Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 24
April 11, 2018
Writing Despite the Obstacles
Up way late…
Might as well re-blog…
This one is totally worth it………
By Ann V. Klotz
How much do I really want to write this summer?
In early June, I finish an amazing on-line course with the incomparable Joelle Fraser in which I write faithfully every single day for ten weeks. The content of my memoir grows substantially. I write about my family’s century-long love affair with a tiny resort community in the Allegheny Mountains. I write about losing my brother one sum...
Our Blog Conversation Takes a Delightful Turn . . .
Image courtesy of Thuwirawat @ Wikimedia Commons
Since most of the visitors to this blog come from Google searches, I ask my regular readers to bear with me while I explain, briefly, to new readers that Mondays and Wednesdays are Conversation days (in about 10 weeks, Fridays will also be for the Conversations…).
And, on the other days of the week, I do informative re-blogs; or, sometimes, special-topic posts…
So…
On Monday we wrapped up our dialogue with the post, Extending the Conversation a...
April 9, 2018
Dipping into the Archives . . .
I’m foregoing my usual re-blog today… [image error]
Regular readers may remember me mentioning a friend of mine—prison librarian and microfiction author, Johnpaul Mahofski.
So, this rather incredible human being has just spent 4 weekend sessions, lasting at least 9 hours each, finding all the broken links (sites change their names, people disappear, etc…) in all my posts from 2011 (the first year of this blog’s life...)…
The last of those weekend sessions was him compiling all the links from those posts t...
April 8, 2018
Extending the Conversation about Traditional vs Self Publishing
[image error] Our current conversation, the longest one since I started the new format here, has covered this ground:
March 28th — Shifting to Self-Publishing
April 2nd — Readers as Gatekeepers
April 4th — Comparing Traditional Publishing & Self-Publishing
And, that last post has two comments that extend the discussion here…
From the U.S.A. :
“I enjoyed your comment: I realize Mr. Sparks has hit the Big-time with his books; however, I truly feel he should have used the phrase ‘make money’ rather than the p...
April 7, 2018
Two (or More) of Us: How Writing Communities Shaped the Authors We’ve Become by Jennifer Ziegler and Chris Barton
One of the authors of today’s re-blog says:
“Having a waiting audience — even if it’s just a best friend — inspires us to get our writing finished and make sure it’s as good as possible.”
JENNIFER: Long before Chris and I got married, I used to double-date the Beatles.
Well, not all the Beatles — only Paul and John.
And they weren’t technically Beatles anymore, the band having broken up many years earlier.
And these dates, if you must know, occurred only on paper — in sketch c...
The Power of Poetry by Sarah FitzHenry
With one poetry book already published and another one on the horizon, today’s re-blog seemed like a refreshing drink of elixir :-)
In my career, I’ve come to realize that the rumors about print and reading going out of style are just that – rumors. If you are lucky enough to work with children and books, you know that young people’s passion for stories is as strong as ever. But even I wasn’t completely confident about the current role of poetry in young people’s lives. Do mid...
April 6, 2018
Friday Story Bazaar ~ Tale Eighty-Five
Demon
by
Alexander M Zoltai
~~~~~~~~~
It started with great subtlety.
First came the Voice…
She was only five; but, she repeated what the Voice in her mind said, as best she could…
When her mother heard her doing this, she would say, “Damn it, Megan! Stop that! You are not a nice girl!”.
However, at this stage, the Voice was very benevolent; but, oh, yes, quite fantastic—flitting into Megan’s mind and flitting right out; but, she couldn’t help letting the Voice form words because it was so fr...
April 5, 2018
Celebrate the Weird Stuff in Life by Tammi Sauer
Hey, you adults!
This re-blog is about kids’ picture books…
But…
It’s also an adorable story of a mom and son & the basic wisdom is good for “official-adult” projects, too :-)
For me, the hardest part about writing a picture book is coming up with an idea. I’m not talking about a regular idea. Nope. I’m talking about a good idea. A fresh idea. An irresistible-to-readers idea.
Each year, I present at lots of schools and conferences. One thing I like to tell people is to celebra...
April 4, 2018
Our Blog Conversation Continues ~ Comparing Traditional Publishing & Self-Publishing …
[image error] Monday’s post—Continuing the Conversation ~ Readers as Gatekeepers—compared the experiences of two writers (me and a friend) who both prefer self-publishing but have favorite authors who traditionally publish…
Before I share the comment on Monday’s post that kept this conversation going, I feel I need to mention that there are great writers who are published traditionally as well as great writers amongst the ranks of the self-published; and, contrary to some folk’s awareness, there are medio...
April 3, 2018
Imagine Them Reading Your Book
Today’s re-blog is a powerful account of a memoir and the author’s dealing with what she wrote…
By Shuly Cawood
My uncle and I stopped speaking to each other almost a decade ago. I loved my uncle, and he loved me, but we had an argument that mushroomed into a cloud so thick neither of us could see through it—until years later, when he got sick, and his prognosis became too grim to keep on refusing to exchange words, especially kind ones. When we did finally speak, ju...
