By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Story ideas can be like fireworks. They soar and explode in beautiful colors…then their dance fizzles to the ground and we turn our attention to the next one. But story ideas don’t have to fade away. A writer can take those wild moments of inspiration and…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Welcome to Part II of SOS - Settings on Steroids. A character who lives in the setting will not make the same observations as a visitor. A seasoned character's emtions are different from a novice in a specific environment. The seven universal emotions, according to Tonya…

by Bethany Jett, @BetJett There is a lot of excellent writing advice. Honestly, I could spend hours curled up on the couch scrolling through agents’ blogs, websites on writing tips, and scanning Pinterest pins on the subject. But there are two “writing” tips that have the ability to either help you excel…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Today is October 18, National Chocolate Cupcake Day. Is your mouth watering? Before you grab your car keys and speed off to the nearest bakery, I want to talk about how we writers can market and promote like the creators of this tasty-treat day. Writers want…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Ah, setting, the frail stepchild of fiction. How often we neglect this vital member of story, insisting character, plot, dialogue, and emotion are much more important. We dress her in rags, have her clean the chimney, then criticize her for lack of beauty. