Creative Conundrums #1: Streamlining or Diversifying?
A Writer's Corner series dedicated to challenges and worries throughout the creative process, doubts, queries and everything in between.
Good Morning! Oh, in case you live in a different time zone, good afternoon, good evening and good night (Please, return to this post after some Zzzzz…)!
This partially plagiarised greeting out of the way - never mind the fact it is no longer morning where I am - I first wanted to say thank you to the people who have subscribed to my Substack. I am extremely thankful you have decided to join me and follow my tentative steps in this creative journey (You will need no more tissues from here onwards, promise!). As someone, who has only done small-scale writing before and mostly in private, putting myself out there has been teeny weeny scary - ok, very scary! - but as Romero Britto wisely said:
Art is too important not to share.
In which, I bite the bullet and move forward. It is great to have you on board and I hope you feel connected and inspired when reading Writer’s Corner.
What is Creative Conundrums?
“What is Creative Conundrums”, you ask yourself. It is a series - if someone has a finer term for it, I would steal it in a heartbeat - dedicated to questions of creative nature, worrisome thoughts, plaguing insecurities, and day-to-day challenges that I wrestle with.
Over the years, I have realised that much of what we often consider to be unique to our personalities, for example the tendency to be indecisive, or circumstances, say our education background or job, resonates with others louder than we have ever imagined.
Creative Conundrums will, therefore, serve two purposes:
Aid me in un-baffling myself through endless rambling and mind backflips, and
Provide solace to you in the realisation that you are not alone in your troubles (Fingers crossed, sound practical advice will be a a welcome by-product).
Preface completed, let us meet the first Creative Conundrum!
Creative Conundrums #1: Streamlining or Diversifying? Context
“Wait, you have only just joined Substack and you are already en route somewhere else?” Not exactly.
About a fortnight before joining Substack - impeccable timing is a talent of mine - I had created two online blogs on the same platform. This was in response to a challenge, set by a tutor of an online Creative Writing course I was doing. The aim, of course, was to get us comfortable with our written word being in the big, wide world. I knew that, unless I created the space there and then, I would back out. After a quick research into my options, and with some contenders immediately out, I chose a host platform and did the set up that same evening. It was an ‘on the spur of the moment’ decision - much like the creation of my Substack, but we will get to that in a minute - which now lends itself to being the topic of this post.
The two blogs were to focus on two distinct ideas. My brain works in compartmentalisaiton, and splitting them was the only possible way forward. Partly, however, the decision was made with practical reasons in mind.
The first blog was to house my ‘literary’ attempts, the likes of Short Stories and Flash Fiction (I have posted a Flash Non Fiction piece and a Flash Fiction piece on Substack already. I would really appreciate it, if you had a read of Unrequited Love and New Endings, New Beginnings). The amount of preparation time I would have to put in ahead of producing these written materials meant I might not make content rapidly enough. The longer I took in between posts, the higher the likelihood I would simply not persevere.
Once again, to ensure I did not give up before I had even started (You may safely assume this has happened previously!), I came up with an idea for a fictional blog of a rather grumpy person. I can almost hear your thoughts. Stop right there: the blogger is fictional, but she may be the love child of aspects of myself, others around me and literature characters I have known and enjoyed. Thanks to the diary style of this publication, I would put less pressure on myself to write with merit, and would fire out content at a relatively fast speed (for me). Four fake diary entries have been published to date.
In the meantime, I had joined Subtack and been swept up in the exchange of ideas, encouragement from fellow writers and access to other people’s work. It was entirely by chance that I came across Substack while listening to a great Podcast, called ‘In Writing with Hattie Crisell’ (I highly recommend it and its associated Newsletter here). As a result, I have not had a chance to publish the second, literary-orientated, blog. I am not sure I have the desire to, either. The pleasure, which I have felt since joining Substack has been overwhelming, so much so that I reckon it may grow to be my preferred space for writing content.
