Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 125
July 24, 2015
Writing and Self-Forgiveness
From a rather long life of making mistakes, gaffes, miscalculations, and oversights, I know the critical value of forgiving myself.
Image of Ann Patchett courtesy of Wikimedia Commons & Rodrigo Fernández
Yet, this must be done with deep sincerity or one ends up just accumulating excuses for continuing to run rough-shod over Life…
Continually saying, “I’m sorry” (offered to others or ourselves) when it’s not deeply feltcan accumulate tremendous internal guilt and grief.
In just a minute, I’ll...
July 23, 2015
Useful Free Tool for Writers
Two very handy (necessary?) tools for writers…
One, not expensive—one, Free…
One is for Windows & Mac—one, only for Windows…
Originally posted on I downloaded the trial version of Scrivener a couple of years ago, but at that point it all went completely over my head. So many people seem to love it so much that I downloaded it again recently, and after completing the tutorial realised that it isn’t all that complicated and quite a brilliant tool. I don’t think I’m going to...
July 22, 2015
Remembering What You Read . . .
There are a few books I’ll never forget—oh, sure, I may not remember every detail; but, I remember the thrust of the story and certain scenes.
Image Courtesy of Mokra ~ http://www.freeimages.com/photographer/mokra-47018
But, for the thousands of books I’ve read in my nearly-seven decades…
Well…
Let’s just say there’ve been quite a few times I’ve started a book and suddenly, 50 to 100 pages in, realized I’d read it before.
It’s a bit late for me to mend my ways and take measures to document my...
July 21, 2015
The English Teacher Who Almost Quit Reading by Brett Vogelsinger
Do you read as much as you used to?
Do you read as much as you want to?
Having trouble getting back into the reading habit?
Looking for tips on finding good books?
Check out this Re-Blog…
Originally posted on Nerdy Book Club:
I remember my creative writing teacher in tenth grade lamenting the fact that she had such a difficult time convincing her colleagues in the English department to read. The school district was working to integrate some newer titles into its approved re...
July 20, 2015
Will All The Bookstores Die?
What with all the hoopla over Barnes & Noble and Borders struggling and dying and the surge of e-book sales, many folks fear that bookstores will all go away.
Image Courtesy of Julia Freeman-Woolpert ~ http://www.freeimages.com/profile/juliaf
I’ve addressed this issue in past posts—here are links to two of them:
Why Are Bookstores Dying? ~or~ How To Understand The “News” AboutBooks…
Are Physical Bookstores Really A Thing of ThePast?
However, Husna Haq, writing for the CSM, has a recent articl...
July 19, 2015
Grammar-ease: Using ‘and’ and ‘to’
“And” & “To”?
Can’t be that hard to figure out when to use which one, right?
Read on :-)
Originally posted on Live to Write - Write to Live:
Here is a grammar refresher on usingand andto.
I see it all the time, and although it’s more a choicebetween casual and formal use than right and wrong, I thought it was worth writing about.
Here’s what I’m referring to:
Be sure andvisit the robotic display at the museum. (casual) Be suretovisit the robotic display at the museum. (for...July 18, 2015
Virtual and Sometime Friends ( Really Careless Talk!)
Are you a writer?
Have you had quite enough of “social media”?
Do you wonder if you really have to Tweet and do all those other things “They” say you must if you ever expect to sell books?
Check out this Re-blog from Philippa for a radically different point of view………
Originally posted on INVOLUTION: Science and God: Reality Redefined:
Virtual and Sometime Friends ( Really Careless Talk!)
I have taken a long silence in the past weeks. Many loose threads are now waving at me...
July 17, 2015
Too Old to Be a Debut Writer?
Last week I wrote the post, Too Old to Write a Book?
Lady Justice image courtesy of Carlos Sillero ~ http://www.freeimages.com/photographer/cwsillero-48168
Here’s just a bit of what it said:
“…my Best Friend published her first novel at 50 and I, in spite of a life-long love of words didn’t get busy writing seriously till my mid-50s.”
“‘Age-based awards are outdated and discriminatory, even if unintentionally so. Emerging writers are emerging writers.’”
“Do you think youth has some special in...
July 16, 2015
Self-editing masterclass snapshots – how much will you write to create your book?
Does writing 50,000 words mean you have a novel?
Perhaps it’s closer to the truth to say writing 100,000 words, then throwing away 50,000 of them means you finally have a novel.
Check-out this re-blog from Roz Morris…
Originally posted on Nail Your Novel:
Last week I was back at The Guardian, teaching my course on advanced self-editing for fiction writers. My students kept me on my toes and I thought I’d explore their most interesting questions here. There are quite a few o...
July 15, 2015
Books and Translations
Most of the readers of this blog come from three English-speaking countries—the U. S. A., Australia, and the United Kingdom (in that order).
Images Courtesy of Aline Dassel ~ http://www.freeimages.com/photographer/adassel-66201
However, since there have been substantial numbers of visitors from over 40 countries, I have to assume English is read in many places where it isn’t generally spoken.
I wonder, often, about blogs published in other languages, and their readers…
How often is something...
