Writer produces novel despite inner voice
by Rawly Bransom, Sports Editor

   A best-selling author told a South Campus audience this summer he had not been the kind of student to make him think he could excel at writing.
   Randy Wayne White, author of Everglades, confessed he had always heard a voice in his head saying he could never write a book.
   " I realized there was nothing I could do about my talent, but my work ethic was something I had control of. So I just worked harder at it," he said.
   White believes anyone who loves reading loves writing, and only the discipline and work ethic separate the reader from the writer.
   " Writing is mostly hard work; I start off in the morning rereading and rewriting what I wrote for the last three days. Writing is discipline, just like any other profession," he said.
   Wayne's career includes 10 novels, three non-fiction books, columns for The New York Times, Outside Magazine, National Wildlife, Men's Health Magazine, Playboy and some correspondent work for ABC News.
   White visited TCC as one of his 22 stops on a nationwide book signing tour and a part of South Campus' program, Evenings with Writers.
   The author advised future writers to get up and write for one hour before they start their day and another hour before they go to bed.
   " If you do that seven days a week for 21 days, something magical will happen. The story will click and the character will become alive, It will take on an energy of its own," he said.
   White said his life has not always been this easy. In 1987 the marina where he worked outlawed outboard motors, eliminating White's job as a fishing guide. White used the extra time to write a book about the place he knew best: the Florida coast.
   " I started out writing a very long biography about my two main characters: Thomlinson and Doc Ford. I figured out my characters, places and major events and then let the characters take over from there," he said.
   In a Doc Ford novel, there is not only an action element, but also a sense of ecological awareness toward different areas of Florida.
   For, Everglades, his latest book, White researched the Florida Everglades over a period of three to four months, making sure his details were accurate.
   White's books have won a very loyal following, who showed up to meet the author in the Rotunda June 12.
   One fan, Jason Jones, had paid $130 for an early pre-edited copy of Everglades.
   " When I started reading Doc Ford novels, it was to see the places where I lived in a new way, but now that I have moved to Texas, it has grown because I get to see the places I miss," he said.