By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills
Tweet This: 10 Things I Wish I Had Known About Writing
I remember struggling when I first began my writing journey. I needed solid answers and guidance, an author roadmap for craft, marketing, and promotion. Now that I have a few books on the shelf, allow me to share 10 things I wish a professional writer would have told me.
1. Research doesn’t mean a jaunt to the library or sailing through cyberspace. It means a trip into your characters’ lives.
2. Some critics are like boo birds that sit on their lofty power lines and mess on those beneath them. Learn how to write expertly and send buckshot into their rears.
3. When I grow up, I will know the difference between lie and lay and sit and set. Until then, my characters will rest and stand.
4. A writer doesn’t know her characters and their motivation until they reveal their backstory.
5. Social media is community designed to share specialized information. Learn it. Develop friendships. Pass the information on that you find valuable for your brand.
6. Emotional pain knocks at the writer’s heart and bleeds onto the written page. Don’t be afraid of your feelings. Accept them. Deal with them. Write them. Your readers will thank you.
7. A writer’s goal is for the character to change and grow within the pages of story. But if the writer doesn’t experience a transformation in the process, neither will the reader find value in the story.
8. A good writer knows all the weirdos in her family are a compilation of herself.
9. A good writer knows that cutting the flab in her manuscript adds muscle.
10. A writer’s tools are words—so add to them daily, memorize their meanings, and learn to spell them like a kid who wins first place in a spelling bee.
What questions would you like to see answered about your writing career?
Tweet This: 10 Things I Wish I Had Known About Writing
DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She combines unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels.
She’s been termed a coffee snob and roasts her own coffee beans. She’s an avid reader, loves to cook, and believes her grandchildren are the smartest kids in the universe.
Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. Library Journal presented her with a Best Books 2014: Genre Fiction award in the Christian Fiction category for Firewall.
DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers; a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association; International Thriller Writers, and the Faith, Hope, and Love chapter of Romance Writers of America. She is co-director of The Author Roadmap with social media specialist Edie Melson where she continues her passion of helping other writers be successful. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.
DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com.
Tweet This: 10 Things I Wish I Had Known About Writing
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| Don't listen to boo birds! |
1. Research doesn’t mean a jaunt to the library or sailing through cyberspace. It means a trip into your characters’ lives.
2. Some critics are like boo birds that sit on their lofty power lines and mess on those beneath them. Learn how to write expertly and send buckshot into their rears.
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| A writer walks a different path. |
4. A writer doesn’t know her characters and their motivation until they reveal their backstory.
5. Social media is community designed to share specialized information. Learn it. Develop friendships. Pass the information on that you find valuable for your brand.
6. Emotional pain knocks at the writer’s heart and bleeds onto the written page. Don’t be afraid of your feelings. Accept them. Deal with them. Write them. Your readers will thank you.
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| Write that story! |
8. A good writer knows all the weirdos in her family are a compilation of herself.
9. A good writer knows that cutting the flab in her manuscript adds muscle.
10. A writer’s tools are words—so add to them daily, memorize their meanings, and learn to spell them like a kid who wins first place in a spelling bee.
What questions would you like to see answered about your writing career?
Tweet This: 10 Things I Wish I Had Known About Writing
DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She combines unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels. She’s been termed a coffee snob and roasts her own coffee beans. She’s an avid reader, loves to cook, and believes her grandchildren are the smartest kids in the universe.
Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. Library Journal presented her with a Best Books 2014: Genre Fiction award in the Christian Fiction category for Firewall.
DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers; a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association; International Thriller Writers, and the Faith, Hope, and Love chapter of Romance Writers of America. She is co-director of The Author Roadmap with social media specialist Edie Melson where she continues her passion of helping other writers be successful. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.
DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com.
Love number 3. If you can't beat 'em join 'em
ReplyDeleteLOL So true! I've spent more time looking for substitutes than learning the difference.
DeleteOh, I love #3, too. I do the same ... I use "rest" so often. She rested her head down because I'm not sure if she lay it down or laid it down. :) Grrr! This is great.
ReplyDeleteIf I ever learn the magic way to remember the definitions and how to use them, I'll post it! I do know that lie is people and lay is an object. But then the past tenses ...
ReplyDelete