Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “writing”
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMill Welcome Suspense Writer Colleen Coble to this month’s author spotlight. Colleen and I have known each other since we entered the wonderful world of writing—over 25 years ago. I’d like to think we were mere girls . . . She is an incredible writer and always keeps me on the edge of my seat! USA Today …
DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Welcome to Author Spotlight and Kristine Delano, my featured suspense author! Kristine Delano is an award-winning author of suspense with a heart for hope. After over two decades navigating the high-stakes world of Wall Street, she’s swapped stock charts for storytelling, crafting domestic thrillers that reflect the complexities of work/life balance. In pursuit of story, she hosts …
DiAnn is excited to participate in the 2025 ACFW-Virginia Royal Writers Virtual Conference. She will teach the following workshops on Saturday, November 8 at 4 pm Eastern. Writing Personal Tragedies with Grace
DiAnn’s excited to join the new American Christian Fiction Writers chapter in Charlotte for a virtual webinar on Emotion & Dialogue.
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Whenever someone finds out I’m a writer, I usually see widened eyes, hear a few “wows,” and sometimes I think they smell money. Their reactions always make me laugh. None of these people would want me to balance their checkbook — and most wouldn’t want to spend hours alone inside the writing process either. And I’m …
DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Understanding personalities takes work and patience. Characters are like us—unique individuals whose preferences and life experiences determine our behavior and personality. Most of us recognize a character as an introvert or extrovert, but do we know to what extreme? Is the character a little introverted or a lot? Are they a friendly extrovert or an over-the-top, people-person? …
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Writers spend hours, weeks, months, and sometimes years working on behind-the-scenes research in writing a novel. I’m no different. The story must be so real to the readers that they block the outside world and become the character. Research involves thoroughly understanding the protagonist and antagonist. This includes how they live, earn a living, and react/respond …
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Have you considered what successful writers eat for breakfast? It must be The Breakfast of Champions, or are they just regular people with normal tastes? I posed this question to several writers, and wow, the surprising responses! I arranged this list from most popular to . . . different. Coffee: 15—This includes the coffee-only bunch. My …
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills If I don’t change and grow into a better person when writing a story, I’ve failed —not just the characters, but also the storyline, my readers, myself, and the God who gifted me with the ability to write. My characters help me see life from a new perspective, offering deeper insights into how others live in …
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Before diving into the differences between Christian and general market suspense, let’s first define a suspense novel. A suspense novel uses highly developed characters, excitement, real or imagined fear, anxiety about something potentially violent, and high stakes to create an emotionally charged experience for the reader. The fast-paced stories use literary techniques to keep the character’s …
