Amateurish effects are part of the charm of these films, but they only grant so much grace. Thankfully, the story of an island's native population being exploited by ruthless profiteers stood up in its own right, and ensured that Mothra wasn't simply an unremarkable preamble to the main attraction: a 35mm print of Godzilla.
Live Every Day Like it's Your 20,000th
It might sound like a whistle stop tour around a man's life, but Cave's mesmerising creative outpourings and deliberate articulation of thought made it impossible to feel rushed. The concentrated blend of philosophy, life history and song-writing entranced the viewer with a world that seemed entirely plausible in its artifice. Rather than begging multiple questions, it was a world that concentrated on just one: who is Nick Cave?
Lessons for the Future
Because, done right, cinema distils universal moments with elegant objectivity, encapsulating and presenting them ready to be coloured by the prism of our own feelings and beliefs. To witness characters bestowing their wisdom on the adolescent Mason was a perfect context for my quest for answers from the film.
Before the Collapse?
One tweet shared around a bit might receive a thousand views, yet the number of people who go to the trouble of clicking through and visiting a link in that tweet is astonishingly, pathetically small. Small as in, single figures small; and a stark reminder that however 'social' our media is, often we are basically talking to ourselves.
Making a Concerto-ed Effort
Which just goes to show that no matter what length of career you’ve enjoyed, what milestones you've reached or achievements you’ve unlocked, sometimes a creative task has to be reduced to its basic components.
Guest Post: Packing in Flavr
No full blog post this time, but that doesn't mean I've been slacking. Oh no! I've been doing some food writing, the result of which is this guest post for Catherine Noble's food blog, Noble Nourishment:
Packing in Flavr
Read MoreAge is Just a Numbers Game
Few people get excited at the prospect of watching their twenties recede into memory. Most worry about the loss – however symbolic – of things like 'youth', 'freedom' and 'carefreeness'. They see their hopes, dreams and potential disappear over the horizon, careering all the while toward a middle age perceived as inescapably mundane.
Time Waits for No Writer
Summer can’t ever have lasted long enough for our hunter-gatherer ancestors - though I’m sure early humans were grateful not to have to alter their sun dials twice a year - but I wonder if their perception of time was similar to ours.
Getting Funny About Rejection
I had no God-given right to be judged near the top, of course. But where this competition differed was that We Said Go published every single one of those five hundred entries on their website. People had the chance to read what I submitted, and positive feedback led me to think that I’d made a breakthrough. This time, maybe, I was in with a shout.
Love Me, Love My Book (part two)
Happily, the submission to Publisher 4 appeared to have better prospects. They still hadn’t read any of the actual book, but they were interested enough by the description to send their submission guidelines – a series of seven questions, the answers to which would make up a detailed proposal. A really detailed proposal.
Love Me, Love My Book (part one)
While there can be a case for speculation and earnest hope – in life generally, but in publishing specifically – sometimes the best use of your time is to take five minutes to rant about the fact that unknown authors aren’t given a chance, then move on.
The Glamorous Writing Life
Assuming our only time off is weekends, 20+ holidays and the occasional public holiday, then we have to work all day and write when we get home throughout the year. In which case, is it better to have a dull job that doesn't challenge us or a job that requires us to use our creativity?
Hip to be Square(space)
Using Squarespace hasn't taught me anything in the basics of coding, but it has let me create a simple, uncluttered site that reflects my ideals. With the limited time that results from having a full time job, I've enjoyed using Squarespace as an intuitive, self-contained solution that has let me quickly refocus on writing.
Write on Time: a Blog Under Construction
TheWritingMan.com has gone live - which I guess means the blog has too! As befits a man who works in the construction industry, I'm still laying the foundations for what The Writing Mandate will become.
Industrial Revelation
A short piece for the Inspiration travel writing competition on We Said Go Travel, about how you don't have to fly half way round the world to find inspiration...