A Substackversary - One Year Publishing Weekly - 3 Big Lessons, Highlights, Thanks, and the Future
Writing here weekly has been one of the best decisions of my life.
Dear Reader,
Today we mark the one-year anniversary here at jofty’s Corner! (Is that a Substackversary?)
I still can’t believe we’ve been travelling the road From War to Writing for 52 weeks straight.
One year ago, when I published my first article, I was scared to hit publish.
One year ago, I was confused about what to write and what direction to take…
… but I made a promise:
We begin with one simple promise to you, my dear reader: I will post something every Saturday. I will even endeavor to make it worth your time.
I kept that promise.
I intend to keep doing so.
We’ve come a long way in a year, and I look forward to the future.
Let’s take a moment to reflect, shall we? :)
I hope you enjoy our slightly celebratory, somewhat reflective, hope-focused, and visually engaging missive today.
If you’re a first-time reader, welcome! This post should let you know if this place offers something you seek.
If you’ve been here for a while, today you’ll find highlights and thoughts on where we’ve been and where we’re going.
Section 1 - Thank You to Readers, Mission Brief, Illustrator Spotlight
Section 2 - Lessons and Selections from Year One - Personal lessons learned and notes from my most popular articles.
Section 3 - What’s Next? - A Journey of Hope — Weekly posts every Saturday will continue. From War to Writing remains my primary focus. This is a journey of hope and healing.
Let’s get started!
Thank You, Mission Brief, Illustrator Spotlight
THANK YOU, DEAR READER
Dear reader: thank you for being here.
This story would not be told without your support.
Forging a path along the road From War to Writing can be a challenging and sometimes lonely endeavor, but knowing you are here gives me a special measure of motivation that keeps me on track… and keeps me coming back to share more.
You have helped create something of substance.
I hope this work has helped you in some way.
This work has helped me.
This work has helped others.
This work will help many more.
Thank you.
We’re just getting started.
I remember looking around Substack when I first got here seeing pages with robust libraries: stories, insight, expertise… certainly plenty of opinion, and thinking how insurmountable of a task it seemed to someday, just maybe, create anything even remotely similar.
Well… We’re on our way.
It seems most readers rarely, if ever, see the main page for jofty’s Corner. The story it tells changes every week, and it looks more hopeful, helpful, and healing today than ever before.
Bolstered by your support and feedback, this is what the homepage looks like now:
As we continue along the road From War to Writing, know my heartfelt Thank You for joining the journey is more than just words.
MISSION BRIEF - FROM WAR TO WRITING
This first year has been quite a journey. Through all the ups and downs it’s taken most of this time to figure out my “mission” here… but I finally found it.
My initial promise to post something every Saturday started as my “mission,” but now that promise is more of a foundational cornerstone to enabling the work to continue.
My mission is to make From War to Writing exist.
My mission is to weave and share this story of hope and healing.
My mission is to always consider you, my dear reader, as I put words together with care.
This year also led to a lot of personal growth and allowed me to start piecing together a coherent story worth sharing:
My story is one of hope and healing… of recovery from PTSD and crippling anxiety and reclaiming my life from the brink of self-implosion.
It started with Prologue: My First Attempt at Solitude and continues here every Saturday.
My story is the road From War to Writing, and I invite you to join the journey. 8^)
Chapters are neatly organized for your reading enjoyment at the main link for the book project :
https://jofty.substack.com/t/from-war-to-writing
If you want to bookmark a link to keep up with the core mission here, that’s the link to use, and here’s what it looks like. :)
Part of my ‘job’ here is to make your experience as enjoyable as possible. One way to do that is with quality illustrations. That, however, is a talent I do not possess. To that end, I owe a big “thank you” to our official illustrator.
A THANK YOU TO THE ILLUSTRATOR
As much as I am learning to ‘paint’ with words, my daughter is learning to paint with digital tools.
She has illustrated many scenes for us here at jofty’s Corner and I want to take this opportunity to share a gallery of her work and thank her for her support.
Her personal touch and skill add something unique to this space that AI and stock photos simply won’t be able to match.
