Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 35
December 12, 2017
Finding Inspiration by Mike Lowery
Sure, today’s re-blog is from a guy who draws his stories; but, you can translate “draw” into “write” and, if nothing else, enjoy the illustrated guidelines :-)
Hello! I’m Mike Lowery an illustrator and author who spends most of the day drawing bananas with faces on them, space stuff, robotic cats and a grumpy duck named Carl from my series of books, Doodle Adventures.
I’d like to talk to you a little bit about a little thing called “Inspiration.” People ask me all the time...
December 11, 2017
“Actions Speak Louder Than Words.”
I’m back from my psychospiritual sabbatical—got my ducks in a row and ready to start quacking… [image error]
So…
…pondering on the title of this post, all I can do right now is give you words; though, as I write these words I’m performing an action…
Shall I change the title to Action Speaks Just as Loud as Words?
Hmmm…
Leaving that psychological perplexity for possible future contemplation, I’ll forge ahead with a few links of posts I’ve done featuring Nilofer Merchant; then, look at a particular piece by...
December 10, 2017
When Words Fail to Come
A summer-time re-blog to keep you warm (if you’re in the northern hemisphere) that’s very well-written…
Leo’s his usual, joyful, self – and very helpful when words fail to come.
What to do when words fail to come?
It happens sometimes. Yesterday morning, in fact.
I had a post due on Living In Place, and I didn’t have anything to say.
Worse, my brain was foggy, possibly due to the antihistamine I succumbed to the night before. Or maybe it’s my broken sleep cycle....
December 9, 2017
Top Ten New Informational Picture Books by Lorraine Brontë Magee
Even though today’s re-blog is aimed at elementary and middle school kids, I bet more than a few adults would like some of these books :-)
Last summer, I took a course at Lesley University called Exploring Nonfiction for the Elementary and Middle School Classroom. Through the course, I discovered that the world of nonfiction is one in which students become global citizens, amateaur historians, citizen scientists, and critical thinkers. As the literacy gatekeeper of my classroo...
December 8, 2017
Friday Story Bazaar ~ Tale Seventy-Two
The Do-Gooder
by
Alexander M Zoltai
~~~~~~~~~
“I admire his commitment to purpose; but, I can’t stand him…”
Those words were said by the richest man in town, Jack Herrington… I responded:
“Well, he’s never been disrespectful to me…”
“Sam Jaffe, you’re a tavern owner—what’s he got to be up in arms about with you? Give me another whiskey… Does he come in here?”
“Naw, I seen him around—shops and all…”
“Well, I just can’t trust a man goes out of his way to show off how holy he is…”
“Holy, Mr. H...
December 7, 2017
An Interview With Writer Alexander M Zoltai
Alexander M Zoltai is the author of the novel, Notes From an Alien; here is a link to his website:
Q: What is Notes From an Alien about?
A: Notes is the history of an alien family and the role they play in their worlds’ struggles to attain lasting peace and tranquility. It’s also about the final stages of a 500 year war between two planets that are in sharp contrast with each other; one a drippingly greedy Corporate world; one a complete...
December 6, 2017
Lucid Cleaning, or How I Learned to Write While Painting the Kitchen Cabinets
By Stacy Murison
It was too late. I had already unscrewed the hardware from the kitchen cabinets as well as the cabinet doors. I had painted the box frames. The primer dried uneven and gloppy in some places. I sanded. Worse. I sanded some more. Somewhat better. This was nothing like the This Old House videos on YouTube where painting the cabinets took only one weekend. My project was going on week number three.
I had only one thing on my mind this summer: writing. T...
The Power of Art by Renée Watson
I have always loved words.
When I was a child, I competed in spelling bees and I’d spend hours writing random words over and over just because I liked the way the letters looked together. I enjoyed reading, speaking, and writing words so much so that when I was seven, I wrote a 21-page story and was eager to read the entire page-turner to my mother after dinner. In middle school I was often asked to read the scriptures at church and I looked forward to Easter Sunday when we...
December 5, 2017
All’s Well That Ends Well
Your ending should be one singular sensation
Flash memoir is much more difficult than “only 750 words” suggests. As readers, we see finished pieces. Work that’s had a writing buddy or teacher or group say, “I don’t understand that bit,” or “There’s a problem there. Fix it.” But as writers, we’re wading through the murky middle, trying to believe in the Santa Claus of “All the professional writers you love write terrible first drafts! So terrible they will never show...
December 4, 2017
A childhood home: read an excerpt from Not Quite Lost – in The Woolf
Those walls and rooms, the fields under that bright spread of sky, contained me in my earliest years. A family house is one of your guardians. As a quiet, imaginative child, I had spent as much time alone with it, on my inward paths, as I had with its people. I had a relationship with it in its own right.’
This is from the opening piece in Not Quite Lost: Travels Without A Sense of Direction, just published in the winter edition of The Woolf. The piece is an obituary for the...
