Point of View

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Point of View: The Eight Deadly Phases of Writing

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J. Scott Coatsworth

Almost every author goes through a certain set of phases when writing a new work, especially a longer work. Although the details may vary a bit from author to author, I think the broad strokes are probably the same. Here are my phases, gathered from my current work in progress, the Autumn Lands: Phase One – The New Journey This is the honeymoon phase. The story is fresh and new, and you know you’re gonna knock it out of the park. Surely you can get this thing done in days – a week at most. And you won’t need no … Read more

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Point of View: And Now for the Edits…

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scitt pulling out hair

Hey all… I just wrapped up the first draft of my latest work, The Autumn Lands, on Saturday night. And boy is it rough. Not rough trade rough. Nothing as sexy as that. Just… rough. I can only blame myself. I started the story out with a general idea of where it was going, a theme for the anthology (“fall”), and a snippet of a story I wrote maybe twenty years ago that I decided would “work” for this project. But I didn’t sit down to do even a rudimentary outline. I’ve been trying to force myself to take this … Read more

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Point of View: Under the Gun

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Pantser vs. plotter

There’s a lot of discussion these days about whether, as a writer, you are a pantser or a plotter. Pantsers, as the name implies, write by the seat of their pants. It’s like they open the door to their new story and just go out wandering in the world to see where they end up. Plotters, on the other hand, are the folks who sit at the kitchen table with a map and a copy of the AA hotel guide (geez, that dates me, doesn’t it?) and know every step they plan to take, though of course it’s all subject … Read more

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Point of View: Becoming a Cover Designer

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I have aspirations. I want to learn how to do everything in the publishing world. In my past, I’ve already worked at a small publisher, at a bookstore, and at a book distributor. I’ve written (and sold) a number of stories. I’ve done beta reading and critiquing, though no formal editing as of yet. But one mountain I haven’t climbed yet is creating an official book cover. Oh, I’ve played around with it – I just designed three covers for my “Weekly Fix” story serializations:    These were tons of fun to do, but they’re only created for this one … Read more

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Point of View: Why I Write

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Hey all, I just started this blog about a month ago, and I’m gradually figuring out what I want to do with it. I’m planning to start posting a personal column once a week, on Mondays – about me, who I am as a writer and a person, what I’m working on, and what motivates me to be a writer. I thought I’d start out with why I write. I’ve been an avid reader since I was a little child. When I was in my early elementary school years, growing up in Tucson, Arizona, my Mom started be on the … Read more