning to live with and navigate the endless and arduous journey of grief, loss, and trauma. I look forward to your posts when they come!
Hi Angie, thank you for taking the time to read! I’m so sorry to hear you’re currently navigating this journey, and yes, endless and arduous are such accurate ways to describe it. Your posts resonate with me, and I look forward to following along!
This is such a fun and great idea--thank you! My name is Angie, and I am an amateur writer. Since I can remember, I have had a passion for words and writing; however, is only recently that I have begun to view it as more than a hobby. I am in the process of finding my voice and currently write Expressive Discourse here on Substack: https://dangie.substack.com/
My three things that I love to write/talk about are:
1. Spirituality (Awareness/Consciousness) - The theme of my Substack publication
2. Travel - I am a nomadic backpacker
3. Weightlifting - My form of meditation and favorite way to keep active
I look forward to reading the comments so far and, hopefully, starting some conversations!
Angie - welcome. Really interesting theme for your publication. Lots of great spirituality writers on here so that is a thriving community. I consider myself a lifelong learner as well. Great having you here.
Hello Matthew and thank you for the warm welcome. I look forward to following your journey here on Substack. Also, if you have any spiritual writer recommendations, please feel free to suggest them. I have been looking for some spiritual-based newsletters but have mainly found religion-themed publications.
Thank you! I am an amateur writer and am yet to find my way through this writing world, but I love the process hehe--And indeed, it is a constant learning and discovery and in a different way but also an endless and arduous journey (re: navigating grief, loss, and trauma), a beautiful one, but endless and arduous nonetheless.
Such a great idea, Tiffany! I couldn’t resist the temptation to hop on this train.
My name is Aleksandra, and I joined Substack almost a year ago. (On March 8, to be precise. Am I supposed now, in the best traditions of blogging, to write a one-year-on-Substack post?)
The three things that I hope I will never get tired of thinking (and thus writing) about are
1) Books, classic literature, and slow reading with a notebook in my hand
2) Creative writing and writing in general in my second language, which happens to be English
3) My wildly cozy and bookish life that brought me to France to speak French, my second second language, when I’m not writing in English.
Hope that your writing and reading week has been gentle to you!
Congrats on one year, Aleksandra! I love your three topics. Also a lover of classic literature and wish I could convert everybody else to it. Do you annotate your books, or primarily write notes in your notebooks?
I hope I'm not too late for the party. I'm Lee and I run Station 101 (https://stationoneohone.substack.com/). My publication is a curated insight repository where I cover a wide range of topics including cryptocurrency, GenZ trends, and true crime stories (aiming to add one more section about Vietnamese culture) in the most informative way possible, you can think of it as a general knowledge newsletter. Of course, feel free to check out my publication and subscribe if you're interested in staying informed and entertained! Looking forward to connecting with more like-minded individuals at this party.
Three things I enjoy sharing with my audience are:
1. Providing basic knowledge of cryptocurrency, helping readers navigate this complex and ever-changing landscape, even if you are not familiar with the topic.
2. Engaging and thought-provoking stories about GenZ culture, sharing my point of view towards the issues at hand
3. Gripping true crime narratives that keep readers on the edge of their seats, delving deep in how the crime unfolds.
I've just started my publication for a week and wish to get to know all of the amazing folks here! Thank you, Tiffany, for this wholesome post!
Hello, my name is Aaron. I write about church, culture, and research for my day job. For fun, I write about church, culture, and C.S. Lewis at The Wardrobe Door: https://wardrobedoor.substack.com/
The three things I can love to talk about:
1. College basketball. This is my favorite sports time of the year, which is why (related to my third topic) I'm hosting a Narnia Madness character bracket on my Substack right now.
2. Stories, especially the latest movie or TV show I watched or book I read. I love to talk about how stories reflect God's grand narrative and their importance to us.
3. C.S. Lewis. I teach a class at my church and they all know they're getting at least one Lewis quote each week. His writing helped me maintain my faith and continues to help me grow in it.
I'm new to Substack and slow since I only have the capacity for posting bi-weekly. My three things:
1. Conscious living - I want to inspire everyone to conscious living, while at the same time also learning and living it myself. So I will be writing on this journey and its reflections.
