Writing Will Teach You—Given that I’d been writing advertising copy for years, I figured fiction wouldn’t be that great a leap. However, I decided to enroll in a fiction-writing course at the University of South Carolina to learn how to organize lies in a new medium. My teacher was author Brewster Milton Robertson, who provided terrific advice: “How do you learn to write fiction?” he asked. His answer was simple. “By writing--the writing will teach you.” And I’m convinced that he nailed it. The more I write, the more I learn.

When I took the course, I was living on Fripp Island and hoping the genius of my neighbor Pat Conroy might migrate down the block. Unfortunately, Conroy’s lyrical prose didn’t prove contagious. But Brewster’s class did two things for me. One, it forced me to quit talking about writing a book and start one. Two, it exposed me to the pleasure (and sometimes pain) of critique by fellow writers.

Though our class was small, I was astounded to find that my classmates, including a librarian, an ex-CIA operative, a vet, and an attorney, could all write with real panache. This was  disconcerting, since I’d previously entertained the notion that writing for a living would give me a leg-up on other novelist wannabes. I think the bottom line is that there are lots of terrific writers and storytellers out there and, in most cases, perseverance is what separates the published from the unpublished.

Critique Partners—Through RWA and Sisters in Crime I’ve been able to find a terrific group of critique partners. It is such a treat to trade manuscripts with people who share your love of writing and yet aren’t afraid to tell you when you’re being a windbag or boring them with all that research you worked so hard to compile. What’s more, you learn from what and how they write. So a BIG thanks to Maryanne, Robin, Ellis, Polly, Helen, Danielle, Howard, Donna and Jean!

Relative Comfort—My family, however, deserves the most kudos. My husband, Tom, an avid reader, believes in me enough to be an honest critic when he plows through my first drafts. My sister Rita, brother-in-law Hank, nieces Tammy and Brenda, nephew Jim, and cousins John and Steve have generously helped with research on plot points and settings as well as giving me first-read impressions.