Tag Archives: Diana Stout

4 Reasons Why I Participate in NaNoWriMo

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

The November 1 question: November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not?

4 Reasons Why I Participate in NaNoWriMo

I’ve been a participant in November’s National Novel Writing Month since 2013, although not in 2014. All total, I have participated for nine years, ten if we add next month’s event.

During eight of those years, I worked on writing and then later editing my Laurel Ridge romance series of seven stories. It was during 2016’s NaNoWriMo, after the spring publication of the first story, that I discovered I had a timeline nightmare with the other six stories. I spent the rest of 2016 and a good part of 2017 mapping out the remaining six stories.

Once I had the timeline properly mapped out, I spent 2017-2022 writing first drafts and then editing them, publishing #2, #3, and #4 in 2022, and #5, #6, and #7 earlier this year. All were first published as eBooks, and just last month, I published the bundled eBook version and print book.

During that five-year period, I published six additional books consisting of a cookbook, two screenplays, a nonfiction how-to book, and reprinted two romances. I was editing the novellas in between these other books.

Besides the November event, I attended Camp NaNoWriMo in April and July 2022.

I participate every year and am adding other monthly camps because:
It creates accountability.
I write faster with a goal and deadlines.
I get to buddy up with other writers.
I like to look back over past years’ goals that are now published.

Since 2013, this will be the first time I won’t be working on a romance. This time I’m working on a how-to plotting book/workbook for writers. For now, the title is a secret; I don’t want to give too much away. Not yet.

My goal is to finish the book this year, hopefully publishing it this year. Even though it’s not a big book, I’m hoping it’ll make a big impact and be helpful to writers who struggle with sagging middles and who’d like to write faster.

By the time you read this, November’s NaNoWriMo will have started. I can’t wait.

Are you joining us this year? Want to become a buddy with me? I’m listed by my name.

*****

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writers. This group is all about connecting!

How to Stay Positive

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The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Instead of answering this month’s question, which is an AI question, I queried a writer friend and asked, What would you most like to read about in a blog right now? Her response was, “Staying Positive.”

How to Stay Positive

As writers, when the world’s toxicity seeps into our homes, our thoughts, and feelings, writing can become more difficult. It’s harder to concentrate, to focus.

So, what can you do to stay more positive?

Take a shower. Let the toxicity go down the drain!
Create a playlist that lifts your spirits and matches the mood of your current work in progress and play it when writing.
Take a walk in nature. Listen to the sounds, become one with nature.
List things you’re grateful for every day.
Start a positivity diary. List of all the good things that have ever happened in your life. Keep that list handy and keep adding to it. Refer to it as needed.
Don’t drink. Alcohol is a depressant.
Journal. Write your feelings out on paper. It’s about opening the dam of feelings and thoughts, venting on paper. Afterward, burn it, shred it, or tear into tiny pieces and flush down the toilet. Or, save it, and give those feelings to a character!
Stop worrying—99% of what we worry about never comes to pass.
When tired, take a nap or take a break.
Do something different.
Find a way to laugh. Start saving funny videos. Follow those people! Watch a comedy series or a funny movie.
Do a search for flash mob dances or orchestras on social media.
Dance! Alone for the length of a song.
Blow up an imaginary balloon, blowing your feelings, thoughts, and problems into the balloon. Then, release it to the Universe. Imagine yourself outside, seeing it rise above the houses and disappear into the clouds.
Perform some self-talk.
Plant something. Get your hands into the soil.
Go to a playground and swing or play in the sandbox.
Spend time with people who make you laugh, with whom you feel good about yourself when you leave their company.
Put positive affirmations on your bathroom mirror, at your desk, or in other places that you frequent and will see often. Change them up as needed.
Give someone a compliment.
Don’t take things personally.
Drive a new route home.
Buy yourself some flowers.
Do something differently. Drive a different route, go into an unknown store.
Eat out alone with a book. Enjoy your own company.
List goals you want to achieve. Break down a goal into manageable chunks—something you can do in 10 or 15 minutes. As you achieve them, cross them off!
Remove the triggers!

