Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 36
December 3, 2017
Who Tells Your Story? by Valinda Kimmel
Like so many others, I’ve fallen in love with Hamilton, the brilliant musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Not a silly school-girl crush, but an all-consuming passionate affair. I sing the lyrics in my head all day long. I’ve even blurted them aloud on occasion at terribly inappropriate times.
I am besotted. Some people in my life think it’s pathetic. Well, those people are wrong.
Recently on my morning commute, I heard the final song on the album for the umpteenth time. It had a p...
December 2, 2017
Personal Becomes Universal Through Research
Donna Vitucci’s new novel, Salt of Patriots, published on Earth Day 2017.
The answer to my question, How long does it take to write a book? is fifteen for the novelist Donna Vitucci, who has just published Salt of Patriots after fifteen years of research, writing and revision. In this guest post, Vitucci describes what motivated her – and kept her going.
Origin of Salt
At my mother’s wake in the summer of 1999, the remin...
December 1, 2017
Capitulation to Circumstances
I have a tale I wrote for Story Bazaar; but, the time it would take to upload and check it would be longer than I can afford to give in my grief…
I lost something very great today…
All I can do is try to find my way back to “nominal”…
November 30, 2017
Top Ten Picture Books With Fascinating Author’s Notes For All Ages by Elizabeth Dillow
I especially recommend today’s re-blog for any adults who feel they should ONLY read adult books… :-)
I have long been an advocate for encouraging the frequent reading of picture books well past the “recommended” age, generally defined as 3-8 years old. It pains me when I overhear a parent or caregiver tell a child past the age of 8 that picture books are “for babies.” It’s very possible to choose books that appeal to older children once they’ve outgrown If You Give a Mouse a...
November 29, 2017
Which Is Really Best ~ #TraditionalPublishing or #SelfPublishing ?
I was looking over an article from The Bookseller (been around since 1858) and I got to the point where I felt like I didn’t want to “burden” my readers by featuring it… [image error]
Then, I felt deeper and decided I’d link to it and make my own comments…
The article is called, Amazon’s Naggar Tells Publishers to Slash E-Book Prices — Mr. Naggar is Amazon’s publishing chief; and, the publishers he’s talking to are the Traditional or “Legacy” publishers…
I’ve published a little over 2,000 posts since Janu...
November 28, 2017
Stylish Negotiations: How a Blind Writer Finds the Right Journals
Much to ponder in today’s re-blog…
By Emily K. Michael
Submission guidelines rarely make me angry. Because I seek publications that share my interests – ecology, feminism, disability, music – all the specifications can start to look the same. Most journals want a well-rounded submission, free from religious agendas, offensive stereotypes, and one-dimensional fables of inspiration.
When I find a publication that seems promising, I scroll through the journal’s “About”...
November 27, 2017
Ever Heard of Literary Journalism…?
I’ve had many re-blogs here from Brevity’s Nonfiction Blog… [image error]
And, I’ve covered the journalism beat a few times:
Investigative Journalists Are Storytellers, Too…
Journalists Have a Lot to Teach Other Writers . . .
More about Journalists; Because, sometimes, They’re the Most Important Writers We Have…
Today, I’m featuring an article by John McPhee, who’s won a Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, has been a teacher of literary journalism, and a staff writer at The New Yorker.
I think regular...
November 26, 2017
Writing Not-So-Serious Books by Joanne Levy
Finding one’s Writing Voice is very important…
Today’s re-blog has the writer saying:
“…the truth is, I wasn’t being honest with my writing voice when I was writing Very Serious Books.”
“Do your friends tell you you’re funny?”
I still cringe when I think of the time when a very big deal New York editor asked me that question when we were discussing one of my manuscripts. Because really, how does a polite Canadian respond without sounding obnoxiously braggy (I’m cringing even...
November 25, 2017
Struggling to write your ending? Some pointers – guest post at Writers Helping Writers
Today’s re-blog is going to Angela and Becca’s space via Roz Morris’ place…
This year I’ve been one of the guest tutors at Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi’s site Writers Helping Writers. It’s my turn to take the lectern there again, and the subject they asked for is endings.
Are there any must-haves for an ending? Well, the answer isn’t simple, but there are some abiding principles that hold good no matter what you’re writing. You can read about them at Angela and Becca’s si...
November 24, 2017
Friday Story Bazaar ~ Tale Seventy-One
Who Am I?
by
Alexander M Zoltai
~~~~~~~~~
He was getting old…
His friends would tell him, “No, no Aziia, old is a state of mind, you’re still young!”.
But, he knew for a fact that his body was not young any more; still, he understood the state-of-mind argument—an issue that, for a few years now, had greatly troubled him…
He looked in his small mirror and said to the wrinkled face: “I’m just getting damned weary of myself… But, I can’t seem to let go and trust in something more grand than me a...
