writing

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POINT OF VIEW: The Icky Part

by
J. Scott Coatsworth

Hey all, I’m at that part of the story on “Lander” that I always hit, about this far in. I’m probably three quarters finished, and all I can see is suck and ick. The writing sucks. The story is pedestrian. The threads of it are all over the place, and there’s NO WAY I am ever going to find a way to bring them altogether. It sucks. I suck. I am a horrible writer. Everyone’s going to find out. I will fail. Instead, I just sit back and laugh. You see, every one of us writers has this little internal critic. … Read more

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Point of View: I Wish I Lived in Stars Hollow

by
chasm

We’re most of the way through our sixth or seventh or maybe eighth viewing of the entire Gilmore Girls series, and I find myself affected by a peculiar kind of nostalgia. It’s a longing for a simpler time, when things were less messy. Less racist. Less Trump. Watching this show, I can envision the perfect place. It’s clean, friendly, an ideal combination of small town charm and big city mores. Okay, so Stars Hollow is a little white. Maybe a lot white. But there’s something about it that calls to me, that imagines America as it could be if we … Read more

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Point of View: Taking a (Little) Break

by
Scott - Break

Hey all, On Saturday, I sent “Liminal Sky”, my second novel, off to the publisher – a story that’s been in the works for three years. Then I sat down, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. I have been running almost non-stop with my writing for months, as I have been struggling to finish and submit two novellas and a novel, dealing with edits for one of the novellas and an entirely separate novel, and running a blog tour too. Suddenly, it’s all done. It’s like the clouds have cleared, and it’s blue skies all the way, baby. In three days, Mark … Read more

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Point of View: Squirrel!

by
Scott - Squirrel

I just spent a couple months slogging through a fourth (or was it seventeenth?) draft of one of my novels, and then jumped right into an extension of another work. After that, I have another novel to finish up. In short, I’m working or reworking a lot of things I have worked on time and time again before. My writer brain wants something NEW! So this week, I am sidetracking a little bit and working on a BRAND FREAKING NEW short story – something for a holiday anthology I’ve had my eye on for awhile. And you know what? It feels GOOD. … Read more

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Point of View: Writing Who You Know

by
reflection - Scott

There’s an age-old adage in the writing biz: “Write what you know.” This advice is suspect for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it’s difficult to apply as a science fiction/fantasy author. Tolkien didn’t “know” Middle Earth, not in the personal sense. And Anne McCaffrey probably never actually made it to Pern (though it would be really cool if she had). But the core sentiment of this adage is good – you need to do the research and get your details right. What about our characters, though? As an author, I draw on people I know … Read more

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Point of View: Here We Go Again

by
Scott

I am riding the crazy train again. In just two more days, I have not one but two new stories coming out – “Through the Veil” in the anthology “Myths Untold – Faery” and my story “Repetition” in the spring “MCB Quarterly”. So I am no longer an author – I am now J. Scott Coatsworth, master promoter of the works of the obscure author of the same name. Promotion is a totally different skill set from writing. As an author, we can hide away in our writer caves and forget to shower, burrowing down the rabbit hole after our … Read more

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Point of View: Dreaming of Making the Leap

by
Scott

I want to be a full-time writer. I mean, yeah, it absolutely scares the shit out of me. But right now, I barely have the time to shave once a week (as you can see), let alone write all the things I want to write. And yet, when I think about it, I realize that there are so many things that could go wrong: 1) I Could Run Out of Ideas: It’s true. There are a limited number of ideas in my writer brain. Last time I checked, it was hovering around 13,276. If I had enough time, I could … Read more

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Point of View: My Writing Plans For 2016

by
Scott

Hey all, Last week I reviewed my writing year in 2015. I thought I’d flip things around this week and look ahead to my writing plans for 2016. So here are some of the things I hope to accomplish: 1) Publish My First Novel: Or at least get it scheduled. Those who know me well know that I wrote my first novel in my early twenties, like twenty five years ago (I know, right?). But it never went anywhere – it was roundly rejected by ten mainstream publishers. In my more recent writing life, I’ve stuck exclusively to short stories … Read more

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Point Of View: Getting Into My Writing Groove

by
Write Like the Wind

Every author has things they do to help them write and be more creative. Some of these are superstitions – like not changing their socks or underwear until a project is finished (and yes, that is disgusting). Others are habits – things they do on a regular basis to ensure they have time to get their writing done, like setting a particular time of day. Or waking up like a vampire in the dead of night. Some prefer rewards for writing – a chocolate covered Oreo for completing a scene, perhaps, or a trip to Krispy Kreme for a baker’s … Read more

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Point of View: A Writer Responds to Paris

by
Paris Flower

We all know about the terrible tragedy in Paris on Friday. It was more than a tragedy; it was an atrocity, because it was perpetrated intentionally by human hands. Jack McDevitt, one of my favorite sci fi authors, talks about how a man can come to do these things to another human being: These killers are equipped with brains, but obviously don’t use them. That’s not a trait that is limited to some branches of Islam. We’ve seen it in western culture, too. Not that it necessarily leads to homicide, but we have substantial numbers of people who have made … Read more