It's not this way, it's that...

Feel free to share your posts in multiple ways at multiple times...

Here on Substack we are invited to;

revisit

reframe

re-imagine our work, our words, our worlds…

and often, as often as we like actually.

We can join in, we can opt out.

We can hone in, we can zoom out.

Photo by Efe Kurnaz on Unsplash

Telling our Stories

Substack is a publication platform. It invites us to tell our stories, share audio, video, our newsletter if we want. We can post (words, audio, video) to the website, email people privately, build community, connect with others.

The vehicle for stories has never been so rich.

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You want to improve your craft? Me too. You’re in the right place.

My friend and colleague

Suzy Walker

who runs Heart Leap here interviewed Brene Brown some years ago. I’ll never tire of hearing about it but I don’t even know the story yet… that’s a story Suzy could tell 100 times over or more… we have lots of stories like that… I can’t wait to talk to Suzy about it. I met Suzy and hassled her to come onto Substack because I saw universes in her and I see that in Substack too.

My husband brought me here.

Every time he writes, I get lost in his words. They are familiar of course but, I’m reading the whole essence of them for the first time. In a beautifully chaotic family home, I get to actually listen to his story.

Who brought you here to Substack? What was the first story you told?

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Here on Substack, we are seeing some shifts.

I’ve started my digital detox earlier than planned because Notes was triggering me. Being small, my world was one of constant conflict and this week I started to feel some complex feelings that mirrored it here. Just because we are used to throwing our nervous systems into social media circus doesn’t mean we have to do that here or anywhere really.

You can joyfully grow your Substack away from Notes if you need a break too?

I just want to create and being of service and build community and help you do the same so here we are. Gentle activists in creativity.

Permission to Revisit your Work

Just this week, I revisited a post I originally share over on

Creatively Conscious

before

Sparkle on Substack

existed. Before I’d had the idea and grappled with the ethics and flavour of it.

Before the imposter syndrome crept up on me, before I knew you the way I do now…

In all honestly, it was the first post where I realised that Sparkle could exist and very shortly after that I put on a masterclass (paid subs have FREE access to).

In the post, I wrote from the heart and reading it back now I can see how brave and confused I was about this powerful new space for our words.

Earlier this month, I spoke with Farrah at

Things Worth Knowing with Farrah Storr

and

Katie @ Substack

about Substack.

Both of them asked me my biggest highlight and my goals for next year. (I wonder if that’s their policy when they meet with writers)? 😉

In that moment, it felt like a question I wasn’t quite ready for… but here and now I’ve thought about it some more…

• My biggest highlight in 2024 was building community here and making friends I can share my world with offline too.

• Goals for next year are many but most importantly; to lean into my creativity and what’s sustainable as I grow my ambition here.

I ordered an end of year reflection tool and workbook that

Susannah Conway

creates and it arrived yesterday. I’m so ready to start; Unravel your Year. I have my coloured pens ready and the big shop to do and then I’ll settle in. Do you have an end of year process you’re looking forward to? I love the one

Kat River

shared this week too.

In a Substack Note this week, I asked you what was your ‘most viewed’ post of this last year…

Lots of folks were surprised at what they found in their archives. 82 people replied; there’s some holiday reading for you! Some had logic and feelings to share and in all of that magic I got so inspired to write this for you.

Here’s the post I re-shared.

Is Substack a side hustle?

My open rates are constantly going down so now I look at the views and the subs as metrics…

The clicks were mainly to a colleague’s Substack and she hit bestseller the same month as me. I’m not taking credit but we did do more ‘community building’ and cross over together and some of it lead to paid subs for her.

A higher engagement rate is something that ALL of my clients on Substack and outside of it crave… I like that mine is pretty and I only compare it to the grey… this post gave me double the engagement so that’s a win win for me!!

So which post of yours are you going to revisit, to re-share, who’s work do you want to read more of over the holidays? ❄️ 🎄✨

What have you ‘saved for later’ - let me know in the comments?

We are not the news and we don’t have to keep churning out posts or embody the wrongs of the world.

We find our place in the order of things through the power of our words.

Each post gathers the power of the last; a gentle spark of creative activism of taking up space.

Rest and your Substack will still sparkle; I know that to be true.

Claire x

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PS - If you’re new here; I built this page for you.

Brand new to Substack?