From the Compost Heap header. A pencil style illustration of a compost heap with flowers and plants growing around it. A bee buzzes by and a white rabbit hops by.

  • This Changed Everything

    My neurodivergent experience includes time blindness, which is magnified when working on a creative project and reaching flow state. This has some benefits, but one downside is that I have no idea how much time I’m sinking into individual projects.

    After one of the most creative years of my life in 2023 somehow 2024 was “Oops, All Admin.” My physical and mental health plummeted and you’ve watched me pivot and sunset projects as I’ve tried to rebalance my creative ecosystem.

    2025 has been an experiment in making time visible. I did this by logging time in a spreadsheet with monthly pie charts.

    I wrote a about this in March, but I thought it was worth checking in again after a whole year.

    UPDATE: After writing this one of you kindly sent me the EARLY time tracker app which does almost the same thing with much less friction. I’ve been playing with it for January and honestly it will save a ton of time that I spent tinkering with spreadsheets. (Thanks Katie!)

    Spoiler alert, my pie chart has become a north star for my creative process.

    My January spreadsheet started out by tracking writing and self publishing time like I do during NaNoWriMo. (Which is why zines don’t show up below.) When I reached days that I didn’t write because I was making visual art I added more columns.

    Pie chart. Stats in text.

    I can guarantee this pie would be almost all admin if I had not seen how big those wedges were and made the choice to dedicate more time to personal projects. Like my Artist’s Residency in Motherhood (ARIM) and my fantasy novel which I made a mood board for.

    Printed images for mood board in a pile on my desk including maps, trees, spirals, artifacts, hag stones, reflections, etc. My typewriter and antique keys are also on the table.
    Pie chart. Stats in text.

    When I saw how powerful this was I realized I wanted to track all of my creative projects this way. So you’ll see more categories moving forward including Mawd which is a working title for my novel.

    At the same I time I decided to migrate and completely redesign my website. Needless to say these were not the most balanced months, but I feel strongly about using this data to course correct and not to judge myself.

    With that in mind, I fully believe this awareness did keep the web design wedge from completely taking over the circle. And I managed to carve out nearly a quarter of my time to zine making.

    Photo of my desk with TETRIS and Wheel of Time Zines, scraps, ink and blue Aes Sedai mug
    Pie chart. Stats in text.

    I was still deep in the weeds of web design during March, but I knew I couldn’t continue the pace. I was noticing screen induced migraines and trying to spent more time on other projects. I also added a column for gardening.

    An embroidery frame holds a cross stitch that reads "I'm Fine". Back cover shows the reverse of embroidery hoop which is a tangled mess of navy blue thread. Text at bottom says March 2025. A Kindle Curiosity Zine.
    I’M FINE ZINE (READ ONLINE)

    By April I realized my dream of republishing all of my blog posts within a single year was not healthy. I’ve archived everything, but I use so many images and videos that simply importing them didn’t work and everything has to be reformatted by hand. I’m not sure when or if I’ll ever move everything. So I decided to focus on any blog posts I wanted to link to and have been moving those.

    This freed up a lot of time for various projects. The big pink wedge is work on my gleeman’s cloak to prepare for meeting Sharon Gilham, the costume designer for the Wheel of Time.

    May was incredibly balanced looking back. The weather was nice so we spent plenty of time outside. I made a zine about Chaos Gardening. Chipped away at my website. And kept working on my cloak.

    You can see the wedge for self publishing where I was ordering proofs from various printers (the very definition of “hurry up and wait.”)

    This wedge is even more well balanced than May!

    Almost a full color wheel which is funny considering June’s zine was Spectrum.

    Two zines and magazine clippings on a wooden desk with scissors, gluestick and pencils. Both zines titles are cut out magazine letters: Chaos Gardening with leaf rubbings and Spectrum with a hand painted watercolor color wheel.
    Chaos gardening & spectrum zines

    My cloak took over in July as I started recreating specific textiles from the show for new patches.

    It wasn’t long ago that I never would have dedicated this much time to something that was purely for me.

    Not my portfolio.

    Not marketing.

    Not for “content.”

    Just the joy of making something with my hands that connected me to a story I love and a community that is family to me.

    Tap to see my fluttering cloak in action.

    I’m now in a place where I see these kind of projects as essential to both my creative process and my mental health.

    This reset over the summer (when my energy is the lowest) was key to being able to self publish Entwined & Ember without burning out.

    Moving into August I was designing a lot of visual schedules and modular calendar elements for home education. I also started sinking some serious time into Entwined & Ember working alongside our copy editor. But I still reserved over 25% of the pie for other projects including zine making and gardening.

    Birdhouse gourds growing up gazebo of green pipes (a greenhouse without the plastic cover added) and a white metal house planter I thrifted beyond with morning glory leaves twining through

    I spent a huge amount of time making zines I did not sell at NWA Maker’s Faire (which I blogged about here.) It was mostly a great experience, but also exhausting. I pretty much crashed directly after even though it was only half a day.

    I keep wanting to attend more events, but when I do I’m reminded how hard they are on my autistic nervous system and chronically ill body. I don’t think I could manage a full day event – much less a whole weekend.

