
Behind the Scenes


The Joy of Writing & Knowing When It’s Time to Quit: A December #IWSG blog
The Joy of Writing & Knowing When It’s Time to Quit: A December #IWSG blog
What makes a writer want to quit and when should they quit?
For those of us who don’t quit, why do we continue even when there’s so little income?

Failures – Part IV: 7 Lessons of Failure as a Writer
7 Lessons of Failure as a Writer
People look at me and see success. Published in multiple media, in multiple genres, with various awards. With an MFA and a Ph.D., too, but there have been many failures along the way.
I have failed so many times I’ve lost count, from beginning, middle, and end.
In the beginning, I couldn’t get anything published. I tried big publications, national publications, regional, and small publications. All submissions boomeranged back. Once in a while, I’d get a handwritten note at the bottom of the mimeographed rejection, saying, I like your voice, or Please submit to us in the future…
Behind the Scenes with Diana Stout, MFA, PhD

SHOULD’A…COULD’A…WOULD’A… What I wished I’d done differently
Today, I have a guest blogger.
Keri Kruspe, fellow writer and friend, writes this blog and shares with you her experiences as a first-time author and what she wished she had known beforehand. I wish I had known, too.
Behind the Scenes with Diana Stout, MFA, PhD

Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog for July 3, 2019
This month’s question: What personal traits have you written into your character(s)?
My response isn’t about specific traits but rather the one thing that drives the character(s), and which often says a lot about their traits.
Check out my blog here.
For more information about The Insecure Writer’s Support Group
Behind the Scenes with Diana Stout & Featured Guests
A new blog where I feature writers and others associated with the writing field. Today’s features are Diana Rubino and Rosanne Bitner, the Queen of Historical Romance.
Check it out: https://dianastout.org/
Recommended Books – are these books on your shelf?
Because I’m repeatedly asked to recommend books for writers, here is the start of my list. Some of these are older books, but they stand the test of time. I can’t get rid of them because I refer back to them from time-to-time. I use them to teach from. Plus, it would take forever to remove all the Post-Its that mark important pages!
More to be added . . .
https://sharpenedpencilsproductions.com/index.php/recommended-books/

Behind the Scenes: I’m not inspired…what do I do now?
Which comes first: the writing or the inspiration?
Are you writing a book or even a school paper and have lost your inspiration?