Writing about writing and where I'm going next
I've been writing a blog since 2008. 15 years of blethering on about gigs I've been to and anything else that popped into my head. I started writing about music and gigs on MySpace (oh yes) then shortly after, moved over to Wordpress. A few years ago I upgraded to a paid plan, custom domain etc in an effort to take my writing a bit more seriously. Unfortunately Wordpress also had a makeover and updated it's editing interface in a way that somehow rendered it far more complicated and far less intuitive and user friendly. Every function seemed to require an add-on or plug-in that cost extra. I needed to install a separate app just to see my site dashboard with stats etc. They keep pushing me to monetise my site and sell things. I just want to write a simple blog.
Although I started off writing about music and gigs, during the pandemic, when there were no gigs to go to or write about, I wrote more posts or essays on other subjects. I had dabbled in this a little before, but found that I really enjoyed exploring other topics. When I was younger I always wanted to write, and for a long time I hoped to be a journalist. I ended up taking a different path but have retained that urge to make sense of things through writing. It helps me formulate my ideas, bringing order to the random wisps of thoughts that swirl around in my brain. Writing them down helps to give them a structure and once they are out, my head is a little quieter and calmer. It is a creative outlet. I love language and love employing language in different ways. A lot of my career, in advocacy and in interpreting, has been spent using language(s) but speaking (or signing) for someone else, expressing their views and their words. Writing gives me the chance to use my own words.
The only time I really have to write or do anything is late in the evening. By 9pm both my kids are in bed and I get some time to myself. But then I've been on the go since 6.30am, knackered and the thought of next morning's 6.30am alarm is looming. Gig write ups are usually quick to write and I prefer to get the events down before I forget. Other topics can take longer, often several days or even weeks of short bursts of activity to complete. I'm usually not happy with the posts that I've published. I feel they are rushed, I've forgotten to include some key ideas, I didn't explore the topic deeply enough, I didn't use sophisticated enough language. A few I read back and am proud of, some make me cringe. I think I can write better. I know I can write better. I want to prove to myself that I can write better.
I think it's time for a change. Wordpress is increasingly frustrating to use. I have been looking for a platform better suited to simple writing. I aim to up my game with these blog posts and essays, just to see what I can do with them. I'll continue to write about gigs as well as any other topic that piques my interest. I have some personal medical stuff going on that might take me on an interesting journey, so I might decide to document that.
I've noticed that more and more of the writers and journalists that I follow have started posting on Substack. As a reader it is easy to use, has a nice clean appearance and is focussed on text based written contributions, a rarity among apps and sites now which all seem to be audio or video based. From what I gather it's fairly straightforward from a writer's perspective, and importantly it is free to publish on. I'm going to explore moving my blog over there in the next few weeks, so watch out for some changes, I hope you'll follow me over there.
Substack does have a subscription feature. I'm not sure what I'll do about that. I'm not keen on exclusive content based on a person's ability to pay, as I discussed here. I'm thinking it could work more like an optional way for anyone who is so inclined to generally support my endeavours, kind of like a contribution to fuelling my process - i.e. keeping me supplied with cups of tea and biscuits... Let me know what you think of that, I'm still mulling it over...