Award-winning playwright and author Dee Dee M. Scott, is also a screenwriter, publisher, producer and director. She is the author of the bestselling book, “My Husband’s Woman,” which she later adapted to the stage. A full list of her books can be found here.
Have you always written?
Yes. I began writing at the age of six. It came naturally to me. I actually started out writing songs. After that, I began writing poetry. In my late twenties, I wrote my first manuscript, “My Husband’s Woman,” which went on to become a bestseller. To this day, my readers still call it a classic.
What’s your process in developing your storyline and characters?
All of my stories play out first in my head. I ponder on the stories sometimes for weeks or even months before I write about them. Therefore, I really understand the story and the characters inside and out. When I write the stories, everything flows due to that.
What challenges do you face in your writing, and how do you overcome them?
Currently, the challenges I face involve making the time to write the new stories. I wrote a lot of my books years ago. Now, I have new stories. I stay consistent. I write every day. I get up earlier or go to bed later, but I always write at least a chapter or two daily.
What differences and similarities do you see in writing fiction and writing screenplays?
When writing fiction, I am able to describe more. I can go into the character’s feelings and describe what made them feel the way they do, or caused them to become the character that they are. When writing a screenplay, everything has to be visual. I have to write in a way that will keep the viewers connected to the story on the screen. The similarities are that I can still convey the emotions of my characters whether I do it visually, or between the pages of a book.
Do you have a preference between the two?
No, I love the both of them. I love writing books, and being able to go into the extra details about the characters. I enjoy writing screenplays because I enjoy writing visually as well.
You’ve also co-written with others. What’s this experience like?
I just completed writing a book, “When Nobody Loves You Back,” with the author Razor. He wrote from the male perspective and I wrote from the female point of view. Our story flowed and connected. The experience was excellent!
What has the road to publication been like for you?
The road was not easy. In fact, I had to publish my work on my own. I am grateful because I learned so much over the years and now have knowledge in the field that I may have not received if I had not done it on my own.
How do you market your work?
I market in a variety of ways. When I first started marketing my first book, “My Husband’s Woman,” I was told that self-published books sell one copy per year if the author is lucky. By the grace of God, “My Husband’s Woman” and many of my books went on to become Amazon bestsellers, and my street team has sold my titles very well.
Who are the writers that have inspired you most, and how have they inspired you?
There are so many. Even though I am a fiction writer, I love nonfiction and poetry. I would have to say Langston Hughes. His poetry books were the first books I read, and they really taught me how to be expressive and colorful with my writing.
If you could keep just three books in your library, which would you choose and why?
The Bible, because God is always first and without Him I am nothing. My dictionary because I love searching for new words and my thesaurus because I find words that helps make my writing more vivid.
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