The Art of writing

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I don’t write as much as I used to. To be honest, I don’t know why that happened. Or how. Don’t you find it frustrating that we live in a world that makes it almost impossible to admit that you don’t know something?

I don’t know why I don’t write as much as I used to. Yes, I write blog posts. On two different blogs. But those have become an almost subconscious habit. It’s scary in a way. I can write blog posts anywhere, anytime, no matter the conditions, my mood… I can write anywhere.

It is scary because I used to approach writing with a lot more respect and admiration. As if it were magic. Don’t get me wrong, words are magic. If you use the right words in just the right order, you can change the world a bit. But my words are no longer magic. My words are the words of someone who has become so absorbed by the pettiness of life that he can no longer create. He is no longer the creator, but rather the creation.

I am the side-effect of all the words I wrote when I was a dreamer. Continue reading →

The story of a writer

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“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” ― Winston S. Churchill

For those of you who don’t know much about me: my name is Cristian Mihai, I am 27 years old, live in Constanta, Romania, and I have been writing for over fourteen years. Also, I do enjoy long walks (on the beach or not) and I have been blogging for more than six years.

But how did I become a writer? How did I decide to be one? What steps did I take? What happened along the way? Why didn’t I quit? What made me keep on keeping on when all hope seemed to be lost?  Continue reading →

How to Write a Great Blog Post: A Beginner’s Guide

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how-to-blog

There are more blogs in existence than ever, yet more and more people are seduced by the idea of sharing their thoughts and ideas with the rest of the world.

As a matter of fact, it does seem as if there’s a war out there. Everyone is fighting for attention, there are so many things to learn and master. So many social networks, marketing techniques. There’s even an awful lot of content on blogging itself, which makes it even more frustrating.

How do you write a great blog post?

Find out here.

 

The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide To Blogging

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ultimate_guideLet’s be honest for a moment. There’s no substitute for hard work, dedication, time, energy, and passion, and those of you who want a shortcut will be disappointed by this guide.

Of course, there are some things that you must do in order to be successful as a blogger.

So, yeah, let’s get down to business. Continue reading →

What I learned from years of high functioning depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem

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Disclaimer: this is going to be a long and (somewhat) harsh post about certain realities of life most of us are trying to evade by all means possible.

I am not writing this post out of empathy. I am not writing this post because I read some articles and now I am trying to pass along the knowledge.

I am writing this article because I understand.

I understand the difference between the burning pain of suffering deeply and the general apathy and hopelessness of depression. The emptiness. The lack of interest, joy, passion. I understand the despair, the loneliness, the reluctance to discuss about it all, the very fatiguing job of hiding it all behind a smile, or an “I’m fine” delivered in the worst way possible. Continue reading →

closer: a novel

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closer is the story of a man who is so seduced by the desire to get rich that he becomes involved in a world where anything is permitted. His journey to the top is interrupted by the consequences of his past actions. Things become darker, more violent and more sexually disturbing than he could ever have imagined as he tries to break himself free from his past.

Deft, shocking and unforgettable, this gripping tale about risk, consequence and the treacherous balance between the two reveals a world where there’s nothing to separate right from wrong.

***

If that description is not enough, I’d like to say that closer is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s more like a shot of whiskey. There are parts that describe certain aspects of beauty — the way we perceive something or someone around us as being beautiful — but then I insist on breaking your heart.

Stare at something long enough, there’s nothing magic left of it. Truth is, nothing in this world is as beautiful as we can imagine it. Continue reading →

Dome: Episode One [FREE DOWNLOAD]

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A heartbreaking portrayal of ambition, betrayal, and intrigue, Dome is a serialized Science-Fiction Thriller that tells the story of a small group of people who try to figure out the reason behind the construction of this dome-city in the center of the world’s harshest continent.

Prologue

For a man who knows that our worst nightmares are about to come true, Jack Riddell has no trouble sleeping at night. “It is said that Caesar wept when he found out about Pompey’s death.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?” the host of the show, a woman in her mid-thirties, asks. For the last hour or so, the richest man in the world has avoided giving her a straight answer.

Jack laughs. “A man’s character is determined by how he reacts in the face of adversity. By how strong his enemies are.” Ignoring the dumbfounded expression of the host, he adds, “I believe people should realize Dome is a simple reminder that we can fight against insurmountable odds and win.” Continue reading →

What I learned in five years of blogging

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Five years. Five years of daily blogging. Five years since I decided to never give up, no matter what. To keep writing, to keep blogging, to just keep at it for as long as it took.

And what a ride it has been. Around the world, indeed. 200 or so countries. Lots and lots of people, lots and lots of stories… Continue reading →

How to Be a Good Artist

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irevuo

“To be an artist you have to give up everything, including the desire to be a good artist.” – Jasper Johns

When I was seventeen years old, I kind of figured that I was better at writing than those around me. Had won a few competitions, and all my teachers were impressed by what I could write.

I wanted to be good. I wanted to be the best. I had the type of goals that one cannot utter out loud for fear of being locked away in a mental institution.

I liked to impress people, and then I would also impress myself.

I’d write short stories the day before a deadline. Soon, I became complacent. I thought that I was so good that I just had to stroll my fingers across a keyboard and magic would appear on my computer screen.

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“If you post anything art or literature related, reblogging with Cristian is a great, inexpensive way to gain some extra exposure.” – Jeff Coleman

Let’s take both our blogs to a new level, shall we?

No, I’m serious about this offer.

I want to stop having to show ads on my blog, advertising companies and products I do not care nor personally have much to do with, and you get to reach over 132K people, grow your blog, gain an audience, have your words reach more people than ever before.

Besides the usual reblogs, I am also offering a few new advertising options, including the greatest deal ever.

