Hello lovelies! If you missed last week’s Muse Monday, or were frustrated by the weird format, you can click here to read it. I’m not sure why it published with the text all scrunched together. Even when I went back to edit it, everything looked fine from my end. But it is fixed now.
Like many of my fellow writers on Substack, I’m concerned that with the introduction of video to Notes, Substack is just turning into another social media platform that constantly requires us to post content if we want to placate the algorithm gods.
When I first joined Substack, it seemed to be the ideal place to connect writers and readers, but now it is turning into another loud and busy social media platform.
I will continue to share my newsletters through Substack, for the sake of convenience, but I don’t intend on ever posting videos or adding to the Notes feed every single day.
If you are reading this through your email inbox and have no idea what I’m talking about, don’t worry. Substack is my newsletter provider, but also has some features that are more like a social media platform. People who read my newsletters through the Substack app or website can connect with me on Notes (a feature that is similar to Twitter) or leave a comment on my newsletter (just as if it were a blog post).
What I do like about Substack is that subscribers to my newsletter can get my weekly newsletter to their email inbox and/or come to the website (or app) to read it and leave a comment. I love the way it is a blog and newsletter combined.
I also love how free subscribers can read some of my newsletters for free and paid subscribers get bonus newsletters, handwritten letters in the mail, and more options to connect with me and the community.
I’ve been wondering how I can build this community even more, so have decided to set up a Discord community! I shared about this in my last newsletter but basically Labyrinth Walkers (my Discord group) is a place for kindred spirits to connect and learn together on topics relating to spirituality, nature, and personal mythology. It’ll be like we are all meeting in my little seaside cottage, or our cozy village bookshop cafe to chat and find meaning and purpose. I’ll be your local village witch, there to guide you and offer suggestions for books to read and resources to help you on your personal journeys.
My unearthing your story course will be moved over to Discord too within the next few weeks, so anyone who has been curious about it can finally access the course modules and begin the process of determining your personal myth/story. I’ll also offer teatime chats once a month, where we can all video call each other while we drink tea and discuss that month’s topic and book. Of course, there is no obligation to participate in these video chats if it is beyond your comfort level or can’t make it to the chat, but for those who want to meet up and socialize as we chat over video, I’m excited to offer this option.
Yearly membership for Unearthing Your Story course is $15 (pretty low considering my Unearthing Your Story course was $150 when I offered it years ago), however if you are a paid subscriber to this newsletter already you don’t have to pay anything extra to join. Just check your email inbox for an invite from Discord. If you aren’t a paid subscriber and wish to join Unearthing Your Story, just PayPal or Venmo me the $15 with a note that it’s for membership to Unearthing Your Story and include your email address so you can be invited to join Discord. My PayPal and Venmo are both enchanted.caitlin@gmail.com
Membership to the Discord book club group, Labyrinth Walkers, is free. You can join here.
It’s been a while since I shared writing/publishing updates, so that is the other reason I am writing to you today. Many of you know that I am pursuing a master’s degree in library science, which doesn’t leave me much time to write. However, I made a commitment to publish one poem per quarter on Kind Over Matter’s “Poetry Corner.” My latest was just published and you can read it here. I also contributed to a forthcoming issue of Bella Grace Magazine and will update you when it publishes. This is my second time contributing to Bella Grace, something that still feels surreal to me as it is my favorite magazine ever! I wrote about my first experience with getting my writing in my favorite magazine here and have temporarily removed the paywall, enabling the post to be read by anyone. And, in case I didn’t mention it in an earlier newsletter, I was blessed to have a few of my poems included in another anthology, Seasons of Love, curated by the wonderful Beth Stedman.
As much as I would like to return to rewriting my novel, I don’t have the time and energy for it this year. Maybe, over the summer when I’m taking less classes, I will resume work on my novel, but for now poetry is my medium of choice!
Inspiration strikes when least expected, so I’m in the habit of carrying a notebook with me wherever I go. On the rare occasions when I find myself out and about without a notebook and a poem embraces me, I repeat the words to myself in the hopes that I can memorize them.
Do you carry a notebook with you as well? If so, what sorts of things can be found in the pages of your notebook/sketchbook/journal?
I’ve written in journals and kept sketchbooks for as long as I can remember. When I was in high school…
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