2. Culture and thoughts around feeling foreign from birth in my homeland to now in a foreign land. And all the in-between.
3. Still unsure what my third one would be, I'm between about traveling (my first love), and about Malaysia (where I am from) and about writing (which I want to do more and my dream is to be a full time writer).
Thanks Tiffany for the community and the chance to share here :)
Welcome, Rachel. Biweekly is wonderful, and I admire you for honouring your own capacity. Your topics sounds interesting. I especially relate to your second one, as a second-generation Taiwanese-American.
1) Why society has become far too polarised and too many of us have been made to feel like outsiders, and we need to connect to one another to heal ourselves and our planet
2) Creativity as a tool for wellbeing, especially for neurodivergent types like myself
3) How society monumentally screws over mothers and why we should burn our current system to the ground!
LOL I am loling at your #3!!! I will be thinking on that one now 😂
I'm Miriam! I write Getting Better (potential re-brand coming soon :)). It's my offering of resonance. I share personal essays from my journey co-creating my child's world with more love and awareness. I speak to mindfulness, chronic illness, identity transformation, living in alignment with values, and more. My most recent post is Mothering from The Void: https://miriamcruz.substack.com/p/mothering-from-the-void
Three things I love to talk/write about:
1. All things motherhood: I'm a stay-at-home-mom as of 9 months ago. Something I never expected to be! It's been the most fulfilling transformation, and I also feel shockingly valueless in the broader world around me in a way I never felt when I was in finance, consulting, or a founder. I'm passionate about connecting with and supporting other mothers.
2. Historical fiction: I'm embarrassed to say I fell in love with Outlander. I was SHOCKED at the words I was reading (lolol) but couldn't put it down! But before that, I fell in love with the genre through more PG classics >.< I also love a good memoir and great short stories (David Sedaris is my absolute love)
3. Stand-up comedy: Nothing beats a live show, and I'm always looking out for recs! I feel like there are SO many Netflix specials these days and I rarely watch shows, so if there's one that people love, that'll be at the top of my list. I no longer have the patience or the time to browse on Netflix >.<
What a great space. Thank you Tiffany!! So excited I've found your community :)
Haha in the Council of Elrond chapter, they actually discuss the Eagles as an option. But anyways, my eyes roll whenever it gets brought up.
Hi Miriam! What beautiful topics. I was a SAHM until just last summer, but am transitioning back later this year haha.. 100% understand that feeling of valuelessness, and I think that's such a societal problem. Oh, I could talk for ages on that too haha. Have struggled with it as well.
Have you connected with @hollyabrown? She's somewhere up the thread, I believe, but she's also a lover of historical fiction and can recommend many books in that genre! Or actually, I think there's a conversation in the more recent books thread where she shares some, along with Kim and the Cat. Worth checking out!
Oh my goodness, just seeing your reply here too. So many things here I'd love to keep talking about — so glad that we're here and get to know each other over time. & thank you for the historical fiction recs direction!!! Going to look that way right now :)
Three things I can't stop talking about, which color my writings too:
1) Comics, largely the four-color superheroes I grew up with, but always eager to engage on the indie / zine end;
2) Science, because it's a useful and practical and beautiful way to navigate the world; and
3) Buddhism, for the exact same reasons.
I was raised on a farm in Kentucky, in a VERY Christian community, but it never really stuck. Given some other comments, I might recommend this book by an author who died too young.
Tiffany - great idea for community engagement. For those who don't know me, my name is Matthew and I write Beyond the Bookshelf. My publication explores how life and literature intersect as well as the stories we find in everyday life. For anyone interested you can find me at https://matthewmlong.substack.com/.
In response to your three things - I have been reading all of Steinbeck's works this year and a common thread through his works is a theory he called the Phalanx which was more or less "group think" and how people act in groups. Really interesting stuff that I would like to learn more about.
My three things that I love to talk and write about:
1 - Books/Literature - This is a no brainer for me. I love to read and to see the correlation between what we read and our lives.
2 - Stories - here I mean the stories of our lives - outside of books. Your story, my story, each of them are so fascinating and unique. I am very intrigued by people's stories. I am looking for people to interview so if you are interested, let me know.
3 - The natural world - I am a luddite and prefer to be as disconnected as possible (even though I am writing this on my computer). I love nature, the wild places, animals, and anything that gets us outdoors.
