Caffeine + Silence = inspiration

[urbpan]

If I were to write a book, what should it be?

Comments

[sclerotic-rings.livejournal.com]

The Natural History of Urban North America. I'd send you the money for it in advance if you wrote it: hell, if you were the author, I'll send you the money right now.

[jolantru.livejournal.com]

Urban Nature in North America?

[sin-agua.livejournal.com]

A guy wakes up in a hospital bed to find himself the sole survivor left in New York City. He...oh, wait. I think it's already been done. ;)

[rudezombie.livejournal.com]

A noir thriller. Set in a zoo.

[buboniclou.livejournal.com]

IAWTC.

[smallerdemon.livejournal.com]

Hell, you already WROTE a book when you did the 365 Urban Species. You've got your first draft there. Find a way to get each one of those down to your computer locally and drop into Word or Pages, add the best comments for each entry that you felt added to the post. If you can, add a film note at the bottom of ones which might appear in urban film settings: "This species plays a major role in X set in Boston. [Short synopsis of the species' role in the film.]"

[sin-agua.livejournal.com]

There is great awesomeness in this suggestion. I concur.

[abearius.livejournal.com]

I agree. It was an inspiring and surprising project!

[teratologist.livejournal.com]

The Boston-area answer to this book.

[grrlpup]

Here's the Portland equivalent if you'd like another model to look at.

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

You mean which book should you write first. I'll second the motion that you should get the 365 project shaped into a book. Then dive into all those other ideas at your leisure. Also, you need to do a collection of short weird fiction including "Th Sperm Merchant" and "Just a squirrel in the road."

[harrietbrown.livejournal.com]

Whatever you do (and I like the 365 Species idea, too) it should have the photos you used in the project. Those photos were way cool.

One entry you wrote early on in the 365 project was about what the world would look like without people - how soon vines would take over things, what wildlife would flourish, etc. You also talked about how quickly the area around Chernobyl had recovered in terms of wildlife and vegetation. I think that's an interesting contrast to the last of your 365 species, humans.

I think one of the things I found really interesting about the 365 project was the way you wrote about how humans had influenced the environment in terms of introducing invasive species and non-native species and how vegetation and wildlife had adapted to the impact of humans on their environment.

I don't have any advice as to what, if anything you should do with that. It's just something that I noticed.

[g-weir.livejournal.com]

How about this:

a former art student turned zookeeper takes out his frustrations on the modern world by teaching gorillas to read the necronomicon.

That, or the 365 thing. Either one.

--G

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

all i can think of are porny things :(

[ndozo.livejournal.com]

I had a friend whose spouse made a very good living writing hardcore porn. They lived very well and the kids never knew what their dad did.

[ndozo.livejournal.com]

Are you thinking more about making $$ or creating art, or both at once? I've always thought the 365 project should be a book, or a calendar that would be updated and reissued annually. You and your bro could do graphic novels, with plots for grownups that would be loosely based on your life/lives. Or you and cottonmanifesto could do a kids book about a badly misunderstood pit bull that everyone is afraid of and trying to catch but really it's a sweet dog. Some sappy thing could happen and it would be nice and uplifting, kind of like Ferdinand the Bull. Or one about that old turkey from Drumlin. I kind of miss hearing about him. They could have cottonm's amazing art or cute critter photos. You could try a funny or gross horror novel since you like those movies. It could be set in a zoo so you could use all those disgusting substances of the day. I'd probably read a history of candlepin bowling in New England, of course it would need a bunch of sociological blah blah about the changes in NE culture etc. Never mind, I'm already bored. How about just the bowling, with sweet archival photos. Maybe you should join a writers' group. What do you like to read?

[abearius.livejournal.com]

It should be good!