first post
the first post isn't always the hardest, but it's easy to put it off, so i figured i would break the ice and think, a little, about what i'm doing here.
i resisted dreamwidth for years because the interface is so strange to me (i just caught messageboards, but the most influential internet location of my youth was definitely tumblr) and honestly, i didn't used to think so longform. we're going way back here, but when i first encountered dreamwidth circa 2016 or so, blogging didn't feel like the right medium, because i was much choppier in my thinking. now everything i write/think is longform. much longerform than i want it to be, really. academia kept demanding longer essays of me and i kept rising to the task. i also know more stuff now so i have more to consider.
i've also gotten really into reviewing things in the last couple of years. i have a very active letterboxd, and a sometimes active storygraph. (i always review everything i read, i just don't always review it to a consistent critical standard. the same is true of letterboxd but i use it more and more casually, so things level out.) anyway, the reason i do try and do this is that i've come to really value capturing reflection, and making a note of my reactions and feelings around things in the moment i experience them - i find it helps me place my opinions, so that returning to reviews after time has flattened my thoughts into 'eh' or 'good' or 'horrible!!!!!!!!' helps me round them out again, give reasons for that feeling. all this to say, i see the point of writing stuff down now.
i want this to be casual, because writing is so tricky and time consuming, often, for me. but i also want it to be criticially engaged. the reason for starting today is that danielle (shrimpchipsss... i don't know how to embed names...![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
shrimpchipsss ok nvm i learnt, i'm getting the hang of it) was linking me to some really interesting posts about fandom and how it shifts over place, and none of them were very long but all of them made me go 'oh!'. and partly i figured it would be nice to see those posts, and posts from my friends who are articulate and smart and i like to hear from, without having to rely on other people to deliver them to me. but also, i have thoughts all by myself that make me go 'oh!', and normally they just stay sat until they flake away and i don't remember anymore. hopefully, this will be a place to put them. will try not to limit subject matter, so will probably be a mix of odd fandom thoughts (fandom thoughts post-fandom) and reviews that i don't want to articulate on accounts where irl people follow me, and also i guess reflections on my own engagement with media and art.
life is busy and although i generally try very hard to do what i say, sometimes i can't. so no guarantees. but i made the account, and the first post, and have defined the scope of this thing. that seems like all the help i can give my future self at this point. time will tell if i'm right. sorry to myself if i'm not - i'm sure you'll be looking back on this either way.
oh, and two things occurred to me while i was writing this, for me to check up on. can i bookmark other people's posts? how do tags work? i'm going to ignore them for now.
i resisted dreamwidth for years because the interface is so strange to me (i just caught messageboards, but the most influential internet location of my youth was definitely tumblr) and honestly, i didn't used to think so longform. we're going way back here, but when i first encountered dreamwidth circa 2016 or so, blogging didn't feel like the right medium, because i was much choppier in my thinking. now everything i write/think is longform. much longerform than i want it to be, really. academia kept demanding longer essays of me and i kept rising to the task. i also know more stuff now so i have more to consider.
i've also gotten really into reviewing things in the last couple of years. i have a very active letterboxd, and a sometimes active storygraph. (i always review everything i read, i just don't always review it to a consistent critical standard. the same is true of letterboxd but i use it more and more casually, so things level out.) anyway, the reason i do try and do this is that i've come to really value capturing reflection, and making a note of my reactions and feelings around things in the moment i experience them - i find it helps me place my opinions, so that returning to reviews after time has flattened my thoughts into 'eh' or 'good' or 'horrible!!!!!!!!' helps me round them out again, give reasons for that feeling. all this to say, i see the point of writing stuff down now.
i want this to be casual, because writing is so tricky and time consuming, often, for me. but i also want it to be criticially engaged. the reason for starting today is that danielle (shrimpchipsss... i don't know how to embed names...
shrimpchipsss ok nvm i learnt, i'm getting the hang of it) was linking me to some really interesting posts about fandom and how it shifts over place, and none of them were very long but all of them made me go 'oh!'. and partly i figured it would be nice to see those posts, and posts from my friends who are articulate and smart and i like to hear from, without having to rely on other people to deliver them to me. but also, i have thoughts all by myself that make me go 'oh!', and normally they just stay sat until they flake away and i don't remember anymore. hopefully, this will be a place to put them. will try not to limit subject matter, so will probably be a mix of odd fandom thoughts (fandom thoughts post-fandom) and reviews that i don't want to articulate on accounts where irl people follow me, and also i guess reflections on my own engagement with media and art.life is busy and although i generally try very hard to do what i say, sometimes i can't. so no guarantees. but i made the account, and the first post, and have defined the scope of this thing. that seems like all the help i can give my future self at this point. time will tell if i'm right. sorry to myself if i'm not - i'm sure you'll be looking back on this either way.
oh, and two things occurred to me while i was writing this, for me to check up on. can i bookmark other people's posts? how do tags work? i'm going to ignore them for now.
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apparently the bookmark equivalent here is "memories" which are associated with the heart or heart w little plus sign icon (or "add memory" link) and as far as i can tell you can add tags to your posts w commas in between and people can sort the posts on your page by those tags same as usual
I've been feeling like I should get more into the habit of reviewing things I've read or watched because of the same thing of being left with a feeling of whether I liked it but no substantial thoughts as to /why/ if I don't purposefully do that. Funny the way that my love for things I've reviewed becomes deeper because of it
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i would really recommend reviewing stuff regularly, like it really is amazing how giving yourself the space to articulate things helps, as you say, deepen you love, or comprehension, of it. i also find it keeps me more consistent in actually reading/watching things, because i know at the end i'm not leaving it behind, and i will have some productive note of what it left me with. it makes me more inclined to finish things off somehow
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Agree that as I get older I think more in longform, and my thoughts can't be captured in a short snappy way anymore, and I don't have the daily-time-commitments to be scrolling twitter. there's just a lot of joy in coming back to dw and being able to catch up on months of info from a page.
Would love to read your reviews and thoughts! I see a lot of "media round ups" or monthly highlights or top 5 [insert theme/ship/trope]. And I know what you mean re capturing thoughts soon after you experience them!! I wrote a post on it called [learning to be reflective about reading] if you'll be interested https://hwarium.dreamwidth.org/8947.html Around last year I read a bit about memory and realised the importance of processing your thoughts immediately before your brain washes it out. Let me know if you want any follow recs or article recs! If you would like to find people, go on your friend's reading pages and see who they follow :)
Keen to have you here and to have future dw chats!!
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there really is something so nice about being able to find big hunks of thought from people i like a lot, all one after another. especially when they're curated - not just stuff people have casually liked, but that they've liked enough to summarise and share!
and thank you for sharing that post, i really liked it (and used it as a way to learn how memories works on here!) your breakdown of what you record was really good - my reviews are generally whatever takes my fantasy, which is fine to an extent (a bland book merits a bland response) but sometimes means i don't capture much, even if i am technically going beyond quotes. the resonance calendar also sounds great, i'd love to see that post if you've written it up yet?
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I've never managed to wear a groove for myself on this site, but I'm definitely interested in the kind of longform reflection you're talking about. happy you're here, happy to be here 👍
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it definitely remains to be seen whether i manage to properly situate myself in DW - i'll probably overpost for a while to try and begin to get that grove, and will see if it works... even if i just come back sometimes to read, that might be nice. and with that in mind, i also look forward to seeing any posts which you may or may not make going forward