One of the best things I did to stay positive was to remove anything in my home that triggered me, immediately taking me back to a toxic event or conversation, which I started reliving, noticing my feelings and thoughts became a downward toxic spiral. Even though I had reconciled or had moved past it! Those triggers included clothing, knickknacks, furniture, and especially photographs.

Staying positive requires action on your part.

We are what we say, what we think, and what we DO!

*****

A Community of Writers

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The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Congratulations, Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh, as you celebrate IWSG’s 12^th anniversary, achieving the status as one of Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers!

The question this month asks: When did you discover the IWSG, how do you connect, and how has it helped you?

A Community of Writers

I started a writing blog on May 13, 2010. Called Only for the Brave, originally that was the name of my five-year, weekly newspaper blog-like column I wrote back in the ’70s. Only for the Brave was about life as a writer.

A few years later, I started a second blog, Behind the Scenes, with a focus on the craft of writing. Around 2019, I combined the two into this blog you’re reading now.

During that same time period, my attention was drawn to the IWSG blog as two writer friends—Nancy Gideon and Diane Burton—had posts with the IWSG insignia and linking website each month. By May 2019, I was a member and have been writing monthly IWSG blog posts ever since.

What I like most about this group is that they’re all writers. They’re my tribe of people even though we’re in different seasons of success or angst. It’s comforting knowing that I’m not alone.

The benefits of belonging to this group of writers outweigh what can be seen as a negative for some—having to write a post each month, but that requirement is a positive actually. That have-to becomes motivation; it acts as an accountability partner. Any month I don’t post, I’ll lose my spot and be removed from the list, immediately. Those at the top of the list have been blogging since the group’s inception—12 years of monthly blogs!

Joining this group of bloggers motivates me to put my butt in the chair regularly. Any help we writers can get in that regard is always a plus.

I belong to a number of different communities of writers; this is just one kind of community that can help you as a writer.

*****

Dr. Diana Stout is an award-winning writer in multiple genres and media who enjoys helping other writers. She just published the last book of her Laurel Ridge romance series, Sweet Craving #7. The print book of all seven stories will be published later this month. Also, she’s working on a plotting workbook for writers.

In January 2024, she’ll be teaching a Master Class, Punctuation and Grammar Made Easy, with limited seating, so enroll now!

To receive updates and announcements subscribe to her newsletter. Learn more about Dr. Stout at her website, Sharpened Pencils Productions.

Her other blogs are:

Into the Core – a blog about her paranormal experiences and from time to time shares how you can strengthen your intuitive abilities.
Featured Guests with Diana Stout – an interview blog that features writers, editors, publishers, producers, and other guests who work in the writing industry.

*****

How to Become Obsessed With Your WIP Again

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The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

How to Become Obsessed With Your WIP Again

(WIP = work in progress)

As a new writer, every story I started began with excitement for either the character, the plot, or both.

After a few chapters, though, the writing became a chore. Soon, writer’s block would set in. It pained me to not be working on it. Not wanting to work on it.

Sound like where you’ve been or where you are now?

Through trial and error, I discovered the secret to finding excitement again for every project should I lose interest. To finding that original fire I started with.

Now, anytime I’m struggling with any WIP, I know exactly what to do, which are two things, and they’re tied together.

Go back to the characters
Go back to the plot

Going back to the characters

The characters and I sit down for a long meeting. Sometimes these meetings take several days. I let them talk on paper, while I record what they’re saying. They can talk about anything they desire.

After a while, I’m noticing that their mood is changing. They’re remembering…events where I can see hidden emotions, so I start probing with questions like: How did you feel about that? Did you ever resolve your feeling or talk to that person later? Why not? What would they have done differently if given the opportunity? And, so forth.

Soon, they’re talking about their wounds, the hurt(s) they’ve suffered. In talking about them, we can both see how the hurt led to their beliefs, their goals, and even their choice of partners and friends. They have their aha moments in these discussions.

Which leads us to going back to plot

We become a team as we examine the plotline and how we can have them butt up against their wound several times. What events we need to include.

