General or Single Topic

[Amy]

Do you guys do mostly single-topic zines, or just general ones? Which ones do you prefer reading? Just looking for your opinions on this..

[kit feral]

I do like them to have SOME sort of theme.

... of course, my perzine has NO set topic. I just kinda throw stuff out there, haha. so that's a bit hypocritical of me.

[Nadia Brady]

I'm working on my first single-topic zine at the moment. I can easily write 4000 word articles for my zine, and I suppose with interesting formatting that could easily be a zine in its own right, but I always want to cram as much content into my zines as possible so end up using size 8 text.

In terms of what I like to read, I do particularly like single-topic stream-of-consciousness perzines; they're an incredibly distinct genre you don't really see outside of zines. Other than that, I think most zines develop some sort of cohesion in the creative process, so even if there's not necessarily a topic or theme, you do end up with a cohesive tone or discourse.

[Amy]

Yeah... I feel that way too, but my problem is that i can never think up a good topic :D

[Bethany]

My topic is the arts. All kinds of art and artistry. (poetry, drawing, art facts...) I like to read all zines. Themed or not. Zines of any kind are my thing.

[Amy]

high five

[sandy]

Hmm, I like both. I think there's a time & place for each - some things can't be told in more than line... well, they probably could, but that often turns out over-told, diluted in words, jumpy sharky thingy. But other stories are nice when they're drawn out - continuity, slow processing. Yeah, it depends.

Generally, I like art that has a sense of purpose about it - not just "something I shat on a page because it's so avant-garde". Whether it's single-topic or mish-mash seems more a secondary factor. :)

[incurable hippie]

Mine have all been very themed. I'm thinking of trying a perzine which won't be, but up to now they're very specific.

[Amy]

is a perzine a personal zine? I've seen the phrase around but no one has enlightened me on what it means.

[kit feral]

yep! :)

Amy said:

is a perzine a personal zine? I've seen the phrase around but no one has enlightened me on what it means.

[Amy]

oh okay. I've been trying to figure that out.

My current zine is a list of the top ten weird things that have happened in the last few years. I'm still working on it.

[CocoaPuss Zine]

mine are all perzines and have a general theme and title that kind of explains what the zine is about. but i want to make a more random one because that's how i think. sometimes when i'm halfway through creating a zine, i'm bored with the topic and want to write something else. my attention span is really short.

themes i'd like to read about (feel free to steal): skin/skin care, hair, dolls, race and porn, traveling while black or female or both, groupie stories, poop/digestion, pasta, how being vegan affects culture, witches, pimping-- like a real pimp tells his story, being famous, etc.

[kit feral]

race and porn... that'd be really interesting, actually. I don't think I'm familiar with enough of different types of porn to write it, but I'd love to read it!
and I could definitely write a rant about the lack of diversity in porn.

CocoaPuss Zine said:

mine are all perzines and have a general theme and title that kind of explains what the zine is about. but i want to make a more random one because that's how i think. sometimes when i'm halfway through creating a zine, i'm bored with the topic and want to write something else. my attention span is really short.

themes i'd like to read about (feel free to steal): skin/skin care, hair, dolls, race and porn, traveling while black or female or both, groupie stories, poop/digestion, pasta, how being vegan affects culture, witches, pimping-- like a real pimp tells his story, being famous, etc.