Hashtag Writing Community

Remembering the little Bluebird

Photo by Patrice Bouchard on Unsplash

Loneliness was no stranger in 2019 when I sat at my desk writing about grief and longing. For some, when the pandemic hit, loneliness became a a more vicious and feral creature. Many took to the internet for human interaction. The Columbia Journal even published a Special Loneliness Issue where my essay “Snip” received honorable mention.

A look back at my old Twitter profile tells me I joined the platform in March of 2020. For the next four years that was a place I found connection with other writers, read literary journals, learned of submission opportunities, wrote a daily haiku, and found Tiny Truths thanks to the now defunct Creative Nonfiction Magazine. (I still have a stack of those gorgeous hard copies).

Flew the coop

People I met on Twitter became real life friends. I was invited to join a critique group on Zoom which was instrumental in getting my essay collection published. The other writers, all memorists, lived in other states. Sharing our work was an act of intimacy and vulnerability that brought us closer. Eventually we met up at conferences and at one another’s homes. We named our group Writers Tears after an Irish Whiskey and because we’ve all cried a few times. Birthing a book is hard. We still meet twice a month and sometimes even ask for feedback on a piece of writing.

The last time I Tweeted anything was in June 2025 to share a book review.

Instagram though, is where the hashtags hashed and tagged. Especially the ubiquitous #writingcommunity and #amwriting and #amwritingmemoir. I never figured out how to make the fancy reels and still don’t know how to share a post. I like the pictures though, and Elon hasn’t bought that yet as far as I know.

But so what? Who cares? Where am I going with this?

Oh, yes. Community. What is it and how can we get some? Well, here we are on Substack, where the writing community is flourishing without hashtags. I subscribe to far too many Stacks to read on a regular basis, but like everyone here I have my favorites that I always try to get to. I’m not going to name them because even the favorites list would be too long. Of course we’re all reading Heather Cox-Richardson’s Letters From an American. Or should be.

Last August, the monthly theme for In A Flash was community. I was honored that they chose my submission. I won’t link to it directly because there are so many great short essays to read there. Mine is the one with the penquins though, if you’re interested.

And I want to tell you about another budding group that’s happening here. A monthly story slam, Wham! Bam! Thank You! Slam! hosted by Nan Tepper.

For May, of course the theme is Mothers & Daughters. It’s tomorrow, Saturday, May 16 at 5PM. I would have told you sooner, but it’s me. I’ve been busy procrastinating.

Mothers and Daughters. A tender topic, and for many a difficult one. No matter from which direction it’s approached. Always though, in these slams, some stories will make you laugh, some will make you cry. Some may make you wonder “What the hell is wrong with these people.” You might even want to sign up to tell your own story in one of Wham Bam’s upcoming slams. Just talk to Nan about that. Don’t worry, even though she’s almost famous she’s approachable. She’s become a new friend I’ve never met.