Tactile Zine Presents: Behind the Scenes No. IIIWriting.
This screen is vital to the zine Along with a random late night impulse, I started Tactile as a creative outlet and a way to keep myself writing. I really like to write but I need something to work towards instead of aimlessly updating a blog. Something focused.
In general my writing process typically begins with a pen and paper. I have a notebook or two floating around just for Tactile; along with a few fountain pens. I usually just word vomit all over a page then go back and create outlines later to better organize my thoughts. Then comes a rough draft on paper and the draft will be transposed into a digital format. I prefer Microsoft Word but gmail, Google Keep, and my
Alphasmart have all seen use for writing drafts. Usually whatever I have in front of me will do. I just want to get the words down and I’ll migrate it into Word later.
For Tactile I’ve tried to stick with a unifying theme for each. I think it makes each Volume interesting in its own way and gives me a boundary to work within. I keep a bunch of emails and ideas floating around in my notebooks with random ideas for future themes. But more often than not, something will inspire me at a particular moment and I’ll run with that. For example, I managed to get in touch with ClackFactory during his last sale so I jumped at the chance for an interview. When the theme is decided, an introduction or at least a guiding statement is written and usually becomes the first page of the Volume. It’s good to have a guide for both myself and the people who are being interviewed.
It’s always surprising to me how much creativity comes from this screen[/ size]
Currently I really like doing interviews because it involves the community and brings a spotlight to people who I think are doing really cool things. Sometimes I grab interviews specifically to fit the current theme and sometimes I just rack ‘em up like they’re Clack trade bait. The interviews are always conducted in print; in other words I don’t do voice currently. I find it’s a lower barrier to entry when I ask for interviews. People may not have time to sit around for a voice interview but it’s easier to make time for a text interview. They used to be sent through PMs but I found that sending Word docs through email is easier for me later. It’s just easier to throw the Word docs into the Publisher setup I use for Tactile.
When the interviews are returned to me, they’re edited. Sometimes the edits are just simple grammar fixes; other times I need to resubmit the interview to the person for clarification. The overarching goal for the zine is to celebrate DIY and maker culture in the keyboarding community. And sometimes people see the zine as something else; perhaps a platform to advertise on. I’ve been working more diligently on toning that vibe down and to keep to the core message.
Most of this work is done with the Microsoft suite: Word, Publisher, Excel, and PowerPoint are all heavily used to make the zine. It’s mostly because I’m comfortable with these platforms and I want to spend time working on the zine and writing. Not learning new software. Once the interviews are in and my theme is decided on, I write an intro and an outro. Then I consider the aesthetics and beg for artwork. Finally stickers are made and printed by me. I use Photoshop and a vinyl printer at a local makerspace. The stickers are fun for me and the readers (I think) and are dirt cheap so I’ve made a lot.
