Author Archives: Diana Stout

About Diana Stout

Screenwriter, author, former English professor

When is a Book Ready for a Beta Reader?

Posted on June 19, 2016

I gave a presentation recently, “Self-Editing Made Easier,” to a group of writers who are at varying levels regarding their careers: some are new writers, just finishing the first draft of their first book; a few have multiple books out; … Continue reading →

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I’m not inspired to write…now, what do I do?

Posted on May 27, 2016

Because I’m on various writing forums, I hear new writers asking, How do I write when I’m not inspired? When I was a beginning writer, I wrote when inspired. At the time, I had a lot to say. My creative … Continue reading →

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Creating a Cover

Posted on March 17, 2016

For the past month, I’ve been involved with designing two books covers, or rather, I’ve had two different cover designers creating them for me.  In both instances, I had an original vision, but in one instance, I had created an … Continue reading →

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Error-Free Writing

Posted on March 9, 2016

When I made the decision to leave academic teaching and become a full-time writer, I knew the days would be long.  I had this vision that I would be writing new prose every day. Now that I’ve been at this … Continue reading →

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Part II – Genesis & Development of Grendel’s Mother

Posted on February 15, 2016

The choices I made and why. So, I had an idea for this book, Grendel’s Mother, and I had 20 or so pages written. I knew how my story started, and I knew how it would end, but I had … Continue reading →

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Grendel’s Mother: Its Genesis and Development

Posted on January 17, 2016

Part I: The Genesis There is no question about this project: it was huge. The initial idea was huge.  The fact that I wrote 20 pages that same night in an hour’s time was huge.  In fact, those pages were … Continue reading →

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