I look forward to "meeting" everyone here and discovering all your interests.
Hi, Matthew! Just followed! Interesting connection - I teach my students how to find their writing spirit guides and one of my students recently connected with Steinbeck. It's very woo, but also so cool.
Big fan of things that are very woo 🙂
Thanks Jade - that is a fascinating connection. Not sure if I have ever thought about a writing spirit guide before but it is intriguing. I might need to learn more!
I've been shocked at how easily students take to guided meditations, including even those recorded ones on the internet that help you find your spirit animal.
Hi Matthew, not sure if you're familiar with Plough Magazine, but their current spring issue is themed Nature. Lots of deep reflection and lovely art.
Rebecca - not familiar at all but I am now interested. I will check it out. Thanks for the recommendation.
I relate to ALL THREE THINGS. If I could throw my phone away, I would.
I am right there with you. I actually had to run to the store this weekend and I left my phone at home. As I was driving it occurred to me how freeing it was to not have the leash on me! I recalled driving cross-country when I was 20 with no phone and an old paper atlas. It was glorious.
I do that a lot, and I always find myself feeling much more peaceful afterwards. Going off-grid with no reception is my favourite type of vacation hehe.
I get so many comments on my little red flip phone.
So cool.
Collective stories and the natural world. Yes! So much head nodding. The idea of being a luddite is so appealing to me. My nervous system can get so fried with all the digital dings and notifications that bombard my day. I yearn for simpler days (quieter ones). I so resonate with this.
Thanks Allison - I do not have any natural aptitude for technology and I made the decision long ago to turn off all notifications on my devices. It has been so good for my mental health. Even with Substack I don't use the app. I only check it a couple times a day when I hop on the computer. It is great to not feel the pressure of having to immediately respond.
Notifications stress me out so much too! I finally turned them all off except my husband's HAHA. Life got much better afterwards.
Hi, Matthew!! Hope you are doing great! Nothing can be better than reading (and writing, of course) about books, stories, and nature!
Thanks Aleksandra - Appreciate the kind words. Hope you are doing great as well.
Ok YES to #3!!! I feel like this is actually what I should have written in my list. We just ditched our iPhones and TV in my house. I can honestly say we are so much happier (in just 3 months)!!!! I will say the biggest exception here being on Substack on my laptop. I don't love spending too much time here, but I do love the interesting people so I'm trying to find a balance while also craving more engagement with this community in particular :)
If I had my way, we wouldn't have TV in our house either hahaha. I'm adamantly against iPads, and if I had a way of messaging my international family/friends on a flip phone, I'd get rid of my iPhone too.
Ok this has been a BIG one for us to navigate without iPhones, because my parents are international. I still have an apple laptop, so transferred iPhone threads to my email address so I can reply via laptop for imessaging and FaceTime if and when I open my laptop and feel like doing so. It was a huge adjustment for others who are used to being able to reach us at any time, but now it works! Not for everyone though and there are definite cons lol.
True, although I honestly wouldn't mind not being immediately reachable. That's my dream life. My mom might throw a fit, but.......
😂 I can relate 👀
I also do short Q&A type interviews. My original idea was just to catch up with long-lost friends during the pandemic, but so far they've mostly been new connections: a scholar of mystical visions, a pain specialist, next week a Spanish artist whose work I used as reference for a cartoon.
Some musings on Steinbeck
https://randallhayes.substack.com/p/so-many-zingers
Hi all,
My name is Derek and by day I am the Chief Product Officer for a trivia company called Sporcle.
By night I’ve started a new newsletter here on Substack called Chief Rabbit - www.chiefrabbit.com.
My three things are:
1. Productivity: I care a lot about project management and getting things done.
2. Leading people: I’ve been managing people and leading teams for over a decade and I wanted to start sharing lessons learned along the way.
3. Technology: I’ve worked in Tech for 25 years. I love it so much. And I like to share news and bits and bops from the more nerdy side of the world.
My latest post is here if you wanna take a look: https://www.chiefrabbit.com/p/lead-anybody-even-if-you-cant-boss
Derek - as an officer in the Navy I have been very focused on productivity and leadership. However, I am a luddite when it comes to tech! I know just enough to be dangerous. Look forward to checking out your work.
