Here for the Vibes
On Writing, Community, and the Sacred Space of Showing Up
I am just here for the vibes…That’s how I entered the room chat this morning with my writing friends from all over the world.
We’ve been writing together since 2019. I found them during the early stages of my PhD journey—right in the thick of COVID-19. And yes, I call them friends.
Let me explain.
We met Monday through Friday at 8 AM for years. These days, since returning to the office around 2023-ish, I meet with them on Mondays and Wednesdays. We span multiple time zones and continents, gathering for one shared purpose: to put pen to paper and write.
This global writing room holds over a thousand members, but a smaller circle has naturally formed—a tender network of co-workers who meet throughout the week for accountability, encouragement, and truth-telling. Novels have been launched in this space. Screenplays drafted. I’ve met their children, seen their dogs, heard their stories—all virtually. They’ve helped me meet critical deadlines. More importantly, they’ve helped me monitor something even more sacred: my self-care.
I am for it.
But today? I have no plans. No goals. Just the need to be—to exist in a space with friends who have nothing better to do than write.
And that’s how I’m beginning to feel about Substack.
I don’t always know who’s reading—and I’m learning that maybe that doesn’t matter as much as I thought it did. What matters is this: I’m in community with humans who love the craft, who are devoted to the quiet, sacred act of writing.
And I’m here for the vibes.
Selah.
Pastor Renée