They want to overcome that which has been holding them back. They want to become a better person. So, they help me layer in the emotions, the plants and payoffs, and create the necessary tension that leads to page-turning stories.

As I write the story, they become actors in their own stories. Interesting scenario, right?

Of course, we’re all crossing our fingers that we’ve created a memorable story, both in my writing and their acting.

*****

As I finish writing Sweet Cravings #7 of the Laurel Ridge romance series, the last book, I find myself saddened that my adventures with these seven couples is coming to an end. They’ve become a family of friends, strongly connected for past last few years, making me laugh at their hijinks and teasing. Me wishing I could run around with them.

But now, new characters in new projects are waiting backstage, eager to make their appearance. These new characters know the drill. They know we’ll be chatting for several days first, building both their arc and the plotline before word one is written.

No more getting stuck in the middle anymore for this writer.

It’s my secret to staying obsessed with every story I write. Wanna give it a try?

*****

Dr. Diana Stout is an award-winning writer in multiple genres and media who enjoys helping other writers.

She’s teaching a Master Class, Punctuation and Grammar Made Easy, in January 2024, with limited seating. Enroll now if you’re interested!

Be sure to subscribe to her From the Desk of Diana Stout MFA PhD newsletter to receive updates and announcements on her classes and publications.

Learn more about Dr. Stout at her website, Sharpened Pencils Productions.

Follow her new Facebook account here: DrDiana Stout. (She’s the only Dr Diana in Facebook – Her Diana Stout account was hacked where she no longer has access, so you’ll want to unfollow that account.)

*****

Never Stop Writing

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The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

This month’s question is: If you ever did stop writing, what would you replace it with?

Never Stop Writing

At a recent monthly writer’s meeting, where we were going around updating members on what we were doing writing-wise, I made the announcement of:

After 53 years of writing, I have finally found my niche.

My announcement got a laugh. It was the truth, and I know others could probably relate, though I doubt any of the others were older than me or have been writing as long as I have.

I started writing when I was 19. I received my first byline when I was 25. The genres and fields of writing, most of which include more bylines and publications have been in:

Poetry
Nonfiction how-to book
How-to articles
Short stories – romances, mysteries
Erma Bombeck-like essays about life, motherhood, and marriage, which became a weekly newspaper column for five years
Children’s novel.
Romance novels
National organization in-house magazine columns
Mystery novel, series
Screenplays – I LOVE writing screenplays!
More poetry, with some education behind it
Playwriting
Flash Fiction
Literary fiction – short stories
Creative nonfiction
Academic papers – oh dear god, there were so many
Ph.D. Dissertation – nonfiction at its most boring.
Epic Fantasy novel – would be my first book published as an indie publisher
Cookbook
Anthology – both as an editor and contributor
Romance novella series
How-to resource books for writers
Psychological thrillers aka Gothic mystery

It’s this last genre where I am enraptured, enthused, impassioned, and excited beyond measure to be writing. I toyed with the genre while working on my cop suspense script and my horror script, but right now, these two projects are worlds away from what I’ve done in the past.

After 53 years of writing, I have finally found my niche. My advice for any writer is, if you love writing, don’t ever stop. You never know when you’ve finally hit your stride. The thought of replacing that writing time with something else was never appealing enough. It only made me write more.

To appear in fall 2023 in the Greater Detroit Romance Writers’ anthology:

Harbor House: Say You Will

A Historical Gothic Romance Novella

1922 – Two men want her. One she proposed to years ago; the other she’s about to marry. Both are telling lies. Both become involved when she starts to repair and restore the isolated Lake Huron Island home her lumber baron grandfather deserted when his wife died giving birth to her father, and which she wants to turn into a luxury vacation hotel. One of the two men is secretly scandalizing her family, using the home for unlawful activities. The other can save her family and reveal the crimes. During the restoration, she happens upon a mysterious locked door that puts her life in danger.

