writing

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Point of View: (Re)writing the Story

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Reset - Red Button - deposit photos

Thirty years ago, I wrote a book called “On a Shoreless Sea.” It was a fantastic novel, or so I thought at the time – a clever blending of sci-fi and fantasy set on a generation ship. This was the one that would launch me to sci-fi writer fame and fortune. I printed out ten copies (yes, those were the days of the paper submission – so sorry for the grove of “copier paper” trees I slaughtered) and UPS’d them to the largest publishers in the biz. Then I waited. One by one, they came back, the last one arriving … Read more

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Point of View: Gardening is Writing II

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Scott Garden

Back in the before world, in 2019, I wrote a column for this space called “Gardening is Writing.” My premise was simple. Many of the same skills to grow a successful vegetable garden could be applied to writing as well. Then yesterday, I ran across a framed image at a Starbucks, of all places, that reminded me of the art I used to draw when I was in high school. I sent it to one of my high school art teachers, Laura Brouse (check out her current art – it’s amazing), who still has a bit of my art after … Read more

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Point of View: What I’m Working On

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We’re just back from BayCon last week and my brain is still buzzing and not up for generating any BIG IDEAS for this week’s column, so I thought I’d do something I haven’t done in a bit, and share what I’m working on (personally and via Other Worlds Ink, our small press). The Great North First off is the rerelease of The Great North. It’s a future post-apocalyptic sci-fantasy loosely based on the Welsh “Valentine’s Day” legend of Dwynwen, but with a decidedly gay twist. The wonderful folks at Mischief Corner Books first published this in 2017, and I’m excited … Read more

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Point of View: Diving Into Your Characters

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Writing fascinating, well-rounded characters comes easily to some people. Character traits, past histories, and quirky, unique personalities seem to just flow out of their fingers and onto the page, and every book is a new adventure filled with a fascinating new cast. I am not one of those people. Are you? If you are, you can stop reading here. 🙂 I grew up devouring science fiction and fantasy, and I was hooked on the Big Concept. Dragons are real and can travel between in the blink of an eye? OMG, give me that book. Living space ships will carry humanity … Read more

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Point of View: Writing to Distraction

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There’s a great skit in Portlandia where Fred Armison plays a character working on his computer, getting calls and messages on his cell phone, alerts on his iPad, and “Netflix” style DVDs in the mail, all of which drives him to distraction. It was hilarious at the time. Who would let themselves be sucked into dealing with so many devices at once? Now a decade later, this is my life. My computer is my window into the world at work. I am constantly checking my email box (twelve separate email addresses and counting), my Facebook comments, and the news – … Read more

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Point of View: The Writer’s Garden

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Regular readers know how much pleasure I take in my vegetable garden. In many ways it’s like writing – you carefully nurture each sprout until it grows into a beautiful plant which bears delicious fruit. Well, this year my garden has been an apt metaphor for my writing life. It started out promisingly enough. I planted some pepper and tomato seeds in the garage in February. They sprouted, and they grew and grew as it got warmer, stretching their leaves toward the sunny window. Then about a week before it was time to plant them, something in the garage – … Read more

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Point of View: When an Urse is Not a Horse

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I’ve been reading fantasy and sci-fi since I was in second grade – for those counting, that’s forty-six years. I always loved escaping into a different world through a good book, somewhere utterly unlike the place I knew growing up. I came by this desire honestly. My mother was (and still is) a voracious SFF reader, and was a card-carrying member of the Science Fiction Book Club. I worked my way through her shelf of other worlds one by one as a kid. I especially loved sci-fi that was set on another world, one that was full of strange ideas … Read more

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Point of View: Writing and A Flicker of Hope

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I’m writing again. OK, so not anything new yet. But I’m back into book one edits in preparation for getting it off to my new publisher – Water Dragon Publishing – around week’s end. And I have release dates (at least tentative ones) for all three books: March 2023, September 2023, and March 2024. More importantly, I can see a path forward, both for publication of these books and for writing something new. 🙂 Recovery-wise, I am typing with both hands again – yay! And in a week and a half, I will enter my next phase of physical therapy. … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: What Matters

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Thoughtful

I want an agent. I want a big publisher, a Netflix deal (or maybe HBO Max). And eventually, a little world domination would be nice too. I want people to read what I write and tell their friends, and for them to tell their friends too, until hundreds of thousands of readers know my name and my work. I want the world to know my name. And I have to come to terms with the fact that it’s quite possible that none of those things will ever happen. It’s a clarifying moment. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not giving up … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Just Keep Climbing

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Helping Hand - Deposit Photos

Writing is hard, y’all. And I’m not just talking about the actual typing-words-onto-paper part. Which, yeah, is hard enough – trying to keep a million ideas and a plethora of characters, plot points, and locations in your head, and then spewing them out onto the page in a pleasing order. You also need to advocate for yourself – finding publishers and agents and review opportunities, and putting yourself and your work out there in a way that makes many of us want to scream and retreat into our quiet, happy little writer caves. That’s why it’s so vital that we … Read more