WeblogPoMoAMA
Where do your ideas come from?
This post is for WeblogPoMo AMA, a challenge to write AMA-style (“Ask me anything”) blog posts during November.
I’m answering my own question today. If you decide to answer this question in a post on your site, please let me know.
The question
Where do your ideas come from?
My answer
For context — Earlier today I visited a graphic design class at a local college. The professor invited me to talk to the students about making zines. I gave a short presentation about my process and brought examples of zines made by other people.
During the Q&A, the professor asked how I come up with ideas for zines. How do I decide what topics to make zines about?
My straightforward answer is, I just come up with stuff. But that’s not helpful. If someone is asking you how you come up with ideas, it’s because they realize coming up with ideas is difficult. They want to know how you move past that difficulty.
My more complete answer is, I look for inspiration in a lot of different places.
When it comes to movies, TV shows, and books, I lean toward sci-fi and fantasy. But I go broader than that, too, because there are lots of different things to explore in other genres.
I read a lot of articles, newsletters, and blogs from a wide range of people. I read a lot of non-fiction books, on all kinds of topics.
I make a habit of paying attention to ordinary things. Some of my zines were inspired by a random conversation with a friend or an interesting observation on a normal day.
I keep a running list of zine ideas, and I add ideas even if I’m not sure I’ll ever make a zine on that topic. Then when I have time to sit down and work on a zine, I have a list of topics to choose from. There isn’t any pressure to come up with an idea, and it doesn’t feel like I’m starting from scratch.
Online community
This post is for WeblogPoMo AMA, a challenge to write AMA-style (“Ask me anything”) blog posts during November.
The question
Lou Plummer sent me this question:
Can you describe the online community you have treasured the most in your life online?
My answer
Being part of online communities has always been my favorite thing about the internet. When I was a teenager, I spent a lot of time in forums, geeking out over sci-fi and fantasy media with fellow fans.
The site I spent the most time on was Supernatural.tv (which is no longer online, RIP). It was a fansite and forums dedicated to the show Supernatural.
I was an administrator on Supernatural.tv from the very beginning. We launched right with the pilot episode in September 2005. I helped set up the forum structure, wrote initial content, and invited people from other fansites to join.
Because Supernatural.tv was the first fansite for Supernatural, it attracted all the fans from all over the world. At the site’s peak, thousands of people visited the forums after a new episode aired.
The forums included areas to share fanfic and fanart. I organized writing and art competitions with the moderating team. In the summers, we held awards so members could vote on their favorite aspects of the show and the site community.
Keep in mind — This was before major social media platforms were mainstream. Sharing your work in an online community was the social aspect of the web. People were not splintered across different platforms, and that helped in getting to know members and building the community. If you were a Supernatural fan, and you wanted to find fellow fans online, Supernatural.tv was the place.
I loved that community for how thoughtful the discussions were. People really enjoyed sharing theories and debating ideas. The community was so creative with all kinds of art and writing. Yes, there was some in-fighting and cliques, like any fanbase. But most of the time, the positives outweighed the negatives, by a lot.
I stopped watching Supernatural in season 5, but I was still active in the forums for several years after that. I didn’t make many lasting friendships, but the art and writing aspects of the community stuck with me. Supernatural.tv was the main community where I shared my art and writing and found people to collaborate with online.
My superpower is thinking ahead
This is my first post for WeblogPoMo AMA, a challenge to write AMA-style (“Ask me anything”) blog posts during November.
The question
Anne wrote this question: What is a skill or acquired ability that you use all the time that you think other people take for granted or don’t understand? AKA what is your superpower and how did you get it?
You can read her response on her blog.
My answer
Here’s my answer, which is a reply to Anne’s question. This isn’t meant to be agreement or argument with her response. WeblogPoMo AMA is a conversation across blogs. 🙂
My superpower power is being able to think a few steps ahead, about anything in my life.
I do it at work.
For context, my day job is in marketing. My core skills are in strategy and writing, but I’m asked to do all kinds of tasks across marketing functions. And that means I have to figure out a lot of things for myself, which makes thinking ahead vital.
Once I have direction on a project, I don’t need anyone to tell me how to get from initial stages to the finished project. I figure out what I need to do, and I do it.
I’m usually the one in meetings asking for clarification and noting if we go this direction, that will be impacted.
I do it with zines.
Everyone’s creative process is different. Some people start with very little planning. Some people plan every step.
I’m somewhere in between. I usually know what I want in the finished zine, and then I figure out steps to get there. What will the format be? Should I start with writing or with art?
I think ahead about what I’m making, but I try not to plan every single step. I make zines for fun, and too much planning makes them feel like work.
I do it with weekend plans.
I rarely overbook myself, and that’s because I think about how one thing on the weekend might impact another thing. For example, if I’m planning to do chores on Saturday, but then there’s an event I want to go to…if my Sunday is free, I can moves chores to Sunday.
When I’m running errands, I try to cover what I need on the same end of town. Three stores all within a few minutes of each other? I can go to all of them in an afternoon. If I need to go across town for something else, I’ll figure out when the best time is to do that.
Does all this planning stress me out?
Usually, no. Even though I plan a lot, I’m also flexible as much as possible. I like knowing the tasks I have to do and thinking about the best way to complete them. But if something doesn’t work out and I have to change plans, that’s okay. I don’t consider my plans to be set in stone.
How did I get my superpower?
It’s chess.
I started playing chess when I was about 6 years old, and I’m convinced learning the game that young got me used to thinking steps ahead.
My uncle taught me how to play—how each piece moves, how to guess at what your opponent would do, and how to look out for traps.
The following year, my class had the opportunity to play chess at school, so I could play against kids my own age. Sometimes I played really well. Sometimes I made careless mistakes. But all of it was practice in thinking ahead.
I don’t play chess regularly anymore. But I have a chess app on my phone and I’ll play against the computer now and then. One of my favorite things to do is make a move, then the computer makes a move, then I undo our moves, and try something else. It’s a good way to understand different possibilities branching off from the same arrangement of pieces.
Some final notes
I don’t think my superpower is rare, but I do think people take it for granted. I think lots of people don’t think ahead unless they’re asked to or they actually have to. I think fewer people are like me, thinking ahead automatically.
I think anyone can learn to think ahead. I think anyone can learn to make it a habit. The next time you have a project to do, think about what you want the final result to be. Then try to figure out what your steps are to reach that final point. You can try working backwards from the final point, too.
You don’t have to follow the steps you thought of. You don’t have to get every step right. (I certainly don’t.)
The point is, you’re thinking ahead to make your work easier and better. It’s about trying to anticipate what will come up over the course of your project. It’s not about being perfect.