I really enjoy how unpredictable my Patreon following has become. A few short months ago, for the first time ever, my patrons voted to start another story before another story was finished. Scandalous! A story was left on temporary halt (although, let’s be honest, you all are kind of used to that feeling by now) and another was set to begin. I don’t mind this in the slightest; the worst feeling it elicits is this insecure feeling that when I pick the story back up again, I may have lost some momentum. Still, it’s on me as a writer to ensure that doesn’t happen.

Lo and behold, the unpredictability has struck again, and now Follow the Leader will be getting another chapter before Dinner Break is finished! How interesting. Having multiple longform stories ongoing is nothing new; I’ve been chewing through Final Answer for a while now, and Worlds Apart was also commissioned alongside my regular stories. It’ll be a lot of fun to bounce back and forth, at hopefully no quality-related cost to either story.

Speaking of leaving something and then coming back to it, let’s talk about social media. I’m not great at it. In fact, my real life has no real social media. I used to have a Facebook account, but it’s gone at this point. I don’t have an Instagram or a Snapchat, and am so out of touch that even giving the name “Snapchat” could be like saying MySpace or Bebo. I assume not—not to spoil too much, but a commissioner has approached me recently with Snapchat being a part of their suggested story premise—but the point stands: I don’t do social media.

When my popularity first struck me like lightning, I in no way capitalized on it in a way that could support a writing career. Being More Social got popular in a very “right place at the right time” situation, and I responded by going, “Wow! Cool!” and continuing to write. The second time I got a surge of people noticing me, when I decided to take my writing elsewhere after a few stories were banned, I made a website, a Patreon account, and a Twitter. I didn’t do much with the Twitter account until 2020ish, well after any popularity spikes occurred within my sphere. Even so, I resolved to write a tweet every day or so, then every three days, for a good two years or so. It was a neat experiment.

I did that because I have this possibly naïve idea that to get big on the internet, you need to be constantly present. Consistency has served me well, and I’ve definitely shot myself in the foot many a time due to my usual inconsistency, but Twitter was a weird exception. I didn’t get much engagement at all, despite doing my best to put thought and purpose into a lot of my tweets. They weren’t particularly funny or insightful or anything, but it was what one might expect from a Twitter account.

I still don’t get Twitter. From the outside it seems like some people will just share their thoughts on a topic they like and certain people that give relatable thoughts will become niche micro-celebrities in a given sphere. If you already have a name for yourself on the internet and a thing you’re known for liking to do, it’s fairly easy, seemingly, to make a brand. I don’t have a head for that kind of thing. It might be because I’m too loquacious to micro-blog, or my style is too unrefined or sure of itself. I don’t know, but… I think I’m content not to.

Leaving aside the awful politics of twitter and how, despite actively staying away from political tweets, my feed whenever I log in has some weird American politician asking why black women are still allowed in sports or whatever, I don’t like Twitter. I don’t enjoy it. After taking a prolonged pause from it, not even bothering to update it with new finished chapters, a couple of my friends recommended I jump to BlueSky instead. BlueSky seems basically just like Twitter, except without the weird politicians asking why the government hasn’t just euthanized the homeless already. Don’t get me wrong, having the weirdos gone is a plus, but it’s still not a place that brings me joy.

I don’t know if it’s because I don’t normally partake in social media, or the fact that enthusiastically engaging with it doesn’t work out for me, but something about social media that involves anyone peering in… doesn’t make me excited. I’m definitely bad at keeping people engaged with it; heck, the last few tweets I have announcing new chapters basically went unnoticed, no doubt thanks to my own ineptitude with social media. But as well, I’ve found joy in the Discord server. Even though I don’t update it that much, I still check it at least every 2 days, and am always joyful to see a new message. Literally. Every time there’s a new message in the Discord server, I smile, physically.

I think the reason for this distinction—Twitter versus Discord—is because the Discord server is a closed group of people. I’m engaging with people that want to be there, and not just the ether of The Internet, which may be 50% bots, that rightfully don’t give a damn about me or my work. It actually feels like a community, and not just me shouting in the middle of town square that I’m this weird little erotica writer. I’m still noticeably bad at engaging my Discord community, but at least it’s there, and every interaction I have with peopel on there feels more meaningful.

I’m open to thoughts about how I should engage, if any of you are better about social media than I am. The last thing I want to be is fake, and I feel like asking my Discord every day, “Good morning, everyone! what have you been reading today? :)” seems fake. I want to talk to them when I have something to say; nothing less. Even so, I’m glad to have a Discord account now, and I’m indifferent at best to have a Twitter. I might get rid of it in time. Who knows? I don’t. That said, I’m glad to have the little community I have; I’m very lucky, and appreciate you all. I’ll talk to you all next week.

Click this image to be taken to Bashful Scribe’s Discord server.