Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 239
January 20, 2011
Virtual Worlds ~ The Mind, The Book, & Second Life
Your mind is a virtual world…
A book you read or write is a virtual world…
I'll get to Second Life in a minute…
An off-the-cuff definition of "virtual" could be, "just about as good as the original" but, from my experience, I'd say that virtual's meaning can be very strong on the root it came from: virtue.
All virtual worlds have virtues that make them valuable whether we're talking about your mind, a book you read or wrote, or a computer-created world.
There is a World out there that our minds process. The debate about whether our minds can actually represent that World faithfully or not is still unsettled. But, even if our minds do represent the outside world with accuracy, it's still a secondary creation that mimics the virtues of physical reality.
If our minds create a virtual copy of the physical world that strengthens or weakens certain virtues we can become geniuses or mad folk.
It seems a bit easier to see the virtuality of a book. Still, the effect of a book's world can seem as real as the mind's replication of the actual physical world…
So, since blog posts are not university dissertations, let's move on to actual virtual worlds.
"Actual virtual worlds"? Actual implies the real-deal. Virtual implies mostly as good as the real deal.
Even language has qualities that sometimes make it hard to determine the Real reality of what we think we know.
So, if you've never been to an actual virtual world, you might want to read Wikipedia's article or visit a list of various available VWs.
The main reason I'm going on about virtuality in a blog that claims it's about reading, writing, and publishing has to do with some of the research I've done for my Work-In-Progress, Notes from An Alien.
I've been using a particular virtual world for nearly four years–Second Life.
When I was still a newbie, I mostly traveled to all the various venues–dance clubs, libraries, mountain retreats, undersea wonderlands, and other marvelous places.
Two years ago, my pregnancy with the book I'm working on began and I found myself renting space on Book Island–a space of writers, editors, and artists created by a former publisher. Not so long after, I created a special avatar for one of my main characters and let her roam the virtuality, talking with all manner of people about the book's themes.
As you may well know, writers' characters can be very real and giving my character the added reality of virtuality has been one of the most therapeutic things I've every done. In fact, my character, Sena, is the one who takes care of interacting on our Facebook and Twitter accounts (check out the links at the end of the post…).
Once the book is published, an important part of the promotion and sales activity will take place in Second Life…
Have you ever wondered if your mind is truly registering our physical world with fidelity?
How lost can you get in a good book?
Has a book you've written ever made you want to abandon our consensual reality?
Have you ever visited a virtual world?
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Follow the "co-author" of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
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AND, Get A Free Copy of Our Book
Tagged: alien, book, books, promotion, publish, reader, virtual world, writer
January 19, 2011
Are You A Fast Study or Slow Learner? ~ It Can Definitely Depend On The Subject And On Your MOOD!
Folks used to call me intelligent. They usually thought I learned things quickly.
Little did they know that I was, pretty much, a learner who could grasp what I read quickly but that I didn't utter a word of it until I'd, slowly, studied it in at least three other books.
Plus, what I did retain on each reading depended on what I was studying and whether I made the decision or it was a task imposed by others.
Some people still think I'm intelligent but they aren't inside my head. There is no brain equivalent of a super computer in here. It's more like some surreal landscape of fleeting forms–some thoughts, some feelings–continually morphing from state to state, living a life I don't control as well as my mouth might make it seem.
Plus, I'm an Introvert–Big Time! Any displays of seeming smartness I may perform for folks come with large costs in physical and emotional energy.
I seem like an intelligent extrovert. I'm really an analogical introvert.
My parents trained me well for public interaction. They were ministers and I was the preachers' son, trotted out on display, singing psalms and expounding scripture, feeling like a martyr to my Muse.
O.K., I'm gonna retreat into this quiet corner now and whisper some questions to the audience:
When you feel all is well in the world, do you absorb facts and impressions like a sponge?
Even if you have the I.Q. of an Einstein, are there times your brain seems to have had a power failure?
When you're all alone, are there voices in your head?
If you answered at least two of those questions with a yes, you're probably an introvert and learning is almost completely dependent on your physical and emotional environment.
Two or more no answers could mean you're an extrovert and you could probably learn nuclear physics while it's raining wizards and demons.
I've, sloooowly, learned lots of science and the above survey is nowhere near scientific. But then, I'm a poetic writer so your reaction to the questions is more important than anything called evidence…
If you want to explore what the orientations of introverts and extroverts can mean in learning and living, you should look into what Carl Jung has to say. He invented the terms.
