I've been tagged

I have a blog, I guess? I have some vague overtures at what I suppose could count as a blog. It's a very fledging and still-finding-its-legs blog, so it was very generous of Ethan to tag me in this challenge. But I respect Ethan very much and am very amenable to doing what he asks of me.

Why did you start blogging in the first place?

I had a website for a good while, but it was just a place to put things I've done and link out to other places I might be. That kind of website is absolutely valid on its own, but I was curious about how it would feel if I opened up to it more and let it be a more personal outlet.

There were so many lovely people out there doing Blogging, and I wanted to give back to them. I loved that they were being vulnerable and interesting, often just by virtue of being a person responding to the world, and I wanted to put something back out for them.

What platform are you using to manage your blog and why did you choose it? Have you blogged on other platforms before?

I've been using Jekyll for forever, because it was the default thing to use with GitHub Pages, back when I first set up the website. I have heard good things about Eleventy from lots of people, but I'm not unhappy about Jekyll enough (yet?) to really make the move.

How do you write your posts? For example, in a local editing tool, or in a panel/dashboard that’s part of your blog?

I write in my code editor, VSCodium, an open source version of VSCode. I start a new post by opening up the code repository for my website and saving a new file in either _drafts or _posts, depending on how confident I feel about the post.

I'm trying to make the writing experience more welcoming for myself. My code editor lets you make certain adjustments to the editor depending on the language you're writing in, so I have some custom settings that are only active when you're writing in Markdown. For example, I'll change the font from a more coding-appropriate monospace font to a font more appropriate and enjoyable for writing, like iA Duospace. I'll also set up the editor so that the lines will wrap not at the edge of the viewport, but at a certain number of characters, so that the rhythm of the text feels more natural. Finally, when I want to focus on writing, I'll hit "Zen Mode" (View > Appearance > Zen Mode), which will hide the other elements in the interface, so I can focus on the text.

My writing method is a barrier in some ways — I spend most of my computer time at work, which can't really be thoughtful blog time. It might be nice to try doing more in iA Writer or Obsidian, so I can work through some more ideas on my phone, on the go or just when I'm sitting around somewhere.

When do you feel most inspired to write?

It's not often. (Gestures at the short list of posts.)

The thoughts in my head take a long time to coalesce, I think. I'm not sure if I will become someone who blogs regularly and/or casually.

So far, the posts have been a range of things. It's interesting to look into them a little bit and think about what I've liked writing and sharing.

There's been a more abstract, poetic piece about a project, which is a style that I love writing and exploring.

There's been a more carefully thought-out prose piece reflecting on another project, which I wanted to put out because it was a public-facing project and had affected a non-zero number of people out there, and I felt it was my due diligence to write a little about it and let people know what was happening and where I wanted to take it.

There's been a piece taking a chat conversation and pulling out excerpts of it to keep a record of it. This one exists because I had gone to my friend seeking advice for a part of the creative process that I struggle with. It was so helpful just to verbalise what I was thinking, and I appreciated their responses so much. I wanted to memorialise it, almost, for myself, and for others, if anyone comes across it and finds it helpful.

Another piece came out of me gathering links for a friend and thinking that it was worth having that on my website as a resource, albeit a pretty scattered and stream-of-consciousness one.

The most recent one is in a format that I enjoyed and would maybe like to try more — a combination of vague goings-on in life and some project updates and reflections. I struggle with the rhythm of project updates. I have erred on the side of only sharing them when they feel finished. I think I do this so that I can maybe surprise people with something well-formed, which I can feel proud of showing and which they can fully enjoy. The downside is that I can feel antsy throughout the process of making, which can span multiple months or years. But maybe that's the pressure of being a maker on the social internet — and that could be a whole blog post.

Do you publish immediately after writing, or do you let it simmer a bit as a draft?

It's not often that a piece gets all the way to the finish line, so there are definitely a few half-formed ideas in the drafts folder, at least when they even get out of my head into the drafts folder. If it does get all the way, I think I would usually do a read-through for edits and publish soon after.

It's hard to practice this patience sometimes, but if I've finished something and don't honestly feel like it's ready yet, I'll try to sleep on it and think through the structure and point-of-view, through revisions, before publishing.

What’s your favorite post on your blog?

The most recent one, I think (more on that above).

Any future plans for your blog? Maybe a redesign, a move to another platform, or adding a new feature?

Setting aside the rest of my website, the plan is to keep exploring with the blog.

Writing is so hard. I love the idea of it, and I aspire to it, but it takes me tangible effort to focus on, because I don't do it enough. I want to keep working on it.

Who’s next?

Spencer, Alicia, Dominika, Jillian, Rachel, and Robin, if they are so inclined!