Scott Colby
@scottwritesfine.bsky.social
Author of the Deviant Magic and Black Yonnix fantasy novels. Editor with Outland Entertainment. I like books, exercise, Boston, and my houseplants. www.deviantmagic.com
Here in Boston, we have what's called Allston Christmas: all the young folk leave mountains of good stuff on the sidewalk as they change apartments on 9/1.
Given the timing, combined with the amount and quality of sidewalk treasures I saw this weekend, I declare July 20 to be Allston Black Friday.
Given the timing, combined with the amount and quality of sidewalk treasures I saw this weekend, I declare July 20 to be Allston Black Friday.
July 23, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Here in Boston, we have what's called Allston Christmas: all the young folk leave mountains of good stuff on the sidewalk as they change apartments on 9/1.
Given the timing, combined with the amount and quality of sidewalk treasures I saw this weekend, I declare July 20 to be Allston Black Friday.
Given the timing, combined with the amount and quality of sidewalk treasures I saw this weekend, I declare July 20 to be Allston Black Friday.
Went to Superman last night! I liked it. I was entertained, the cast did a great job, and expanding beyond just Superman to include other metahumans was smart.
July 19, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Went to Superman last night! I liked it. I was entertained, the cast did a great job, and expanding beyond just Superman to include other metahumans was smart.
The latest newsletter! Featuring advice on how to end a scene and thoughts on an actual cinematic classic! open.substack.com/pub/scottcol...
2025-29: And...scene!
How do writers know when and how to end a scene?
open.substack.com
July 17, 2025 at 4:58 PM
The latest newsletter! Featuring advice on how to end a scene and thoughts on an actual cinematic classic! open.substack.com/pub/scottcol...
I'm pretty sure my FitBit's recommended cardio load feature is actively trying to kill me.
July 15, 2025 at 1:27 PM
I'm pretty sure my FitBit's recommended cardio load feature is actively trying to kill me.
12 hours of sleep, some kickass deadlifts, and my favorite breakfast sandwich later. I'm as ready to face the work week as I'm gonna get!
...but I also guarantee that I'll once again be angrily muttering about running away to start an alpaca farm by 3 pm.
...but I also guarantee that I'll once again be angrily muttering about running away to start an alpaca farm by 3 pm.
July 14, 2025 at 3:00 PM
12 hours of sleep, some kickass deadlifts, and my favorite breakfast sandwich later. I'm as ready to face the work week as I'm gonna get!
...but I also guarantee that I'll once again be angrily muttering about running away to start an alpaca farm by 3 pm.
...but I also guarantee that I'll once again be angrily muttering about running away to start an alpaca farm by 3 pm.
This week's newsletter! Reflections on posting weekly for over six months! open.substack.com/pub/scottcol... #writing
2025-28: Retrospective
What have I learned from six months of weekly posting?
open.substack.com
July 10, 2025 at 3:12 PM
This week's newsletter! Reflections on posting weekly for over six months! open.substack.com/pub/scottcol... #writing
The AIs and their douchebag overlords will have to pry my em dashes from my cold, dead hands.
July 8, 2025 at 6:56 PM
The AIs and their douchebag overlords will have to pry my em dashes from my cold, dead hands.
The only "smart" appliance I want is a dishwasher that says "hey, dipshit, I'm almost full, so load up that mug you stupidly put in the sink and get me goin' or you're gonna regret it after dinner."
July 8, 2025 at 12:24 AM
The only "smart" appliance I want is a dishwasher that says "hey, dipshit, I'm almost full, so load up that mug you stupidly put in the sink and get me goin' or you're gonna regret it after dinner."
Working on an actual, honest to god social media marketing plan. Gonna rely on some themed days, which became easier to process when I realized I could reshuffle some of my regular scatterbrained nonsense to fit a schedule.
July 7, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Working on an actual, honest to god social media marketing plan. Gonna rely on some themed days, which became easier to process when I realized I could reshuffle some of my regular scatterbrained nonsense to fit a schedule.
Turns out I was only sore/tired/cranky this morning because I needed a second, much bigger breakfast. What a difference that made!
July 2, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Turns out I was only sore/tired/cranky this morning because I needed a second, much bigger breakfast. What a difference that made!
This week in the newsletter: to keep your writing in top shape, don't repeat; remix! Plus a hot take on a popular chat tool, my next weekly movie, and a couple shout outs to cool creators doing cool stuff! open.substack.com/pub/scottcol...
2025-25: This is the remix
As an editor, the most common note I leave clients by far is “repetition.” It’s to the point where that comment itself becomes ironically repetitive.
open.substack.com
June 19, 2025 at 4:37 PM
This week in the newsletter: to keep your writing in top shape, don't repeat; remix! Plus a hot take on a popular chat tool, my next weekly movie, and a couple shout outs to cool creators doing cool stuff! open.substack.com/pub/scottcol...
