Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 155
February 26, 2014
Plans, Goals, and Chaos . . .
My blog focuses on Reading, Writing, and Publishing but today’s post could be helpful for nearly any important life situation.
Image courtesy of Afonso Lima ~ http://www.sxc.hu/profile/zeafonsosituation…
We all make plans, strive for goals, and experience chaos.
But, chaos has at least two meanings—total confusion and vast emptiness…
And, if you can embrace chaos, confusion can morph into emptiness, and that very emptiness can attract amazing stuff!
I’m going to reference two articles from the sit...
February 25, 2014
Mobile Writer-In-Residence
What is a Writer-In-Residence?
Image courtesy of Dariusz ~ http://www.sxc.hu/profile/darekkr1
Well, basically, a writer who’s living somewhere so they can concentrate on writing.
Somewhere other than their home…
I’m going to reveal a new type of “residency” that moves around and is free; but, if you want to explore all kinds of residency programs for all kinds of artists, try res artis…
If you don’t want to jump right into the wide sea of possible residencies and just want to see a small range of...
February 24, 2014
Why Do People Comment On Blogs?
Ever thought of blogs as social media platforms?
Image courtesy of Rene Cerney ~ http://www.sxc.hu/profile/Vyolett
If you can see them that way, then comments are the main driver of the “social” part.
The “media” is what the blogger presents.
Although, bloggers can write in ways that create a social atmosphere in their posts and commenters can add to the media content.
It’s rare to find someone who doesn’t care about comments on their blog, or doesn’t even allow comments…
February 20, 2014
Friday Fantasy ~~~ Number Twelve
The Insane Astrologer
~The World was in trouble.
Image courtesy of Gabriella Fabbri ~ http://www.sxc.hu/profile/duchesssa
At least according to Maslestes.
He walked out of his hut and gazed at the heavens.
He walked back in and adjusted the spheres, yet again.
No doubt. There is no doubt… No one will believe me…
He placed his planetary apparatus on its shelf and remembered the view through his lenses.
If it were not for the Oracle Writings, I would doubt my eyes…
He resolved to go to the Palace and in...
Blogging on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is the “business social media site”, right?
Image courtesy of Julia Freeman-Woolpert ~ http://www.sxc.hu/profile/juliaf
Well… They call it the “World’s Largest Professional Network”.
Lots of folks use it to find a job, or the people to fill a job slot.
They also let members “…follow news by industry and sources, companies, and groups…”.
But, since October of 2012 they let you “…follow the likes of Richard Branson, Tony Robbins, Caterina Fake, Craig Newmark, President Barack Obama, Governo...
February 19, 2014
Navigating My Blog . . .
The main themes of my blog are Reading, Writing, and Publishing.
Image courtesy of ilker ~ http://www.sxc.hu/profile/ilco
It’s a little over 3 years old and has just over 850 posts.
There are also 9 pages of Special Information.
Folks new to the blog might miss something important to them because they aren’t aware of some of the ways they can find things.
Those 9 Special Pages are pretty self-explanatory; check out those black tabs with white writing at the top of the blog…
Also near the top, on th...
February 18, 2014
How Can A Brain Scientist Help A Writer?
I think a lot about words; and, my favorite word is “Word” :-)
Image courtesy of Miranda Knox ~ http://www.sxc.hu/profile/Obscenity
We all use them but most of us rarely think about how words do what they do…
Like the way they can cause things to happen — even a bad novel makes us see things and have feelings about them.
And, the very same words coming out of two different mouths can have radically different effects.
I even have a special page on this blog about words and how we share them.
My thin...
February 17, 2014
Can Writers Really Judge Their Own Writing?
Image courtesy of Ivan Soares Ferrer ~ http://www.sxc.hu/profile/ivanferrer
Ever read something you couldn’t understand?
Ever thought is was the writer’s fault?
I’d guess most writers go through at least two drafts before they consider asking someone else to look at their work.
Some have elaborate processes of six or seven drafts before they turn something over to an editor.
Back in 2012, I took the first scene of my short novel and put it in an online readability tester. I shared the results in t...
February 14, 2014
Friday Fantasy ~ Number Eleven
The Avatar and The Dragon
~The people hoped Wurm was still asleep but they could feel the mountain tremble from his movements.
Image courtesy of Jason Antony ~ http://www.sxc.hu/profile/vancanjay
Do dragons dream?
The people feared his waking and interrupting over a thousand years of peace…
They all knew Wurm was dangerous—legends told of his fire-breathing, not to mention what one swipe of his tail could do…
None had dared enter his lair in the mountain’s bowels.
Still, there were more recent tales...
February 13, 2014
The Ethics of Publishing
Readers, Writers, Publishers…
Image courtesy of Zsuzsanna Kilian ~ http://www.sxc.hu/profile/nkzs
Each depends on the other two…
Yet, Traditional Publishing has taken little real account of who they depend on and is experiencing no end of problems…
Yesterday’s post featured a call for authors to stand up taller and demand long-overdue change in the publishing industry.
And, the Self-Publishing Phenomenon is learning to walk and may yet run rings around the Legacy Gatekeepers.
I’ve even written a po...
