National Poetry Writing Month 2013
I’ve signed up over at NaPoWriMo.net, committing to try to write and post a new poem every day throughout April for “National Poetry Writing Month”. My plan is to mix things up regularly: to post twitter poems, full-length gorelets, some audio recordings, videos, word art, and more Fridge of the Damned magnet poetry pieces. Return to this calendar page for all this, which I’m posting off the main blog to avoid clutter and confusion; things will also be tagged as #napowrimo on twitter or The Nest if you want to search for them. I invite you to join me, too, on the Instigation Showcase (see below)!
Key: Blue = Text | Black = Multimedia
Related NaPoWriMo activities I’m indulging in…
+ I’ve joined the gang over at the 5-2 Crime Poetry Weekly for 30 Days of the 5-2. My particular post is going up on April 4th. Update: Scott Emerson posted a kind review of my own poetry on the 5-2 as part of this event too.)
+ I will fit some poetry reading in between the bouts of writing. And if time permits, review it.
+ I’ll post #Instigation prompts to twitter (echoed on the Instigation Showcase) more frequently throughout the month…see below for more details.
+ A new issue of The Goreletter will appear this month. Certainly it will contain a poetry-related contest with some goodies for prizes, so subscribe!
+ DO YOU WRITE? I will continue to celebrate the recent release of my ebook, Instigation: Creative Prompts on the Dark Side by posting #Instigation prompts on twitter… these (along with more) are automatically fed into the new Instigation Showcase page, so if you’re a poet/writer looking for dark inspiration, you’ve found the right place! You also can get a meaty sampler from the book of prompts over at scribd.com/Arnzen
ALERT, 4/5: in celebration of #NaPoWriMo Raw Dog Screaming Press is now offering the Fridge of the Damned poetry magnets at a discount for this month (buy yours here for just $10). Remember that I will post photos of all shared #TFOTD work in the amazing fridge fan gallery! Write a fridge magnet poem for Nat’l Poetry Month.
The tin ‘fridge’ design
Instigation: Creative Prompts on the Dark Side – New E-book Now Available!
Instigation: Creative Prompts on the Dark Side by Michael Arnzen:
Instigation: Creative Prompts on the Dark Side is a treasury of twisted tips, strange scenarios and disturbing sparks to help ignite the fuel in your creative furnace. Its aim? To push you into the danger zone of your imagination, by thinking in unconventional ways and trying things you never thought — or dared — to try before in your writing, art, or dreams.
See the catalog page for more information.
DIRECT PURCHASE FROM MASTICATION for $3.99:
ALSO NOW AVAILABLE FROM: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes
NOTE: This book is currently only available in .mobi, .epub, and .pdf formats, which are readable in most ebook devices and computers. It will soon also be available directly from more ebook distributors like amazon and Barnes and Noble. A print edition is not currently available (though you can get a large sampler in the hardcover only edition of The Gorelets Omnibus published by Raw Dog Screaming Press).
NOTE 2: Backers of The Fridge of the Damned kickstarter project should have received an email with information on acquiring their complimentary copy. If not, let me know.
The Fridge of the Damned Gallery
Photo by Nicole Peeler
The Fridge of the Damned is currently landing in backer mailboxes everywhere, and people are having a blast with the weird horror poetry magnets, and sharing their photos online. If you’re one of them, I invite you to email me a shot or post a link to one to contribute a photo to the Fridge of the Damned gallery on Flickr. People are also sharing shots on twitter with hashtag #TFOTD. I love what I’ve seen so far!
Poem by Lee Allen Howard
User Fridge of the Damned poem by Jessica McHugh
The Fridge of the Damned is now offered for sale for $12 each by Raw Dog Screaming Press, while supplies last.
The Fridge of the Damned! Get yours at RDSP.
Fridge of the Damned: Get Yours! Share Yours!
As I’ve reported over the past month, we successfully funded the production of The Fridge of the Damned at the end of January through a great Kickstarter campaign, and rewards to backers are being distributed as I type, including all the awesomely weird horror poetry magnets in a despicable tin set. You can order a set if you didn’t get one through the kickstarter campaign, now, too!
If you make a cool poem with the FotD, please take a photo and share it (or a link to it) with me via comment below or email. I will post it to our Flickr gallery for all to see! Like this one, our first arrival from Jennifer Barnes:
First user poem comes in! Send yours to Arnzen to include in gallery.
