Two Years at Substack?

Another obligatory celebration

Two years ago, I finally decided to join the community that I’d been hearing about for months, and that decision is one of the best that I ever could have made. I mean that wholeheartedly. At the time, though, I couldn’t have known the impact it would have on my life, my writing, and how I perceived online writing communities.

Up until that point, I’d only heard of ones which were either not very active, meaning I couldn’t really engage with other creatives, get and give constrictive criticism, and in general, get to know them in individuals. Or they had the awful reputation of being too large and toxic. I wasn’t interested in either option, and who would be?

But Substack was different. It remains different. People actually care about your well-being, they’re generous with their time and thoughtfulness. It goes even deeper than that. I think we’re more akin to found family than strangers with a willful capacity to care. I can’t speak for everyone, but I genuinely do care for every one of you. I’m a deeply feeling person, and I love you guys.

The friendships I’ve made along the way are incredible. Not to make light of those who subscribed to Between the Words fairly early on, but the friendships that I’ve made the last six months or so are very dear to me (awesome folks like Nikki | Nocturnal Narrator, jessica, Rey Pacheco, A Writer’s Voice, Levi Edwards, Georgia, Dayana, caroline cherry, Marie Rose🌹 , and Andrea 🌄,) and I doubt I’ll ever know why all of us connected around the same time, or what drew us to each other, but I’m so unbelievably grateful. You have no idea of the impact you’ve had on my life, mental state, reading choices, or the ways I’m leaning—more than ever— in really challenging myself to experiment with story structure, to break the traditional “rules” of poetry, etc…, etc….

(Also, last but not least, Coral Evermore.)

Shouting thank you from the rooftops wouldn’t be enough, but saying those words and writing this newsletter are all I have. Thank you for being here and for loving me back. I feel that whenever I’m at Substack.

As a special “bonus,” I guess you’d say, I thought I’d share my very first newsletter here, for anyone interested. It’s not much, just a short introductory piece.

https://substack.com/@betweenthewords/p-141448553

Also, these were my first LIKES from that initial newsletter:

(Yes, I subbed to myself. LOL.)

Until next time, take care of yourselves and your mental health,

Dustin