And, speaking of slow learning, it took me about 20 years to get it straight in my head that I could write something and it didn't have to be perfect the first time–that editing was a creative act that could be enjoyed. Plus, I didn't even start that 20-year journey until I was 42…
The other day I met a 19-year-old woman who already had the whole routine of writing so internalized she absolutely blew me away when I watched her video. Here's the link to my post about it.
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Follow the "co-author" of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
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AND, Get A Free Copy of Our Book
Tagged: extrovert, introvert, learning, read, reader, reading, science
January 18, 2011
Reading Leads To Writing, Even If All You're Reading Is Life…
Here I go again, spinning out one of my theories about reading.
I'm either brave or clueless since these posts, written in the stillness of my writer's cave, could be seen by much smarter people hundreds of years from now, when humanity has figured out this mind-thingie, and I could be laughed to shame.
Good thing I'll be dead then…
Reading Life, eh?
In my recent post, Rewriting While You Read ~ We All Do It …, I spun out my ideas about how the reader changes the meanings the writer thought they were giving–not always in a huge way and not even in a bad way–leading to phenomena like all those widely divergent sets of feedback you've gotten if you've ever asked folks to review your writing.
I feel we all read life the same way we read books–blending our unconscious assumptions, personal histories, and fleeting feelings with the words on the page, and the "words" that life spells out for us.
My basic proof for this reading-life-like-a-book comes from the fact that we can read a book and become immersed in its "world", seeing its contours and colors, smelling its scents, sharing its relationships…
I suppose you could say I'm proposing a radical definition of "reading" as the human mind interpreting whatever is presented to it.
Let me attempt a little formula:
World > Writer > Book > Reader > World
So, what about this post's title's claim that reading leads to writing? Just turn that formula around:
World > Reader > Book > Writer > World
The "Reader > Book > Writer" segment shows that all the reading we do causes books to be born within us (even if we aren't consciously aware they're there) and then, if we choose, we can be the writer of those internal books.
If you've read this far, you must be somewhat sympathetic to my reasoning since there have been plenty of blog post pot holes on this short journey that have probably made many readers abandon the trip :-)
My favorite author, C. J. Cherryh, has a powerful bit of writerly advice on her recommended reading page when she talks about Fritz Leiber, who she said taught her to write:
"When I was trying to improve my writing I took one of his longest stories and simply marked and mapped how he set up his information. I applied what I learned and sold the very next thing I sent out."
Cherryh has written over 40 books and won multiple awards:
John W. Campbell Best New Author winner (1977)
Hugo Best Short story winner (1979) : Cassandra
Nebula Best Short story nominee (1979) : Cassandra
Hugo Best Novel nominee (1979) : The Kesrith
Nebula Best Novel nominee (1979) : The Kesrith
World Fantasy Best Novella nominee (1982) : Ealdwood
Hugo Best Novel winner (1982) : Downbelow Station
Hugo Best Novel nominee (1983) : The Pride of Chanur
Philip K Dick Award Best Novel nominee (1984) : Voyager in Night
Hugo Best Novel nominee (1986) : Cuckoo's Egg
Hugo Best Novella nominee (1987) : The Scapegoat
Hugo Best Novel winner (1989) : The Betrayal
World Fantasy Novella nominee (1992) : Gwydion and the Dragon
British Fantasy Society Best Novel nominee (1995 : Invader
British Fantasy Society Best Novel nominee (1995) : Rider at the Gate
British Fantasy Society Best Novel nominee (1995) : Fortress in the Eye of Time
Prometheus Award Best Novel nominee (1998) : Finity's End
So, anyone who's actually read this far in the post, what do you think??
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Follow the "co-author" of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
On Facebook
On Twitter
AND, Get A Free Copy of Our Book
Tagged: read, reader, reading, Sci-Fi, science fiction, writer, writing
Reading Leads To Writing, Even If All Your Reading Is Life…
Here I go again, spinning out one of my theories about reading.
I'm either brave or clueless since these posts, written in the stillness of my writer's cave, could be seen by much smarter people hundreds of years from now, when humanity has figured out this mind-thingie, and I could be laughed to shame.
Good thing I'll be dead then…
Reading Life, eh?
In my recent post, Rewriting While You Read ~ We All Do It …, I spun out my ideas about how the reader changes the meanings the writer thought they were giving–not always in a huge way and not even in a bad way–leading to phenomena like all those widely divergent sets of feedback you've gotten if you've ever asked folks to review your writing.
I feel we all read life the same way we read books–blending our unconscious assumptions, personal histories, and fleeting feelings with the words on the page, and the "words" that life spells out for us.
My basic proof for this reading-life-like-a-book comes from the fact that we can read a book and become immersed in its "world", seeing its contours and colors, smelling its scents, sharing its relationships…
I suppose you could say I'm proposing a radical definition of "reading" as the human mind interpreting whatever is presented to it.
