How are you engaging with your fellow writers?? (Patreon)

So I have a couple meandering questions for y'all today!

Earlier this morning, I managed to finally work up to cancelling the hosting of my old website, and while waiting for customer service help (because I had Many Problems, they do not make cancelling easy bahaha) I started reading a recent newsletter from an old writer friend.

Now I haven't chatted with this writer friend in, like, two years. But I still read her newsletter! In fact, she's one of the few newsletters I always click on and read through.

And it made me think about another old writer acquaintance I'm always checking up on - through her blog, a defunct podcast, an old YouTube channel, all sorts of things. Like just vaguely wondering where she's at and how she's doing and if she's still selling her books. (She is, but not pushing them anymore.)

Light internet stalking aside, it got me thinking more broadly about how I interact with other writers. And despite the insane amount of time I spend watching YouTube, I think I interact with most of my writer friends/acquaintances/mentors/would-like-to-be-friends-but-haven't-summoned-the-strength-to-message-them-yet-so-I-continue-following-from-afar on Instagram.

It's probably the quickest way for me to get updates on how they're doing - writing or otherwise.

(Which is maybe why I felt disconnected from writing groups for a bit these past few months? I was on an accidental/unofficial IG hiatus.)

Livestreams, whether on Twitch or YouTube or elsewhere, also give me a pretty big boost in connection.

But the places I look to get my writing industry information are totally different. Usually that's when I'm perusing Reddit or the NYTimes or specific websites/podcasts. (Like Jane Friedman's site!)

That helps me feel connected too, just in a different way, like getting national news vs. local news bahaha.

So for the poll! Please let me know where you engage/hangout with your fellow writers the most. (Select any and all, I think I set the poll up correctly for that this time! 🙃) 

And I'd love to hear about places you USED to engage with writers too. Also the places you share the most vs. consume the most. (Like debatably I share the most here and on YouTube and maybe Twitch, but I consume the most from others on IG.)

Finally, because most of y'all found me through YouTube, I'd also be curious to know more specifically what kinds of writing YouTube content you're still watching (or if you've moved away from authortube!). Let me know if you're more in a livestream mode or an experimental vlog mode or sit down and chatty tea time videos. Whatever you've been watching, I'd love to hear about it!

Sending all the good writing vibes your way! (And hopefully none of the bad, frustrating "needing to cancel and it refusing to do so" vibes bahaha.)