My dad was in the navy so first and foremost thank you for your service.
And yeah, part of what I want to do is to take tech topics and make them more approachable. I hope you enjoy.
So cool, Tiffany! Thanks for opening this up. I'm Jade and I write The Rebel MFA Way which is a publication all about bucking the status quo of what we call "education" in society day. I'm also the creator of Writing Fiction to Heal, a method that helps writers take their trauma to the page in an accessible, affordable and healing way.
https://therebelmfaway.substack.com/
Three things I love to talk about:
1. Cats - I have 6 of them, including a Sphynx (naked kitty). I think I was a cat in another life.
2. Storytelling and trauma and the intersection between the two of them - and how education plays into this
3. Anything horror/macabre/gothic related - enough said 😂
Cats + rethinking education: yes, please!
Big fan of rethinking education. I am a dog guy though. :)
We have 2 dogs as well! We run a small zoo according to my family members 😂
Woah, someone who also hates the connotations of a formal education,, HI! (Unless I’m misinterpreting, oops)
You are correct! Love meeting others who are like-minded too ;)
Oh my goodness, I'm such a fan of your topics! Except cats. I have a dog haha.
I'm an equal opportunity animal lover! We have 2 dogs and a semi-feral opossum. And birds. Lotssss of outdoor birds at our "patio party" lol
Absolute yes to all of these! Fellow horror fan over here. :) And I love that you’re rethinking education and exploring trauma and storytelling.
Horror fans unite =D
On education, I've been enjoying this. https://losttools.substack.com/
I love this question!
1. POETRY and BOOKS. I could talk about poems (and read them, and read them aloud to you) all day long. I especially love the poets of the Harlem Renaissance and their inheritors. Another favorite is Gerard Manley Hopkins. A current favorite is Bryana Joy Beard. In the land of novels, I reread Gaudy Night about once a year and could talk about the confusing, intriguing life of Dorothy Sayers for hours on end.
2. AUTISM and NEURODIVERSITY. Both of my children are autistic, and it turns out, so I am (late diagnosed). Understanding the unique current of our brains sheds a clarifying light on so many things, alongside the struggles.
3. HOUSES and HOME. I'm kind of obsessed with houses--the ones that allow for all the things a true home should be. I've moved a ton in my life and called a lot of houses and apartments home, so this makes sense.
I am at work on a memoir, but my online writing is at Out for Stars: https://rebeccadmartin.substack.com/
I'm glad to be part of this community!
Dorothy Sayers = 😍
Right?!??
Rebecca - I love to read but have had a hard time getting into poetry. It is one area I feel I need help with in my reading experience.
I have a hard time interpreting poetry too, but I do love reading it just for the flow of the words. Kind of like listening to music for me.
Matthew and Tiffany, your comments inspired me to create this poetry lesson: https://rebeccadmartin.substack.com/p/how-to-like-reading-poetry-101
I just looked at your poetry lesson and it is such a lovely guide for a poem I haven't read before. Thank you!
Thanks for visiting! :)
Yes to all of these, Rebecca. I'm happy you're here too! I also love pondering what home really means.
I love all of these, especially the exploration of houses and home. The idea that home isn’t limited to a singular place, as well!
Yes, exactly!
Tiffany! Thanks for the opportunity to use this space to share. My name is Dan, and like others here, I'm holding down a regular ol' 9-5 during the day, but launched my newsletter, MidThoughts, about 9 months ago. If I had to distill my newsletter's mission statement into three things they'd probably be:
1. My personal thoughts and observations as a guy in his mid forties, standing on the precipice of middle age, and how I'm currently navigating it.
2. How to retain and nurture your creative energy when dealing with the responsibility of a regular 9-5 job.
3. Obervations as an old soul in a very modern, quickly changing world.
Of course I say this, but recently my newsletter has kinda gone off the rails in all the best ways, and now I find myself writing in a very real, very non-Substacky tone. I've resigned myself to the fact that I just want to have fun with my writing and honor my true self. I don't really care too much about how this tone comes off anymore, and for whatever reason, this recent shift has resulted in a significant increase in views. Lol! Go figure!
