Back to Basics

It’s been a hot minute, but here we are, back to the basics of good old fashioned blog writing. No matter how many fancy new platforms I try, I always end up back at this place. Back on my self-hosted, self-controlled website; back to the roots of what words mean to me.

Last year in May I decided to try the Substack model. I know dozens of writers and artists who have migrated there from their own blogs and/or other writing platforms. I thought I would give it a go and see if I could find a place for my words and perhaps even try out the whole subscription model thing. But, the more time I spend there, the more I feel like charging people money to read my random brain explosions feels just a little icky.

Don’t get me wrong. The Substack model really does work for a lot of people and I have nothing but respect for those who can use a platform like that to make a living from their words. But it isn’t for me. There’s a line between personal blogging and writing for money. I’m not sure exactly where it is, but I’ve come to the realization and decision that I don’t want to cross it.

The other thing that happened over there is that I decided to publish a novella I’ve been polishing for nigh on two decades in a serialized format. For that, Substack has been pretty cool, and I’ll continue to publish those weekly-ish episodes over there until it’s all out. Links to those episodes can also be found here on the Writing page.

But even for that I’m sticking to a free subscription. I’d rather people enjoy the episodes, and if they really like it, they’ll be able to buy a digital e-book copy of it at the end. I’ve always been rather fond of the idea of medieval bards telling their stories in the village hall and collecting their coin based on the strength of their stories. Not very modern, I know. Then again, there’s something about the way modern economics works that leaves me cold.

So, what have I been busy with all these months? Well, since the summer of ‘23 I’ve been focusing more and more on traditional art; life drawing studies, portraits, and landscapes fill the pages of my sketchbooks. Then there are the writing projects: my novella and another manuscript I wrote during Nanowrimo 2020. I’m also working on some material for a different blog about the history of medieval women and their role in education and manuscript production. I’ve been wanting to start a more scholarly blog for some time to scratch my philological research itch. And then there’s the open access online art community I’ve recently set up to give artists of all kinds a place to come together, hang out and collaborate.

And when I’m not tinkering on all of these projects, I’m doing that thing called work – being a freelancer who wears a lot of occupational hats keeps me happy and busy, and my portfolio of techy projects is growing. It keeps me off these dangerous shire streets.

And now we’re here at the end of the first month of 2024, I’m looking ahead and hoping that this year brings some peace and kindness to everyone. Everything feels so bruised and broken. I hope we all get a chance to heal.

Until next time, happy creating!