Thursday Noodles - 10/12 Gratitude Edition

Spotlight on YOU!

J. J. Johnson Wichman

Oct 12, 2023

Y’all are truly the best.

If you are reading this, I am grateful to you and I’m grateful for you.

Why am I grateful to every reader?

For the past few years, I thought I had writer’s block.

I was low-key panicking.

My notebooks were filling with partly written books (and one full book, but it needs two more to make it a trilogy). I’d get to page 50 or 75 or 100, and then I’d start thinking about the YEARS it takes to go from pen and paper, to computer, to agent, to editor, to publisher, and … well. I felt a pretty radical impatience with the process.

You know what, though? It wasn’t writer’s block.

What is was was wanting to interact with readers sooner than a book tour, two or three years from now. (Not that I’m complaining about book tours. I do plan to write more books.)

But I wanted to write what’s on my heart, right now, and put it out there, and, if I was lucky, find folks to read it.

Sure, I post heartfelt posts on social media. But more and more, I find Facebook icky, and also it does not help me make a living from writing.

But I couldn’t figure out what to do.

Until this. Until Substack.

So I want to thank you, readers.

And! Those of you who are paid subscribers, I want to give you a special shout-out.

My first post was June 13, 2023. I began Unruly Quaker to address number 4 on my list of “things I wish I had done” back in December 2020, when I was catastrophizing while I had Covid.

Number 4 on my list was:

Writing more. Writing. More.

Getting paid for it.

While tackling The Big Questions.

Writing is work.

Social justice work is work.

All of the social justice work that I currently do is unpaid. I’m not sure if it can or will become paid in the future. (I’ve asked, it doesn’t look imminent.)

The places I’m called to are the spaces folks want to ignore; they are un- or under-funded.

Thusly writing needs to provide the income (and the flexible schedule).

So I want to especially thank you and name you, dearest paid subscribers, because you are making this happen.

Thank you to all my annual and monthly paid subscribers, with extra thanks to my 4 wonderful, amazing, generous founding subscribers!

Paige Chandler, Susan Dunlap, Rob Lamme, Lisa Wichman, Andrea Dixon, Leah Wilson-Hartgrove, Nishi Moonka, Juanita Johnson, Jennifer Garci, Laurie Bowers, Kristin Boyt, Julie Shaw, John Bemis, Sandy Sweitzer, Effie Molina, Kate VanDis, June Georgia, David Everett & Jo Cate, Jennifer Stone, Susan Haws, Marcia Owen, Sarah Meyer, Jen & Josh Udler, Roz DeRensis, Nikki Nusbaum, Mary Ambrose, Mary Slatterly, Linda Carter, Mike Cornelison, Karen Blase, Judy Rosen, Tom Hoebbel, Bev Cowdrick, Emily Feidelson, Judith Brunger, Ben Haas, Beth Anderson, Zareen Kapadia, Amy Cotter, Ellen Krupa, Emily Rhode, Bill O’Connor, Ann Ringland, Gabrielle Charbonnet, Terry Graedon, Allison Tuttle, Terri Windling, Dale & Sandy Brown, Mel Williams, Marty Nelson, Lizzie Eves, Mindy Lee.