Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 149
May 16, 2014
Friday Fantasy ~ Number Twenty-Four
Dance of Immortality
Image (with color changes) courtesy of Cristina Nichitus ~ http://www.freeimages.com/profile/nichitus
~She went to the forest to dance.
Her community said dancing was evil.
They said it led to immorality, they said it made women consort with the devil.
She understood how some of the women had used their bodies to entice, to lure men.
She understood why most of the men would fear such women, even during the moments they desired them.
But… she wanted to dance like the trees…
They s...
May 15, 2014
Caution: This Is for Geeky Authors . . .
How does a book get from a writer’s mind to a reader’s mind?
Image courtesy of http://www.freeimages.com/profile/jaylopez
Simple answer >> through a publisher.
More realistic answer >> many methods, some controlled by traditional publishers, some controlled by the writer themselves.
Complex answer >> through a process that’s partly metaphysical;then, a process that includes various publishing professionals; or, in a rising percentage of cases, processes accomplished by an individual and intermedi...
May 14, 2014
“Harnessing the Power of Narrative for Social Change”
As a writer, I often wonder about the future…
Image courtesy of miguel ugalde ~ http://www.freeimages.com/profile/ugaldew
Actually, because of some of my research, I hold the future in Great Wonder.
And, because I’m a writer, I have the power of words to help me, even if falteringly, to potentiallyshape some of the Future.
What if you knew about an organization that could help you “…change the story on the issues that matter most.”
Change the Story …
Some say we humans are story-telling creatures.
Th...
May 13, 2014
Making Money As A Writer
I’ve written many posts about writers and money.
Image courtesy of Caltiva Creatividad ~ http://www.freeimages.com/profile/caltiva
Some folks think that only the journalist-type or the non-fiction writer should think about making money…
Some folks think that fiction writers shouldn’t considermoney and only write for the love of the art…
Some folks think the new self-publishing juggernaut can slamthem into the mega-sales bracket…
Thing is, there’s a bit of truth in all those ways of thinking—a bit…...
May 12, 2014
How Writers Handle Criticism
The roots of “criticism” are“able to make judgments” and “to separate, decide”.
Image courtesy of Trish Parisy ~ http://www.freeimages.com/profile/tpacific
Many folks feel it means something more like “to lash severely with a whip”…
Of course, there are critics who carry whips in their judging minds and love to use them.
So, should “good” criticism be easy to take?
Naturally, it all depends on the writer’s attitude…
Two past posts on this blog covered various aspects of criticism:
May 9, 2014
Friday Fantasy ~ Number Twenty-Three
Island Saga
~ There were two men on the island.
Image courtesy of ~ http://www.freeimages.com/profile/fsg777
One had been sent to make sure conditions were safe for others of his tribe to settle here.
One had been on the island for years and now had to convince the other to leave…
~~~
Sona had arrived on the island in his canoe the day before.
He’d slept and eaten some newly-caught fish.
He was ready for exploration.
He seemed to sense another’s presence but couldn’t be sure…
~~~
Demna was intimately aw...
May 8, 2014
Put A Little Prompt In Your Writing
Writing is more than putting words down.
Image courtesy of http://www.freeimages.com/profile/finerain
Writing is everything you do to find those words—because writing happens in the mind and heart before the words escape…
And, there are all kinds of writing prompts:
Nature
Movement
Sounds
Events
News
Stories
Interactions
Music
………
I’ve written here before about writing prompts.
I’ve also written about music and writing.
So, there’s this certain song by Pink Floyd that’s a tribute to a band member who passed...
May 7, 2014
Founder of Book Recommendation Service “Slams” Self-Publishing
Simple post today…
Image courtesy of Zsuzsanna Kilian ~ http://www.freeimages.com/profile/nkzs
Let’s start with the idea that most readers don’t mind having books recommended to them.
Also, it seems many recommendations come from friends.
However,Aaron Stanton, founder of The Book Genome Project, feels there are certain books that live in some subterranean world that one should avoid.
I’ll let him speak for himself (quotes from an article on Digital Book World):
“The relative ease that independent...
May 6, 2014
Write A House ~ Quite A Deal
Virginia Woolf wrote A Room of One’s Own.
Image courtesy of Loretta Humble ~ http://www.freeimages.com/profile/lhumble
What if you could write the story,A Home of One’s Own?
What if, instead of writing it, you could live-out that story?
There is that possibility…
Somewriters and urban activists in the city of Detroit, Michigan (USA) founded anorganization in 2012 with one goal: use vocational training to renovate vacant homes and then give these homes to writers.
They’re called Write A House(WAH).
A...
May 4, 2014
Author Interview ~ Kate St. Clair
Last month,William Brandon stopped by for an interview.
Today, we’ll talk to another author from Black Hill Press.
Her name is Kate St. Clair and you can check out her bio on BHP’s site or delve into her author website.
But, let’s get right into the interview and ask Kate a few questions about her writing life, her book Spelled, and her relationship with Black Hill Press.
~~~
So, Kate, let’s begin with your giving us a brief “then-and-now” about your writing life.
I’m originally from Texas, just ou...
