Rod Zinkel

I am now dba ZEDS, publishing a small e-newsletter bimonthly; leading a poetry workshop, or what could be labelled bibiotherapy, for patients with Alzheimer's Disease; and write to publish in magaines, such as Sheepshead Review, Scifikuest, Time of Singing, and a couple of others. I am working my way toward the "little" literary magazines. I also chair the Arts & Entertainment Committee at Aurora Baycare Medical Center in Green Bay. If you are interested in ZEDS, check out www.zinkelsendeavor.blogspot.com.

I was reluctant, at first, to post writings online; and my hope is to find something like the writer's workshops I participated in at school. It is difficult to find, but some of the feedback has helped for revising. And the feedback is, at least, encouraging in that I know someone has read my work. I think online can serve something of the purpose of workshops, and there is one important maxim I have learned from the past ones I have been a part of: I will try to comment on the technical aspects of the writing, not the content. That is, I'm not going to tell you what you have to say isn't worth saying, or that I disagree; but I'm going to tell you how effectively you're saying it. I can only tell you the effect your writing has had on me, and, if I am studious about it, I will tell you what in your writing created that effect. It could be it really was emotive; it could be it left me confused. These are the comments an author can work with to improve their work.

Still, I wouldn't discourage just saying "I really like it," because that encourages a writer to keep writing.