To appear in 2024:

Harbor House: Last Blood

A Gothic Psychological Paranormal Thriller

When she discovers, via a DNA test her boyfriend gifts her with, that she’s the last relative of a lumber baron who lived in northern Michigan on the shores of Lake Huron, she wants to restore the large island home to its former glory and turn it into a vacation B&B. Shortly upon her arrival, the home’s ghostly past makes itself known, putting her life in danger, forcing her to question everything, including her own sanity.

What do you think? Are you excited, too?

Author Envy?

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The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

This month’s question for March 1 is: Have you ever read a line in a novel or a clever plot twist that caused you to have author envy?

Author Envy?

I read sentences and phrases in books all the time that stop me in my tracks, where I’ll reread the sentence several times, soaking up its art and beauty, its construction and perfection. But, envy? No. Never. Admiration? Always!

An unforgettable read in January comes from Verity by Colleen Hoover. She’s describing the house and ends the paragraph, page 44 with:

Ivy covers the left side of the house, but instead of charming, it’s threatening—like a slow-moving cancer.

And then, the end of the next paragraph, same page:

My mother used to say that houses have a soul, and if that is true, the soul of Verity Crawford’s house is as dark as they come.

I was hooked by the promised creepiness of a dark ride into the terror of Gothic fiction.

My intent when writing is that I, too, can create that kind of artistic beauty for my readers, catching them unaware, anticipating the journey before them.

Currently, I’m finishing the last two novellas in my romance series of Lauren Ridge and am working on a nonfiction book that will help writers, but at the same time, I’m also plotting out a new Nicholas Sparks-like romance and two different Gothic suspense stories. I’m excited to be writing all of these stories.

That said, it’s time for me to return to my word for the year: FOCUS! Get that writing done!

*****

Purpose of The Insecure Writer’s Group: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds.

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group Day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. This group is all about connecting.

Cover Adventures: Creating Covers

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The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

This month’s question for February 1 is: If you are an Indie author, do you make your own covers or purchase them? If you publish trad, how much input do you have about what goes on your cover?

Cover Adventures: Creating Covers

My first three books were traditionally published in the 1990s with two different publishers.

While I wasn’t thrilled with the cover of my first book, The Man on the Romance Cover (’93), at least the faces matched the magazine pictures I had sent them, providing a sense of how I saw the characters.

With the second and third books, Tomorrow’s Wishes (’94) and New Beginnings (’96) published by Avalon Books, who sold books chiefly to libraries, I had no say in the covers and wasn’t consulted. I mailed them the manuscript each time, and then one day a box of books would appear on my doorstep.

When I began to write fulltime—my dream come true—and became an indie author/publisher, I already had the rights back from those first three published books, so I updated the books’ text, retitled them, and created new covers, using my artistic background and formatting education.

My designs were okay but needed something more. I found a cover designer, loving her work. She took my designs and improved them, then created Grendel’s Mother from just an idea. I provided the stock photos for my seven Laurel Ridge novella covers, along with three other books. She did a fantastic job with all the covers and was a joy to work with. She left the business upon the birth of her second child.

A designer from a writer’s group I recently joined introduced herself with a redo cover of that nonfiction Fire book—a cover that was gorgeous, but the design didn’t fit my overall series design. Quickly, through a Zoom meeting, we became friends and I mentioned that I needed a cover for my Christmas story screenplay that I was publishing, Charlie’s Christmas Carole. She’s an absolute delight to work with, so I’ll be using her for future books.

With the help of a good friend, we redid Love’s New Beginnings, and then she helped me create the template for my non-fiction, Finding Your Fire & Keeping It Hot, which is the first in a series of books that writers will find helpful. I’ll be creating the other covers now that I have the template

With the anthology, Lost and Found that I edited and was a contributing author, the lead author and I designed that book’s front cover, which then I finished the spine and the back.

As an indie author/publisher, all of my covers have been a collaboration, where I find the main stock photo, relay my idea for additions, and then the designer takes what I’ve presented and runs with it, adding their spin, which is always perfect.

I enjoy seeing my visions come to life, and it allows me a bit of artistry playtime now that I’m not painting or sketching anymore. I put that hobby aside in favor of writing decades ago because I saw writing as a career, wanting to devote the bulk of my time to it.