I'm currently working on a piece about my memories around those early, primordial days of the internet, pre-millenium, and what a different world it was compared to the flat-out, barely-tolerable burden it has become today. If any of this sounds interesting to you, I welcome you to stop by!
Hey Dan, good to see you here. I always enjoy the interesting things you come up with in your newsletter. Keep having fun!
Such important things to think about, Dan. I'm so interested in your thoughts on the pre-internet days. I'm a millennial, so the rapid shifts in technology are pretty disorienting sometimes. When I was in school, we were still researching with hefty encyclopedias and being told, "You're not always going to have a calculator with you," and look at us now.
I love all of this! Especially the retaining and nurturing creative energy with regular 9-5 job. I have a lot of friends who love their 9-5 but also want to be more creative. There is a way, I tell them, but now I'll also send them your way!
The retaining and nurturing creative energy is a huge pull for me, too.
I so appreciate your declaration to honor your true self and write “off the rails”
I’m intrigued!
Yes to "off the rails"! Looking forward to reading your Substack.
Hello hello,
I’m Bakhtawar, a mere 20 year old who is exploring my writing along with self through reflection, analysing of things I read, and studying social sphere’s and their progression while I distinguish my role in them. Three things I can talk and write about are:
1. In depth analysis of any book I’m reading at the moment, plus how the reading/writing communities are progressing collectively.
2. Bashing the current systems in place as a coping mechanism because how did we mess up so bad
3. My current learning fixations (Notion coding and organising lol)
My Substack is still a work in progress, but I hope to write on the topics mentioned above, along with some of my writing if I’m brave enough!
I love all three of your things! I'm also a fellow Notion addict. I'm obsessed!
Thank you for thIS INvitation Tiffany — I AM so INspired by thIS idea as WELL.
My Name IS Anja and I AM the HeART BEhINd The Heavenly HERitage — https://theheavenlyheritage.substack.com/
The three thINgs I Love talkINg / writINg about most are: God, Womanhood and Birth.
I AM Here to Serve FemININe restoration and remembrance of BELoved identity through (re)commUNION with God.
Hi! So excited to be a part of this while it’s free, and for your closer paid community later on! Loved reading everyone’s comments above.
My name is Brooke. My three things would be the intersections of fiction and truth, Biblical ponderings, and looking for wonder in every day life. A bit more casual and spontaneous, but happy to share with whoever might get something out of my musings and thoughts of storytelling!
Brooke, I popped over to your Substack and am intrigued by your book! I'm a YA Fantasy writer, too--at work on my first book. So impressed you already have yours out in the world!
Thank you! That’s really neat!! I’m excited for when yours ready to get out into the world. And thank you. It’s a journey that’s just beginning, for sure. And it’s awesome to connect with people on theirs too!
Oh my goodness, those are lovely things. And also that you've published a book!! I will have to add that to my list as well. That's so exciting.
Thank you! I hope you enjoy! I wasn’t able to read along with your LOTR recently but I enjoyed your thoughts on it!
I love this invitation to mingle here, Tiffany. Such a great idea. Thanks for opening this up.
My name is Allison and I write a Substack titled DARE TO BE DRY. My “real” job is that I am a real estate attorney. But I crave way more creativity than that allots. I gave up alcohol in 2021 and ever since then I’ve been discovering more and more about myself. Sobriety brought me back to writing which brought me back to me. My Substack is sobriety focused but there’s so much more to it. I write about navigating the teeter totter of midlife, raising a teen and a tween and just the strength it takes to human most days.
Three things I can talk and write a lot about:
1. How raising my children is really just a process of parenting myself in reverse. It amazes me how much of my inner child stuff (attachments, wounds, all that gnarly work) gets kicked up as I raise my son and daughter (ESPECIALLY my daughter).
2) How much I disdain the hustle culture world we are thrust into. I subscribe to the concept of slooooow productivity (no, it’s not an oxymoron). I yearn to live in a world where we stop telling each other how busy we are.
3) Nature and canines. My daily walk in the woods with my dog is truly where/when I am most at peace. My kids have also recently nicknamed me a bird nerd. Suddenly at age of 45 I am a huge bird enthusiast 🦤🤓
If anyone wants to join in my musings you can find me at:
https://allisonderaney.substack.com/
Allison - welcome! I gave up alcohol about a year ago because a relative was an addict and I realized I wanted to support their journey to sobriety. While I was never a big drinker, I definitely have felt no remorse at the lifestyle change. Very supportive of this! Great work.