We’re still dialing in the theme, rhythm, and ‘contracts,’ but I hope to continue working with her more in the future. I can’t expect something from her every week, but we are ‘in talks’ to see if she’ll be the exclusive illustrator for any print editions of From War to Writing. I am hopeful you’ll be seeing more of her work here.
Thank you, Illustrickz (IG), for your touching artwork and your support. 8^)
Lessons and Selections from Year One
This year I’ve learned so much… about myself, the mental health arena, and what it’s like to be a writer.
Choosing just a few lessons to share today was a fun bit of a challenge, but three bubbled to the top.
I am a writer.
Before this year I never did much writing outside of the minimum requirements at work or school. After publishing something weekly for almost a year, I learned that I’m a writer. I also learned that means as long as I can write, I probably will.
Publishing something weekly has been the single-most important big rock I’ve managed to protect along my healing journey. It keeps me grounded. It gives me a purpose outside my home, and outside my head.
I addressed this in my unusually short missive: “Why I Write”
My battle with PTSD is going to take a while to fully wrangle — and should lead to a book that helps others.
Healing isn’t linear. Healing from trauma can take a while. Everyone who goes through a healing journey travels a different path. As I began to understand the scope of my journey, I shared the daily impact of my PTSD experience most succinctly here:
I have a story to tell.
It took a lot of writing to figure out what story I need to tell first. My story of climbing out of a self-imploding spiral, starting a healing journey, and finding hope is the story that comes first.
Part of telling this story is acknowledging that readers deserve the opportunity to join along in my healing journey.
The road From War to Writing welcomes battle-buddies. If you find my story compelling, I invite you to subscribe and join the journey.
READER FAVORITES
This Substackversary post would not be complete without including articles that you, my dear reader, found most enjoyable!
After carefully reviewing the stats and comments, your choices were pretty clear.
I present to you a selection of the most viewed, liked, and commented articles of Year One at jofty’s Corner.
Most Viewed: A Note Caution and Warning for the Easily Distracted, Task Saturated or Overwhelmed.
This article first introduced the concepts of Lettings Dandelions Grow, Sorting Big Rocks, Little Rocks, and Sand, and Protecting Glass Balls.
Oddly enough, this most viewed reader favorite was re-written and became Chapter 1 of the book. While the link above will take you to the original article, I suggest my re-worked post as Chapter 1 captures my thoughts more effectively. :)
Most Liked: Prologue: My First Attempt at Solitude
Discovering the article you “liked” most was a particular treat. The prologue to my book received more “likes” than any other post. Thank you. I consider that a significant vote of confidence that I’m headed the right direction.
This article describes where my healing journey began and is a good starting point for new readers.
Most Commented: Empathy and Curiosity - Lessons from a Week on the Road
Another surprise in the stats! I penned this short-ish missive sitting in a Dairy Queen at the end of a road trip early in my writing journey. This post probably showed the first clear signs of real healing taking place.
We’ve come a long way since then. :)
This is a Journey of Hope
We’ve come so far this year.
When this Substack journey began, I was lost, scared, and confused. Hope had become a foreign concept and thinking about ‘the future’ seemed almost futile.
Now, as I look around, re-visit my big rocks, and re-set my battle lines, the word “hope” keeps popping up everywhere.
There is a picture hanging on the wall in my office. I’ve had it since I was a kid. I’m pretty sure my parents gave it to me. I’ve carried it with me around the world. I’ve hung it on my wall, put on my desk, and left it in a box or two for years on end once or twice.
For the last two years, it’s been hanging at the top center of my wall four feet behind where I sit as I type these words.
I haven’t stopped to look at it until this week, and the message means more now than ever before.
The quote on the plaque is from Jeramiah 29:11 and reads in part: “I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”
The part that gets me is: “plans to give you hope and a future.”
Writing here has led me back to a place where I have hope and can once again see that I do have a future.
I look forward to continuing this journey with you.
Thank you for an incredible year. The best is yet to come.
Thank you again for being here.
Yours, From War to Writing,
- Terry 8^)
I love your daughter's art style!
Congrats on this milestone, Terry. An example of what you can achieve when you set a goal and commit to it.