If you were unable to participate in the Kickstarter, the remainder of the manufacturing run is being offered for sale through Raw Dog Screaming Press — just $12 while supplies last. Place your order on their website.
The Fridge of the Damned! Get yours at RDSP.
The Fridge of the Damned: A Raging Success!
THANK YOU FOR FUNDING THE FRIDGE OF THE DAMNED ON KICKSTARTER!
A gigantic “THANK YOU!” to everyone who so generously backed our kickstarter project for The Fridge of the Damned magnetic word tile kit! This unique novelty item was not only successfully funded on Feb 1st, 2013, but we reached 200% of our goal from the contributions of so many kind backers, which allows us to deliver the set to everyone in custom tins. THANK YOU! And I also have to thank the folks who joined forces with me — my publishers, John and Jennifer at Raw Dog Screaming Press, who not only have chipped in many of the rewards but are distributing the sets, and Nathan at microhorror.com, who organized, designed and curated this project to its successful finale.
Here’s a sampling of images related to the campaign. You can see many more at the Flickr gallery devoted to the Fridge, which may include future images of the magnets and tins after they’re made (and hopefully people will send me photos of poems from their fridges in March!)
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- Rosen’s prototype design work that inspired it all.
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- Arnzen made a vid to pitch for the tins.
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- Rosen’s “10 Words You’ll Find in the Fridge” video
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- Lawson read a poem he created from the original FotD.
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- Arnzen’s “Fridge” featuring poetry magnets — prop for the video and flickr photos.
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- Arnzen made weird fridge magnet poetry throughout the month.
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- A sample “fridge magnet” inspired word art.
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- Raw Dog Screaming Press sponsored Arnzstigation Days
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- Tracklist for the “Poedown” CD reward
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- A facebook cover photo for the FotD.
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- Smiling magnets for reaching our first goal.
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- In the end, we doubled our goal!
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- A month later: magnets!
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- The tin ‘fridge’ design
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- Reward to backers: a new ebook!
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- Reward to backers: CDs!
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- The Fridge of the Damned! Get yours at RDSP.
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- First user poem comes in! Send yours to Arnzen to include in gallery.
Rewards to those who pledged will be delivered in early March. Here’s a rundown of some of the things people are going to be getting for their generosity.
* The Fridge of the Damned magnetic word tile set: horror poetry on your refrigerator or other magnetic surface, with these “fridge poetry magnets” — all words derived from Arnzen’s gorelets poetry, as it was in the original “virtual” fridge.
* The upcoming ebook: Instigation: Creative Prompts on the Dark Side. All pledgers are getting this one. A collection of prompts for writers, artists, and other “dark creatives” who are looking for inspiration and ideas, based on the column from this site’s weblog and newsletter. See Mastication Publications for more information.
* A “double live” set of CDs: Full-length recordings of two live reading events from 2012: the “Poedown” between Arnzen & Stephanie Wytovich at DV8 Gallery last November, and also the hilarious reading of poems, lists and song lyrics from the Gorelets Omnibus launch at the Morgantown Poetry Society in Summer 2012, called “ArnzenSongs.” The latter will include some bonus musical material from the studio.
* Signed poems written for the occasion (using a poetry magnet rubber stamp set), delivered via postcard to many backers.
* Autographed and electronic copies of a cornucopia of my books.
* Original art used for the Play Dead playing card deck.
* A mystery “grab bag” of items that’s sure to include a handful of things, like Exquisite Corpse DVDs, signed small press magazines, fridge magnets from my personal collection, similar ephemera like old con badges or drawings, and copies of anthologies I’ve appeared in, like Thou Shalt Not.
Missed out? We have tentative plans to offer the magnets and other items for sale on the Raw Dog Screaming Press website in the future, and Instigation will be available wherever ebooks are sold in March.
Watch the flickr gallery for Fridge of the Damned for future updates on production and distribution of these items. E-mail your fridge poetry that uses this set, and I’ll share it there, too!
UPDATE: RDSPress is now selling the Fridge of the Damned on their website for $12 a tin, while supplies last! ORDER NOW!
I Survived the Arnzstigation
Badge by Nathan Rosen
For the second half of January, Jennifer Barnes, my editor at Raw Dog Screaming Press, challenged readers and writers and students to post weird writing exercises, short responses to my Instigation prompts, and reflections, comments and pictures as part of a week long series she called “Arnzstigation Days.” Those who answered the challenge were listed on a web hub page and got to bear the bloody badge (pasted up above) with pride. Neat and weird and humbling!
