Daughter Am I Blog Tour 2009 – With Guest Pat Bertram
(What Kind Of) Writer Am I
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I am thrilled to be featuring my first ever guest blogger, Pat Bertram, author of three novels published with Second Wind Publishing LLC.
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This is an especially exciting event for me for a few reasons; one being that Halloween is only a few days away and I love Halloween. Okay, so blogging isn’t exactly the stuff witches, ghosts, goblins, and all manner of things that say “boo” are made of. Well, unless your guest blogger happens to be the likes of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, or Jeremy Shipp, that is. But blogging is fun and so is dressing up in a tacky costume and frightening little kids before bribing them with handfuls of candy so they hopefully won’t t-p my house a few years down the road. I’m not all that scary myself, but the assortment of screaming rocks, cackling witches, gravestones, and various dead creatures decorating my house are.
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At first glance Pat’s new book Daughter Am I may not seem the stuff of Halloween. But when a young woman (Mary Stuart) finds herself on the move investigating her great-grandfather’s deadly secret with the help a group of former gangsters, and a killer on the trail anxious to dig up that same secret, things certainly could get a bit dicey. A little murder, a little mystery … what more could you ask for in a book to read around Halloween?
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Another reason this is exciting for me is that my first guest blogger happens to be Pat Bertram, who also happens to be my first online writing friend and mentor. Pat has been an unending source of wisdom, support, and encouragement for me and many other writers who have met her. And, best of all, she hasn’t complained about any of my silly questions. Not to me anyway.
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I hope you’ll enjoy Pat’s blog post as much as I did. And don’t hesitate to visit Second Wind Publishing where you’ll find Pat Bertram’s newest novel Daughter Am I available both in print and ebook format.
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Pat Bertram
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National Novel Writing Month is coming up in November, and I am half in awe and half befuddled by those who enter. The writing of a novel takes me a year, and some of the research I’ve done has taken longer than that. But then, I am not an intuitive writer. I have to drag each word out of hiding and find its place in the puzzle that is a novel. I suppose two types could write 50,000 words in a month — the intuitive writers who spew out words, and the logical writers who have the whole thing outlined before they begin. Me? I fall somewhere in the middle. I so hate tossing aside my hard work that I habitually rework my writing as I write. (Though I have rewritten one of my novels four times, and deleted 25,000 words from another.)
I write slowly. Although Daughter Am I came easily to me, I still only wrote an average of 300 words a day. Not that the number of words matters to me, it doesn’t. The only reason I mention it is to let new writers know there are all kinds of writers. Some let the words gush out and try to type fast enough to catch them all. Some, like me, have to pull each word, kicking and screaming, into the world. Some have a compulsion to write; others make a conscious choice. How you write, how often, how many words you write per day are all unimportant, unless, of course, you are a writer under contract. But if you are a writer under contract, you would be writing, not reading this blog.
In the end, the only thing that counts is the finished story. The story doesn’t care how long it took you to write it. It doesn’t care if you wrote it in a month or in a decade. It doesn’t care if you bled words onto the paper or created it slowly, one puzzle piece at a time. A finished story exists complete and entire of itself, separate from the author and the author’s work habits.
Sometimes we wonder how our favorite authors write, but mostly we devour (or savor) their works, wanting only to immerse ourselves in the story. If it moves us to tears, makes us laugh or shiver, that’s what we care about, not how long it took for the author to create the effect. Being writers, of course, we might go back later and see how it was done, but at the time, all we are interested in is the story.
So, here’s the truth. You can call yourself a writer or not. You can write 50,000 words in a month or not. You can write every day or not. The only thing that counts is the story.
That’s what we are all aiming for.
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Pat Bertram is a native of Colorado and a lifelong resident. When the traditional publishers stopped publishing her favorite type of book — character and story driven novels that can’t easily be slotted into a genre — she decided to write her own. Daughter Am I is Bertram’s third novel to be published by Second Wind Publishing, LLC. Also available are More Deaths Than One and A Spark of Heavenly Fire.
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I’m pleased to be here, Lori. We’ve both come a long way in a short time! One of these days soon, when Second Wind releases their Mystery in the Wind anthology, you will have your first writing credit. Way cool!
None of your questions have ever been silly, and I have appreciated the way you step up and suggest topics for my various writing groups. It’s nice not having to beg.
I better get busy and start posting the link to this article so that people will stop by. I’ll check back later!
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Pat,
I’m happy to have you here, and to help you in return in any way I can.
I’m looking forward to the anthology being released and finally breaking out of the online ezine publications into my first actual hard printed credit.
Don’t get me wrong, being published on ezines online can take just as much effort and is just as fun. But, there is just something about the smell of a physical book in your hands. Sniffing a computer just isn’t the same.
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Pat, I learn more about you and the way you craft your novels with each informational post you offer. It has been a pleasure following you on your blog tour for your latest release. I wish you and DAUGHTER AM I the very best!
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L.V.–I’m also looking forward to seeing your short story in print. I absolutely loved your “Falling” story and found it to be one my favorite of the contest entries. “Mystery in the Wind” is going to be an excellent anthology–primarily because “Falling” will be included.
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Deborah,
Thank you so much for that. Funny that “Falling” was actually my second choice to submit.
I’m sure the anthology will be great, and not just because of my story. There will be a lot of great stories included.
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[…] Pat’s talking about what kind of writer she is. She’s got some thoughts on that thing called NaNo — National Novel Writing Month. As always, interesting stuff. […]
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Hey-ya, Pat. I won NaNo in 2003 but not 2005 — mostly because I didn’t like what I was writing. I guess I can’t write that many words in the rush that’s NaNo.