Hi Matthew! Oh, I think that is so awesome - that you gave up alcohol in an effort to offer support for your relative. In so doing, you are also raising awareness that we don't "NEED" alcohol to play such a dominant role in our culture. Thanks for offering this kind of support - it's far reaching!
Hi Allison, I'm glad you're here! You are doing amazing things. I relate so much to all three of your things. Recently I've also been thinking a lot about how parenting my children is me reparenting myself. In a way it's been really healing to be the kind of parent I wished I had when I was a child. And yes, hustle culture.. Being busy is such a weird badge of honour in our society, and it REALLY shouldn't be. I wish we could give ourselves and each other permission to step back and just be.
I'm new to Substack but I'am so glad I found Substack and learned about all these wonderful people. Thank you for allowing us to do this, Tiffany!
Things I love to talk and write about:
1. Story and analyzing story
2. Words and languages
3. All things Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Christianity
My substack is The Christian Imaginary https://nathanmcollins.substack.com/
I created this blog to exercise the ideas that have haunted my mind. This blog will discuss and contemplate story, imagination, formation, Christian education, icons, symbols, pictures, and poetry. Journey with me as we delve into the deep cavernous thoughts of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald, Malcolm Guite, James K.A. Smith, N.T. Wright, Charles Taylor, and The Holy Scriptures. If you are interested in or hate this content, join the conversation, as I will blog about these subjects and authors every Sunday morning.
Ooh George MacDonald and Malcolm Guite!
Ok, your topics are all things I love learning about. Welcome, and thanks for sharing, Nathan!
Thank you for providing this space, Tiffany!
My name is Joanne, and while I don’t currently write on Substack, I’m in the midst of finding a home for my novel. I love how words and stories can provide bridges the world over. To that point, I’m enjoying reading everyone’s comments here.
My three things:
1. Grief, loss, and trauma: how our respective experiences shape our perspectives, actions, and our understanding of who we are. The ways they influence how we connect with others. How we find community through these universal, yet vastly different experiences.
2. Heritage: I love learning about people’s stories, backgrounds, customs—everything we’ve been handed down through the generations, how we’ve arrived at this point in our lives.
3. Personality: I am firmly an introvert, and it took years to understand and accept that being “me” in a world that seems to favor extroversion is perfectly fine. I’m fascinated by the different ways we socialize and build connections (similar to your first point, Tiffany, about human behavior).
Oh, these three things are meaningful to me, too, in much the way you describe. What genre is your novel? I am on the second draft of my first novel--YA Fantasy--that I hope will be in the hands of readers one day!
I am so glad they resonated! Mine is YA Contemporary, and also my first novel. Rooting for you on this exciting, and sometimes strange, journey. I also read your recent post on your memoir, and it sounds lovely!
Joanne - have you read Quiet by Susan Cain? I am also an introvert and that book was such a great resource helping me to realize how being introverted in a very loud world is ok.
Hi Matthew, I’ve heard great things about Quiet and look forward to reading it. Thank you for the recommendation, and I’m so glad it’s been a helpful resource for you. It’s always nice to connect with fellow introverts!
I have this on hold on Libby! Looking forward to finally reading it soon.
You know I love your three things too. <3 SO SO SO EXCITED FOR YOUR NOVEL TO BE OUT IN THE WORLD.
Our constant ponderings on these things. <3
Hi Joanne, I must say that I find all of your three favorite things interesting! Specifically number one. I am currently learning to live with and navigate the endless and arduous journey of grief, loss, and trauma. I look forward to your posts when they come!
Hi Angie, thank you for taking the time to read! I’m so sorry to hear you’re currently navigating this journey, and yes, endless and arduous are such accurate ways to describe it. Your posts resonate with me, and I look forward to following along!