It’s kind of weird being the subject of a creativity challenge — like a “roast” — only in this case, I was roasted the way they do it in the deepest levels of hell. I’m kidding. It was touching to read all these tributes to Instigation and support of The Fridge of the Damned.
You should go read their postings. These folks did everything from writing new short stories and memoirs to posting photo galleries and videos. I just wanted to let everyone know how awesome and endearing I found all this, and how honored I am to have helped spurn some fresh ideas. I don’t know what to say except to THANK EVERYONE and post a link to the websites of those brave souls who participated, because chances are very good that if you are here because you enjoy my brand of weirdness, you’ll enjoy theirs too. So — drum roll — a huge heap of gratitude to:
Jennifer Barnes | Matt Betts | Blake Burkhead | Scott Emerson | Douglas Hackle | Lee Allen Howard | Mike L. Kinshella | John Edward Lawson | Jessica McHugh | Mike Mehalek | Heidi Ruby Miller | Jason Jack Miller | Donna Munro | Emory Barrett Pueschel | Bruce Siskawicz | Madeleine Swann | Nora Thompson | Teffanie White | Zoe Whitten
All of these folks get a raucous round of applause from me. I have to royally thank Raw Dog Screaming Press for not only running this, but continuing to instigate ME into doing new things, too. This experience has energized me and reaffirmed my belief in the merit of the Instigation ebook project. Thank you all!
To return the favor in kind, I have Arnzstigated myself into doing a new horror song parody (akin to “Don’t Stop Bleeding”) in a mad dash before the official deadline. See what you make me do? It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but if you know the original song by Ten Years After that inspired it, you still might chuckle. I dare you to sing this at your local karaoke bar… or just to click the video at the bottom of this page and sing along.
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”I’d Love to Change the World”
Everywhere is
Fitch & Crombies,
vampire zombies,
I can smell the insanity.
Scratch the itch,
blood will flow,
till there are no
ticks no mo.
I’d love to change the world.
But I don’t know what to do.
So I guess I’ll murder you.
Population,
keeps on breeding.
Virgins bleeding,
Still more feeding.
Gastronomy.
Undead’s funny:
hates the sunny,
brains are runny,
eats a bunny,
quite sloppily.
I’d love to change the world.
But I don’t know what to do.
So I guess I’ll murder you-oo.
Oh no!
De-fang the nation!
Exsanguination!
Blood filtration!
Mass starvation!
They’re pale and red!
Dumb and dead!
Hide in the shed!
Aim for the head!
I’d love to change the world.
But I don’t know what to do.
So I guess I’ll murder you.
***
Here’s a share of the original song that I found on youtube. Press play and sing along!
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Arnzstigation Days end January 31st
I am honored by this heart-warmingly weird tribute that surprisingly erupted as a meme over on Facebook yesterday. Raw Dog Screaming Press is sponsoring a fun creative celebration called “Arnzstigation Days” in support of our successful funding of The Fridge of the Damned (for which all backers receive a copy of my upcoming story idea lighter fluid, Instigation: Creative Prompts on the Dark Side). It’s basically a creative writing challenge and a call for memories of weirdness we may have shared. If anything from my classes, workshops or posts in the Instigation department of this website (or the prompts in The Gorelets Omnibus) inspires or inspired you to do something bizarre in any way, share news with Raw Dog to join the fun, before the end of the month.
Click to Learn More
Sneak Cover Design of Instigation Posted
We’ve got a devilish new cover design in the works for my upcoming e-book, Instigation: Creative Prompts on the Dark Side. Visit the book’s catalog page to take a sneak peek at what’s in store!
