How to Write a Zine

Step-by-Step Guide

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   Step 1: Figure out your style.

   In a perzine (a predominantly personal zine), the zinester takes pen to paper or types outpourings from their heart in the way of journal entries, poetry or fun personal snippets.
   
   Perzines can be a chance to be indulgent, creative and expressive.
   
   Or you might be putting together a music, art and fashion zine where you interview a bunch of people who inspire you, who are doing cool things in the world, or locally.
   
   Or maybe you're writing a niche theme, on a particular topic such as sport, feminism, love, art n' craft, veganism or chocolate cakes.
   
   Maybe Nannas united for knitting, or hardcore fans of jack Russel terriers.
   
   So pick a style and go to it!
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   Step 2: Now that you have your style

   Put on some funky music and write whatever springs to mind.
   
   Have fun with this process, allow your heart and mind unadulterated creativity and be open. , Try to narrow it down a little so you have enough material for your zine and a basic foundation for all your content. , Begin lining up your interviews! Or writing your stories, poems, making your art.
   
   Just get started on it and don't worry about making it perfect. , This can be great to get the creative juices flowing. , Be inspired when you write these, let it flow naturally and you can edit later.
   
   Use some great 'hook lines' to grab the reader's attention and make sure you don't waffle on too much.
   
   Make it interesting! , Use your senses.
   
   How do things look, feel, smell or taste? Get creative and show, don't tell. , Make sure to proof-read or choose someone with fresh eyes. , But remember, it's your zine. , Content, then layout. , That way the zine is now 'alive' and you'll have a lot of fun designing a cool front cover. , Have fun with this, your personal work of art, and remember
   - zines are powerful! They're a powerful platform from which to express ideas, inspire others or simply a great therapeutic tool for you as the writer.
   
   Make your zine count.
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   Step 3: you want to brainstorm all the ideas you have for your zine.

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   Step 4: It's time for picking which subject matter you really want to include in your zine.

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   Step 5: This is the exciting part.

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   Step 6: Pick one thing at a time to complete before moving onto the next thing

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   Step 7: or if you're great at multi-tasking

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   Step 8: work on a couple things simultaneously!

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   Step 9: If you've interviewed some people

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    Step 10: or been to see some live music/films and are writing reviews

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    Step 11: it's now writing time.

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    Step 12: Be descriptive.

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    Step 13: So all your material is written up and ready to go.

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    Step 14: Be open to constructive criticism on the content itself.

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    Step 15: When laying out your zine

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    Step 16: make it visually appealing in a way that's personal to you.

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    Step 17: It's a good idea to make the cover last.

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    Step 18: Create the kind of zine you would love to read yourself.

Detailed Guide

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