How it works
Now through the end of January post a short story, poem, piece of art, excerpt from a longer work instigated by Arnzen or even a blog reflection on his influence. Then post a link here, on the RDSP FB page or send it directly to books@rawdogscreaming.com. I will share it through our page, our twitter account and collect the links in a permanent blog entry on the RDSP blog. This will support the cause and also showcase your project.
The catch—you’ve got to include a link to the kickstarter: http://tinyurl.com/b4zkr5m. Invisible slimy bonus points to those who include some explanatory text such as: Be an instigator, support the Fridge of the Damned poetry magnet kickstarter.
Arnzstigation Gallery
• Emory Barrett Pueschel offers a sicko short
• Donna Munro shared these wonderful Arnzstigations: “Do you know, love, loath Mike Arnzen? All of the above for me. He is my writing dementor/teacher, a fount of knowledge and gore, from SHU’s Writing Popular Fiction program. What did I learn from him?
1. If you can make zombie romance work, you’ll be the next great thing (said in 2004, coming true in 2013).
2. American gore doesn’t hold a candle to Italian/European gore.
3. Don’t just see it, push a piece of glass over it and poke on it to make it move (Mike’s novel Grave Markings)
4. Just keep writing!
5. Horror can be poetry and often is.
I am supporting his fantastic project to inspire some sick fiction…Because he is the greatest!!”
• Heidi Ruby Miller posts a series of photos
• Nora Thompson talks about Arnzen’s impact on her work
• Scott Emerson: “‘Longing’ wasn’t inspired by any one specific Instigation or Twisted Prompt; it’s part of the flash fiction flood unleashed in my brain after reading Arnzen’s excellent flash collection 100 JOLTS.”
• Mike Mehalek gives us “Uncle Mike’s Band.”
• Blake Burkhead contributes a poem inspired by Arnzen
• Matt Betts helps us experience a writing conference with the mad doctor
• Zoe Whitten gives a magical piece that uses an everyday object
• Jason Jack Miller takes us to the dojo with “Excerpt from ZEN AND THE ART OF ARNZEN, a.k.a What is the sound of one dog dying?”
• Jessica McHugh continues Arnzen’s story “The Curse of Fat Face” with outrageously disgusting style.
• John Edward Lawson gets all Shakespearean and whatnot with an Arnzstigated sonnet
• Lee Allen Howard explains how Arnzstigation set him free to write better
• Madeleine Swann’s Arnzstigation is a little ditty about an eyeball
• Teffanie White gives us proof that sometimes Arnzen is right.
• Douglas Hackle shares an appropriately twisted micro short
• Mike L. Kinshella serves up a truly diabolical Arnzstigation
• What goes around comes around – Arnzstigations instigate Arnzen
Why Arnzstigate?
The Fridge of the Damned poetry magnet kickstarter is now fully funded but I’m not ready to rest yet. Mike Arnzen has his heart set on achieving our stretch goal of uber-cool tins to store the magnets in. I want to make sure he gets them!
Over the years that I’ve known Michael Arnzen I’ve seen the amount of time he devotes to supporting other writers and…well…instigating them. Every writer, every creative person, needs this kind of kick in the pants at some time or other. And I want to pay tribute to the inventive way in which Mike has goaded many, including myself, to higher heights of creativity. The magnets themselves are a great example of his kind of madness. Throughout his career Mike has often involved others in a unique writing dialog using his contests, his newsletter and his instigation prompts. Granted that dialog is often icky but it’s also fun and challenging.
I’d like to recognize that collaborative attitude and harness your collective creative powers for good (a rotten, putrescent kind of good in this case). So from now until the end of the month RDSP will be hosting Arnzstigation Days, a creative challenge to post something instigated by Mike Arnzen.
If you don’t already have a work, no worries, there is plenty of instigation to be had: http://www.gorelets.com/blog/instigation/twisted-prompts-for-sicko-writers-31/