... I have neglected what ought to be my overriding ambition: work on the novel.
My rationale has always been that in the time it would take me to progress a work of fiction 400 or 500 words, with the probability of the thing not finding a publisher at the end of the day, I can write an 800 - 1000 word review, have it online and know it will find a readership.
But the concept of the novel won't let me be. It keeps plucking away at my imagination. The sections I've written so far vary between the inspired and the fuck-awful, and I desperately need to reconsider the structure. To this end, I need to have some time away from TAOTM.
However, I don't want to let the blog lapse. I've got about a fortnight's worth of material prepared, and I'd like to augment it by featuring guest posts. Which is why, to reiterate the title of this post, The Agitation of the Mind needs YOU.
No limits as regards length, no strictures as regards subject. Anything cinema-related. Anything arts related. Hell, pretty much anything!
Any and all contributions, emailed to slainte@inbox.com, would be gratefully received and fully attributed to the author.
12 comments:
Good luck with that novel, I know what its like to want to create and not find the time! So go to it man! Let those creative juices flow! I'll see what I can whip up to contribute on your blog man! It would be an honor in deed!
You can count me in my friend.
As someone who's also trying to juggle manuscript writing with blogging I know how tough it can be (Right now I'm standing over a 66,000 word draft with defibulator in hand screaming "BREATHE!!! BREATHE!!! I'M NOT GOING TO LOSE YOU YOU BASTARD!!!". Hopefully I'll have something by the end of the day.
As a full-time student trying to juggle a blog with every other responsibility under the sun, I feel your pain. I'd love to help out too, and might see if I can cook something up for you. Is there a specific time frame you'd want these within?
Good luck with the creative pursuits!
You got it! As much as you've contributed to the Death Rattle whenever asked, I'll be more than happy to send some guest posts your way. Anything specific movies you want me to cover?
Franco - you're dead right: it's frustrating when you want to do something creatively but there just isn't enough time. I'm really enthusiastic about the basic idea behind the novel, but it's going to take a lot of concentration to figure out the structure of it and how to make the story work. I need some deep thinking time, but I don't want to let the blog go stagnant - I've worked too hard to build up the readership I've currently got.
Bryce - 66,000 words is a hell of an investment of your time, your effort and yourself. Fingers crossed that the defibrillator jolts it into life. I've got about 5,000 words invested in my project, but there's no continuity and I struggled to find an appropriate style. There's one section, though, that really works well, and I've now got a "voice" for the novel.
Pussy Goes Grrr - thanks for offering to contribute. At the moment, I've prepared content for the next fortnight, and a few friends have promised articles, so anytime in the next three or four weeks.
Aaron - nice one, mate; many thanks. I'll leave the choice of movies entirely to you. All I say is that next week I'm posting a bunch of stuff on the 'Night of the Demons' franchise and the recent remake, so if you've got any trashy exploitationers on the Netflix queue, feel free to go with them!
Thanks for your support, guys - it's hugely appreciated!
Roger that
Count me in for a contribution. Let me see what I can dig up for ya. I will email you.
Much appreciated, J.D.
I'd love to contribute something.
Hell, I'd love to post more than the handful of reviews plus titty shots that my own blog has amassed since friggin' December of '09 -- but screenplay duty, work, attempts at a social life and the chasing of the opposite sex call my name, as incessantly as always.
I'm unloading the archives. I'll see what I can come up with. Would you have a problem with pieces that are cross-posted to both my blog and yours?
Scott, I know where you're at. Work is a necessity, social life important and the pursuit of the opposite sex (or, as my old man would have put it, "chasing skirt)is downright essential. Screenplay duty ... that's a priority.
Having said all that, anything you could provide would be gratefully appreciated; cross-posting is not a problem.
Here's what I've been working on:
- Blue Velvet
- Spike Lee's "Bamboozled"
- The Mack (gotta get some more classic blaxploitation on my blog)
- Warren Beatty's "Bulworth"
- Romper Stomper
- Michael Haneke's "Funny Games" (the original, not the US remake)
- American Psycho: the film vs. the novel
- De Palma's "Dressed to Kill"
- a trio of Paul Schraders: Blue Collar, Hardcore and Auto Focus
- and a trio of Herzogs: Bad Lieutenant - Port of Call, The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser and Fitzcarraldo
These are all reviews that I'm at least 1/3 of the way through -- and I just need to put my own crippling perfectionism aside to actually get them finished.
The Herzogs and the original 'Funny Games' I've already covered on Agitation. Any of the others would be most welcome. J.D. at Radiator Heaven has contributed an article comparing Don DeLillo's novel 'Libra' with Oliver Stone's 'JFK', so maybe your 'American Psycho' film/book comparison would make for an excellent companion piece.
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