Hello! Yes, hello to you! 99.999999998 percent chance that if you have gotten this far and have ended up on this page, you are, indeed, a movie freak. Or a movie nerd. Or a movie fanatic, if the first two bother you. But let's face it, you got here because you follow me on Twitter, or you saw a Twitter re-tweet or "like" from someone who follows me on Twitter. Once you saw that, you realized that I was writing about a topic that is very VERY close to your heart.... MOVIES! You find yourself doing this a lot, and by no means are you simply monogamous with me. Nope, this is one of a dozen, or two dozen, or a hundred, movie blogs that you visit during the course of your regular week. You like old movies and new movies and in-depth articles about what's upcoming and deep features that take on a very scholarly tone and make you understand hidden meanings in films and you like articles that are silly and sarcastic and parody movies and give you top 10 or top 25 or top 100 lists and the only reason you have read this one very long and very unwieldy run-on horrible sentence is simple.
You're a damn film freak.
It's okay. You're good. If you didn't know it before now, you were going to find out eventually. All of us do at some point. I have been obsessed with movies since 1981, but it took me until this year to "find my voice" and start seeking out others who shared my affliction, or gift. I joined Twitter and found one account after another that had the same passion as me (or more!), and it was very fun to engage these new acquaintances and discuss the movies that we loved and didn't love so much. I found myself spending hours on end talking about the best films of 1981 and what's wrong with the newest ALIEN film (a lot!) and putting up hypothetical scenarios for films that will never exist. It was fun, it was fresh, and I found that I was finding my voice.
And it wasn't enough.
Scroll through "Film Twitter," and you learn something quickly. Every one, and I mean EVERYONE, has either a film-based podcast, a film-based blog, or they may even have both. The quality is wildly varying. Some blogs put out long, well-researched posts about single films, or a series of films, or a director, and you find yourself standing and applauding when you finish reading. Others exist only for clickbait and do whatever they can to make you jump through hoops to move through "lists" that are generated over 50 different screens. You'll want to throw your laptop through the window after those (one such site... unnamed... used to be one of my favorite but has gone SOOOOOO far to the listicle/clickbaity stuff that the site is utterly unreadable now.) Some blogs don't contain the best and most-prepared and edited pieces of work, but they come from such a point of love and enthusiasm for their topics that you can't help to smile while reading and eagerly await their next post.
Everyone has a website. Obviously, so do I.
I love being on Film Twitter, but 140 characters is never enough for some topics. I want to get into solid debates on some subjects and I want to go on and on and on about films that I'm nostalgic about from my youth that still hold a special place in my heart-hole today. Even when you make a properly designed "thread" on Twitter, it just doesn't help you give a full expression of how you feel about movies.
So, here we are.
I started in April, and when I did, I tried to write long detailed articles about films I liked. I found several things. Not being as good as other writers (which I wasn't) gave me a very defeatist attitude; also, I hated writing plot synopsis and character descriptions, which quickly made my "reviews" utterly worthless to people who hadn't seen the films I was talking about in any particular post.
I stopped posting very quickly and let the blog die a slow, quiet death. However, I got a brainstorm at the end of August. I still wanted to write, but I found it easier if I wrote quickly about things and films that were on my mind rather than trying to prepare longer, more detailed articles. I'd write fast and simple, and I'd post anytime the feeling hit me rather than trying to hit a weekly/monthly goal. Since I "rebooted" on the 23rd of August, I've posted ten articles (about 2.5 a week) and I have plenty more ideas in mind. Sometimes I post write after watching a film (like I did with 1981's "True Confessions" or 1985's "The Last Dragon") and sometimes the feeling just seems right, as it was for my tribute to Bernie Casey. If I want to write that day, I write. Sho' 'nuff.
So, my question is, as you've gotten THIS far into my post, are YOU writing or podcasting about film? And if the answer is "no," then why the hell not???
It's time to let your freak flag fly.
Again, if you're reading this, you've probably interacted with me on Twitter. And if you've interacted with me on Twitter, I've done it because I trust, value and appreciate your opinions and your thoughts on film. I don't care who you are-- you should be sharing your opinions and thoughts. I don't care if you think your writing is shoddy and that it doesn't compare to everyone else you read. If you've read all my posts, you probably realize that I only know about 64 words total. At best. And yet here I am.
Let your freak flag fly.
Post in comments sections of the stuff you read. If you agree with the author, tell them. If you disagree, be civilized and make a good counter-argument. If they have a list of films they love, try and add to the list or recommend something they may not have seen. Engage.
