With no previous formal training in this area, I taught myself how to design websites with some basic knowledge of HTML and CSS that I had learned from reading various blog articles and experimenting with Blogger and WordPress platforms. I usually use a pre-made theme as the backbone of the website, but I often embellish it with my own graphics and logos and add other features to make the site work for my creative purposes.
Before 2014, I used to run a couple of blogs using Blogger, called “A Muse Sings” (the first incarnation of my blogging and web experience, just for laughs in college) and later on “A Muse Sings of Ponderings” (the second attempt at creating a motivational and literary-themed blog). However, these blogs didn’t really offer me the full range of control over customization and creativity that I wanted for online publishing. That, and I had grown tired of the “muse” part of the name in my previous blogs, as too many other bloggers kept using this word as part of their blog’s name. Instead, I wanted something unique. Something creative and catchy, but was memorable enough not to get lost in the crowd. I also wanted to start a new website where people with creative talents can also share their stories and their interests to inspire others. So in September 2014, I created an online magazine: Verge of Verse.
Verge of Verse is one example of how I became a self-starter and spearheaded my own creative endeavor, all while utilizing my skills in web design and editorial design to learn about online publishing. Even the brainstorm and planning process behind Verge of Verse took several nights devoid of sleep, countless days of scouring the Internet for the right theme and the right visual inspiration for the branding and style, and several pages of inky scribbled notes to (1) settle on a name that would stick as a memorable phrase and customized domain address, (2) create categories that made sense for organizing the site, and (3) coming up with engaging content to write about, publish, and discuss with others via social media.
In June 2016, I teamed up with a friend of mine who also loved writing and creating content—Justine—and she happily came on board with me to be my co-editor. Our dream is to expand the website into something bigger than ourselves and invite other content creators to collaborate, contribute, and foster conversations that cultivate and celebrates creativity in all of its forms. We hope to onboard new creators with a variety of talents, and we are working continuously to add new stories and content to further enrich the site and the creative community that we’re building.
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