The Department of Lost & Found by Allison Winn Scotch

Prior to this book, I’ve literally never plotted a second in my life. I’m about to start a new book, and for the first time, I think I’m going to put pen to paper and at the very least, plot out the very, very loose character arcs for the first 100 pages. Where do you fall? What’s your writing process like? (It obviously works really well for you!)ĪWS: I am a total pantser, or, I should say, I’ve always been a total pantser. A few focused hours with the kids can make a lot of the day-to-day crap go a lot easier.ĪSN: We’ve talked a lot on the blog about plotting vs. It’s often when I step away from work (which sounds almost counterintuitive) that I feel like I’m finding my best mental balance. Instead (and I realize this sounds hokey, but it’s true), I truly try to focus on my kids, on how much I enjoy them and spending time with them, and how fortunate I am for my family life.

There are always complications, even if they’re different complications than you first envisioned, and I tend to take these stumbling blocks or annoyances with very large grains of salt. That’s one thing that you realize down the road of publication: that it doesn’t necessarily get easier. I place a lot of value in it, yes, definitely, and it provides me tremendous satisfaction – but it also gives me plenty of headaches. I also feel – and this is something that has just come over time – that my career isn’t everything.

I find that if I compartmentalize and use that list – say, take care of my administrative items first thing, then move on to updating blog entries (I write a few weeks of entries at a time), and then focus on fiction – that my day moves along pretty seamlessly and relatively unharried. I am very well-organized and have a hefty to-do list that I stick to religiously.

How do you do it? We really want to know!ĪWS: Well, first of all, thank you! I think that any working mom knows that balance is actually a carefully coordinated game plan, and my life is no different. You are very down-to-earth and seem to strike a balance with it all. Please welcome Allison Winn Scotch to Women’s Fiction Writers! Interview with Women’s Fiction Author Allison Winn ScotchĪSN: You’re a NY Times best-selling author, journalist, blogger and mom - and probably a million other things. To me, that’s a good combo to try to emulate. I’ve watched Allison with admiration because while her career has catapulted, it seems to me, her feet have remained on the ground. I started reading Allison Winn Scotch’s blog when her first book - The Department of Lost and Found - was released the first time! Hers was one of the first books I read where I felt I “knew” the author - the first time it gave me a glimpse into what it was like to be in a community of writers, even if that community was online.

The Department of Lost & Found by Allison Winn Scotch