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| Diane Dean White |
~ Dawn
Diane
Dean White’s Journey to Publication
A New Year and new beginnings….what a great time to set
goals for writing…something I’ve found very important for those of us who want
to become dedicated writers.
It was always my dream to write. In grade school I wrote
poems and short-stories and continued through high school. I took a detour and
after coming back from college, got married and worked as a secretary at
Michigan State University. When my hubby’s job took us out of state, I applied
for a newspaper reporter position. It was a great way to learn how to say the
most possible in the fewest number of words.
With three active children I shifted gears, and while my
primary goal was my family, I took time to concentrate on family history
research, and did stringer work for various newspapers. When our two oldest
left the nest I started writing for non-profit organizations.
I’ll admit I was in a lost world when it came to knowing
what was available to me other than self-publishing in those first years on the
Internet. I had a lot of short stories featured on active websites, and
received literally hundreds of emails about my stories. I wrote Beach Walks, a compilation of short
stories, then Carolina in the Morning,
my first work of Christian fiction. Both were prayed about and goals I set to
complete. Everyone I knew in the circle
of writers were self-publishing until Facebook came, and I met a number of new
writers. Suddenly, self-publishing was the wrong way…. I learned about weasel
words, telling, showing and POV. I’d been a columnist for several years for a
weekly magazine and was used to telling; how was this going to work?
Getting my new groove I reworked the book I’d already
written, and with good critique partners, completed On a Summer Night. I went on to write This Side of Heaven, hopefully to be released this spring.
Everything seems to be changing again and now self-publishing is acceptable.
Early mornings work best for me; I’m at my computer by six.
I’m dedicated to that time and get right to my WIP. After three hours I break
for breakfast, chat with hubby and within a short time I’m back doing research,
and reworking paragraphs. After dinner I often spend time critiquing a
partner’s work. That’s something I enjoy doing. But it’s not the best time for
me to write. Mornings are. It’s important to find a time that works for you.
The things we pray for we should expect God to provide and
do our best when they do. How wonderful to know a loving Savior is on this
journey with us. Life is different as a writer when you’re thirty, and it’s
important to have priorities with your family, you’ll never get those years
back. When you’re sixty you’ll realize those experiences have contributed to
your writing, they become special memories to weave into your craft, along
life’s path.
Tweetables:
When it comes to
writing, it’s important to find a time that works for you. Click to tweet.
We should expect
that God will provide the things we pray for. Click to tweet.
Experiences
contribute to writing; memories can be weaved into your stories. Click to tweet.
Kate
and Vanessa hadn’t planned on the summer night that changed their lives. Could
they have imagined the darkness that descended and how gripping fear could be?
The beauty and sweeping moss, gentle palm trees and Florida breezes was wrapped
with the memory of the awful evening. They played at being cheerful and
returned home to yet another sorrow. Times steals away from the 60’s, and the
memory of what happened was hidden in the recesses of Kate’s mind. She and her
husband take an early retirement returning to the winter home where by-gone
memories are stored. Can she trust God to help her find forgiveness? Will her
husband understand? She knew he needed to hear her story.
Diane started
her writing career at an early age when she asked for a typewriter for
Christmas. She pounded the keys writing poetry and short stories in grade
school on an old black Royal manual. It wasn’t until her husband’s work took
them to a southern town she wrote her first column, “Yankee Viewpoint’s” for a
local newspaper, covering hard news and feature stories in the area. Upon
returning to their home-state of Michigan, she did stringer work, ancestral
history, and donor appeal letters for non-profit organizations; while doing her
favorite job ever, as a stay-at-home mom.
She is the author of Beach
Walks and Carolina in the Morning.
Diane was a columnist for a weekly magazine, for four years, and her stories
have appeared in a number of magazines and books. She is the author of over
three-hundred short stories. Her book, newly released, On a Summer Night, is a story of suspense and romance. She and
hubby, Stephen, have been married for forty-one years, and they are the parents
of three grown children and three grand-gals. Diane thanks the Lord daily for
her loving husband, three great kids and for giving her the desires of her
heart.
Visit Diane on her website at www.DianeDeanWhite.com
Her blog page at http://simplepleasureswithdiane.weebly.com/
Like her Author Page:
Diane’s Video, On a
Summer Night ~
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gBYBDf5jm4