Photo by You X Ventures on Unsplash

We create. It’s what we do. And when we create something, we hope that others will connect with it and appreciate it. We are social by nature: constantly in search of our tribe, our community, our people.

This is why we don’t hoard our gifts or keep our creations to ourselves. We are compelled to share them. Whatever your gift may be, whether it’s written, drawn, painted, knitted, sculpted, welded, carved, videoed, photographed, or performed creations; you’ve thought about sharing it with others.

These days, that inevitably means you’ve thought about online platforms and which ones to use. As with anything, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to the creatives’ platform dilemma. We have to choose based on what works for our personalities, our creative work, the time we have available, the medium that works best for us, and where our people are.

There are a lot of options, even more variables, and often a learning curve involved with choosing platforms. It has easily been the hardest part of sharing my creative work online and finding my community. I don’t have answers for you. What I do is I experiment, I ditch what doesn’t work for me, and I trust my gut.

Don’t be afraid to experiment, to ditch what isn’t working for you, and to trust your gut. You know what’s best for you.

Over the last few months, I’ve been working as part of a team on a variety of different projects. I haven’t had much time to work on my own writing or any of my personal projects. This has been very good for me. I continued to write, to edit, and to translate; but I worked on a range of project types that took me far beyond the boundaries of my knowledge and my comfort zone. This is where growth happens and I’m grateful.

Then Covid-19 happened and I was sent home to practise social distancing and wait out the storm.

Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash

The future is uncertain for us freelancers, independent workers, and small business owners. But, I believe in hope, resilience, and making the most of shit situations. So, I’m working on my creative projects and exploring my interests - just like many of you.

Which brings me back to online platforms for sharing our creative work. The timing could not be better (Coincidence? I think not!) - just as the Corona Chaos started to drop, I began receiving email notifications of the upcoming expiry of my website’s hosting. I’ve struggled with that website for two years. I set it up because everyone says you’ve got to own your platform, etc.

I won’t go into the website debate here, because I don’t know what’s right for you. Some people have amazing websites that I love. Mine is not one of them, and I don’t have any good ideas about what to do with it. After the last few months of focusing on other work, interacting with other talented people, and not having time to work on the website, I realised it’s a burden I don’t want to carry anymore.

I have time right now; I could work on it. But my initial response to seeing those emails was not, ‘Can’t let my website hosting expire!’. No, it was more like, ‘Let it burn!’.

My gut is telling me it’s over. The jig is up. I can’t fake this no more. I’m ditching my website. It doesn’t reflect who I am and it isn’t serving me. Ciao for now!

Moving on…

I want to keep writing but, moving forward, I also want to keep working with others. As an editor and translator, I enjoy working with other writers and creators equally as much as I enjoy working on my own writing. It’s taken me a long time to realise, but a huge part of my own creative fulfilment comes from helping others with their creative work.

As a result, I’ve made two decisions:

1. I’ll be focusing on writing this Substack email blog. I believe in email as a platform. It’s easy on the eyes and you get it right where you need it — your inbox (who’s got time to go anywhere else to keep up with the content they enjoy?). Email is simple and I’m into simplicity. Find me here.

2. I’ll be creating a Medium publication to share my work and the work of other creators. It’s for writers and artists who are interested in exploring life, the self, and creativity as Works In Progress (WIP). Our lives, who we are, and our creative expressions are all developing, evolving, growing, and changing. They are works in progress. Let’s explore that through a lens of wellness. Leave me a comment if you’d be interested in contributing and/or follow me on Medium to stay in the loop.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

You never know what the world will throw our way next, but what I’ve figured out is that the best way to face it, to find solutions, to overcome it, will always be by coming together.

Even now, as Covid-19 has us practising social distancing, separated in our homes, we do so for each other. We isolate ourselves for our families, for our communities, for the greater good of others. It’s a beautiful paradox.

‘Being in the same room with people and creating something together is a good thing.’ — Robin Williams

We can’t be in the same room together right now (or ever depending on where you live), but we can still come together - we can still create, collaborate, and support one another online. Get in touch!

Share

Medium