Comments on: The Secret to Expertise http://cvillewords.com/2007/05/18/the-secret-to-expertise/ Reading and writing in the heart of Virginia Mon, 09 Jan 2012 01:34:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Catherine http://cvillewords.com/2007/05/18/the-secret-to-expertise/#comment-2699 Fri, 18 May 2007 18:56:01 +0000 http://cvillewords.wordpress.com/2007/05/18/the-secret-to-expertise/#comment-2699 I’ve been making up stories in my head all my life, so I guess I’m an expert story-maker-upper even if I’m not yet an expert writer.

]]> By: Elizabeth http://cvillewords.com/2007/05/18/the-secret-to-expertise/#comment-2692 Fri, 18 May 2007 17:53:35 +0000 http://cvillewords.wordpress.com/2007/05/18/the-secret-to-expertise/#comment-2692 I’ve heard that that’s more important when selling nonfiction than when you’re selling fiction. In fiction, you hope that just being an expert writer is enough!

And sometimes it works in reverse — after the murders at Va Tech, for instance, Lionel Shriver was asked to write op-eds about the shootings, because she had written a novel about a school shooter. Apparently this made her an expert on the topic.

But, yes, you are an expert in romance, in friendship, in love, in loss, by virtue of being alive and *paying attention.* Don’t discount that.

]]> By: Sarabeth http://cvillewords.com/2007/05/18/the-secret-to-expertise/#comment-2689 Fri, 18 May 2007 16:22:51 +0000 http://cvillewords.wordpress.com/2007/05/18/the-secret-to-expertise/#comment-2689 Being an expert is one of the self-promotion aspects of writing that plague me. Let’s say I finish the novel and polish it to a gleam. Then I must send query letters to agents promoting myself and my work.

What have I done except use my imagination, life experience, and friendships to craft a story? As I’m writing a romance, do I say, “I’m an expert in romance because I’ve had a few of my own. I know the roller coaster ride of love.”

An expert? In love? In romance? Ack! It all makes me want to stop writing instantly. But, I won’t.

]]> By: John Wesley http://cvillewords.com/2007/05/18/the-secret-to-expertise/#comment-2685 Fri, 18 May 2007 13:57:54 +0000 http://cvillewords.wordpress.com/2007/05/18/the-secret-to-expertise/#comment-2685 Nice post and thanks for linking back. It’s great to find a C-ville blogger! I graduated from UVA last May.

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