Amber E. Scott's Blog, page 2
October 8, 2020
Preptober 2: Characters
Welcome back to my Preptober blog series, where I plan a novel in the month of October (and then potentially write it in the month of November!) Last week I covered Concept, Premise, and Theme. Go ahead and catch up if you like, and then join me for Protagonist, Antagonist, and Exposition!
Protagonist
Something strange happened to me when I wrote WIREGIRL. For a long time, my writing had always been situation first, characters second. What I mean by that is, I would have a conflict, a setu...
October 5, 2020
Preptober 1: Premise
Welcome to my Preptober series on planning and outlining a novel! My plan is to post a blog once or twice a week and develop an outline for a fantasy novel (genre chosen by poll in the last blog – thanks to all who voted!) over the course of the month. I’ll be using this calendar from Writing.com as a starting point, as I’ve used it in the past, but adding a few of my own twists and updates.
No one part of the outlining process is easier than another for me. The beginning is just as hard as t...
September 27, 2020
Preptober: Outlining A New Novel
In an earlier blog, I wrote about how NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) reignited my love of writing. That inspirational month is almost upon us again, and I’m dithering over what to write this time. I have an idea for a psychological thriller, which is outside my wheelhouse but is also a genre I enjoy reading. I also have the third WIREGIRL novel lined up. Or maybe I should try something completely different? It’s hard to decide.
Whatever I choose, I know I’m going to go into November...
September 19, 2020
Giving the Players What They Want Part 2
In my last blog, I talked about how my driving goal as a GM is giving the players what they want. When my players and I got together to figure out what we wanted to play next, I knew a little bit about the direction I thought we should go in. I had learned over the summer that my players like more combat-oriented campaigns without too much complex downtime activity. One of my players has two young children; the other has recently returned to work in a full-time, high-stress environment. They did...
September 6, 2020
TTRPG Thoughts: Giving the Players What they Want
Part One
When I first started this website, my idea was to pre-write a dozen blogs with thoughtfully selected topics and space them out perfectly to build a following. It was a great idea! What actually happened, though, was I became paralyzed by the thought of all that work and didn’t do any blogging at all. I’ve decided now to just write them as they pop into my head and not get caught up in the scheduling minutia.
Over the summer, I decided to contact a few friends I used to game with b...
September 3, 2020
How to Start Writing A Book (The Hard Way)
2016 was the hardest year of my life. Objectively, 2020 is worse (in so many horrible ways!), but it’s worse for everyone. It’s a global, impersonal worse. 2016 was very personal.
At the start of the year, I was struggling with my job. My husband was working in another city, meaning I was alone most weeks. Uncontrollable panic attacks plus insomnia left me in poor shape during the day. I started antidepressants for the first time, just in time for the Siege of Dragonspear controversy to hit m...
December 13, 2019
Book Recommendation Roundup 2019
A few years ago, I signed up for the social book-organization site Goodreads. As I thumbed through all the recommendations and optional settings, I noticed I could set myself a reading challenge for the year.
No problem. I read all the time.
I set myself a goal for 12 books. Come November, I checked my progress.
I had read three.
When did I stop being a reader? Somewhere between university and full-time work, among deadlines and amid family obligations. I still thought of myself as a reader, but...