Let me attempt a little formula:
World > Writer > Book > Reader > World
So, what about this post's title's claim that reading leads to writing? Just turn that formula around:
World > Reader > Book > Writer > World
The "Reader > Book > Writer" segment shows that all the reading we do causes books to be born within us (even if we aren't consciously aware they're there) and then, if we choose, we can be the writer of those internal books.
If you've read this far, you must be somewhat sympathetic to my reasoning since there have been plenty of blog post pot holes on this short journey that have probably made many readers abandon the trip :-)
My favorite author, C. J. Cherryh, has a powerful bit of writerly advice on her recommended reading page when she talks about Fritz Leiber, who she said taught her to write:
"When I was trying to improve my writing I took one of his longest stories and simply marked and mapped how he set up his information. I applied what I learned and sold the very next thing I sent out."
Cherryh has written over 40 books and won multiple awards:
John W. Campbell Best New Author winner (1977)
Hugo Best Short story winner (1979) : Cassandra
Nebula Best Short story nominee (1979) : Cassandra
Hugo Best Novel nominee (1979) : The Kesrith
Nebula Best Novel nominee (1979) : The Kesrith
World Fantasy Best Novella nominee (1982) : Ealdwood
Hugo Best Novel winner (1982) : Downbelow Station
Hugo Best Novel nominee (1983) : The Pride of Chanur
Philip K Dick Award Best Novel nominee (1984) : Voyager in Night
Hugo Best Novel nominee (1986) : Cuckoo's Egg
Hugo Best Novella nominee (1987) : The Scapegoat
Hugo Best Novel winner (1989) : The Betrayal
World Fantasy Novella nominee (1992) : Gwydion and the Dragon
British Fantasy Society Best Novel nominee (1995 : Invader
British Fantasy Society Best Novel nominee (1995) : Rider at the Gate
British Fantasy Society Best Novel nominee (1995) : Fortress in the Eye of Time
Prometheus Award Best Novel nominee (1998) : Finity's End
So, anyone who's actually read this far in the post, what do you think??
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Follow the "co-author" of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
On Facebook
On Twitter
AND, Get A Free Copy of Our Book
Tagged: read, reader, reading, Sci-Fi, science fiction, writer, writing
January 16, 2011
Learn From *Whoever* Has The Truth
I woke up to the fact that I was a writer when I was 42…
It took me nearly 20 more years to get over the idea that what I wrote had to be perfect the first time I wrote it…
"Editing"? Hmmm… Ya know, I'm not a dumb person but I sure had some dumb ideas buried in my subconscious.
My first books were written and published with no outside input.
My Work-In-Progress has had a ton of input–from when I had the first, bare idea to right now and it won't be published till April.
So, today, on Twitter, I met a 19-year-old woman, went to her blog, and watched a video of her telling me what it took me over 60 years to learn…
Her name is Amanda J. Spindle.
And, here is her consummately wise video about what it takes to write a book :-)
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Follow the "co-author" of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
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On Twitter
AND, Get A Free Copy of Our Book
Tagged: author, book, books, publish, publishing, writer, writing
January 15, 2011
Reader, Writer, Publisher ~ Wearing Three Hats Can Be Dangerous
Do I really mean that being a reader/writer/publisher is dangerous? Well, when I look at the word history of dangerous, I see that it comes from roots that mean the power of a lord…
And, "lord" comes from roots that mean "one who guards the bread"…
So, yes, if you're contemplating using your experience as a reader to power your writing as you promote your way toward self-publishing, you're becoming the lord of the process and guarding that bread can become dangerous.
Lest I overlook that word "bread", let's hope that this dangerous process leads to a very nourishing food for your readers…
I've explored reading in this blog when I wrote about re-writing as we read.
I looked into writing when I posted about the creative responsibilites of the author.
And, publishing got a nod with Self-Publishing Can Be Just As Creative As Writing.
Over the last two years, I came from the bare idea of a book, carried it through initial promotional-feedback activities, experimented with a form for it, wrote it, and sent it to my editor. The last few months have been full of study and practice of pre-publication promotion. The book, Notes from An Alien, should be coming out in April…
The most dangerous thing about being the lord of all these activities has been keeping my head on straight as I switched hats :-)
Very soon, as I continue the promotion activities (and promotion is a critical part of the publishing process), I'll be adding the reader and writer hats to my all-to-human head so I can get the final revisions accomplished and preen my baby for her social debut.
Have you experienced this dangerous process?
Are you contemplating braving the perils?
