Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 57
May 14, 2017
I rewrote my novel through a critique group but I’ve lost my way
Fascinating re-blog from Roz today…
Critique groups are a great way to develop a critical sense and to experiment with what works. And to meet other people who are as dedicated to writing as you are. But too many cooks…
I’ve had this email from Vanessa, which is a fairly common problem.
During the past 12 months, I rewrote my novel 8 times as part of a critique group, and now I’m wondering if I should just go back to my first draft and start over. My book is different now, in...
May 13, 2017
The Ugly Truth: An Advice Column for Nonfiction Writers
Very funny re-blog today, with many not so subtle truth-punches…
Some pointed advice channeled through guest blogger Anita Gill:
Anita Gill (aka Ugly Truth)
Dear Ugly Truth,
I want to write a memoir about my childhood, but I can’t seem to do it. Every time I sit down to start writing about it, I freeze up. I can’t put down a single word.
I’m so scared that my family will read my memoir and we will have a falling out. I’ve heard of this happening to many memoirists,...
May 12, 2017
Friday Story Bazaar ~ Tale Forty-Three
Where Is The Center?
by
Alexander M Zoltai
~~~~~~~~~
He’d always been an inquisitive person.
No one could say he hadn’t done a sufficient amount of searching for his answer.
Yet, his search, though compellingly close to completion, was still not finished…
He was passing old age and approaching ancient—he was almost a recluse; yet, he needed to sum up his searching, whether or not he got to the end…
He called his old friend and asked her to visit—he would get her feedback and let that launch h...
May 11, 2017
What Makes Us So Alike Is What Makes Us Human . . .
Yes, I’m re-blogging my own blog from yesterday…
I consider it that important…
Plus, folks come here mostly from Google searches and finding “yesterday” might be a problem :-)
I’m a writer—blogger, novelist, short story scrivener, non-fiction essayist, poet; and it’s that last one that can cause so many avid readers to cringe.
Walt Whitman
Yet, due to the recommendation of my Best Friend, I’ve watched a video that does much more than show that “ordinary” folk can totally...
May 10, 2017
What Makes Us So Alike Is What Makes Us Human . . .
I’m a writer—blogger, novelist, short story scrivener, non-fiction essayist, poet; and it’s that last one that can cause so many avid readers to cringe.
[image error]Walt Whitman
Yet, due to the recommendation of my Best Friend, I’ve watched a video that does much more than show that “ordinary” folk can totally deal with poetry:
A film-maker set out to make a regional documentary and produced a Work of Art…
“Everyday” people in the U.S. state of Alabama willingly recited some of Walt Whitman‘s poetry…
Cla...
May 9, 2017
Take 2: Thinking About Being a Self-Employed Writer?
Very realistic and valuable ideas in today’s re-blog…
This is a reworked post from almost exactly a year ago. The question is evergreen and the conversations it started were quite helpful then, as I think they will be now.
If you’re on the fence about making the leap to self-employed writer and how to make a living, perhaps something here will help you along.
My (former) home office
About me: I only have myself to rely on for income. There is no alimony or chil...
May 8, 2017
For All Those Folks Who Thought They Could Never Finish a Novel…
I’ve written one novel and you can have a free copy…
[image error]Image Courtesy of Umut Kemal ~ http://www.freeimages.com/photographer/UmutKemal-51189
I had an extremely strong burning desire to write it so I had no particular problems finishing it; yet, many folks who deeply desire finishing a novel discover it a year later, stuck in a drawer…
I don’t know if I’ll write another novel—busy now with short tales—but, if I decided to, I’d heed the advice in a particular article in the The Guardian, How to f...
May 7, 2017
The ethics of ghost-writing
I’ve re-blogged Roz Morris here many times…
Today’s re-blog is the most challenging yet…
I hope it evokes a few comments…
This week I was pulled into a discussion on Facebook about ghost-writing.
It began when novelist Matt Haig wrote an impassioned opinion in which he lamented the number of books whose true authors were not acknowledged, which kicked off a wide-ranging and emotional debate. One commenter introduced the term ethics and asked me to talk about ghost-writing from...
May 6, 2017
DIY MFA – you’ve got to check this out
Really, check out today’s re-blog and what it’s talking about…
And, if you put “DIY MFA” in the search bar here, you’ll see what I wrote about it back at the beginning of last year :-)
Every year Writer’s Digest puts out an issue with the 101 Best Websites for Writers. Cited as one of the “Best of the Best” is the DIY MFA website.
I decided to go take a look at that website and Holy Cow! If you’re a writer who is working on a project then you should definitely ch...
May 5, 2017
Friday Story Bazaar ~ Tale Forty-Two
Wonderment
by
Alexander M Zoltai
~~~~~~~~~
Ung sat on his haunches wondering…
One of his mates whacked him on the head and pointed at the waste in their cave, meaning “Get busy!”
As he gathered the bones and husks from their meals and carried them to the tribe’s pile, he wondered if people in the future would have as many mates as he had to have—four women to satisfy and get children with…
After he’d deposited the waste, he sat back on his haunches and wondered…
Another Whack!, from another m...
