Lessons Learned About Writing by Patricia A. Guthrie
Good morning and thank you for allowing me to be here. I'd like to share some of the hard-earned lessons I've discovered over many painful years of writing and discarding novels. Just ask my computer. It has to store those painful memories. After four failed attempts and two published books, "In the Arms of the Enemy" and "Waterlilies Over My Grave" I've learned many vital lessons. Probably the most important is: Research, research, research. After the first of the year and my yearly New Year's Resolutions, I decided to take my own (and others') advice and put myself to the test. I cleaned out and organized my computer. I cleaned out lots of old websites and blogspot addresses, many which no longer existed, and I waded through some of my (and others') old writing articles. I thought about the value of research and how much time it would save when we wrote our novels. So here goes: the value of researching our...