Have you done what I'm attempting and not felt imperiled at all?
Oh, please, share your thoughts and feelings in the comments…
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Follow the "co-author" of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
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AND, Get A Free Copy of Our Book
Tagged: book, promotion, publishing, reading, self-publishing, writing
January 14, 2011
How Do We Know Our Priorities Are Right?
Do you have a set of priorities in your personal life? Oh, maybe something like: Family > Work > Play…
Do you set priorities in your mind for what the government needs to do? How about your priorities for what your customers need?
How do you decide you have the right priorities? Is it basically a hit-or-miss, experiential kind of thing? Do you consult with folks you consider experts? Or, maybe, you don't set any priorities 'cause you think they're a waste of time…
[ So, let's see: One of my priorities for this post is to get my readers thinking about priorities. Hmmm... So far, I have a bunch of questions posed that could, if my readers wanted to comment, be the basis for some kind of survey on priorities. O.K. That's a first step but I need something more... An example? ]
I have a book that's nearing final revisions. It expresses in action what I've had to learn through lots of study and personal experience. Basically, I've created a fictional world where the people solve the problem I've struggled with in my life, for most of the years of that life. What comes first? Peace or Justice?
Lots of people say we need, somehow, to have peace before we can ever hope to have justice, whether the arena is the World or the family.
So, in my own experience, before I had the right guidance given to me, I followed the common set of priorities–I tried to establish peace with other people so we could experience justice in our interactions. Since justice was a lesser priority than peace, I often acted in unkind ways to force a peace that could never last. I did things like threaten to take myself out of a relationship unless the other person acted the way I thought they should be acting so we could have peace.
Since threatening others to elicit behavior you what them to exhibit is an unjust method, I, slowly, learned my priorities were out of order. Justice had to come first, then peace might be possible–I had to act in ways that assured I was giving them justice by taking their needs into account.
What I discovered in this sadly lengthy process was that there was a third quality between Justice and Peace–Unity.
If I acted toward others with justice, we were able, more often than not, to reach a state of unity and peace flowed easily from that unified experience.
So, over far too many years, I learned that the formula, Peace > Justice, was wrong.
The right formula was: Justice > Unity > Peace.
Finally, I was ready to write the book……………..
[ O.K., that was another priority for this post--give an example of experimenting to find the right order for priorities and suggest folks look for any important missing priorities in their personal formula. ]
But, the priorities for this post won't matter much if I mess with the priorities for this blog–Reading, Writing, and Publishing.
Then, there's the blogging priority to keep posts short enough to hold the reader's interest.
[ Slide gracefully into the main point of the post... ]
Setting priorities is important in reading–Focus > Relate > Apply
They're important in writing–Create > Experiment > Finalize
And, publishing–Study > Apply > Keep Applying
I admit, I know a lot about reading, a bit about writing, and I'm still learning about publishing.
Some of those priorities might be wrong…
Your ideas???
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Follow the "co-author" of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
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AND, Get A Free Copy of Our Book
Tagged: book, justice, peace, publishing, reading, self-publishing, world, writing
January 12, 2011
Writing And Therapy ~ Are Writers All Crazy?
I've studied a lot of psychology. Mostly to help me figure out why I seem to be so different from other folks.
I'm a writer and I've been very crazy at various points in my life but, usually, I'm rather sane; it's just that I'm so damned different.
Might be that I'm an introvert but that proclivity doesn't account for all of it.
Actually, since I've been writing seriously (about 22 years now), I'm even more different than I used to be but I'm also more sane than I've ever been.
So, is my decided differentness what made me a writer or was my writerness always there and I just had to grow up enough to realize it was what made me different.
Honestly? It's some of both.
If you're looking for something as hard to understand as what I've written so far in this post, but dressed up and made to look scientific, try this article on Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing. Caution: there are some wild curative claims made for "expressive" writing.
So, let's see: Either writing can make you crazy or being crazy can be cured by writing. Or… Maybe both…
E. L. Doctorow said: "Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia."
Lord Byron said: "If I don't write to empty my mind, I go mad."
For something somewhat scientific but easier to understand, try, What is Writing Therapy?, at wiseGeek.
I'm purposely trying to not make a definable point in this post. My experience of being radically different and the effect writing has on my sanity are very hard to explain in a blog post. It would take a long story, mostly fictional, to explore the weird world of therapeutic writing.
Hey! Watch this post for potential comments. They're bound to be pretty wild :-)
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Follow the "co-author" of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
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AND, Get A Free Copy of Our Book
Tagged: author, crazy, science, therapeutic, therapy, writer, writing
January 11, 2011
How Can You Write About Things You Can't See?
