By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills I graduated from high school in 1969, and the summer music of the 60s transport me back in time with sweet memories and lots of laughter. Now, for all of you who are doing the math and have calculated my age—keep it to yourself. 😊 Who can resist the summer hits of the 60s? I’ve listed …
Your Imagination’s WOW Factor
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Writers use their imaginations to mentally transport readers into an adventure, an unforgettable experience. The goal is for the reader to step into the character’s shoes and walk a magnificent journey. Imagination and creativity are not the same, but they work together. Imagination propels creativity by connecting what our mind sees with how best to show …
Story Souls: The Magic of Characters
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills I believe stories have souls that breathe immortality into a reader’s life. An unforgettable story steps beyond “Once upon a time” to a kingdom that captures the heart of a reader forever. Not every story has that golden world, and not every reader experiences the same soul-grabbing story. What lingers as a memorable novel for me …
Journal for Writing Creativity
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Some people have journaled since they received their first notebook or diary. They entered information daily, weekly, or whenever the whim urged them to complete an empty page. Some of them used a lock to prevent others from reading their inner thoughts, while others hid their recollections where no one could find them. Many people today …
How Publishing a Book is Like a Wedding
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills While reading a wedding invitation, my thoughts took a journey of comparing the writer’s road to releasing a new book like planning a wedding. The project brought a few giggles and a few sobering analogies. Read the following 7 likenesses of publishing a book to a wedding. Note the #7 is the number of completion. The …
The Case of the Missing Laptop
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills After boarding a night flight from Houston to South Carolina, I removed my laptop from its sleeve and went to work, immediately losing track of everything around me except the story unfolding in my mind and on the screen. The time came for me to stow my laptop. I slipped it into its sleeve and placed …
Room to Breathe
DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Guest Post by Linda Lyle Do you ever find yourself going down the anxiety rabbit hole? Like many businesses, writing is a feast or famine. I am either waiting to hear back from editors, agents, and publishers, or I am overwhelmed by deadlines and details. Either way I feel anxious as I wonder how it will all …
Finding the Perfect Novel Title
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills It’s been said that “a book’s title is its most important marketing strategy.” I shouldn’t be surprised when I consider how long it takes me to create a title for a book. I keep a file of titles, and still I end up in a dilemma. My purpose is to think of my title as a …
Life Happens – and Sometimes It’s Funny
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Most of us wander through life and occasionally something humorous happens. The memory of the event brings a smile to our lips . . . maybe a giggle. One of those funny happenings met me recently on a flight from Houston to Greenville, North Carolina. The hour grew late when I boarded the plane, and I’d …
Unexpected Blessings
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Guest Post: Janice Cantore My favorite definition of hope is “A confident expectation of future blessings.” When I moved to Hawaii a little over four years ago, I didn’t know what to expect. It was a big move, and I knew that a lot of things could go wrong. It’s never easy for me to make …