Scott A. Johnson's Blog

Last week, we talked about how to handle rejection. This week, we'll talk about your response to something far more insidious, and possibly far more psychologically damaging: criticism. When you write, it's easy to lose objectivity on a story. I mean, for heaven's sake, you know what you're trying to say, and what comes out through your fingers may be brilliant to your mind, but it may not

The dream of being a writer is wonderful. In theory, you write a book, send it off to either a publisher or agent, and they give you a suitcase full of money and you live happily ever after. However, that's not the reality. In reality, you spend months writing your book, send it off, and odds are more likely you'll be told "no." Worse, much of the time you'll be told "no" with a form-letter

One of the most common things I hear from people who glamorize the writing lifestyle (oh, yes... It's sooooooooooo glamorous) is "I just don't have time to write" followed by "Where do you come up with all those ideas?" The second one is a whole barrel of monkeys that I'll dive into on another day. But the first one, I have lots of advice for. And, should you find yourself pondering the

Today, in Part IV of our series about how to be a writer, we're going to discuss one of the most hated aspects of being a creative of any type: The day job. I know, we've all been fed the image of the professional writer who flies off to make movies of his work and has a huge mansion and a private plane and gobs of money that would make Scrooge McDuck envious, but that's now how it actually

This is a very sensitive subject, and one that is very close to my heart. I talk about mental health and physical well-being all of the time, but I think there are aspects of being this weird "writer" creature that many people do not take into account. Someone has to talk about it, so it may as well be your old Uncle Scott. First thing's first: This whole "writing" thing? It's hard. Really

Last time, in part one of our multi-part series, I talked about the basic tools that you need to be a writer. This time, I'm going to talk about where you write. Keep in mind, there is no right answer for this. There is what works for you. I'm going to be talking about what works for me, sharing a few glimpses into my writer's lifestyle, and what works for a few of my contemporaries (with their

As writers, we spend a lot of time dealing with mechanics. Punctuation, grammar, spelling, storytelling, plot, etc. We spend so much time learning the craft of being a writer, but no one ever really tells us how to be a writer. I get it, sure, if you don't have the tools, you're not going to get very far. But let's say, just for the sake of argument, that you've finished your MFA, you have a head

Hey, everybody! Remember me? I'm back! For the past ten or so years, I've been teaching in Seton Hill University's MFA in Writing Popular Fiction program. What that means is that I actually teach in a college masters program that's dedicated to horror, sci-fi, romance, mystery, etc. etc. etc. Such things exist. This semester, my RIG (Readings in the Genre... Keep up) class focuses on monsters.

Last year, I enrolled in an MFA program in Publishing and Writing Popular Fiction through Emerson University in Boston. My first two semesters (summer) went exactly as I thought they would. Literature courses, things of interest, and processes that would turn me into a more well-rounded writer. I went into the program without illusions and without thinking I'd be the most published person they'd seen (hear me roar). Rather, I went into it trying to find out where I was weak, where I could imp...

At each Seton Hill Writing Popular Fiction MFA residency I attend, opening night is punctuated with a question that is designed to foster discussion throughout the week. We're supposed to use these questions if we finish our critique sessions and discover that we have time left over. It happens. The question at this residency was especially poignant, so I figured I'd discuss it here too. Quite simply:

How do you continue to grow as a writer?

The question, while directed at the students, is appr...