Ok, so first, the classic reblogs

What is a reblog?

I’d call them trailers for blog posts.

Let’s say you write a blog post. So, I choose a short snippet of that post (usually the first lines) then add a link to your post. I put this on my blog.

This way, over 133, 000 people get to see this short preview. Those who want to read more, click on the link and go to your blog.

It’s a way to gain exposure.

“Cristian Mihai’s reblogging of each chapter of my novel Redwood Summer onto his site allowed me to reach a wider audience of new readers that I would not have found otherwise. Thank you!” – Robert Kirkendall

1 Reblog – $29.99 $24.99 – Click here to purchase.

5 Reblogs – $149.99 $89.99 – Do you have a WordPress.com blog? Have you written a piece you’d want everyone to read? Now you can have your content reblogged to an audience of over 132, 000.

You can purchase here.

10 Reblogs – $299.90 $119.99 – BEST PRICE! 

You can purchase here.

Payments are secured via PayPal.

“I had no idea what a reblog was but it certainly peaked my interest. I knew that I wanted to grow my audience, and yes, I had no idea where to start. Something about this reblogging idea kept pulling at me. I knew Cristian Mihai had a successful blog with over 120,000 followers. Why not? I thought. Why not invest in myself. I love to write and if I could invest a small amount of money to watch my stats and followers grow, wouldn’t that be money well spent? I decided to take the plunge and give it a try. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed.Having Christian reblog my posts gave me the opportunity to experience growth in my blog traffic that would have otherwise taken months, maybe even more than a year to replicate. The boost in traffic on my blog has reignited my passion for blogging. Thank you Cristian. I’m sure I’ll be purchasing more reblogs from you in the future, you have given me the opportunity to share my voice and thoughts with the world.” – Erin Cooper Reed

You can purchase as many as you want, use them when you need them. The process is simple: you simply send me the link to the posts you want reblogged via e-mail to contact [at] cristianmihai [dot] net.

Now, for the new products…

Sponsored post – $24.99 $14.99

At the end of a post you’ll get a mention (short description of your blog or book or business) and a link towards that respective website.

That’s it. Quite simple.

Advertise your blog, or a book you self-published, and gain exposure to over 130,000 people.

Purchase here.

P.S. The more you purchase, the cheaper this option gets. Purchase five or more to pay $10.99 per sponsored post.

Sponsor the Hall of Fame – $599.99

This is the great opportunity. There are 9 posts in the hall of fame. Posts like this or this. The kind of posts that received hundreds of comments, thousands of likes.

You’ll get to sponsor the all for an entire year. A description of your blog, a photo/graphic element of your choice, for an entire year at the end of all the nine posts.

Considering that Google AdWords cost between $1 and $2 per click, you can expect to pay a lot less per click if you do this. Considerably less.

Thousand of people are going to click on those links and visit your blog. It’s your best chance at reaching thousands of potential readers for a lot less than traditional advertising.

Purchase the only spot here.

These dreams of mine…

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“Where do they go, these dreams of mine? Do they live? Do they die? Do they fall? Do they fly?”

“Most people will spend their lives doing jobs that they don’t particularly enjoy, and will eventually save up enough money to stop doing those jobs just in time to start dying instead. Don’t be one of those people. There’s a difference between living, and just surviving. Do something that you love, and find someone to love who loves that you love what you do.
It really is that simple.
And that hard.” – John Connolly

I strenuously believe that most of us crave adventure. We want our lives to make us feel. We crave the bittersweet excitement brought on by uncertainty.

But we also want safety. And comfort. Just enough.

We are torn between “more” and “just enough.”
Continue reading →

Self-Publisher? You must read this post.

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Those of you who have been following this blog for some time know that I’m, more or less, a one man operation. I write the books/stories, I do the interior formatting for both e-books (Kindle, Smashwords) and print books, I design the covers, and stuff like that.

Sometimes I do these kind of things for other writers too. Continue reading →

Introducing: Free Tutorials

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The Art of Blogging

Hi guys,

Really excited to announce that we’ll be slowly adding a new feature to our blog: free tutorials.

Yup.

The first tutorial (How to Make Money Blogging) is up, and can be read here. Rather than simply list all the way one can monetize his blog, I decided to tell you about my personal experience trying each method, and rated them all based on how effective I found them to be.

There will be a few more announcements, including the release of a free e-book, and major changes to the pricing scheme of the programs.

If you want to get unlimited access to me, you can purchase one of the last spots left here. In a few hours, everything is going to be a lot more expensive.

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Fight for your dreams

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Alexander the Great. Even though he only lived on this Earth for a total of 33 years, some 2,300 years ago, we have yet to forget his name and legendary battles.

During his short life, nothing stopped him.  Nothing. Huge armies with elephants, impregnable fortresses, vast distances over mountains and rivers and deserts, hunger, thirst, the sea itself, the uttermost extremes of physical hardship and war.  His body was littered with scars; everywhere that is, except his back.  That’s because the world’s greatest commander never retreated, and he never lost a battle.

Most of his portraits, sculptures, and coins reflect a kind of upward gaze as if he were staring into the very heavens, yearning for something unreachable.

He dedicated his life to the struggle against insurmountable odds. And he became great because he surmounted them all.

Continue reading →

Hard work pays off

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I believe that most of us have a certain vision of ourselves that we hope will one day become reality. The big dream…

And even those who are uncertain still would like to be like someone else, or they have a certain passion they haven’t pursued.

The idea is that you must build upon that vision. The dream… make it big and bold. So much so, that you feel awkward telling people about it.

I wrote for eight years without anyone giving a damn about my writing because I had this vision of myself standing on a stage, receiving an award for my writing. Huge stage, lots of people… Continue reading →