Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 95
May 5, 2016
The art of writing about pain
Today’s re-blog is a response to imminent death…
I have been absent from this blog for a while. My mom transitioned into a short-term hospice facility and I’ve been dividing my time between New Hampshire and Connecticut. I’m a little stretched thin these days.
I’m telling you this not for sympathy, (but I will take any and all support) but rather I’m letting you know that as writers, when you are going through a particularly painful time – that’s when you shoul...
May 4, 2016
#SocialNetworking is Fading Away?
I’ve tagged quite a few posts here with Social Media and Social Networking; but, I didn’t see a tremendous difference between the two terms.
Image Courtesy of Jean-Pierre Ceppo ~ http://www.freeimages.com/photographer/shibumi-33694
Along comes Mike Elganand I’m finally starting to see a decided difference; just as one is, apparently, disappearing…
Mike has over 5 million followers on GooglePlus and nearly 30 thousand on Twitter.
He’s touted as “The world’s only lovable tech journalist” and is...
May 2, 2016
Getting Edited
Today’s re-blog is for anyone who’s afraid to be edited :-)
Some writers love being edited, and others really, really don’t. Once we’re finished with our darling that we think is absolutely perfect as it is, the last thing we want is criticism. Ann Rice refuses to be edited. Other than proofreading, her words are all written exactly as she wants them. Most other writers, famous or otherwise, tend to have their work edited.
Getting your manuscript back with comments all ov...
#Books and Your #MentalHealth
Should we talk to a psychologist whenever we’re haunted or challenged by mental provocations?
Image Courtesy of Johanna Ljungblom ~ http://www.freeimages.com/photographer/SheCat-53642
And, should we wait—keep plodding through a complicated life—till mental or emotional issues become full-blown mental health crises?
What if we could just find the right books to read?
And, what if they weren’t “self-help” or psychology books?
Back in March, I wrote the article,Can Fiction Really Be Good for Wha...
May 1, 2016
Fiction isn’t easier…it’s BETTER.
Today’s re-blog is from one of my friends on Wattpad — @sarahklwilson
I read an article on how fiction is valuable to expose our flaws and uncover our truths because it’s easier to read so people are more likely to engage than they are with philosophical treatises. That’s true, and of course I take no issue with it, but it want to say very clearly that fiction is not just easier… it’s better.
We’re made to understand life through stories. Stories help us to understand not j...
April 29, 2016
Happy Independent Bookstore Day!
Today’s re-blog is Celebratory :-)
This Saturday, April 30th, is Independent Bookstore Day. In honor of this wonderful day (honoring us!), we thought we’d give you some of our favorite reasons for being your booksellers.
Welove being your booksellers. Those conversations on the floor about the newest and greatest novel, those 800-strong author events, those packed puppet show storytimes–they bring so much joy to us, your independent bookstore.
So, from all of us, thank you....
What’s The Real Cost of #SelfPublishing?
More and more writers are looking at self-publishing as a viable alternative to the aging and unresponsive traditional path.
Image Courtesy of Andrew Beierle ~ http://www.freeimages.com/photographer/andrewatla-57677
And, if you really want to go deep into this new way of getting books to readers (and its many ways of being described) you could visit the 142 articles I’ve written about self-publishing…
I’ll be tagging this post with“self-publishing”, too; so, taking that link will, first, show...
April 28, 2016
The Plotting Grid: a Tool for Plotters and Pantsers
Today’s re-blog is a DIY project that just might solve a bunch of problems for serious writers…
by Chris Mandeville
A “plotting grid” is a physical chart used to lay out the components of a story in a visual way. It often looks a lot like this:
This is a photo of the actual ratty old plotting grid I use.
The plotting grid can be useful to anyone at any stage of writing. For writers who like to plot out their stories (“plotters”), the grid is a great tool for charting the s...
April 27, 2016
How Many #Women #NonFiction #Writers Have You Read?
There was a Twitter-Flap earlier this month about the rather well-known Male Non-Fiction Writer,Gay Talese.
Image Courtesy of nick campbell ~ http://www.freeimages.com/photographer/ncgraphics-40670
When asked to name women non-fiction writers who influenced him, he said, “None”…
And, Ann Friedman, A Female Non-Fiction Writer (who I’ve written about before), referred to Gay Talese’s situation inher New York Magazine article—The Queens of Nonfiction: 56 Women Journalists Everyone Should Read—by...
April 26, 2016
On Writing and the Fear Factor
Today’s re-blog, though from a non-fiction writer, is still good for fiction folk.
It has many questions you may have asked yourself and an interesting resolution :-)
Jacki Skole
By Jacki Skole
I read to put off writing, and lately, I’ve been reading a lot.
Sometimes I read about writing—books like Lee Gutkind’s You Can’t Make This Stuff Upand Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones. Sometimes I read the nonfiction I’d like to write. Recently, that’s meant a lot...
