Hey you!
Y’all enjoying this holiday season? In the great state of Virginia, where I am, it’s been chaotically warm. I’m writing this the week before Christmas, and it’s currently 64 degrees outside—like huh???
Whether you’re diving headfirst into holiday traditions or counting down the days until 2022, I hope it’s all treating you well.
Over here at Oh, Write, we’re going to take a holiday break to rest, recharge, and come back with a vengeance in 2022. I’m cooking up some fabulous new stuff for y’all and I’m excited for you guys to see it.
The first new Oh, Write issue of 2022 will come out on January 18th.
Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah, or just happy almost making it through one of the weirdest years in recent memory. See y’all cool kids in 2022.
Enjoy issue #27!
Writer’s Log #14
I’m currently working on a short fiction zine that I plan to release in early 2022. I’ve been heavily into zines since I came across Kate Bingaman-Burt’s Skillshare class “Making Your First Zine: From Idea to Illustration”.
Print publication is a goal I’ve always glorified, even though I’ve accomplished print publication multiple times before.
A few of my poems were published in the first volume of art released by Rum//mage, a publication based out of Richmond, Virginia, in the fall of 2019.
I also had my work published in my university’s literary and art journal back in 2016. I typically brush off those accomplishments.
In my subconscious mind, I glorify being published by magazines and newspapers or getting some fancy book deal by one of the big five publishing houses.
Those are status-stabilizing bylines, proving that I’ve made it.
But, I hate that my guidelines for “making it” are largely out of my hands. This is why I gravitate so strongly towards projects that are within my creative control, like zines.
The University of Texas Libraries describes zines as, “…a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published unique work of minority interest, usually reproduced via photocopier.”
The University of Texas Libraries also provides a mini-history on zines:
“The word “zine” is a shortened form of the term fanzine, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Fanzines emerged as early as the 1930s among fans of science fiction. Zines also have roots in the informal, underground publications that focused on social and political activism in the ’60s. By the ’70s, zines were popular on the punk rock circuit. In the ’90s, the feminist punk scene propelled the medium and included such artists as Kathleen Hanna, who produced riot grrrl out of Olympia, Washington.”
Throughout the years I’ve spent in journalism, I’ve noticed that there are a lot of gatekeepers in the industry.
The standards of those gatekeepers are very elitist and don’t necessarily equate to better quality work. Those “standards” just end up shutting people out, whether it’s because of their education level, their gender, language, race, socioeconomic status (we’re looking at you unpaid internships), etc.
Even if you get past those elitist-ass standards and actually get the job, there’s a good chance that you’ll be overworked and underpaid. There’s a good chance that your message will be morphed and edited to the point where it’s nearly unrecognizable.
I’ve seen a lot over the past eleventy-hundred years (actually it’s deadass been 10 whole years!!!) I’ve been working in media and I wanna try something new — you feel me?
This flash fiction zine is essentially a trial run, so I can feel out how it’ll be to produce a zine and whether I’ll like it or not. I’m hoping to include five 100–200 word stories (fingers crossed).
There’s this vibrant zine community on Etsy that I just discovered, so I’ll try selling them on there. I love seeing everyone’s gorgeous pieces of art, and I want to try and develop one for myself.
It’s also a family affair — my sister is helping me design it. She’s way, way more skilled at graphic design than I’ll ever be.
I’m shooting for a February 2022 release. However this project manifests itself next year, I hope y’all enjoy this lil’ piece of my heart.
Word to the wise: With the internet, you have more power over your own destiny as an artist than ever before. Don’t let the BS that gatekeepers push make you think that you’re not ready. This is your sign to start putting things out there.
I shall leave you with this gem; one of my favorite TikToks from the account thejits_. I haven’t figured out how to embed TikToks on Substack (LMAO), but please check it out!
3 Things I Consumed
I just did my own crochet braids so I watched loads of movies during that process, including one of my favorite rom-coms: Crazy, Stupid, Love on HBO MAX
My favorite tweet about the hysteria surrounding Jack Harlow:
I replayed inFAMOUS Second Son on the PS4, and it low-key made me sad that there aren't any more major inFAMOUS games after this
3 Things I Created
About 15 flash fiction stories!! WOOO!
Hella character development & plot work on the novel I’m working on
This NEWSLETTER!! Hey hooooo!
Writing Prompts
This quote is giving quirky holiday rom-com vibes, from Reedsy’s “Best Holiday Writing Prompts”: Write about someone scrambling to finish a goal in the last few hours of the year.
Ever wanted to start an art journal? Art Journalist has some great ideas to document your holiday season in their post “30 Christmas & Holiday Themed Journal Prompts”
Conclusion
Thank you so much for reading Oh, Write!
For more Oh, Write content, check out the Medium publication.
Have any questions, comments, or concerns? Hit ya girl up!
Subscribe if you haven’t already. If you’re interested in supporting the publication/newsletter, consider buying me a coffee. Follow me on social media on Instagram, Twitter, and Medium.
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Love,
Nia
I didn't realize Zines were back at this level! In the early '90s, there were a handful of really good ones covering the alternative/punk music scene. Sometimes well-produced, sometimes something that looked like a kid made copies at 7-11. Always awesome.