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What follows is the email interview with Johanna Harness, #amwriting:

When did you first sign up for Twitter? And, what inspired you to sign up?

I started using Twitter about three years ago with a non-public account. I followed a lot of reporters when I started and I was surprised how much I learned about the work of a white house correspondent. The mentoring component was amazing. I was learning enough about the life of a reporter to write a convincing character. So what would happen if I followed someone in my chosen field? I'd written this novel. What if I followed novelists? Would the same mentoring component apply there?

I started my public account four months later and followed novelists. Wow. Not only did I learn a lot about the life of writers, but there were actually writers willing to mentor me for real. It was incredible.

Explain a little about when and how you come up with the idea for the #amwriting tag?

I was so drawn to all these writers and the idea of not writing alone really appealed to me. I started out doing little informal shout-outs, asking who was writing at the same time I was, but I ended up having individual conversations with a dozen people. I wanted a gathering place where the conversation included everyone. Even more importantly, I wanted a community where I could drop in briefly and then go back to writing. I wanted a water cooler for people engaged in writing, not just a place for people to go when they wanted to talk about writing. #amwriting has always been about the work.

Was the #amwriting tag an immediate success, or, did it take effort to get people interested in it?

There was an immediate interest, but it took time to spread the word. I still show up every morning, do my call-out, and post a link to the FAQ. In those early months, people would only show up for a few hours during the day. Now there are many tweets every minute, around the clock. You'd think everyone had heard of us by now, but Twitter turnover is significant. We lose long-standing members of our community and I hear from new people every day.

What has inventing the tag done for you?

I taught college English for ten years before I quit my job to homeschool my kids. Encouraging people to write is in my blood. I used to have a podium that reached a few hundred students and it took all semester before they'd absorb the power of words. Now I have the opportunity to reach thousands of people every day--and they respond!

Writing is power. I hate to see anyone disrespect themselves by giving the power of their voice over to someone else.

If I can help anyone find authentic words, if I can help people make connections with each other, that's incredibly fulfilling to me. That's what the tag does for me. It helps me spread a message I feel very strongly about.

Why do you think the tag is so successful?

A big reason is that the community is inclusive. It doesn't matter how much experience anyone has or what they're writing. We only care about the process. If you're writing, you're welcome.

What advice would you give to someone just signing up for Twitter?

I would spend some time listening and reading before worrying about what you're supposed to be doing. Do all the basic things: post a picture, create a bio, but then listen. Then start tweeting responses to other people. This works especially well when reading the #amwriting thread. Very few people actually get responses to anything they post. The best way to make friends is to respond to the needs of others. Twitter is all about relationship and community. Work on being a part of something, not just yelling into a crowd.