point of view

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POINT OF VIEW: Choosing the Perfect Title

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Book Title / Muse - Deposit Photos

So you’ve finished your book, and it’s time to change your working title into your forever one – the one that will stick with your newly finished work for the rest of it’s happy little book life… assuming your Publisher doesn’t change it later. So how do you choose the perfect title? At their best, titles do a few key things for your book. They make a bold statement about what the reader will find inside. They convey (along with the font and cover art) the genre of your book. And they tease the reader and invite them inside. A … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: The Mutable Future

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crystal ball - pixabay

I just finished a new short story called “High Seven,” which takes place 150 years from now in a future where the world has devolved into a series of city-states that are holding on as best they can against the ravages of climate change. My view of the future has dimmed markedly over the last twenty years, and even more so over the last four. It’s hard now to see a future that’s not defined by climate change, one way or another. I still have hope, and my stories reflect that, but it’s a hope that somehow we’ll manage to … Read more

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Point of View: Waiting for #100

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100

100 is a magic number for authors. There’s an old saying – let’s call it the “Rule of 100” – that you’ll get 100 rejections before you make your first sale. I had maybe twenty, so it’s certainly not a hard and fast rule. But it does give aspiring authors a reason to keep going – what if that golden ticket is just around the corner, and you gave up at 99? They say something similar about trying to get an agent. Agents are the gatekeepers of the mainstream publishing industry – it’s nearly impossible to get noticed by the … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Writing Too Fast

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speed - pixabay

Is there such a thing as writing too fast? That occurred to me this week as I really hit my stride on my latest novel, “Twin Moons Rising.“ I am zooming through this one, which feels great, especially since I hope to submit it for Pitch Wars next month. I’ve been writing an average of 1000 words a day these last couple of months, but lately I’ve been reaching as high as 2000 – NaNoWriMo levels of writing output. In June, I shifted my writing time to first thing in the morning. I usually get up at about 5:30 AM … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Writing Without a Win

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Waiting room - deposit photos

It’s been 7,464 hours since my last sale. Not that I’m counting. Honestly, it’s partly my own fault. In October last year fell into a bit of a … let’s call it a rough patch, since we’re not dealing with clinical depression here, and I don’t want to minimize those who suffer from it. Still, I basically stopped writing for months. I’d just finished and published the last of my two trilogies, and had wrapped up a novel, submitted it to Pitch Wars, and then utterly failed to even attract a full manuscript request. Since then, I’ve thrown myself into … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Put a Wolf Under the Table

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wolf snarl - deposit photo

Your characters are on a quest for the fabled Sword of Bighands. They’re sitting around a thick iron-banded wooden table at the Borderlands Pub, a dark, seedy local hangout where you can buy anything from drugs to human slaves. Or a really good guide to get you out of Bordertown and across the great Scorched Desert, to the fabled Treasure Lands across that hot, dry, shimmering expanse of red sand. Your characters are talking about the long trek ahead, sharing war stories, and sipping on curiously ice-cold mead. And they’re absolutely bored out of their gourds. So what can you … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: The Best Oreos

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oreos - deposit photos

Every writer has their vice. For some it’s the siren call of alcohol – a nightcap before bed to help drown out the muse’s voice, or a cold beer in the afternoon after a hard couple hard hours wrestling with plot bunnies and squirrels. Hey, anyone know the difference? I could never figure it out. For others, it’s the terrible lure of social media, a great place to avoid, you know, actually having to write something, while feeling good about yourself for posting all those fantastic writing memes to your Instagram account, Twitter feed, or Facebook page. For me, it’s … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: About Me

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Scott 1992

A few weeks ago, I asked my readers what they wanted me to write about in this column. Barbara Longley wanted to know more about me personally, so here it goes. 🙂 I live with my husband Mark in Sacramento, California. I’m an Arizona boy originally – although I was born in Southern California, I grew up in Tucson, and still have an abiding love for the mountains and desert beauty of Southern Arizona. I moved to Rancho Cucamonga, an LA – area bedroom community – in 1984 to live with my Dad for a year, and stayed through my … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: After the Plague

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sunrise - after the plague

My friend A. Catherine Noon asks: What do you want to change when we come out of lockdown, and what do you want to leave behind? What do you want to make (assuming you had energy and no stress)? (Make includes write.) Wow, that’s a big question. Some of my answers come easily – like the first things I want to do when this is all over: I want to hug my friends tightly. I want to go to Starbucks and get a trenta mint java-chip frappucino and drink it until my brain hurts. I want to have dinner out … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: On Brand

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darts - pixabay

I’ve had occasion this week to consider my author “brand”, especially the public-facing version of it that I represent via social media. This was occasioned by a few different things that happened over the weekend. First off, in a panel on going mainstream at the Rainbow Space Magic Con yesterday, we discussed authors’ social media presence, and how any agent worth their salt is going to comb your social media presence before offering to work with you. It makes sense, right? How many times have we seen old posts come back to haunt politicians, entertainers, and others years later? Even … Read more