I have read that the T in LGBT is not silent, but sometimes I wonder if it even belongs there in the first place.

The last year I played soccer was eighth grade. That year is also known as the last year of co-ed sports and the year when my life took a sharp turn down minority road.

I do not feel physically, emotionally, or mentally comfortable with playing on the guys' team and obviously I couldn't even dream of playing on the girls' team. In gym I enjoyed volleyball, but that is also not an option because A) there's no boys' team and B) even if there was, it's a boys' team.

So, cue color guard. I am the only "boy" on the team, so naturally I stick out like a sore thumb. Especially when everyone else is in sparkly dresses (of which I am forever envious) and I'm in black pants. I also have to deal with the "girls, and Shalen, …" comments from the instructor and the slightly disapproving look in everyone's eyes when I have to tell them I'm in color guard. On top of all of that, when the team has "guard sleepovers," I'm not allowed to participate in the "sleepover" part because somehow one "guy" with twelve other girls is still somehow a threat.

I say I'm on the team but I'm also kind of… not.

Some days I wonder if I'll ever be able to get on hormones and start my life, but then I remember how I can't even get a haircut without having a breakdown from thinking about what other people will feel about it.

I think about how if I ever did choose to present myself as female my chances of being murdered or being on the receiving end of a hate crime would spike ten fold.

(Speaking of which, did you know Republicans in government positions actually voted against a law that would add attacks against transgender individuals under the list of hate crimes?)

I think about how I could be denied jobs and housing and using a bathroom.

I think about how I have such little chance of being happy.

I would love to say that the life I want to live is just out of reach, but really it's galaxies away and the rocket hasn't even been invented yet.

But on those days, when my dreams are just constellations in the endless expanse of space, I remind myself that we all breathe the same air, bleed the same blood, and that we all deserve to be happy.

And just because my T is silent now, does not mean it will be silent forever. It is only a matter of time before I find my voice and sound that dreaded, silent letter.

Since the dawn of Twitter, hashtags have been steadily increasing in popularity. They’re everywhere, even in memes and on clothing apparel. But are they just the trend or do they have a value to those of us who want to increase our exposure across a multitude of social networks?

To answer that question broadly, yes, they do have a purpose. But not everywhere, and that’s the problem. Unless you know all things Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, G+, Tumblr, You- you get the gist. Unless you are ‘in the business,’ it’s likely that you’ll have no clue exactly how to use hashtags to maximise your exposure. You’ll probably be unaware of the fact that each platform has the optimal amount of hashtags to use, and be warned, on some social networks that figure is zero.

While hashtags are cool and most definitely do help increase your exposure, overuse of hashtags on certain platforms decreases your exposure to lower than if you didn’t use any. Sit back, and take heed. We outline the art (or not) of using the love-it-but-hate-it hashtag.  

Given that each social network behaves very differently when it comes to hashtags, we are going to look at them individually and give you the low down. The question we will be answering is: to hashtag or not to hashtag? (Yes we thought that was a really cool question!) We will also be giving you some of the most popular hashtags out there to use, that are also relevant (that’s a real key word there) and will maximise your chances of being heard amongst the social buzz.  

Twitter

It’s only right that we start with the founder of the hashtag. Twitter. We all get around to tweeting at some point, even if you don’t Tweet now, I bet you will soon enough.  

Twitter’s hashtags are the most simplistically beautiful of them all, they would be, they made them right?

Just because hashtags are available doesn’t mean you should use them. If in doubt, leave them out. You are building a brand for yourself and using hashtags just because they are popular makes you look like an attention whore. Yes, it does. If a hashtag is popular and relevant to your message or link, use it. Otherwise, save us all the agony and don’t.

No one wants to see a whole tweet that is full of hashtags. #Do #not #hashtag #for #the #sake #of #hashtagging. Seriously, look how rubbish that looks. As a general rule of thumb, between three and five hashtags are more than enough, or just one doozy of a hashtag.

For all writerly types, there a couple that could be used, nay, should be used if relevant.  

#amwriting #amreading #amediting – does what it says on the tin, use them where possible as these ones are a popular bunch on Twitter.

#MondayBlogs #SundayBlogShare #writerwednesday #throwbackthursday #mondaymotivation – all day specific, but use them correctly and they’ll help you reach more people.

#IARTG #ASMSG – These are groups attached to a profile on Twitter. If you’re not willing to share the tweets of others within this group, don’t use them because they won’t work for you. BUT, if you are an indie author / writer, using these hashtags can help increase your reach hugely.  

#micropoetry #haiku #vss (very short story) #flashfiction – all of this are type specific but again, get searched on Twitter, a lot. Use them when relevant, don’t use them otherwise.

