Christopher D. Votey's Blog, page 9

BIRG & CORF – A to Z Challenge, Literary Terms

Day 2 of the A to Z Challenge, and we are already off to a good start. Yesterday we had Amygdala Hijack, which many people didn’t know about, and I hope those who learn about it will enhance their writing.

Today we tackle BIRG (which is one letter away from bird or Borg), and with that, we’ll also be looking at CORF. Please note that CORF is not taking the place of tomorrow’s word, however, BIRG and CORF go hand in hand with each other, it is difficult to talk about one without mentioning the...

Server Migration

The last few weeks I’ve been having trouble with my websites. Some of you may not know this, but I actually host a few websites. It’s my way of helping out writers, giving them a platform to get the boost they need to make a name for themselves.

Problem is, the server I was on, didn’t have the resources to have multiple wordpress sites on. I’m amazed it lasted this long. In working with GoDaddy, I am moving to a new server. Amazingly I was able to arrange it for next to no cost, but this chan...

Amygdala Hijack — A-to-Z Blog Challenge, Literary Terms

It is now the start of the A to Z Challenge for 2015. This year, like last year, we are expanding literary terms from a variety of resources to help us become better writers. Each term may not seem to be all that important when it comes to writing, but I feel confident that when you read my articles, you will see the hidden treasure each term has.

Today, we have Amygdala Hijack. This explains a physiological process in our brain in how we respond to stimuli. Very fun stuff.

To understand Am...

IWSG — Trying Again

Living with a disability, some days are simply harder than others. Dealing with the condition itself is a challenge. The severe loneliness has a great effect on you. What is also challenging is being a burden to your loved ones.

I’ve nearly been disabled for 3 years now, and 2 of those years have been with my family. As many of you know, I lost everything, from my home, to my car, my cellphone, my insurance, to all my friends. Only last year did I get health insurance, thanks to Obamacare. I...

#atozchallenge Theme Reveal

Today, as you can see, is the reveal of my AtoZ Challenge Theme Reveal.

For those who don’t know what this is, AtoZ Challenge is a blog challenge were people come together to make a post for 26 days of a month for each corresponding letter. The calendar shows which day you write a blog and what letter your blog title has to begin with.

Why do this? There is no prize to be won here. I do it because I like the challenge, and that I’ve met some great people in doing this. More than that, it is...

Failure is an Option

We hear this often enough, ‘Failure is Not an Option’. This was probably best known in the Apollo 13 movie. Interesting enough, it was never a phrase said during such time, but it was the basic premise.

We live in a culture where the idea of failure is an expression of something bad. Truth be told, it is something bad. However, if there is one thing video games has taught us, that failure is an opportunity to learn. In fact, the more times we fail, the closer we are to finding the solution. A...

Calm Before the Storm

This won’t be much of a post. I’m trying to get in the habit of posting on my blog, even if it is something simple.

There is a lot of preparation for the coming months. I have the AtoZ challenge coming up, my crowdfunding, the #Hope4Cytherea, my books, my marketing, my commitments to other people, and of course, my worldbuilding. They say to take things one step at a time, but to do everything I need to by the Summer time, I’ve got to do a little of everything at once.

Today is a rest day, gett...

#ISWG – Starting Again

It is the first Wednesday of the month, and that means it is time for Insecure Writer’s Support Group.

For those not familiar with this, it was started by Alex J. Cavanaugh with the idea of picking one day to share your fears and weaknesses so that you can find comfort with other writers who likely have the same fears and weaknesses.

It’s been quite some time since I have done this, and I apologize for that. I can only hope I will be doing this more often from now on.

For starters, I’m still dis...

Grammar: Breast vs Tit [REPOST]

This not exactly a grammar issue but a stylized choice. Like other segments on this site, I discuss the rules of Grammar which turn out not to be rules but a stylized option.

Now if you came here expecting literary erotica and pictures of naked women, I am sorry to disappoint you. This will be a mature article on the discussion of how to describe a body part found on a female (technically a male too, but men get skiddish on the suggestion of that).

First lets get the slang out of the way. Using...

1-Year Anniversary

Yesterday was my official 1-year anniversary of ‘Madness of a Modern Writer’ blog. What a year it has been.

It was a rough transition from a wordpress free site to my own hosting account. I got little traffic at first. Then I had the AtoZ challenge, which put me on the map and I got a lot of views.

Then, after attending Comicon and showing off my maps, and a writer suggested I post on reddit. Over night my blog got a lot of traffic. So much so, about a few days ago, I hit 16,000 total views wit...