I’d like to do a deep dive into the process of making a zine. I’ve made a lot of them this year and while they may seem super quick and easy (and in some ways they are exactly that) there is actually quite a bit of effort involved. Even if it doesn’t always seem like it.
Below are all the tools, books, notes, and coffee that went into the one zine we’ll be looking at. There are a few more things not pictured, but you get the point.
To start, here’s the finished zine.
I’m not making any claims to the greatness of this example - that’s not really the point and it isn’t up to me anyway. Instead I’d like to go way back - even before the idea struck and work our way towards the finished thing.
Part 1: Going to the River
Every morning (mostly) I wake up before the rest of the family, make a cup of coffee and sit down at my desk. Once there I write a single page in my journal. It doesn’t matter what it’s about - it’s usually about nothing. But it’s an important step. If there’s time I might read through previous entries and take notes on anything interesting. Or I might do the same with a published book. If things are going really well, I may even index those notes and find places for them in the spirit box.
The goal here is to create an apophenic mindset - one where the mind becomes open to the random connections between objects and ideas. Those connections are the spark we’re after. That spark is inspiration. You could think of this as setting the table for the muse. Inviting it to come out and play.
On this particular morning I had gotten up “around 5:30” according to the journal. I had also spent some time indexing notes. Later, while walking home from taking the kiddo to school my brain starting yammering on about some stuff. Rehashing ideas I’d been mulling over - making those random connections mentioned earlier.
Without a notebook I took out my phone and texted some of that inner monologue to myself.
When I got home I transcribed those texts into my journal.
The next step in this journey occurs when the journal is indexed. This involves rereading past entries and creating notes on anything interesting or worth remembering. Notes typically include a title, a summary, a date, and unique IDs that will help me find it and any related context sometime later.
B24.264 is the journal ID I can use to find the source page this note is based on. The ID is unique but contains information - Journal B24 on page 264. B is the second journal of 2024. C will be the third and so on.
24B2.0F1A is the note ID. The particulars of why those exact letters and numbers isn’t really important - just know that it’s also a unique ID that includes within it a map to the physical location of the indexed note within the spirit box (pictured below). That sounds banana cakes, I know - if you’re curious here’s a well written article on the numbering system.
The secret to the spirit box is the order of the notes contained within. They are placed near other related notes. Proximity equals connection. Remember earlier where I mentioned an apophenic mindset and preparing for spark? This is a huge part of that.
Below is the note we’ve been looking at, along with those that live closest to it within the spirit box. Each note below has it’s own ID as well as journal IDs, references to published books, a related zine ID, whatever is necessary to provide additional context.
Perhaps you see the relation between these notes and perhaps not. What matters is that I see the connection between these notes. Remember, that connection is spark. And spark is inspiration.
Let’s take a look at two of these notes and follow their IDs for additional context.
Following the journal ID in the bottom left we can reenter an earlier mindset. What was I thinking when I wrote this? Let’s find out! Journal A24 is right there up on the shelf…
Within the context of the journal it’s easy to read the entire entry and any surrounding pages as well. What was I reading that day? What was the weather like? Did I get enough sleep? It’s all in there and it’s all context that helps to understand the mindset of the note.
Notes link to specific locations in journals, and, if you notice the ID in the upper left of the page, you can see that journals link right back to specific notes. In this way we build connections.
Here’s another note, but this one links instead to a book.
TCA:AWOB is short for The Creative Act: A Way of Being. On page 47 we find the quote from which this note originates and another ID that links back to the note. It’s connections all the way down. The spirit box is positively buzzing with spark!
The point of all this is to stir up all the inputs. Inputs from books, internet articles, youtube videos, my own head… inputs from 6 months ago live next to ideas from 10 minutes ago - search for something about geese in the park and nearby is a short little essay about my cats, sitting on heat vents staring mournfully at fresh snow. Moments that occurred weeks apart separated by 60 pages in the journal live next door in the spirit box because there is a connection between them.
We’re making a stew of ideas across time and space to see what pops out.
Without the spirit box “all those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain...” But with it I can return to a previous mindset, connect it with a current mindset, and trigger that spark of an entirely new thought. Inspiration!
Ok, that’s enough time at the river. Let’s actually do something with our catch.
Part 2: Cleaning the fish
The lightening has struck. We have been inspired. We caught a fish! Let’s do something with it.
Below is a quick first draft of the idea in zine form. The words are pretty similar to that original text message with some subtle changes - changes inspired by notes and additional context from the spirit box. Took less than 5 minutes to put on paper, maybe another 5 to edit. Sometimes that’s enough. Print it, fold it, put it on the pile. We’re gonna go further with this one but hopefully at this point it’s become obvious that the drawing portion of these is far from the whole story.
So there are some issues with the first draft above. I don’t love the cover or the title. The medal feels trite - is that really the point of this stuff anyways? I don’t know, something feels off about it.
But we plow forward! Confident that the way will become clear the further we travel.
Blue line pencils, new title, removed the awkward cover illustration. Keeping that medal for now - still feels off but can’t quite put my finger on it.
No matter - onward!
Everything is inked. Drawings with brush, letters with graphic pen. Also I cut and pasted the grid of runners from the original draft. I like the energy of it.
Print it! Fold it! Now we really get to see how things are shaping up.
Aha! Now I see… the medal just doesn’t work here. It breaks the flow. A chance at greatness is not a guarantee. Maybe move it to the back cover…
Ok - the medal has been cut and pasted to the back cover and a new replacement panel has been drawn, cut and pasted onto the last page.
I think I like this more. Running off into the distance. Putting in those reps. Always striving for greatness. That medal dangling just out of reach. Perhaps we’ll get one some day.
Print it! Fold it!
Yep. I’m happy with that. Put it on the pile.
Welp, there you go - a peek into how the sausage is made. Hope it was interesting. I’d love to know how you go about your own creative practice. Maybe we can chat about it in the comments.
Completely unrelated but this past weekend I snowshoed up a mountain and stayed overnight at 11.5k feet in an historic fire lookout on Mestaa'ėhehe mountain. It was every bit as crazy and incredible as it sounds. Did I mention the bathroom was an incinerating toilet at the bottom of snow covered stone steps surrounded by treacherous cliffs?! Well it was! Even pooping was an adventure! That was real banana cakes.
Thanks for reading! 🙌
This is nothing short of incredible, Mark! The level of precision and craft in the structures of your process is a work of art in and of itself.
My capturing and collection process isn't nearly as intricate, it's also digital, but I think the onus is similar. I throw everything into my Evernote indiscrimately. It's my notebook, my index, my spiritbox in one cloudbased place. Because Evernote it's searchable I have my own personal database of information I can search through from anywhere. I have a "Musings" notebook in Evernote where keep all my fragmentary thoughts and halfshod ideas. I think of the notes as stockpots. As I read and think and contemplate and review and 'muse' I keep adding little scaps of little bits. to each of them. I keep stiring and tasting and testing. They stay at a low simmer until they're ready to move to the front burner, until they're ready to be served.
Here's to the process nerds, haha!