Facebook

Facebook only recently began integrating hashtags and there has been a lot of speculation about the benefit of using hashtags. In recent social media studies, and from our own observations, using hashtags on Facebook actually decreases post interaction and engagement so use at your own peril.  

Instragram 

Instagram has taken the hashtags to another level. It is the only platform where the more hashtags you use; the better reach your post will get. So, use them lots, make them relevant to whatever you’re sharing, and remember, there is a maximum limit Insta will let you share of thirty. Be warned that if you type up a lovely cpation for your post and it contains more than thirty hashtags, Instagram (kindly) will not post your caption and you’ll have to start all over again (insert expletive)! Here are a bunch that are all relevant: 

#amwriting #amreading #mondaymotivation #Monday #writerwednesday #fridayfeeling #inspo #words #photooftheday #socialmedia #writersofinstagram #writersofig #poetsofinstagram #love #ink #bibliophile #igworld #instamood #webstagram #poetry #competition #indieauthor #igers #instagood #like4like #app #android #launch #upgrade #iphonesia #writingcommunity #qotd #igers #beautiful #follow #nofilter #instalike #instalove #awesome #love #instaquote #qotd #instaquote #quote #wordporn #books #book #booknerd #booknerdigans

Use these to your hearts content and feel free to comment and share the ones that you use that we may have missed.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a social network for professionals, it’s all about networking and finding the next big career move, are hashtags relevant here? No they are not. Don’t go all fancy and use them, it won’t make you look good at all. 

G+

G+ (GooglePlus) is an anomaly to us all when it comes to the social rules and etiquettes within. It’s a community that is unpredictable and one that we are all still learning about. We tend to adopt the general rule of Twitter here and only share up to 3 hashtags per post. That being said, hashtags do not seem to have a profound effect on your reach whatsoever, so use them or not, it’s not going to make too much of a difference either way. 

Pinterest 

Hashtags are unimportant here, but linking to your brand elsewhere on the internet is. Caption your photos and always link. That’ll be of better benefit to you here than the old hashtag will. 

Tumblr

The ‘rules’ for Tumblr are pretty much the same as Instagram, although hashtags on Tumblr allow you to have spaces in between words. 

A couple of extra hashtags on Tumblr that go down a treat are spilledink and spilled words. 

Have at it, and get tagging!  

I hope this helps you all on the art of the hashtag. Prose caters for hashtags and we are looking forward to seeing you guys adopt some of the better known ones here, along with creating your very own hashtags. We will be sharing more information about social media and how to market yourselves as writers very soon. 

Until next time, get hashtagging, or not. 

Sammie. 

I hastily turned left then right. Everything looked the same and it felt like I had been turning for hours. I seemed to be trapped in the maze, the pattern of the walls now burning my eyes. I thought I may as well rest and continue in the morning. When I woke, I saw the bright red brick staring back at me and I thought that today, finally, would be the day that I found my way out of the hell that is the Windows Brick Maze Screen Saver.

I feel so

TRAPPED

Inside my

My

Own

Damn

Head

I remember the day you told me you loved me,

I remember the smell of the rain,

I remember the sun shining in my face as I laughed again and again.

I remember your arms wrapped around me,

I remember the feel of your skin,

I remember the way that suit made me want to sin.

I remember you screaming profanities,

I remember you slamming the door,

I remember your eyes when my crying wouldn't cease

I remember the suitcase on the floor.

I don't remember why I hated you,

I don't recall why you held the blame.

I don't know why I didn't call out for you,

But I was never the same

At first,

Everything is bright

Happy

Normal

Rainclouds come

Hide the sun

And I'm dizzy,

Tripping over

My own feet

How can I trip in a dream?

In dreams,

You're not supposed to feel

Pain

You're not supposed to

Ache

But I see my family

My friends

My life

Extinguished

Like a flickering light

In a dark hall.

I watch as

Everything I love

Is crushed

Under the Enemy's heel

And ground into

Oblivion

I scream

And run to help

But my feet don't move

My voice makes

No sound

My hands cannot

Help

Help

HELP

Someone,

Anyone,

Please help me

I fall to my knees

And see red

Tears of blood

My tears?

Or rain?

My blood?

No.

My sister's.

I turn around

And he's there.

My demon.

He wears my face

And uses my voice

To laugh at me.

He shows me

Things I long for;

My friend, alive.

My scars, healed.

My hopes, restored.

Then my demon

Uses my teeth

To bite down,

Hard,

And rip them in half.

I close my eyes

Against the sight.

When I look again,

I'm falling.

Falling into nothing,

No one to catch me

No one to care.

Alone.

I was never the same

when I was sane

but never was I saner

when I wasn't the same

05/09/2016