Let your freak flag fly.
if someone is looking for people to submit content and the subject matter appeals to you, do it. Who gives a greasy shit if you don't get published? You got to write about what you love and it only makes you better for the next time.
Let your freak flag fly.
Set up a blog. Yep, do it. Go to a blog-format site (like I did-- ask me for info if you like how mine looks) and create a simple blog. Can't post three times a week? Fine. Can only get there once a month? Cool. Start writing and you'll find yourself slowly getting hooked.
Let your freak flag fly.
At the very least, ENGAGE on Twitter when you see people talking about a topic that interests you. Don't worry about jumping in if you do it in a fun, polite way. If someone talks about RAWHEAD REX or Cannon Films or the 1980's and I see the tweets, I usually jump in. If they don't want you there, they'll ignore you. Most of the time, if you jump in politely, you will be more than welcome. And join live tweets! Nothing brings you into the fold quicker than being a part of a small group of people all watching and talking about a fun movie at the exact same time.
Let your damned freak flag fly.
Still feeling shy? Well, let me give you a little boost. Not ready to start a blog but you want to try and write? I'll host you here. Want to try an article one time and see if you like doing it before you go further? I'll host you here. As long as your post isn't inflammatory, mean-spirited, divisive or anything else that would truly offend, I will be more than happy to post your stuff here and give you 150% credit. No time limit, no word limit (give me two paragraphs about a movie or performer, or give me 5000 words), and if you need me to find all of the artwork, I can. I want every single damned one of you to get as creative as all get out, and if I can help, so be it.
(But if you steal it from someone else, I'm gonna make sure everyone knows.... so make sure you bring the hot original shit.)
I've got AT LEAST a dozen people that I talk to on Twitter that I'd LOVE to see speak in a longer, more detailed setting. Your commentary in your tweets is great, and you should be doing more. I understand jobs and family and obligations, but everyone can find a few minutes here and there to scratch out a few paragraphs.
Direct message me on Twitter if you are interested in putting something here (also, I'm not paying, although I will pat you on the head and say "good boy/girl" after you submit, so that's something.) Same with if you want to start your own blog but have absolutely ZERO idea on how to do it.
Let. Your. Freak. Flag. Fly, people.
I'm gonna wrap up today with some of my bestest buddies on Twitter who have blogs of their own. I've enjoyed all of their writings and I know you will as well. They aren't huge sites but the content is fun and well-constructed and hopefully will give you a good framework on what good writing is like.
1. Schizocinema (http://schizocinema.blogspot.com/) which is run by Chris Chaka (https://twitter.com/chris_chaka)
2. VHS Revival (https://vhsrevival.com/ ) - their Twitter is https://twitter.com/VHSRevival
3. Cult Credentials (https://cultcredentials.wordpress.com/ ) - Twitter can be found at https://twitter.com/CultCredentials
4. HorrorMovieBBQ (http://www.horrormoviebbq.com/ ) - Check out their Twitter as well at https://twitter.com/HorrorMovieBBQ
5. The Video Vacuum ( https://thevideovacuum.blogspot.com/ ) - run by Mitch Lovell who can be found on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/TheVideoVacuum
6. Oh The Horror! ( http://oh-the-horror.com/ ) - run by Brett Gallman who has a Twitter handle of https://twitter.com/brettgallman
7. The Farsighted Blog (http://farsightedblog.com/ ) - you can find reviews there by Rachel, who you can find on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/maxfischers
8. Jason Wells ( https://twitter.com/jrwells82 ) looks like he might be firing up his blog again soon. Keep an eye on: https://jrwells82.wordpress.com/
9. The Mike ( https://twitter.com/TheMike31 ) is a turkey but he's my favorite turkey of all. Check out his stuff at: http://tmdfps.blogspot.com/
That is really far from a fully inclusive list, but you will find a bunch of distinct voices trying to do different things when it comes to movie writing. There's also so many wonderful writers at places like Daily Grindhouse, F This Movie, Daily Dead, Talk Film Society, Bloody Disgusting, The Horror Honeys and more. (alsoI'llkindamentionRupertPupkinSpeaksbutdon'tsayittooloudbecausethatBobFreelanderguygetsabighead...shhh!)(Luv ya, BS!)
So now, if I didn't mention your site or your blog and it's because you don't have one and you're afraid to write something..... well--
GET
YOUR
FREAK
FLAG
ON!
(I, for one, can't wait to see what you have in that beautiful brain of yours.)
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