Today, I would have trouble handing over total design of my covers to a publisher, even one of the big five publishers. I would always want to have a voice, even if only a small one.

*****

The awesome co-hosts for the February 1 posting of the IWSG are Jacqui Murray, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and Gwen Gardner!

October’s Glory

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The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

The question for this month is: What do you consider the best characteristics of your favorite genre?

Because I have a number of favorite genres, that question becomes long in answering. Instead, I’m choosing to write about my favorite month of the year: October.

October’s Glory

As much as I had to see summer end because it means having to shut the windows and doors and blocking the sounds of nature—mostly the birds—I am absolutely thrilled when October arrives. Here are the many reasons why I love it so.

My favorite season, fall, is finally here!

The vibrant and picture-worth colors start arriving. Reds, orange, yellow, lots of various greens and browns, where the trees become a fashion parade of brilliance. Breathtaking around every corner and at every glance. If only those colors could last longer than just a couple weeks.

The air becomes crisp, requiring a light jacket in the morning and evenings. If the temps do warm up a bit, there’s a cool undertone just waiting for the warmer temp to slip up so that it can sneak in again.

The food – Candy corn! Pumpkin pie, the bounty of vegetables from the garden, casseroles, soups, chili!

Cuddling up under a blanket.

SWEATERS! Need I say more?

And, it’s my birthday month. What better way than to celebrate my favorite month, my favorite season, right?

How about you? Do you enjoy October?

*****

Living in Fiction

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The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

The question for this month is: If you could live in any book world, which one would you choose?

Living in Fiction

I had to really think about this month’s question. I considered the time periods of movies, made from books, that I repeatedly watch like Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, and others of that era. While I love the stories, I’m not sure I’d like the restrictions women lived under. In some instances, they couldn’t even marry for love.

While I enjoy reading about women in medieval times, those living conditions were even worse! And, medical care was horrible back then. I would have died in childbirth.

I enjoy watching The Martian every time it’s on TV, a movie made from Andy Wier’s book by the same title. A book that was a page-turner for me. A book I read in one sitting. But again, it’s not a world I want to live in.

In further consideration of which world, my gaze landed on my covers that are on the wall opposite my desk. As I’ve been finishing Arrested Pleasures, the #3 story in the Laurel Ridge Novella series, and having read the story five times in June as I proofed it, laughing out loud every time at the same spots, I considered their world.

Located in the Deep South—an area I loved when living there—and a modern-day, contemporary time period, I can easily see myself in their world. Additionally, as I’ve been getting to know these 7 couples, each pair represented with their own story, I’ve come to not only like them but to enjoy their company. Yup, you heard me right.

They have become as real as my actual friends. They’re funny, smart, and live simply but with purpose. These 7 couples and other secondary characters have been traveling with me from room to room and journey with me in the car, shopping with me, too. They’re entertaining, engaging, caring people who I’m going to sadly miss once the series is finished.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they came to life in a televised series?

I can only dream…and manifest.

*****

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds. Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. This group is all about connecting.

Pssst – Wanna Learn the Secret to Writing Every Day?

Behind the Scenes with Dr. Diana Stout

Musings of a screenwriter, author and what goes on behind the scenes

Tag Archives: Diana Stout

4 Reasons Why I Participate in NaNoWriMo

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

4 Reasons Why I Participate in NaNoWriMo

How to Stay Positive

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

How to Stay Positive

A Community of Writers

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

A Community of Writers

How to Become Obsessed With Your WIP Again

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

How to Become Obsessed With Your WIP Again

Never Stop Writing

Author Envy?

Author Envy?

Cover Adventures: Creating Covers

Cover Adventures: Creating Covers

October’s Glory

October’s Glory

Living in Fiction

Living in Fiction

Pssst – Wanna Learn the Secret to Writing Every Day?

4 Reasons Why I Participate in NaNoWriMo

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How to Stay Positive

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A Community of Writers

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How to Become Obsessed With Your WIP Again

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Author Envy?

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Cover Adventures: Creating Covers

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October’s Glory

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Living in Fiction

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