writing

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POINT OF VIEW: Getting a Little Perspective

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Oh how pride goeth before the fall. Sometimes when you think you have this whole writer gig figured out, life steps in to give you a hard slap across the cheek. A few weeks ago, I ran across a review that was so negative it might have stopped my nascent writing career in its tracks if I had seen it when it was first published, back in 2015. I patted myself on the back for being so much more evolved these days, both in writing skill and in my reaction to my sometimes bad reviews. I’d even half-convinced myself that … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Immersed In Another World

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I’m writing as much each day as I have at any point since Nano four years ago. When I get this deep into one of my stories, I start to practically live in that another world. I’m approaching the end of my latest novel, a solar punk sci fi tale that blends gee-whiz tech, epic scenery, crazy twists and turns, and a pervasive sense of hope I feel like we sorely need right now. I’m writing 1200-2000 words a day, and the story and its characters are on constant rotation in my head. All throughout the day I notice little … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: The Power of Downtime

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Everyone needs downtime. Even writers. I know this, and yet I am spectacularly bad at actually letting myself enjoy any of it. Writer brains, as any writer will likely attest, are strange creatures. Mine is a magpie, flitting through life and chasing whatever is bright, shiny, and new. The other day, we had lunch with friends, and one of them comes from a family of K’s, where every sibling’s first name starts with “K.” And then she mentioned that one of their daughter’s names started with an “E.” And off my little writer brain went. Families with kids whose names … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Writing at a Dead Run

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I’m writing my ass off. Seriously, I haven’t written at this brisk a pace since NaNoWriMo back in… 2014? 2015? I have the wind at my back. Or maybe it’s a pack of snarling wolves. Or perhsps just the fear of not making it – never quite getting to where I want to be as an author before I die. Hitting your fifties encourages a whole lot of “what have I done with my life” soul-searching. Those who follow me (thanks to both of you!) know that I am gearing up to find an agent, to take the next step … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: When the Story Takes a Twist

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Every writer who has been doing this gig for a while has probably experienced something like this: A character suddenly reveals something about themselves that you’d never guessed when you first created them. Or maybe what was just a minor throw-away plot point or description suddenly blossoms and veers the story off onto a whole new course. Or that guy you mentioned waaaay back in book one suddenly wants his own plot arc in book three. As a writer, I live for those moments – when the writing feels alive, when it practically sings under my hands on the keyboard. … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Writing Short vs. Writing Long

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Hey all… I am finally moving along on my latest novel, “The Long Redemption” – it’s set in the same universe as the “Liminal Sky” trilogy, but with a whole different setting and cast of characters. For the last three years, I have written two novels a year, and this year, I am giving myself a little break and just doing this one. It’s due by the start of October, so I have nine months to complete it instead of six. So what am I doing with the extra time, you ask? I hav set my sights on conquering SiffWah. … Read more

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POV: Writing is Hard

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Scott

Hey all… Writing is what I love more than almost anything else in the world (except maybe Mark, Mom and Dad, and Oreos). But sometimes, being a writer is soul-crushingly hard. I’m not talking about the writing itself. Writing can make me crazy, sure. There are times when the words just don’t come, and times when you just can’t sit down to write. And times (usually at the three quarters point of the story) when you decide everything you write is shit. But that’s par for the course. What I’m talking about today is getting your work out there, and … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Switching Gears

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Hey all, For the last three years, I’ve been deep in the weeds of writing not one but two sci fi trilogies – “The Oberon Cycle” (Skythane, Lander, Ithani) and “Liminal Sky” (The Stark Divide, The Rising Tide, and The Shoreless Sea). I love-love-love sci fi, but even as a reader, I would take breaks, often alternating between sci fi and fantasy to cleanse my reading palette. And so it is with my writing. Two months ago, about two-thirds through “The Shoreless Sea,” I took a break – well, not so much took a break as a double-time – writing … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Suck A Little Happy Juice

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Hey all, It’s an amazing time in my writerly life. I’m starting to get some local press for “The River City Chronicles” (ok, so I begged and pleaded, but hey, whatever it takes, right?) – and I will do my first official bookstore reading and signing on October 4th at Time Tested Books in midtown Sacramento. (hint hint hint) You can sign up to go here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1180415018767294/ If you are in the Sacramento area, please sign up. I need to show the bookstore I have local support, so they will ask me back again. 🙂 At the same time, I … Read more