Betsy Horvath's Blog, page 22

Interview With A Groundhog

As you may know, on Groundhog’s Day our esteemed weather forecaster Punxsutawney Phil did NOT see his shadow and so predicts an early spring.When I heard this news, the thermometer at the Palatial Horvath Estate had not yet topped twenty degrees.  I wondered if perhaps Phil was insane.  I wondered if I’d misheard and/or misunderstood.Then I [...]

Little Voices (A Free SF Short Story)

After a bit of thought, I’ve decided to post some of my short stories here on the blog.   Your mileage may vary, but I find them entertaining.  :) This is one of my favorites.  I wrote it a while ago, and I was apparently feeling quite disgruntled about the number of pastries people were [...]

Thoughts on Heinlein’s 5 Rules For Writing

  I was reading a post on another blog and it reminded me about Robert Heinlein’s 5 rules of writing. In case you don’t know, the rules are:   1 – You must write 2 – Finish what you start 3 – You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order 4 – You must [...]

Of Narrators and Narration

As I’ve said before, I love audio books.  And it seems to me that one of the big reasons to love an audio book is the narrator reading you the story. It’s been my experience that a bad narrator can ruin the whole book.  Reading an audio book goes beyond just doing the voices – [...]

Showing Up Every Day

  I’ve been trying to get my writing career, such as it is, moving forward in a speedier manner. Oh, hell, let’s be honest.  I’ve just been trying to get my writing career moving forward, period. That means, my dears, that I have to write.  I have to produce.  People are not going to read [...]

You Revisited

This is the time of year of the resolution.  This is the time when we, as a society have institutionalized a desire to change and be different. Don’t get me wrong – change is good.  Change is necessary.  We must try to grow into more developed people.  We must work towards good habits, if some [...]

Wisdom From Martin

  Tomorrow is the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday here in the US.  I thought it would be a good idea to remember this great man in his own words – especially since his words were so eloquent.       Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot [...]

Nothing Is Wasted

I’m feeling a trifle discouraged today.  This morning I finally resigned myself to the fact that the entire middle section of the book I’ve been working on for the past year has to be dumped, and what doesn’t need to be dumped has to be revised. I say “resigned” rather than “realized” because on some [...]

Calming The Muse

“she thought that maybe she was wrong–” Muse “but when she looked into his eyes, she–” MUSE! WHAT? I’m working here! Would you mind not talking to me right now? I just have to get this thought out– I’m driving, Muse. And I don’t have a voice recorder because I can’t stand the sound of [...]

Why, Not When

What do you want? To write a novel! When do you want it? NOW! March, struggling writer, march! When it comes to goals, I think the question we should be asking is not necessarily “when” we want to achieve the thing. Of course we want it immediately. Better yet, we want it yesterday, with little [...]