Behind the Scenes

What are You Waiting For - Inspirational Quote on a Blackboard.

So much is new!

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First and foremost, to all of my followers and subscribers, THANK YOU! I’m honored that you want to follow me.

For those who aren’t, if you haven’t signed up for my newsletter, now is the time to do so!

I don’t send many newsletters out because I want your mailbox to remain happy.  The most I’ve ever sent out in a year has been 4 and that was last year’s total. The two years prior each saw 2 newsletters going out.

I’ve been so busy these past couple months that the New Year’s newsletter that I wanted to write kept getting delayed! So much has been happening!

So why sign up now? This next newsletter will include:

  • recipes
  • a book I highly recommend reading (I couldn’t put it down; there were so many twists!)
  • a tip if you’re wanting easier ways to downsize or declutter
  • a tip for writers
  • a movie recommendation
  • upcoming events
  • and of course, my newest publication news

To sign up now, click here. Exciting things are happening!

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Failures – Part IV: 7 Lessons of Failure as a Writer

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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

Keri Kruspe - what should I do list png

SHOULD’A…COULD’A…WOULD’A… What I wished I’d done differently

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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 Writers Support Group Badge

Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog for July 3, 2019

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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

 

Recommended Books – are these books on your shelf?

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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/