    Black and white photograph of Make a Zine zine using vintage text and an illustrated pointing hand. Visible text reads: What is a zine? A zine is a handmade magazine. Usually about a specific topic. Say Something. Share it. You can share physical or digital copie. Post on a blog or make photocopies to trade or sell. Leave copies in little free libraries or send to zine archives.
    MAKE A ZINE (READ ONLINE HERE)

    Suddenly Entwined & Ember were in final edits. Past years this would have been all encompassing, but you can still see 40% of my time put into other things: zines, gardening, blogging, even a bit of ideation for my novel (which was definitely a back burner project this year.)

    Collage papers and mini accordian zine on a wooden desk with a succulent plant. Images on zine include reflections, silhouetted figures, and trees bending in the wind.

    Launch month! Some of this was final proofing and the rest was fulfilling orders. I balanced the admin with zine making and two Wheel of Time related projects.

    When I started this anthology and art journal I had no idea how much energy they would take. I truly wish I’d tracked my hours since the beginning.

    If you somehow missed book launch Entwined & Ember are now available worldwide in hardcover and paperback. As well as free community copies to anyone experiencing financial hardship.

    Entwined and Ember books on a table with a teal green typewriter and library style drawers. Entwined has a collage cover with mother and child and hand illustrated vines. Ember has a burned wood texture on the cover.

    I’m typing this on December 29, but I’ve estimated the time I’ll put in the next couple of days. (I’m getting much better at realizing how long things take.) The biggest wedge this month is actually visual art! Which is something I haven’t had much capacity for this year.

    I’m actually working on diagram of my creative process based on this data for ILSSA’s open call. It’s inspired by a meander map showing the ebb and flow of various projects through the year. I’m still in the experimental phases, but if all goes well this will be the next art print for subscribers.

    What’s next?

    We recently decided on a printer for the limited edition hardcovers of How it Feels to Me – a picture book about neurodivergence and sensory processing I’m creating with illustrator Gracie Klumpp.

    We’re a little behind schedule (due to the print quality issues), but are aiming to release the book next Spring!

    Here’s a peek.

    Illustrated spread featuring a rainbow infinity symbol and characters who appear to be scientist, artist, astronaut and comedian.

    I’m not a spreadsheet wizard, but if you’d like to take a look at my Artist Log template and copy it for yourself you can see it here. If you’re fiddling around with it I recommend typing in numbers to make sure everything is adding up correctly. I changed mine every month so this isn’t really a template as much as a working model you can make your own.

    If your creative process was a pie chart (or another shape) what would it be?

    Cheers,

    Sarah signed with a swoopy S

    P.S. I “should” proofread this, but it’s nearly 1 am and I’m nearing migraine trigger territory. I may come back or I may not. Honestly, there are more important ways to spend my time this week. 💫

    Read more: This Changed Everything

  • Festive Recipes & Free Books ✨

    One last update before I shift into holiday hibernation. Socializing and changes in routine can take a lot of energy for an autistic. So we really prioritize gentle self regulation in December.

    A Correction for the Boundary Zine

    Last month I wrote about neurodivergent boundaries and shared a printable zine. I noticed that I accidentally left out the section on social supports (pretty important) so I’ve just updated the post. You can re-read and download the new printable zine here. (Everyone who bought a zine will get a little “tip in” of the missing section.)

    Festive Recipe Zine

    This month I was going to type up some festive recipes when I found the above image of my family’s cranberry relish recipe. I quickly realized most of my family recipes were from the “back of the box” and went down the rabbit hole to collect them all. These zines are going out to my zine subscribers and won’t be stocked in my shop. Just to minimize computer work for me this month.

    SUBSCRIBE FOR MONTHLY ZINES

    Free Copies of Entwined & Ember

    I was busy all November fulfilling orders for Entwined & Ember (now out in hardcover and paperback!) Thanks so much to everyone who preordered and supported this project.

    There’s now a free ebook option for parents in financial hardship. If you’d benefit you can download yours here – no questions asked. (You can also donate a copy if you’d like.) There are also a limited number of paperbacks donated during the crowdfunding campaign.

    Entwined ebook mockup on iPad

    A note on publishing for a worldwide audience…

    I’m using Amazon to print and fulfill orders for Entwined & Ember. I’ve made this choice for to offer affordable worldwide shipping (we have contributors from several different countries) and to make the book discoverable to anyone searching Amazon.

    These were the books I needed as a new mum so I’m keen for as many parents to have access to these books as possible.

    I want to clarify that orders placed through my website (or the crowdfunding campaign) are author copies and Amazon does not get a cut.

    In case you missed it…

    I filmed a zine and art unboxing last month. You can watch it by tapping below.

    That’s all for 2026.

    See you all in the new year.

    Cheers,

    Sarah signed with a swoopy S
    Read more: Festive Recipes & Free Books ✨

  • It's me, Sarah Shotts. Zine inside!

    From the Compost Heap header. A pencil style illustration of a compost heap with flowers and plants growing around it. A bee buzzes by and a white rabbit hops by.

    I made you a zine!