Books are full of love. But love is something you can't see. Oh, sure, love-making can be seen and endearing acts of love are visible but love itself is one of many human qualities in the invisible realm of experience.
How about Justice, Peace, Loathing, Frustration, Faith, Perseverance, Honesty, or Hope…?
I wager you saw at least a fleeting glimpse of some human action in your mind for a number of those words.
As I wrote them, frustration made me see myself, dealing with a service tech on the phone, trying to get them to admit that their company just might be part of the bandwidth problem I was having. But the frustration itself was invisible–only its effects could be seen, only what it was doing to me could be written down.
The tightening of my neck muscles, the racing of my heart, as I tried to control my frustration; the words I said to the tech: "Look, you said you have bandwidth limits for the different plans." My voice was getting louder, my tone deeper. "Doesn't that mean you have control of the bandwidth?"
I won't continue the example because just writing about it is bringing the frustration back :-)
There's a "rule" of writing you've probably heard: show don't tell. Well, there are a huge boatload of human feelings and qualities that could never be shown even though authors thrill and chill us with their ability to show the effects of our invisible virtues and vices.
Many writers use music while they're writing, some to set a mood they need to get into their zone, some to cause a mood they want on the page.
Since music and writing share many powers to reveal our invisible lives, I'm going to give you two links. I want you to have them because the hope I hold for our embattled world, so deranged with crisis and grief–the hope that is humanity's only salvation–lives in the hearts of our Youth.
Venezuela has a secret. They're ensuring the peace and security of their future by teaching their children to create orchestral music.
I hope the video of The Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra, high-schoolers who give adult musicians sweet chills of respectful love, will let you feel a bit more hope for our sore-tried human family.
And, the feature-length documentary, Tocar Y Luchar, To Play and To Fight, will show you how the kids in the first video reached such heights of virtuosity.
Music is supreme at making us feel the invisible strengths lying within our souls.
Writing is supreme at showing us those virtues in action.
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If you watch the videos, I'd *Love* to hear your response in the comments :-)
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Follow the "co-author" of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
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AND, Get A Free Copy of Our Book
Tagged: crisis, feelings, humanity, music, peace, world, writer, writing
January 10, 2011
Does Anyone Actually Know The True History of Writing?
This post's title could seem utterly stupid to some folks. Don't we have reams of evidence that writing's history is properly recorded in volumes of written work?
I'm a writer and that last sentence was my morning giggle :-) 'Course, my favorite word is "Word"…
I've spent a few decades devoted to the study of various sciences. I've learned that humans haven't quite reached their peak of perfection as a species. From my own deep study, I feel confident that most mainstream science is way off-beam–playing with elegant mathematics that's used, not to scientifically prove, but to academically justify a very mistaken view of how the universe works. This doesn't mean I think the scientists are insincere. Even a madman can be sincere in their beliefs…
If I'm right, if even scientists are not getting it right, what about the sincere people who write about the history of writing?
Some of you may already have realized that an attitude like mine–a point of view that's set against most of the experts of our culture–could lead to a very hopeless view of human learning and progress. It could lead to that except for my belief that humanity is still growing, will someday reach a level of understanding that's much more certain. Until then, we'll find a lot of funny things if we go looking for true knowledge about writing's history.
One of the more outstanding things you can find if you start Googling "history of writing" is Wikipedia's entry. Right at the top of the article, these words appear: "This article needs additional citations for verification." One of the root meanings of the word citation is: "written notice to appear"…
A written article about the history of writing needs additional written notices before is can be verified? Whew!!
Two things stand out if you look into the written record of the history of writing. Our earliest writing ancestors have left us some amazing accounts of massive wars in the sky that brought great suffering on earth. To me, the most amazing thing about such accounts is that, without any way to get together to make sure their stories agreed, writers in widely separated areas of the Earth all wrote essentially the same things. Makes ya wonder, eh?
The other outstanding piece of the puzzle of the history of writing is that another large chunk of it is full of information on how to make the best beer.
O.K. Our earliest fellow writers were drunk and telling fabulous tales.
Now, this is something I can believe :-)
If your whole economic and social structure revolves around raising and eating grain (with a side dish of meat) and you wake up one day and there are titanic thunderbolts in the sky, arching back and forth between the planetary gods of your people, raining hot ash and pukey fumes, why not get good and drunk on fermented liquid grain and write it all down. Hell, maybe some writer in the distant future will find your story and make an academic industry that gets good funding to pretend they know what really happened………
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Follow the "co-author" of Notes from An Alien, Sena Quaren:
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Tagged: crisis, global, history, humanity, science, story, writing
