What is the Finding Your Voice Substack?

Hello, writers! Some of you are coming here from previous Finding Your Voice workshops, and some of you are new, so today I’ll be sharing a little bit about what the Finding Your Voice writing workshops are in general, and what this Substack will be in particular.

Don’t have time to read the whole post? Here’s the elevator version:

The Finding Your Voice Writing Workshops are for writers and aspiring writers who are neurodivergent or struggle with depression or other mental illness, and provide an encouraging space to practice our craft within an empathetic and supportive community. This Substack is an offshoot of the workshops aimed at bringing together the larger FYV community, and will offer two posts per week with writing prompts, quotes, short talks, and a place for you to share your work and give each other feedback.

Okay, now a few more details.

What is the Finding Your Voice community, and who is welcome here?

The Finding Your Voice community is a place for all writers and aspiring writers who, in addition to the challenges of writing itself, also have mental health challenges. For our purposes, this is includes things like depression, anxiety disorders, OCD, and bipolar disorder, but also eating disorders, substance abuse disorders, ADHD, etc. You don’t need a diagnosis to be here, and you don’t have to share what your particular struggle is. If you feel like you belong, and you’re able to offer empathy and understanding to the other writers here, then you belong!

The Finding Your Voice writing community is based on two beliefs: That we need to write, and that the world needs to hear our voices. I firmly believe that if you dream of being a writer — if you put words on page or even just tell stories in your head, if you invest your time and energy into joining a writing community or taking a workshop, if you wonder whether you’re a real writer — you are a writer! Self-doubt is actually one of the sure signs of a writer — People who aren’t writers don’t tend to worry so much about whether or not they’re writers, you know?

When I took writing classes in college, the feedback from the professors and the other students tended to be on what we were doing wrong. From a basic neuroscience perspective, this approach is just generally not very successful. Besides discouraging people from continuing to write, it doesn’t actually help us improve much, or bring out what is unique and powerful in our particular writing. So in the workshops I teach now, and in this community, I want to focus on identifying our strengths and the strengths of our stories (whether they take the form of memoir, fiction, or poetry) and drawing that out, while also providing tools to help us in our writing. The feedback questions are carefully structured toward that end. I aim to create an environment of encouragement, curiosity, and camaraderie, as well as providing practical tools and resources.

What can I expect if I subscribe to this Substack?

You will receive two posts per week, one on Monday with a writing prompt along with some thoughts from me, quotes from writers about writing, or links to resources, and one on Friday where you’ll be invited to share some of your own work and offer and receive feedback from other writers. As the group grows I also hope to have interviews and guest posts from other writers.

What is the difference between the free version and the paid version?

Almost all of the content here, along with the ability to post comments, share your writing, and get feedback, will be under the paid version. Unpaid subscribers will mainly get updates about upcoming workshops. If the $8/month is prohibitive for you, I have a few free three-month subscriptions I can share. Send me an email at team@jessicakantrowitz.com to request one.

I am also offering a special thank you gift for everyone who buys a yearly subscription for $80. Besides saving $16 off the monthly price, you’ll also receive a cheerful die-cut sticker that reads, “If you dream of being a writer, you are a writer.” I designed these myself, just for you!

AND if you subscribe as a founding member for $160, I’ll send you both the sticker and a nice, navy blue mug with the same design.