Upcoming Cons and Signings in 2013
World Horror Convention & Bram Stoker Award Weekend
June 13-16, 2013 | New Orleans, LA
Arnzen has TENTATIVE plans to attend.
http://www.stokers2013.org/
“In Your Write Mind” Book Signing
June 29, 2013 | Greensburg, PA
PLAY DEAD reissue release date! Arnzen will sign books at the “In Your Write Mind” workshop at Seton Hill University’s MFA in Writing Popular Fiction Alumni book signing event, anticipated June 29th, 2013 at 7pm.
http://inyourwritemind.setonhill.edu/
“Confluence” Convention
July 19-21, 2013 | Pittsburgh, PA
Arnzen will be attending Confluence: The 25th Annual Literary Sci-Fi Convention in Pittsburgh, PA (Airport Holiday Inn) July 19th – 21st, 2013. Readings, signings, panel appearances expected. Likely to feature events from Dog Star Books and Raw Dog Screaming Press.
http://www.parsec-sff.org/confluence/whatis.html
“KillerCon” Convention
Sept. 19-22, 2013 | Las Vegas, NV
Arnzen will be attending KillerCon V to be held at the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Sept. 19-22nd, 2013. Readings, book signings and panel appearances expected.
http://killercon.com/
***
Most of these don’t happen until Summer 2013, but I wanted to post these to remind folks who may be making travel plans, since many cons offer discounted rates to early birds. I’ll post updates as new signings and events are arranged.
Announcing Mastication Publications
I’m pleased to formally announce the resurrection of my old indie press imprint, Mastication Publications! While we’ve existed since 1991, and printed a number of chapbooks and ephemera over the past twenty years, this really marks a new phase in the press’ development, as we will be more aggressively entering the ebook market and developing new projects. Our tagline is “Unusual Ideas to Chew On”. Here’s a snippet from the mission statement on our “About Us” page which elaborates:
We see this press as more of a creative laboratory than some vain enterprise in self-publishing. It is a venue for trying new things and archiving things that may have otherwise been lost and forgotten. We’ve always been a small press interested in exploring new territory for genre fiction and poetry, liberated from the norms of mainstream publishing and unbound by the usual commercial demands.
Visit the new page at http://masticationpublications.com
Lots of creative things are in development, from a new logo, to re-released ebooks from my backlist, to the new Instigation ebook (which you can get for as little as a buck if you pledge to The Fridge of the Damned kickstarter before Feb 1st!).
But first up is a free chapbook, available NOW, called MEAT SHOTS!
Get This New Chapbook — Free!
Want a freebie? All you need to do is sign up for the press’ new newsletter and you will receive a free electronic chapbook (adobe format) called “Meat Shots” that collects some of my best microhorror in a beautifully colorful and playfully organized little package, designed by Nathan Rosen. Read all about it on the Mastication Publications website or see the TOC and excerpt on the book’s page.
Fund The Fridge of the Damned … Get the INSTIGATION Ebook!
For the month of January, Raw Dog Screaming Press, Microhorror.com and Gorelets.com are joining forces to campaign on Kickstarter to make The Fridge of the Damned: a twisted poetry word tile set (based on something that old fans of this site will be familiar with) that will make any sticky metal surface even stickier!
Kick the Fridge before Feb 1st! An ebook will fall out.
We need your help. Kick in a few bucks and if our dreams become a reality, you can use these demented fridge magnets however you please… in fact, with a little creative play, they might “instigate” you to come up with poetry, stories, art or even novels all your own!
But even better: by funding the project at ANY level (even just a buck!), you’ll automatically reserve a free copy of Instigation: Creative Prompts on the Dark Side! This new ebook is NOT just a scraping together of all the “twisted prompts for sicko writers” you already find here at gorelets… it includes the entire collection from the infamous weekly column that ran in Hellnotes newsletter from many years ago, dozens and dozens of strange prompts from Michael Arnzen’s horror writing classes at Seton Hill University, and a battery of original material only available in this ebook: from new prompts “too hot for gorelets,” to activities intended specifically for writers in the muddlesome middle of their novels, to articles about writer’s block, advice for staying focused, and more. And all of it, intended to navigate you into the dark side, where the interesting stuff awaits. If you’re a writer, you’ll definitely want this.
The book is being published this March by my own imprint, Mastication Publications. Sign up for the Mastication newsletter, and you’ll get ANOTHER free ebook — “Meat Shots” — a collection of short shorts of terror — with design by our kickstarter campaign director Nate Rosen, in .pdf format.
It’s raining free books! Soak them up and get inspired to death.
Fear the Abyss…and the Scary Tiny Citybots!
Just posted the above video review of a few funky science fictional things I’ve been up to lately: including a teeny tiny ebook device for microfiction, a new experimental (and free!) short-short anthology (#Citybots) and the awesome Fear the Abyss anthology from Post Mortem Press.
05/15/2013 at 8:15 pm 
05/11/2013 at 6:32 pm 
