Monday, January 13, 2020

Who Taught You To Write Your Novel

I think this is really an important question to ask writers. Who taught you? Where did you get that information from? This is not meant to be a challenge, but one that should cause you to stop and think a bit. This is also one of those ideas leading one of my goals here at Greyhaus - education!

There are certainly a lot of "resources" out there today about writing. But, it is important to remember that not all of those "resources" are going to help you. The source of that information is also very crucial to look at before you start following that guidance. In many ways, what I am talking about here is the same thing we are all talking about with the spread of misinformation on social media.

What I see a lot of authors do is really the wrong approach. They do a quick search of the Internet, find the one that sort of says what they wanted, and follow that lead and take that advice. BAD CALL! When I teach research writing, I bring up the same thing. Just because that link you followed has the evidence "you needed" at that time, DOES NOT mean that information is accurate, correct or going help. Always look at the source.

I have seen workshops taught be people who are "great speakers" and over the years, have become "specialist" on the subject. However, if you look at what that person has done, in the real world, it is far from being a specialist in the field.

What about your critique partners. You handed your manuscript to that person and they gave you feedback. Are they knowledgeable enough to help, or do we have the blind leading the blind.

Along the same lines, if you are "self-taught" are you guiding yourself in the right direction, or is this just a guessing game until something sticks.

This is one of those reasons why I always tell authors to join those national organizations in their individual genre. You will have resources there, and, in all likelihood, professional and established authors who should be there to provide some guidance.

So, before you sign up for that next workshop, follow someone's blog, check to see if they are the experts.

FINAL NOTE: This is part of the reason why I stick to romance and women's fiction and not venture into other genres. Those other areas ARE NOT my specialty and I am certainly not going to guide authors in an area I do not know.,

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