Friday, January 17, 2014

Diane Dean White’s Journey to Publication


Diane Dean White
Just as our craft evolves with time, the industry also changes. As writers, we need to accept current trends if we hope to not only survive but succeed. Author Diane Dean White is an example of such a person, and she shares part of her personal writing journey with us today. 
 ~ 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   

 
Like her Author Page:
 
Diane’s Video, On a Summer Night ~
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gBYBDf5jm4