Mostly, though, I’m dropping in to let you know I’ve got this posted at Win a Book. I hope it brings you guys some new friends!
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I suddenly keep hearing about this NaNoWriMo all over the place. I’ve never heard of it before, but it sounds like fun.
Nothing like putting the screws to yourself to produce, lol. Maybe some day I can give it a try, when I have less demands on my time. It’s amazing how many time demands two small bodies (kids) can create.
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[…] Hmmm. Do I tell you, or do I have you go read the article to find out for yourself? I have an idea — let’s play a game. You tell me here what you think matters, then go to L.v.’s blog and find out what I think: (What Kind of) Writer Am I. […]
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Deborah and Susan, I am delighted you stopped by! Susan, I am so amazed at anyone who can find 50,000 words in a month.
L.V. — I think that’s the point of NaNoWriMo to put the screws to you to produce. This tour is my PerBloWriMo — Personal Blog Writing Month. Like NaNoWriMo, the challenge is to keep going, in my case, to write two two bloggeries every day (one for my host, one to promote my host). I bet you do great when you finally have a chance to participate in NaNo.
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I could use a little thumbscrews torture to get the productivity up – if only I could put the screws to time too. Ah, a few more years and instead of my constant undivided attention my kids will get into the phase of wanting me as far away as possible. Then NaNoWriMo here I come!
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Love how you stress that it’s the story above all else that’s important. A writer has to know her own process, and it’s always fun to learn how others work. But if you can’t engage the reader with a ripping good yarn, all of the process in the world amounts to very little. Congratulations on DAUGHTER AM I!
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Pat, I’ve done NaNoWriMo since 2006. While I didn’t officially make the 50,000 words it was a great motivational prod for me. Someone commented it’s a lot like downhill skiing — take a deep breath, push off and be prepared for the run of your life with no time to do anything but dodge the trees!
The quality of writing is less than great because there’s simply no time to stop and ponder the best way to say things, but the point is to get the basic story out of my head and onto the page. It’s an extremely rough first draft that I know will need lots of revision and that part may well take me a year to accomplish. As you’ve suggested, NaNo-ing won’t work for people who need the words to fit well before proceeding to the next paragraph or chapter, but for those of us who are pantsers or are planners who have done some preliminary homework, it works surprisingly well.
Thanks for giving us a well expressed non-NaNo-er’s view of our November madness.
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Well said, Pat. The story’s the thing. Were I to write 50,000 words in one month, it would probably take me 20 years to edit it! I like the way that you polish as you go, and do so without losing the inspiration or the story line. Your blog tour is a wonderful way for you to share all that you have to contribute to the writing community.
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Excellent blog. I’m so happy I stopped by. Kudos to you, Pat. Congratulations on Daughter Am I.
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Lauren, I always enjoy finding out how other authors work. It’s amazing to me that there are as many different ways of writing as there are writers. We all have our own little quirks.
Carol, this blog tour is sort of like my own private NaNoWriMo. I’m passed the excitement of the first few days, now I’m in the put my head down, walk into the wind, and get the job done as best as I can. That in itself can be fun.
John, I am thrilled you stopped by! I always enjoy your comments, and I’ve appreciated your support during this tour.
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The reader doesn’t know about 300 words a day or 3,000 words a day. All they know is what they see, and what it brings them to imagine.
I hope a lot of folks pick up “Daughter Am I” and imagine themselves in a car filled with former gangsters.
Malcolm
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Guess I side with John. Putting out 50,000 words in a month would be an editing / re-write nightmare & like Pat says – in the end it’s the finished work that counts.
LV – Halloween is THE BEST. Working out of town but going home to my haunted hometown this weekend – so I can steal candy from lil kids. Have an author friend (writes horror – lives in Maine – near S King) takes Halloween week off for vacation every year – He’s in Salem, Mass as I type this.
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Dave, what better place could there be to be in at Halloween, other than a place where a book like Salem’s Lot is based on.
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Very nice post, Pat.
I always find it fascinating learning how other writers write. It seems individual writing habits can vary almost as much as the writing itself.
But I thought we’d concluded that stories are never actually “finished”? 😉
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Pat,
I too agree that it is fascinating to learn how writers work and all the “little quirks” involved. Your initial post called to mind the dangers of one writer attempting to copy the process of another because of admiration for the latter’s work. Every writer has to find his or her own method, and if someone tries to write on the schedule or with the implement of a hero or even a colleague, do you think they might lose the ability to simply tell their own story?
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Too true. The story’s the thing. I write a lot some days and very little others, so it’s kind of comforting to know that a writer I admire doesn’t adhere to the “do N words per day or else” type of rule. Thanks Pat.
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PG, the best thing about being published is that . . . yes! . . . the book is finished! Well, with the new digital printing rather than offset printing, the book can be changed fairly cheaply so updates can be made, but I prefer to think it is F. I. N. I. S. H. E. D. Finsihed!
Dave, My other problem with NaNo is — does the world really need all those books-in-a-month? There are over 500,000 published every year. If you call out your name in that forest of books, is anyone there to hear? Still, it’s probably better for people than spending the same amount of time watching crappy television and eating crappy food.
Lauren, a lot of writers won’t read books in their genre while writing for fear of copying another’s style, but for the most part, I don’t think you’d lose the ability to tell your own story. It’s important to have your own vision, of course, but you can use any means necessary to implement that vision.
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Thanks, Pat. I really enjoyed all of your comments and those of your readers these past few days!
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[…] : "http%3A%2F%2Flvgwriting.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F21%2Fguest-blogging%2F" } In October I hosted my friend Pat Bertram on my blog to help her promote her new book Daughter Am […]
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Helpful piece of writing. Thanks for sharing
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Thank you.
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