point of view – Page 11 – J. Scott Coatsworth

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Point of View: That %$&*! Characterization Thing Again

August 29, 2022August 29, 2022 by scott

Every year or two, I circle back to my Achilles heel as a writer. I can build worlds with the best of them, and my intertwined plots are legendary. But I’ve always had more difficulty with characterization. I’m working through beta reads on book two of the Tharassas Cycle, and have been dinged by a couple readers for being inconsistent with a couple characters and drawing one too shallowly to support what comes later in the trilogy. And so I thought it would be fun to go back to my previous posts on the subject and see what I had … Read more

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Point of View: Laying the “Foundation” (Spoilers)

August 8, 2022August 8, 2022 by scott

Note: this column contains spoilers about the Foundation TV series. If you’ve not watched it yet you may want to wait until you do to read it. Because of my broken arm and surgery, I am still limited in what I can do. I can type to a certain extent, but my reach is not very far, mostly do self one-handed (insert jokes here) or via voice to text, which can create some interesting errors. Because of this, I am currently working from the couch, where it’s a lot more comfortable to use the keyboard on my laptop than the … Read more

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Point of View: Void Syndrome

August 1, 2022August 1, 2022 by scott

If you’ve been writing for any length of time, you’ve probably heard of “Imposter Syndrome.” It’s something that affects many writers, even really successful ones – that nagging feeling that you aren’t good enough, that you are just fooling everyone, and sooner or later someone will call your bluff. But there’s another thing that happens to writers that can be just as devastating and difficult to deal with – let’s call it “Void Syndrome.” It used to be enough to write a decent book, and then send it off to your publisher, letting them take care of everything publication and … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: When Life Throws You a Curve Ball – Part Two

July 11, 2022 by scott

A few years ago, we had to decamp unexpectedly to Tucson for a family emergency. It threw everything into chaos, including my writing. Then life settled down to a pleasing predictability, and I was happily enjoying boring old normal life when BOOM! Our lives were turned on their heads in an instant. One moment I was speeding down the street on my bike, following Mark to Starbucks to meet a friend. And the next… BAM! I slammed into the sidewalk, hard, on my right arm, ribs and knee. I screamed and managed to turn over on my back, but I … Read more

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Point of View: Shit City

June 13, 2022June 13, 2022 by scott

I’m feeling a bit shaky this morning. I’m not sure if it’s my never-ending pile of work that I just can’t seem to get through, or coming down off a day of being “on” for book sales at Davis Pride yesterday. Maybe it’s all my worries about the world, as the Dow plunges into bear market territory, the January 6th hearings churn on, and inflation keeps inflating. Most likely it’s a combination of all three. Some days, I forget how to hope. Still, I have a freakishly optimistic spirit, and worries rarely keep me down for long. I’m like one … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Hidden Dreams

June 6, 2022 by scott

It was the spring of 2014, just over eight years ago now000. I had written yet another short story for an anthology – it was my way of breaking into publishing. This one was called “A New Year,” and was inspired by Bastille’s song “Laughter Lines”: You took me to your favourite place on EarthTo see the tree they cut down ten years from your birth.Our fingers traced in circles round its history,We brushed our hands right back in time through centuries. As you held me down, you said:”I’ll see you in the future when we’re olderAnd we are full … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Pride

May 25, 2022May 23, 2022 by scott

I’ve been to a number of Pride events. Some were huge – like the million-plus events in San Francisco that take six hours to traverse Market Street from downtown to the Capitol. Some were more manageable, like the 45-minute long Sacramento Pride Parade and Festival. And some are almost intimate. But they all celebrate one thing – being proud of who you are. I’ve gotten a little blasé about Pride, and this weekend I got a little reminder of what it really means. I grew up in a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of Tucson, Arizona. It was a great … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Painting a World

May 16, 2022 by scott

I’ve spent the last two years, since the depth of the first season of the pandemic, building a new world. When I wrapped up Dropnauts, I had three potential paths for my next project. Coredivers, the sequel to Dropnauts; The Forever Cycle, the missing middle books between The Ariadne Cycle and The Oberon Cycle; and the Tharassas Cycle… a sci-fantasy hybrid building on The Last Run and The Emp Test. I chose the latter, in part because I wanted a palate cleanser from all that sci-fi, and in part because the world of emps and hencha intrigued me. The Last … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: The Anatomy of a Writing Contest

May 9, 2022May 9, 2022 by scott

Nine years ago, Angel, Ben and I stuck our heads together to come up with an idea to bring some publicity to the Queer Sci Fi group and site. We hit upon a flash fiction contest, themed around a single word, and the annual QSF flash fiction contest was born. The theme that first year was “Endings,” and we got a grand total of fifteen entries! We chose a winner, announced it with a bunch of fanfare, and moved on. Now, nine years later, the contest has grown and grown. We had our largest year in 2021 with 384 submissions, … Read more