I do my best work in bed. Really. This isn’t to say that I can’t write in other places, like my desk, for instance. Or the library. Or on the backs of crumbled pieces of random paper while waiting in line at the grocery store. I’ve scribbled dialogue on airplane barf bags, come up with new scenes in the middle of a restaurant (where I had to excuse myself to…
I wrote my first (as yet unpublished) novel out longhand in notebooks back when we lived without electricity. Then I’d take the notebooks and my laptop to a café and type it all in. I had a full time job back then and I wrote in the mornings and evenings (and okay, sometimes during staff meetings). When I sat down to write my second book (soon to be published as…
The Debutantes are honored to present guest blogger Allison Winn Scotch, debut author of The Department of Lost and Found, coming from Morrow, May 2007. Hey debs – Thanks a million for having me here! I’m honored to be filling in today! Okay, now to the nitty-gritty. For me, the writing process is not unlike going to the gym: I know that I should, I know that I have to,…
I’m one of those readers always looking for parallels between protagonists and the writers who create them. The extent to which writers use autobiographical information (or not) interests me. I know writers who take the “write what you know” advice to the extreme and write themselves into the story in a way that almost borders on memoir. I’m not saying this doesn’t make for great fiction: it often does. Here’s…
Other than being able to juggle a bit and touch my nose with my tongue, I don’t have any odd talents. There is a long list of things I greatly admire and wish I could do: bagpipe playing, fire eating, sword swallowing, magic in any form, escape artistry, and having psychic abilities (maybe I can get some tips from Debutante Eileen on this one!). I am very into things that…
I found my agent like I’ve found a lot of things in my life; through a bizarre series of odd coincidences and happy accidents. First off, let me state for the record that I had no connections in the publishing industry. I have no MFA. In fact, I don’t have any higher degree at all. I had no relatives, friends, friends of friends, kind of/sort of connections, period. I was…
With the publication of my first book looming, more and more I get questions from other writers who are starting to navigate the publishing waterways. They have a mistaken notion that I have some secrets or know what I’m doing. One of the most common questions I hear is: “Where did you get your agent?” Why WalMart of course – the aisle near office supplies. No – don’t be foolish,…
Debut fiction author, about to be published, seeks literary representation after ending it with current literary agent. Must be willing to discuss possible story ideas, be open to light editing or comments. Similar philosophy on writing, publishing, and marketing preferred. Has time for me. Laughs at my jokes (I promise to laugh at yours!). Firm but flexible. Responds promptly. Current list should be impressive but manageable, with a view that…
A few weeks back, I gushed about my agent, so this week, I’m going off topic. I just received a copy of my German cover from Rowohlt Verlag. Now several things hit me right off. First, the title: Das Madchen im Wald, which apparently means “The Girl in the Woods” (for all of my mastery of the German language, it could mean anything!). I do like it: simple, evocative of fairy…
I have a confession to make: I am a cheapskate. I shop in thrift stores. Our family car has 210,000 miles. When something breaks I fix it (or learn to live without it) rather than running out and buying a new one. If there is something I need, it goes on a list and I try to wait a least a month before buying it, and usually, in that time…
