2019 Writing Log, Part 1

After submitting my book manuscript, I spent a week frantically writing and sending off overdue jobs that I put off while getting the manuscript ready for submission. I then devoted this past week to putting the finishing touches on the Zelda comics zine, which I sent off to the printer this morning. I also decided to create a separate zine for my autobio comics, which I hope will be ready to send this evening. The bookmarks and sticker I made for the Zelda zine are lovely, so I also made a bookmark and two stickers to go with the autobio comics zine. In addition, I made a double-sided promotional postcard for the "Video Games and Japan" course I'm teaching this semester. The class is full, but I want something nice to hand out at events and so on.

This was a lot of work, and it wasn't cheap. I had to put everything on a credit card, but I'm sure I'll pay it off... eventually.

I learned two things from this process. First, design work takes time, and it's okay that it takes time. I'm going to make mistakes, and that's okay too.

Second, I really love Sticker Mule. They're relatively expensive if you're ordering small quantities, but the quality is high and the website is super easy to use. Some of the sticker printing services I checked demanded that I go through a twelve-step processes to submit a file, but Sticker Mule just asks you to upload a file and then does the work for you. I suppose I'm very privileged to be able to say this, but I am absolutely willing to pay a bit more money for quality and convenience. I guess the downside to Sticker Mule is that their stickers feel somewhat corporate and maybe too glossy, and there aren't many customization options.

I'm rushing to get everything printed as quickly as possible because I want to apply to table at the DC Zine Fest. I'm not sure when their application opens, and I want to be ready when it does. No matter how proficient I become at art or writing, I could never table at a weekend convention simply because my anxiety would destroy me. The DC Zine Fest is only about four hours on one afternoon, though, so it's much closer to my comfort level.

The next task is putting together the Horror Haiku zine, but I think I'm going to take a week or two to work on other projects before I so much as look at InDesign again.

Statement of Teaching Philosophy

My priority as an instructor is that my courses are accessible to the broadest possible range of students. It's very important for me to be able to accommodate different types of diversity in my teaching style, course materials, and assignments. My goal is for every student to receive a grade in the A range for the class at the end of the semester.

Some students make achieving this goal really fucking difficult, however.

I'll Do It Myself

Writing Workshops Suck, and Other Tales of Woe
https://ecosophia.dreamwidth.org/14429.html

The aspiring author took this to a writing workshop, where -- inevitably -- the other participants tore it to shreds, and did so in such a way that by the time she got back from the writing workshop, she'd lost all confidence in the project and has never been able to finish it.

This isn't the first time I've heard this kind of story. It's not even the hundred and first. I know, and know of, way too many people who could have become successful writers, but fell victim to one or another of the bloodstained traps that lie in wait for aspiring authors these days, and will probably never manage to haul themselves out again, bind their wounds, and find their way into print. Some of those traps are internal, personal issues -- but some of them are not.

I suppose in theory that it's possible to benefit from the kind of writing workshops where a circle of aspiring writers sit around and critique each other's work. I've never met anyone who did.

I randomly found this Dreamwidth post on Google while searching for something else, but the title caught my attention and it ended up resonating with me on a deep level. I think about universal basic income a lot, and I like to daydream about what I would do if I lived in a society that had such a system. Sometimes I take these fantasies too far and consider applying for an MFA program in Creative Writing, but then I'm like... nah.