By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Many of us memorized Psalm 100 as children. But have we considered what these beautiful words mean to the writer? Psalm 100 ESV  Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! 2     Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! 3 Know that the Lord, he is God!…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Most writers think they can handle life’s challenges on their own. I’m not one of those, but I know who to turn to when I need self-help. The world offers lots of resources to “fix” us in the quest to produce quality writing. Want to sell…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Oh, the curse of redundancy. It slashes through our writing with woes from our readers. The practice can cost a writer publication or lose readers. Expendable words and phrases don’t have to destroy our writing projects. A writer can master techniques to avoid them. Remember the…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Writing effective dialogue means being true to our premise, theme, setting, characters, and genre. Let’s examine the guidelines and characteristics for popular genres. Romance The story is about two people who are romantically involved. The plot focus is love—the characters must overcome differences, obstacles, and make…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Do you feel your writer’s voice is blocked? Does a well-meaning reader claim your writing voice is just like__________ (fill in the blank)? Are you frustrated in a futile attempt to sound like yourself and not another writer? Then stop! A writer’s voice can’t be taught.…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills “What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.” Ralph Waldo Emerson Nonverbal communication includes the conscious or subconscious display of facial, hand, and body movements that reveal positive or negative feelings. Communications experts say up to 90% of communication is relayed…