My clients have taught me a lot about writing fiction. This might be a strange admission, but it’s true. I was editing fiction for quite a while before I started writing fiction. And I learned a lot by being subjected to the awkward passages, conflicting material, inconsistencies, incorrect punctuation, shallow dialog, lack of flow and so forth that I found in some manuscripts.
Sure you can learn a lot about writing fiction by attending classes, workshops and critique groups. You can read books on the subject. You can read a lot of fiction—especially in the genre you are writing. And I recommend all of the above.
I’m just saying that, for me, editing fiction before I started writing it served to give me a leg-up in this field and I’m grateful for that.
Tomorrow I want to talk a little about my process of writing a story. It may or may not be conventional or even helpful to other authors.
In the meantime, I’m ready to launch the third in my Klepto Cat Mystery series, Sleight of Paw and I’ve written 98 pages of Book Four, Undercover Cat. The first in the series, Catnapped, will be in print very soon. My goal is to have it available for Valentine’s Day giving.
Two books from this series are available now on Kindle at Amazon.com.
I am Patricia Fry and I’m the author of the Klepto Cat Mystery series. I’m also a book editor. If you’re ready, send me your manuscript. I’ll give you a sample edit and an estimate. Turn-around time is generally within two weeks, depending on the condition of the manuscript. PLFry620@yahoo.com