    Because The Medium is the Message I’ve given up weekly blogging and I’m making monthly zines instead.

    Here’s how it works.

    First, I noodle around with an idea. I type up a few notes on my phone and mull it over.

    I might browse are.na to find some images or I might use a photograph.

    Next, I do 2-3 rounds of edits. This process is powered by my kid’s hyperfocus when playing Zelda Breath of the Wild.

    Then, I go out to my studio and load up my 1950’s Underwood typewriter.

    Unless there’s a big problem (like above: when I loaded my typewriter ribbon backwards) I do my best to type the zine in one go. The mistakes and typos are part of the zine aesthetic and show it was made by hand.

    I actually love when the letters print twice or a little crooked. It feels punk rock in a world with AI.

    Then I add any images with double stick tape. I’ve decided to go full analogue and not do any digital touch ups.

    I Xerox the final product on my laser printer and send physical copies to my patrons (pledges starting at $3 on Patreon.)

    But you don’t have to pay to read. I’ll be sending a virtual zine every month to YOU.

    If this works.

    I’m not sure how well the zine will read on phone screens so this is a bit of an experiment. You may have to pinch and zoom.

    Or read on a computer. You can click here to read on archive.org. It’s pretty cool over there because you can flip the pages and see the spreads as they were designed.

    Otherwise I’ve popped the images directly below.

    Keep reading here.

    Accessible Version (for screenreaders)

    Bibliography (all of my research linked on are.na)

    Algorithm Free Portals

    Websites cost money. If we don’t pay directly they are making their money by selling our attention (ads) or mining our data (for advertisers or to train AI.)

    Here are some algorithm free websites I have been enjoying. I am happy to chip in my support for the services they are providing.

    are.na 

    Like Pinterest for art nerds. I started with a free account and quickly fell in love. There’s also an educator discount.

    Here’s a peek at the mood board for my fantasy novel.

    micro.blog 

    A simple microblogging platform. This is the passion project of Manton Reece, author of Indie Microblogging. He created micro.blog as a simple solution to own your own microblogging content. I could write a whole post about how great this is (for $5 a month), but I’ll try to keep it short. You can use it to build a website, make a blog, or microblog (like a Twitter or Instagram alternative.)

    I am playing around with a photo blog which automatically publishes to Bluesky. You can also subscribe to it via RSS.

    micro.blog is the way the web should work. It can be integrated with so many different things. I’ve even set up Beehiiv to automatically archive itself at sarahshotts.blog 

    Yes, I did mention bsky.app.

    Bluesky is a public benefit corporation with the mission to “to develop and drive large-scale adoption of technologies for open and decentralized public conversation.” (Source)

    This is a radical experiment in prioritizing the open web over commercial success.

    You have so much control over your experience there and you can even follow Bluesky feeds through RSS or on other platforms (like the micro.blog app).

    I’m going to be honest I’m mostly there for Wheel of Time (Season 3 is coming SOON y’all!) But I also made an artist / writer account and we’ll see where it goes. If you sign up let me know I’d love to connect with you there. Another cool thing about it is that they use domain names (if you have one) so I am https://bsky.app/profile/sarahshotts-com.preview-domain.com.

    Come on over to blue skies. Claim your name at least!

    My biggest frustration the last time I tested Beehiiv was the friction in the comment system. But I overlooked the simplest solution.

    I’ve turned comments off.

    Just hit reply to message me directly (or text me if you know me.)

    So much cozier.

    P.S. I should probably port over my “ways to support” banner, but it’s nearly midnight and we are drowning in sales emails this month anyway. I’ll put it back in January.


    Powered by beehiiv
    Read more: It's me, Sarah Shotts. Zine inside!

  • My Word for 2021

    Gold scissors and baby clothes on a blue blanket

    I didn’t choose a word last year. Or the year before that. I’ve been in a metaphorical hibernation since Davy was born. Snug and still even before 2020 locked us all down.

    These 18 months have been a time of dreaming and ideation. I have had more creative ideas during postpartum than any other time in my life.

    Yet, action came in waves.

    Small lapping pond waters.

    Occasional crashing whitecaps.

    Doodles and book drafts.

    It was inconsistent, but it kept me afloat. The ideas I didn’t have time or energy to complete I gathered up and squirreled away for another time.

    I’ve chosen the word MAKE for 2021 because I want to establish a daily creative practice. To put those ideas I’ve collected to use. 

    I want to make more art, but gently. I need flexibility to tend a sick babe or adjust my pace to avoid burnout. Some days I might paint or weave and others I might make beans on toast. Both are equally valid.

    It’s an invitation to create everyday and a curiosity to see how that unfolds.

    If you’d like to follow along I’ll be writing about my year of making in my newsletter. I’ll drop an opt in box here to make it easy.

    P.S. After drafting this post I did a search for “year of making” and rediscovered Kim Werker who I followed what feels like a lifetime ago. I must have been riding some subconscious inspiration. Kim’s year of making was in turn inspired by Miriam Felton so it’s one big beautiful swirl of inspiration. 🌀 

    If you want to join in just use their hashtag #yearofmaking.

    Read more: My Word for 2021