By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills
In the past two decades plus, I’ve learned a lot about writing, the publishing industry, social media, marketing, and promotion. Along the way, I’ve made some embarrassing mistakes too. But I’m not diving into those.
Here are 12 things I’ve learned about writing since publishing my first book. Maybe some will help you.
1. Research doesn’t mean a jaunt to the library or flying through online search engines. 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.
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. I’m blind to my characters until they crawl into my heart and share their lives with me.
5. True success is a hundred pages without an adverb.
6. Emotional pain knocks at the writer’s heart and bleeds onto the written page.
7. Writers have an obligation to daily increase their knowledge of the craft and the writing industry.
8. A good writer knows all the weirdoes in his family are a compilation of himself.
9. Read, read, and read some more.
10. A writer pens a million words before finding the right one.
11. Cutting the flab in a manuscript adds muscle and reduces the fat.
12. A writer’s tools are his words—add to them daily, memorize their meanings, and learn to spell them like a first-place kid in a spelling bee.
What about you? What have you learned about your chosen career and life that you can pass on to others?
Comments 37
What I have learned:
1. Adjectives and adverbs are not your friend.
2. Avoid a lot of flowery description.
3. Try to use strong verbs rather than an adverb and a weak noun. (See #1)
4. Indy and self-published authors can definitely be some of the best.
5. Writing a novel is probably one of rhe most perplexing, discouraging,pull-your-hair 😖out challenges I have ever done. But at the same time it can be fun.
Eileen, I love all of those! Thanks for sharing! Write on!
Thank you,DiAnn, for sharing these tips for writers in your own unique voice. I’ve learned that I often write first for me. And then I rewrite for my audience to share with them what God has so generously given to me.
Michelle, that’s an excellent way to view the entire writing process. Thank you!
Number 3 is my favorite. And as far as what I have learned so far on this writing journey—everybody already knows, for I’m at the beginning. But as long as I act like I know something, some think I do have something to offer.
Donna, absolutely! It’s about being open and having confidence. Write on!
These made me laugh. I identified with each…or is it every…one. Or should those have been emdashes instead of ellipses? Thank you for sharing.
Heidi, oh those em dashes and ellipses. The best way to determine those: em dashes are used when a speaker or narrative is interrupted.
“He called me a—”
“Don’t repeat it.”
An ellipses is when the information trails off. The reader already knows what’s being omitted.
Tom told me about his conversation with Bill and the tragedy that happened yesterday when . . .
These were spot on, and several of these made me about spit out my coffee when I literally laughed out loud. Thanks for the cheer today, friend.
Michelle, so glad I made you laugh!
Don’t stand under the boo birds! 🙂
Debbie, yep – they like to drop their “stuff.”
#3 made me laugh out loud. I love to laugh and so far in my writing my sense of humor is part of one character’s personality. Thanks for your encouragement and wisdom.
Thank you , Dorothy, for making me laugh!
I too prefer rest and stand! 😉 What a great list!
What a great list! I love being a writer. I’ve learned that writers think differently and that is a good thing. 🙂
Thanks, Melissa, and we can learn so much from each other.
Great post. Thanks for the encouragement!
Thanks, Gayle, always glad to encourage writers.
All points taken especially #3!
Thanks, Marjorie, let me know when you figure it out!
This is great! #7 and #9 are soooo true!
Carmen, LOL. We must keep education at the forefront.
This list is brilliant and fresh. Thank you DiAnn. Kudos.
Karen, I am not brilliant! I just learned from my thousands of mistakes. 🙂
thank you, good and rich wisdom
Thanks, Frank, glad you found the list useful! Write on.
May I quote #10 in a facebook page called Born to Create? It’s for writers and artists.
Susan, absolutely! I’d be honored. Can you email me when it’s released? diann@diannmills.com That way I can use it for social media.
A million times, yes! Great, relatable list.💖
Thanks, Jessie! Glad you found the list useful!
As always, your words brought encouragement, the reminder to push even when it’s hard, and to keep my humor in tact. 🙂 Thank you!
Vickie, encouragement is the best we can offer to any writer.
Number three brought much laughter Ms. DiAnn. Guilty as charged! Loved the list ma’am; much wisdom here.
Thanks, J.D. Why do the simple verbs have to be so hard? 🙂
Always have respect for your people whether you like them or not…they have things going on in their lives that affect their behavior.
K. A., thank you. That is a sobering truth. Sometimes we get caught up in our own lives and forget the needs of others.