By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Writers self-edit the same way they create a manuscript. They work according to how their brain processes information. The means of perfecting a fiction or nonfiction book involves tweaking and re-tweaking methods until we have produced an outstanding manuscript. Editing always makes our best even better,…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills One of the biggest challenges for a writer is developing a vocabulary. We become comfortable in how we converse, until we grapple for just the right/write word. We become frustrated in our search and wish we hadn’t waited so long to enlarge our knowledge of words…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills It’s December, the month of Christmas, and we’re all scrambling for the perfect gift for our writerly friends. The opportunity should be easy, but when we choose to offer something special that encourages them, our creative minds head into overdrive. Here are a few ways you…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills November writers can find themselves overwhelmed in this incredibly busy and fun-filled month. Bustling cooks are scurrying about in the kitchen in preparation for Thanksgiving. Recipes are positioned for easy viewing, and some are made ahead of schedule to freeze until needed. The table is often…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Writing a story from an actual person or event provides an opportunity for readers to explore, invoke sensory perception, and imagine themselves as those who lived through a notable time in history or a contemporary happening. A real or fictitious character who embarks upon the established…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Establishing a character’s goal is a writer’s quest to discover what motivates the story player into action. The goal originates in personality, culture, worldview, and past experiences. That might seem intimidating for the writer, but a definition of external and internal goals clears a path for…