Log

After I posted yesterday, I saw a link to The Underground Blog via Warren Ellis. It’s a blog that can be read only via RSS, with a feed reader. No posts on a website and nothing to link to. It feels, yeah, underground. It’s the nerdiest thing I’ve seen in blogging and I love it already.

I just realized these log posts might make good fodder for things I share in my monthly newsletter. Everything builds.

In the works

I did some research for that zine I volunteered for and sent the organizer a few ideas to get his feedback. Looks like I’ll be making a list of tips for making zines by hand. 🙂

I remembered one quote to add to my zine on writing advice:

“I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.”

– Shannon Hale

On my mind

When it comes to posting online, I go through phases of posting to a lot of places and then later consolidating to just a couple places. I think I’m in a phase of consolidating. Mostly I’m tired of keeping up with different sites and apps and what I posted where. I have a whole to do list for posts when I make a new zine and ooof, I get tired of it.

I’ll focus on posting here and posting on Instagram when I have images to share. (I’m also focusing on posting here as an antidote to doomscrolling on social media.) And my monthly newsletter is the consolidated, here’s what I’m up to and here are some things you might be interested in.

I spent some time today wandering around other people’s blogs. It’s the kind of thing that fits especially on wintry Sunday afternoons.

One thing I’ve been skimming through is “status” posts on Warren Ellis’ website. He uses status posts to share updates on what he’s working on, what he’s reading or watching, and whatever else he wants to share about the day. Some posts are only one paragraph. Some are longer.

His way of sharing his work is in the same vein as two other writers whose work I admire: Robin Sloan (work with the garage door open) and Austin Kleon (show your work).

I’ve been doing the show your work part for a while, especially with sharing how I make zines. I love the idea of working with the garage door open but I haven’t done that a lot. Online, it means sharing what goes into your work and not just the finished piece. What I’ve been missing is the status part.

I’m going to adapt the idea of Ellis’ status posts and blend that with what I already do to share my creative work.

Here’s my plan:

This blog is about my creative projects and what I do for fun. Not my day job. So “status” doesn’t feel quite right for me. I’ll categorize my posts as “log” instead. As in, “captain’s log” for capturing important info.

I like how Ellis uses the date to title his status posts. That shows right away what kind of post it is. I’ll use dates in my titles, too.

My log posts will not be daily. I’ll see how once or twice a week feels.

So, let’s see:

In the works

I’ve been doing research for a new zine about my favorite writing advice. I’m collecting quotes right now from books on my shelf and a few quotes I have to google. My plan is to list all the quotes in a document and then write a few notes or comments about each one. After I see how much text that is, I can decide on zine format. So far, I’m leaning toward a quarter-page zine. Black and white on the inside pages with a color cover.

What I’ve been watching

Yesterday I watched Spy Game (2001). I like seeing a spy thriller that isn’t all car chases and fight scenes. A lot of the movie feels like watching Robert Redford play chess. You’ll see what I mean if you watch the movie. I’m not going to spoil anything.

I’ve been re-watching The Flash, and I’m about a third of the way through season 2. The first two seasons of the show were my favorite.

To dig into

ooh.directory – Warren Ellis (and maybe someone else I follow?) have linked to ooh.directory as a way to discover blogs. The site has been on my radar for a while, but I haven’t spent time browsing it yet.