point of view

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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

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POINT OF VIEW: Getting Up With the Roosters

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alarm clock - Deposit Photos

I’m trying something new. Anyone who knows me knows I am insanely busy, all the time. Mark and I run about twelve websites, plus I’m both a writer AND a human who occasionally needs to eat and sleep. In the past, I would write when Mark went to the gym, usually between 12 and 1:30 PM. But now, with the Covid19 crisis, there’s no more gym. And although Mark is awesome at staying out of the way during writing time, more and more I’m edging into writing time with other work, losing 15-30 minutes (sometimes more) when I could be … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Back on the Ranch

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Sac Pride QSAC Booth

This was supposed to be Pride Weekend here in Sacramento. A year ago we had our first two-day pride, set against the backdrop of Black Lives Matter protests that roiled the local community, both mainstream and the LGBTQ one. Like many cities around the US, we had a senseless killing of a black man by police, and relations between the police and the community were strained. For our local writer’s group, the Queer Sacramento Authors’ Collective, Pride was a good weekend. It started off with a crazy windstorm – we had to leave our canopy down the whole first day … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Happy Accidents & Silver Linings

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silver linings - pixabay

Last week, I reached the bottom of my Point of View barrel. I sat down to write my weekly column, and there was just nothing there. So I put the word out to my peeps on social media – what should I write about? I got a variety of responses, from the silly to the profound. Today I’ll start to respond to them. Janet Gershen-Siegel suggested this: “Silver linings. In writing, when something turns into a happy accident, if that makes any sense.” And yeah, it does. Writing, like any art, wraps up craft, hard work and serendipity. For a … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: I Got Nuthin.

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Yeah, some weeks are like that. It’s been crazy busy, and I’m six hours late with this column, and … nothing. So I thought I’d make you do the work, this week. What would you like me to talk about? Writing things? Personal things? Peps? The non-rainbow skittles? Robotech? Reply and let me know, and I’ll try to tackle it in a future column. xoxo –Scott

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POINT OF VIEW: Taking My Time

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stopwatches - pixabay

I’m writing again, and it feels really good. 🙂 But I’m doing it a little differently this time. I’m working over my first three chapters multiple times before moving ahead, making sure that I have three things settled in my head: The thrust of the plot The interdynamics of the characters The major and minor details of the world I always do this to some extent, but have never done so in such a thoughtful and deliberate way. From Pantsing to Plotting When I first started out as a writer, I was a total pantser. My overflowing “drawer” of what … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Diving Deeper

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Diving Deeper - Deposit Photos

I’ve always said when you stop growing as a writer, your writing dies. We’re like sharks, swimming and swimming to keep that oxygen pumping through our blood. A few years ago, when I first started writing seriously and sold my first story, I was on top of the world. I felt like I had finally arrived, and knew how to do this shit. People were actually taking me seriously as a writer. That didn’t last long. I got a rejection, and another, and another. I sold a few more stories too, but then my reviews started coming in, and I … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Choose My Own Adventure

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Fork in the Road - Pixabay

I’m about to write a new novel. Problem is, which one? I have four possibilities I’m considering, so I thought I’d crowdsource this thing. Idea One: Liminal Sky Book Five – Fallen Angel: this would be an immediate follow-up to Dropnauts, my currently unsold novel in the Liminal Sky series, but with fewer POV characters and a tighter focus. Idea Two: Liminal Sky Book Five – Forever: An alternate book 5 in the series – and a recreation of the first book I ever wrote. This one would be a complete retelling of that story from scratch. “The Stark Divide” … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: A New Direction

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new direction arrow - Yay Images

So it’s a new week, and a new direction. Regular readers of this column (thanks Mom and the other two of you!) will know I’ve been struggling with my direction as an author since I finished my two trilogies, Liminal Sky and The Oberon Cycle. I have a completed manuscript for Dropnauts – book four in the Liminal Sky series, but after failing to snag a mentor in Pitch Wars, finding out another potential mentor just didn’t get my work, and getting only one agent response for three Twitter pitch events (who later rejected the work), I’ve been a bit … Read more