Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 104
February 11, 2016
The Meta-Recipe
Show? Tell? Follow the “Rules”?
Today’s re-blog draws parallels between Writing and Cooking :-)
Things got a little heated at the last meeting of our Sci-Fi/Fantasy critique group. One member said that the manuscript under review did not work. The reason, he insisted, was that a scene lasting two paragraphs of a ten-page story was exposition, and as everyone knows, “showing is better than telling.”
I disagree. Sometimes you enhance the pace with a little exposition. For e...
February 10, 2016
What Are Folks in Institutions of “Higher Education” Reading?
I know the visitor map on this site (down, on the left, in the side-bar {if you’re not on your phone…}) shows folks coming here from all over the world; yet, still, most of my traffic is here with me in the USA.
So, for those folks from other places on our planet, I hope knowing about something in my country can translate into a valuable perspective in your country…
The “top”, “most respected” institutions of “Higher Education” in the USA are called the “Ivy League“.
Image Courtesy of sarp SI...
February 9, 2016
Self-editing masterclass snapshots: key character disappears, how should I handle it?
Ah, characters that do things that trouble their authors…
Today’s re-blog has Roz Morris revealing a bit of a student session dealing with a tricky character…
I’m running a series of the smartest questions from my recent Guardian self-editing masterclass for novelists. Previous posts have discussed how much extra material we might write that never makes the final wordcount, how to flesh out a draft that’s too short and a problem of pacing if much of the plot concerns the fallo...
February 8, 2016
What Are the “Best” WebSites for #Writers?
Image Courtesy of Chris Greene ~ http://www.freeimages.com/photographer/christgr-50319
Regular readers know I have a well-populated Top Tags widget (over 1,000 posts available by keyword-groupings in the left side-bar) and, since I’ve been immersing myself in the Wattpad experience, I’ve learned that, on a phone (which is where the bulk of Wattpad readers do their thing), the left side-bar of this blog is not visible unless you find your general “Menu” and click onsomething similar to this: “...
February 7, 2016
A Sort of Readiness: Ursula K. Le Guin
Writers absolutely need to read today’s re-blog…
Readers could also profit from checking it out :-)
Admired for her quiet daring, her structures, and her inventions, most of all she is revered for her sentences.
SICHA: A few people may talk about the “craft of writing,” but they sound phony. The way you put it is very realistic: that this is an important thing to do if you care about writing.
LE GUIN: The word craft these days has this sort of funny, twee sound, like some litt...
February 6, 2016
Free Book!
Don’t know if you noticed—I have a free poetry book in the left side-bar…
Plus, today’s re-blog has one, too :-)
I apologize for the brevity of this post. The week kind of ran away with me, and I’m struggling to catch up in all aspects of my life.
How about a gift?
Just a few days ago I self published a free book of poetry on Smashwords. It’s made up of the best poems of 2015 from my poetry website,Nothing Gold Poetry. My poetry comes from my heart and my soul, and this book...
February 5, 2016
Author Interview ~ Red Harvey
There are Lots of Author Interviews on this blog…
Today’s is a bit different…
First, because the interview is with another Wattpad author (there are six more, just above her, in the list at that link up there…).
Second, this author is a bit feisty :-)
~~~
O.K., Red, give us a few personal insights?
Well, I’m just a girl, standing in front of some readers, asking them to read her…no, okay, I flubbed that up.
Do over. I’m a Puerto Rican crazy person, and if I don’t rid myself of the crazy ideas...
February 4, 2016
‘The Loneliest Place for a Writer’: Gary Lutz on Writing (and Rewriting) Great Sentences
For readers—is today’s re-blog just a bunch of fancy talk?
For writers—is today’s re-blog only one particular view-point?
For anyone—is what follows interesting?
Early this summer I attended a disappointingwriting workshop where a clearly unprepared instructor stressed the importance of creating air-tight sentences without bothering to suggest how. “Interrogate each one of your sentences,” she kept saying, then referring, over and over, to the first five lines of Lolita.
While...
February 3, 2016
Author Interview ~ Geetanjali Mukherjee
There are over 60 author interviews on this blog but today’s is only the second with a predominantly non-fiction writer.
And, I think the book she’ll be talking about could help many people…
Geetanjali Mukherjee is the author of six books. Herfirst book, Seamus Heaney: Select Poems, is in its 6th edition currently, published by Rama Bros. India. She’s written five other books, with thelatest being aboutstudy skills.
She grew up in India, spending her early years in Kolkata, and then attending...
February 2, 2016
Short and Sweet Advice for Writers – Do Your Writing Exercises
This re-blog from back in September is good advice all year long :-)
So, you think writing exercises are just for beginners, or writers who don’t have a “real” project to work on? Think again.
It’s back-to-school season for many of us, and time to give ourselves some homework. Writing from prompts is an excellent way to keep your creative and craft muscles strong and limber. Whether writing exercises are the primary focus of your writing, or just a small part of...