The layout of the other blog platform, it has to also be said, is not my favourite. I do not find it particularly user-friendly. Ease of navigation and simplicity in design are quite important to me, and I think Substack has hit the mark in that respect. In addition, as far as I am aware, I have no audience at platform X. Although I write as if I did, it is rather nice to be active somewhere, platform Y, a.k.a Substack, where I know I am not speaking - or writing, as the case may be - into the void.
Context outlined, onto my actual Creative Conundrum.
Creative Conundrums #1: Streamlining or Diversifying? The Actual Conundrum
The ultimate question that needs addressing then is: do I keep the fictional blog on its existing platform, or do I import the content here? Do I streamline or diversify? Do I simply stop posting on X but retain the account and domain name? Do I start posting my Flash Fiction on the second blog, or do I carry on here? Do I do both?
This is not a question; this is a multitude of questions. Sincere apologies.
You do not need me to tell you, there are advantages and disadvantages to both strategies. Making a pros & cons list is never as useful as I initially hope, but when desperation calls, I respond. There that list comes:
Pros of Streamlining
Content management should be straight-forward
Portfolio building & sharing is easier
Good working understanding of a specific platform
Cons of Streamlining
Limited audience (to an extent)
No experience with other blogging spaces and their users
All content is stored in a single place
Pros of Diversifying:
Content can be tailored to target audience
Knowledge of & expertise in different platforms
Access to a wider, more varied readership
Cons of Diversifying:
Too many logins, too many passwords
Writing & publishing schedule may become difficult to manage
Engaging with audience in a meaningful manner may suffer
Conclusion
My conclusion has not been carved in stone yet. I would very much describe it as work in progress, but at present, I am leaning towards streamlining. I think.
Creative Conundrums #1: Streamlining or Diversifying? Your Thoughts
I would welcome your feedback on this topic! Answers to the following questions would be especially helpful (But any insight would be welcome!):
Have you ever used any other online platform(s)?
Are you still a user, and why or why not?
Have you considered publishing all of your content in one place?
In your opinion, what are some of the advantages and disadvantages of this approach?
Please, share your experiences with me and readers of Writer’s Corner in the Comments Section below.
Ughhhh I can connect with this conundrum so much. (Can I just say that I have a deep love for the word, "conundrum"?) I, too started a blog several months back. It was for an entirely different sort of content. I took a course, set it up, and realized after a month or so that I wasn't enjoying myself. It was a blend of things: the subject matter was not as interesting to me in the end, maintaining a blog was quite intensive, and keeping up with certain aspects like keyword SEO etc. was a lot. For a few years I have been posting my more creative non-fiction writing on Instagram. In the last few months, I came to a burnout point with social media and wanted a place to write where I felt less restricted (e.g. caption limits), could still connect with other creatives, and didn't have to stress about likes and follows in the same way. Substack has been that for me. I loved your post and look forward to reading your flash fiction. I'm glad you put yourself out there even though it's a bit scary at first - you're doing it!
Oh Siya, I love this peek into your creative and writing process!
I cannot speak to multiple online platforms, but the idea of streamlining/diversifying/a larger sense of balance in writing has been on my mind often as of late. As we've discussed, I now have an--unexpected--wealth of time, which I am so grateful for. That being said, I have so much I want to do. I want to write my newsletter, traveling--I want to make progress on a novel-esque thing that just might be a murder mystery--I want to read copious amounts, I want to daydream, I want to do it all. Thanks to the gift of time, I can. My struggle is figuring out how to balance all the creativity that had been stifled for so long.
I think, for me, I am a cyclical writer. I think I fall in love with a certain idea or style--newsletters, for example, or novels--for a few weeks. It's enough time to make some serious progress. Then, inevitably, I fall out of love with that, and start looking for something else. My goal, I think, is to work on my newsletter and my book in cycles: to work on one while the flame is burning bright, then turn that energy to the other, and back and forth and back.
This does not answer your questions, and I'm sorry for that; I do believe it's a similar conversation, and I would love to hear your thoughts 💛