Ask the Author: Pat Bertram
Answered Questions (4)
Pat Bertram
I don't really have much advice for aspiring writers because all it takes to be a writer is to write. If someone wants to be a good writer, however, my advice is to read, both the books in your genre and books about writing/editing. Reading gives you a sense of the flow of words, a feel for story, and knowledge of what's out there. (So often, new writers come up with what they think is an innovative idea but is actually similar to a thousand other stories. If they read, they would know how trite their plot line is and would then be able to figure out how to twist their story to make it irresistible.)
Pat Bertram
I don't. I simply don't write. I'm not one of those writers who believes that a writer writes always. To me, living is important. Personal growth is important. All that adds to the work when I get around to writing.
Pat Bertram
I am currently working on a decade-old manuscript. It's a tongue-in-cheek story about the end of the world as we know it, and for many years I'd lost whatever cheekiness I had, but I hope to finish it this winter.
Pat Bertram
My dance class went to see Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, a glorious and gloriously funny all male ballet troupe. At lunch before the show, someone mentioned that I was a writer, and another woman suggested I write a book about our class of older women and even volunteered to be the victim. And so Madame ZeeZee's Nightmare came into existence. It was the easiest book for me to write because if I needed inspiration, I just needed to go to class and pay attention to the undercurrents. Later, I'd fit those currents into the story.
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