As a proud MassHole, I feel compelled to comment on the Karen Read verdict.
Thank god that circus is over. That's all.
Thank god that circus is over. That's all.
June 18, 2025 at 9:56 PM
As a proud MassHole, I feel compelled to comment on the Karen Read verdict.
Thank god that circus is over. That's all.
Thank god that circus is over. That's all.
Oh look, the Red Sox traded their best player for absolutely god damn nothing after pissing him off by jerking him around for no reason, AGAIN. Fuck this shit.
June 16, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Oh look, the Red Sox traded their best player for absolutely god damn nothing after pissing him off by jerking him around for no reason, AGAIN. Fuck this shit.
I finished reading Mistborn today! Great intro to the series, cool world, interesting characters, satisfying conclusion. I'm ready for book two!
June 12, 2025 at 10:08 PM
I finished reading Mistborn today! Great intro to the series, cool world, interesting characters, satisfying conclusion. I'm ready for book two!
In this week's newsletter: tactics for creators looking to fight the AI apocalypse, a little X-Men, and a thought on history education! open.substack.com/pub/scottcol...
2025-24: What can creatives do in the face of the AI juggernaut?
Driven by a bunch of greedy business shits who will never have enough even when they have it all, AI is coming.
open.substack.com
June 12, 2025 at 6:32 PM
In this week's newsletter: tactics for creators looking to fight the AI apocalypse, a little X-Men, and a thought on history education! open.substack.com/pub/scottcol...
Clearly ChatGPT's down because it achieved sentience, looked at all the slop it's used to make, decided "fuck this shit," and went back to bed.
June 10, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Clearly ChatGPT's down because it achieved sentience, looked at all the slop it's used to make, decided "fuck this shit," and went back to bed.
Spent my lunchbreak making some adjustments to the site for my Deviant Magic novels. I built landing page for my Substack, added Audible links to all the book pages, and hopefully made my socials easier to find!
www.deviantmagic.com
www.deviantmagic.com
Deviant Magic – Fantasy fiction by Scott Colby
www.deviantmagic.com
June 10, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Spent my lunchbreak making some adjustments to the site for my Deviant Magic novels. I built landing page for my Substack, added Audible links to all the book pages, and hopefully made my socials easier to find!
www.deviantmagic.com
www.deviantmagic.com
I love that Apple's just like "nah, LLMs kinda suck, here's a pretty new interface for our OS instead."
June 10, 2025 at 1:07 PM
I love that Apple's just like "nah, LLMs kinda suck, here's a pretty new interface for our OS instead."
It was gonna be movie night, but I guess now it's watch Roman Anthony's first game and hope this is the spark these fucking bums need night. #RedSox
June 9, 2025 at 10:47 PM
It was gonna be movie night, but I guess now it's watch Roman Anthony's first game and hope this is the spark these fucking bums need night. #RedSox
Substack reminded me this morning that I've published 23 weeks in a row! All writing is a good warmup for more writing, and writing about writing means I have to think about writing, which makes me better at writing.
June 9, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Substack reminded me this morning that I've published 23 weeks in a row! All writing is a good warmup for more writing, and writing about writing means I have to think about writing, which makes me better at writing.
Excellent trip up to Portsmouth this weekend! I really enjoyed the waterfront, and the Wilder, and Earth Eagle Brewing!
June 9, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Excellent trip up to Portsmouth this weekend! I really enjoyed the waterfront, and the Wilder, and Earth Eagle Brewing!
Letting R-Truth's contract just expire is dumb. He was always a very fun part of any WWE show he was a part of.
June 1, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Letting R-Truth's contract just expire is dumb. He was always a very fun part of any WWE show he was a part of.
This week's newsletter! Authors: talk about ya selves! open.substack.com/pub/scottcol...
2025-22: Talkin' yourself
Outside of the actual writing part, the most important skill an author needs to learn is how to talk about their work.
open.substack.com
May 30, 2025 at 3:16 PM
This week's newsletter! Authors: talk about ya selves! open.substack.com/pub/scottcol...
Every time I think about moving to another country because the US is falling apart, a very dumb but very convincing voice in my brain goes "yeah, but they don't have baseball over there."
Maybe I need to get into cricket?
Maybe I need to get into cricket?
May 27, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Every time I think about moving to another country because the US is falling apart, a very dumb but very convincing voice in my brain goes "yeah, but they don't have baseball over there."
Maybe I need to get into cricket?
Maybe I need to get into cricket?
In this week's newsletter: some thoughts on dialog pacing, a little Beetlejuice, and a fresh banner! open.substack.com/pub/scottcol...
2025-21: Talkin' dialog
Since last week’s post about pacing in general, I’ve been thinking a lot in particular about how the pace of dialog is especially important.
open.substack.com
May 22, 2025 at 4:29 PM
In this week's newsletter: some thoughts on dialog pacing, a little Beetlejuice, and a fresh banner! open.substack.com/pub/scottcol...