Thank you for reading, and I am glad they resonate with you! Nice to virtually meet you =)
This is such a fun and great idea--thank you! My name is Angie, and I am an amateur writer. Since I can remember, I have had a passion for words and writing; however, is only recently that I have begun to view it as more than a hobby. I am in the process of finding my voice and currently write Expressive Discourse here on Substack: https://dangie.substack.com/
My three things that I love to write/talk about are:
1. Spirituality (Awareness/Consciousness) - The theme of my Substack publication
2. Travel - I am a nomadic backpacker
3. Weightlifting - My form of meditation and favorite way to keep active
I look forward to reading the comments so far and, hopefully, starting some conversations!
Angie - welcome. Really interesting theme for your publication. Lots of great spirituality writers on here so that is a thriving community. I consider myself a lifelong learner as well. Great having you here.
Hello Matthew and thank you for the warm welcome. I look forward to following your journey here on Substack. Also, if you have any spiritual writer recommendations, please feel free to suggest them. I have been looking for some spiritual-based newsletters but have mainly found religion-themed publications.
https://satyarobyn.substack.com/
https://donboivin.substack.com/
https://pamelaleavey.substack.com/
There is so much variation in that topic but those are three that I follow to get you started.
Hi Angie and welcome! I hope you find and make some valuable connections here. It's a great community. =)
Hello Tiffany and thank you! Thanks for the opportunity as well!
Angie, I love that your work revolves around your voice, spirituality, and self—a constant learning and discovery, I imagine.
Thank you! I am an amateur writer and am yet to find my way through this writing world, but I love the process hehe--And indeed, it is a constant learning and discovery and in a different way but also an endless and arduous journey (re: navigating grief, loss, and trauma), a beautiful one, but endless and arduous nonetheless.
Bookish hey everyone!
Such a great idea, Tiffany! I couldn’t resist the temptation to hop on this train.
My name is Aleksandra, and I joined Substack almost a year ago. (On March 8, to be precise. Am I supposed now, in the best traditions of blogging, to write a one-year-on-Substack post?)
The three things that I hope I will never get tired of thinking (and thus writing) about are
1) Books, classic literature, and slow reading with a notebook in my hand
2) Creative writing and writing in general in my second language, which happens to be English
3) My wildly cozy and bookish life that brought me to France to speak French, my second second language, when I’m not writing in English.
Hope that your writing and reading week has been gentle to you!
Aleksandra - sounds like we have quite a bit of overlap in interests. Congrats on your one year anniversary. Are you in Paris?
Congrats on one year, Aleksandra! I love your three topics. Also a lover of classic literature and wish I could convert everybody else to it. Do you annotate your books, or primarily write notes in your notebooks?
I hope I'm not too late for the party. I'm Lee and I run Station 101 (https://stationoneohone.substack.com/). My publication is a curated insight repository where I cover a wide range of topics including cryptocurrency, GenZ trends, and true crime stories (aiming to add one more section about Vietnamese culture) in the most informative way possible, you can think of it as a general knowledge newsletter. Of course, feel free to check out my publication and subscribe if you're interested in staying informed and entertained! Looking forward to connecting with more like-minded individuals at this party.
Three things I enjoy sharing with my audience are:
1. Providing basic knowledge of cryptocurrency, helping readers navigate this complex and ever-changing landscape, even if you are not familiar with the topic.
2. Engaging and thought-provoking stories about GenZ culture, sharing my point of view towards the issues at hand
3. Gripping true crime narratives that keep readers on the edge of their seats, delving deep in how the crime unfolds.
I've just started my publication for a week and wish to get to know all of the amazing folks here! Thank you, Tiffany, for this wholesome post!
Welcome Lee.
Nice to "meet" you Matthew!
Ooh true crime stories. That is one of my interests as well. Welcome to Substack, Lee!
Thanks!
Hello, my name is Aaron. I write about church, culture, and research for my day job. For fun, I write about church, culture, and C.S. Lewis at The Wardrobe Door: https://wardrobedoor.substack.com/
The three things I can love to talk about:
1. College basketball. This is my favorite sports time of the year, which is why (related to my third topic) I'm hosting a Narnia Madness character bracket on my Substack right now.
2. Stories, especially the latest movie or TV show I watched or book I read. I love to talk about how stories reflect God's grand narrative and their importance to us.
3. C.S. Lewis. I teach a class at my church and they all know they're getting at least one Lewis quote each week. His writing helped me maintain my faith and continues to help me grow in it.
