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Point of View: Six Steps to Becoming a Better Beta Reader

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Hey all, Welcome to my weekly rumination on all things writing. 🙂 This week, I’m in the midst of beta reading several works for an anthology I’m involved in. I’ve only been beta reading for a year or so, though I was critiquing stories long before that. But it got me thinking. What are the things you need to do to be a great beta reader? Here are my thoughts: 1) Ask the Author What They Want: This is the most important, because it sets the ground rules. Some authors want just a high level storyline critique – does the … Read more

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Author Spotlight: Lexi Ander

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Lexi Ander

Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Today, Lexi Ander – we hung out a bit at Rainbow Con and Lexi is awesome. :). Thanks so much, Lexi, for joining me! J. Scott Coatsworth: How would you describe your writing style/genre? Lexi Ander: Hummm, I would to say my writing style is evolving. How I wrote when I first started is different from how I write today. I guess you can say I’m a work in progress. JSC: What was … Read more

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The Weekly Fix: Re-Life Part Two

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Re-Life

Hey all, Today’s the day for The Weekly Fix. Every Thursday, I’ll add a new scene or chapter of a free story, until the whole thing is here on the blog – and then I’ll add it to its own page on the site. It’s a great way for you to test drive my writing, for free! Here’s the second scene from my second story – a four-part short story I wrote about a man who wakes up in s strange place. It’s called “Re-Life”. Hope you like it! Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four … Read more

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Great New Review for My Story Avalon

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QSF Avalon

BA Brock has posted a great review of my story Avalon, and for the first issue of the Mischief Corner Books Quarterly: A GREAT anthology, and the first volume of what I expect will be a successful quarterly magazine. The magazine features short LGBTQ+ works, and within that category, the genres are limitless. In this issue there was horror, literary fiction, humor, drama, and so much more. There was even art in the form of book covers, and interviews—something for everyone… Avalon by J. Scott Coatsworth. I’ve read nearly everything Coatsworth has written (I’m his number one fan, and I … Read more

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Point of View – A Full-Time Writer With Part-Time Time

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Time selfie

If you’re a full-time writer, you may have so much time on your hands that you have a hard time finding enough stories to write to fill it. I do not have that problem. Stories swirl around in my head on spin cycle. They leak out in conversations, get themselves written down on napkins and bits of paper and note files on my mac and iphone and ipad. I have so many stories to tell, and so little time to tell them. You see, I’m a full-time writer with part-time time. Now I’m not complaining, exactly. I have a wonderful … Read more

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Author Spotlight: Sarah Madison

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Sarah Madison

Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work. Today, Sarah Madison, one of my Rainbow Con buddies. :). Thanks so much, Sarah, for joining me! J. Scott Coatsworth: How would you describe your writing style/genre? Sarah Madison: I don’t know that I have a style! I’d probably be better off if I did. ☺ I’ve written in so many different genres: sci-fi, paranormal, mystery, historical, contemporary… I wish I could write a straightforward contemporary romance, but I always have to give … Read more

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The Weekly Fix: Re-Life Part One

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Hey all, Today’s the day for The Weekly Fix. Every Thursday, I’ll add a new scene or chapter of a free story, until the whole thing is here on the blog – and then I’ll add it to its own page on the site. It’s a great way for you to test drive my writing, for free! We’re starting the second story today – a four-part short story I wrote about a man who wakes up in s strange place. It’s called “Re-Life”. Hope you like it! Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four The taxi … Read more

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Point of View: The Eight Deadly Phases of Writing

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J. Scott Coatsworth

Almost every author goes through a certain set of phases when writing a new work, especially a longer work. Although the details may vary a bit from author to author, I think the broad strokes are probably the same. Here are my phases, gathered from my current work in progress, the Autumn Lands: Phase One – The New Journey This is the honeymoon phase. The story is fresh and new, and you know you’re gonna knock it out of the park. Surely you can get this thing done in days – a week at most. And you won’t need no … Read more

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I Got a Mongoose on the Mischief Corner Books Website!

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MCB Author Page

Hey all, I’m excited to announce that I’m soon to be a published author with Mischief Corner books, beyond the stories they have already contracted for the MCB Quarterly. I’m wrapping up a story called The Autumn Lands for a forthcoming fall-themed anthology called Travels Through the Scarlet Equinox, and so I’ve merited a spot on the MCB author page: The amazing Catherine Dair drew the mongoose, and she even got my eye color right. My hubby Mark and I have a company called Mongoose on the Loose Web Design, so when they asked me which animal I wanted to … Read more