Alex G. Zarate's Blog, page 4
September 2, 2018
20180902 Weekly Update
I hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day weekend filled with smiles and joys. There are many of us who work hard every day and look forward to the weekends and holiday breaks that come. It’s good to have a holiday dedicated to our efforts.
My Instagram posts are going well and the weekly IGTV videos are continuing to make me smile with the results. I hope to continue producing videos as the weeks go on and maintain the Friday deadline. Many thanks to Lumen5 for their part in my creative endeavors. Amazing site! 
August 26, 2018
20180826 Weekly Update
A final August update before we conclude the month and venture forth into September. Hot days are now becoming tolerable and cool nights have arrived. I am adjusting to my new location at work and am still tackling the changes to my revision. I now find myself working with time management and am considering taking part in something called Toast Masters. To my understanding, it involves human interaction of some sort. Truly one of the more frightening ventures I have contemplated.
IGTV vids continue to post on a weekly basis and I am surprised how much fun it is to illustrate my short words for the world to see. I intend to add more in the coming months and will hopefully find a way to add some sneak peeks into my books in the process. What an age of miracles we live in!
August 19, 2018
20180819 Weekly Update
The August days are winding down and the heat is slowly making its way below the triple digit threat. I took part in a hike recently that ended at Vulcan Mountain. No, I didn’t get to meet Spock or try a Vulcan mind probe. However, those who took the five-mile trek got to enjoy some stargazing and those who had a telescope were kind enough to share. I survived the hike and met some wonderful folks whom I never exchanged names with so I assume they were real and not figments of my heat-addled brain.
I’ve begun my posting into alternate sites. Minds.com is a new one I have been enjoying and I was sad to let Google plus go. No further posts will be left on that site as I never got more than a single view every few months. I don’t post for views but when I’m trying to reach as many people as I can, the lack of return is just too prominent to ignore. Sorry, Google Plus.
A new IGTV vid was posted at the end of the week and I am having fun. I’ve no idea if it will eventually become a major platform or go the way of the google but I am enjoying the process. I also get to think of my posts in visual terms which is fun in its own way.
August 16, 2018
August 12, 2018
20180812 Weekly Update
Whew! What a week! I got the daily Instagrams done, posted my monthly Vlog and had to work on a Sunday. (Did you know I’m employed?) Yup. Until you see my name on the bestseller list or a movie is made to skyrocket my sales, employment is essential for those little things in life. You know, rent, food, gas, car payments and other things I can’t live without… like Netflix.
August 8, 2018
20180808 Monthly Comic Vlog
August 5, 2018
20180805 Weekly Update
August is well underway now. Heat is fast becoming a friend to us all. Cool zones are now a common search and for those who deal with paying for AC often choose to hang out in malls, libraries and coffee shops. Um… yay?
I continue to work on my creations and as my editor has chosen to make my latest rewrite into a masterpiece to rival the gods, (I assume) the need to produce more works from my inner worlds is growing. For the month of August, I intend to post IGTV vids every weekend, Instagram pix every day and will start working on illustrating the next book after Reflections in Darkness. What? You didn’t know another one was waiting in the wings? Yes. There’s another and aside from The Orb being revised, I have a third series called Bob’s Job. I know. Catchy title. Can’t wait ‘til I see that one in print. Until then, the creative juices are bubbling and until the grim reaper catches me unawares, I’ll continue to share my worlds. Onwards!
I’ll avoid selfies for a bit since I absolutely hate staring at the camera, despite taking dozens of pix a day. (Go figure!) This week’s IG Fave is one that I hope many people find and share. I don’t really care if anyone gives me likes, but I always hope the messages I post find those who need it.
The brightest light shines inside, guiding us through the dark days, burning away the shadows of doubt and giving us a fire to conquer every challenge life throws our way. Onwards! +
As the creative bug continues to eat at my senses, I always wish I could produce more work faster. When I ran across the FB question below, it reminded me that many people get stuck in different phases of writing. Some get lost in the planning or world-building and others on the character profiles. I don’t think I am unique in the process of writing first and planning as I go or planning after the first draft is done.
Question: Do you do research before or after writing?
My Answer: I’m sure there’s some research available in reference to teleporting psychic cats, energy-based aliens and civilian interstellar vessels but I prefer to follow the stories in my head rather than what’s probably considered research-worthy.
July 29, 2018
20180729 Weekly Recap
Howdy one and all. The waiting game continues with my editor. I am still posting videos to IGTV and have begun the task of putting together the wording for trailers to my books already out in the world. (wish me luck)
One thing I want to do in the coming months is post a few Instagram pics with words about reading with pictures of… people reading. (shudder)
The problem? I don’t take people pictures. I take landscape pictures. Most of the time, it sits still waiting for me to notice so I can capture its beauty, but people? Therin lies my problem. I’ve contacted a couple of folks in Facebook, requesting pictures of their reading and even offered to pay for the images so it is not a request for free pix but I think I may need more. Perhaps I should do more than contact a few select people. Maybe contact a couple of groups for a contest. Pictures of readers with a top ten or twenty with various levels of rewards. Hmmm…
Another Instagram selfie this week. I was close to putting a different image when I realized, this is the mindset I am always embracing and trying to turn into my core. I took the latest pic I took out on the trails and tried not to reveal too much of my features. Who I am inside is who I want to share with the world. May we all discover the best of who we want to be and find a way to turn it into who we are in life. Onwards! 
July 23, 2018
20180722 Weekly Recap
As the halfway point to the year comes and goes, I hope we all get closer to achieving every goal we have set for the year and close in on victory like a boss. Onwards!
The wait for my editor continues. Patience is essential when you are working with others. I only wish I could find a progress bar like when I download an update to a phone app. Is it a quarter of the way done? Is it halfway done? Should I be biting my nails because it is hanging at 90 percent? Ah, the life of collaboration for creatives.