Hi Aaron, just wanted to say that your well-researched articles are so informative and enlightening.
I'm new to Substack and slow since I only have the capacity for posting bi-weekly. My three things:
1. Conscious living - I want to inspire everyone to conscious living, while at the same time also learning and living it myself. So I will be writing on this journey and its reflections.
2. Culture and thoughts around feeling foreign from birth in my homeland to now in a foreign land. And all the in-between.
3. Still unsure what my third one would be, I'm between about traveling (my first love), and about Malaysia (where I am from) and about writing (which I want to do more and my dream is to be a full time writer).
Thanks Tiffany for the community and the chance to share here :)
Welcome, Rachel. Biweekly is wonderful, and I admire you for honouring your own capacity. Your topics sounds interesting. I especially relate to your second one, as a second-generation Taiwanese-American.
I love this idea, Tiffany! Hi all, my name's Allegra and I write The Gathering.
https://gathertogether.substack.com
My three things are:
1) Why society has become far too polarised and too many of us have been made to feel like outsiders, and we need to connect to one another to heal ourselves and our planet
2) Creativity as a tool for wellbeing, especially for neurodivergent types like myself
3) How society monumentally screws over mothers and why we should burn our current system to the ground!
I could talk on one and two for ages too! Thanks for sharing, Allegra!
LOL I am loling at your #3!!! I will be thinking on that one now 😂
I'm Miriam! I write Getting Better (potential re-brand coming soon :)). It's my offering of resonance. I share personal essays from my journey co-creating my child's world with more love and awareness. I speak to mindfulness, chronic illness, identity transformation, living in alignment with values, and more. My most recent post is Mothering from The Void: https://miriamcruz.substack.com/p/mothering-from-the-void
Three things I love to talk/write about:
1. All things motherhood: I'm a stay-at-home-mom as of 9 months ago. Something I never expected to be! It's been the most fulfilling transformation, and I also feel shockingly valueless in the broader world around me in a way I never felt when I was in finance, consulting, or a founder. I'm passionate about connecting with and supporting other mothers.
2. Historical fiction: I'm embarrassed to say I fell in love with Outlander. I was SHOCKED at the words I was reading (lolol) but couldn't put it down! But before that, I fell in love with the genre through more PG classics >.< I also love a good memoir and great short stories (David Sedaris is my absolute love)
3. Stand-up comedy: Nothing beats a live show, and I'm always looking out for recs! I feel like there are SO many Netflix specials these days and I rarely watch shows, so if there's one that people love, that'll be at the top of my list. I no longer have the patience or the time to browse on Netflix >.<
What a great space. Thank you Tiffany!! So excited I've found your community :)
Haha in the Council of Elrond chapter, they actually discuss the Eagles as an option. But anyways, my eyes roll whenever it gets brought up.
Hi Miriam! What beautiful topics. I was a SAHM until just last summer, but am transitioning back later this year haha.. 100% understand that feeling of valuelessness, and I think that's such a societal problem. Oh, I could talk for ages on that too haha. Have struggled with it as well.
Have you connected with @hollyabrown? She's somewhere up the thread, I believe, but she's also a lover of historical fiction and can recommend many books in that genre! Or actually, I think there's a conversation in the more recent books thread where she shares some, along with Kim and the Cat. Worth checking out!
Oh my goodness, just seeing your reply here too. So many things here I'd love to keep talking about — so glad that we're here and get to know each other over time. & thank you for the historical fiction recs direction!!! Going to look that way right now :)
Hey, y'all. I'm Randall, "your friendly neighborhood neuroscientist."
https://randallhayes.substack.com/
Three things I can't stop talking about, which color my writings too:
1) Comics, largely the four-color superheroes I grew up with, but always eager to engage on the indie / zine end;
2) Science, because it's a useful and practical and beautiful way to navigate the world; and
3) Buddhism, for the exact same reasons.
I was raised on a farm in Kentucky, in a VERY Christian community, but it never really stuck. Given some other comments, I might recommend this book by an author who died too young.
https://randallhayes.substack.com/p/the-book-formerly-known-as
It's an old post, so I had to drop the paywall, but if that didn't work for some reason let me know.
Hi Randall, welcome! Fascinating topics, and I look forward to reading more of your thoughts around here.