Scott's career began at the Kansas City Star, for a time veering into military service in Korea, Washington, D.C., and Vietnam.  He is a product of the William Allen White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas and the Center for Coordination of Ancient and Modern Studies at the University of Michigan. He spent the bulk of his career as a newspaper reporter and editor. His first novel, A Corporal No More, is based on the experiences and sufferings of his great-grandfather during the Civil War.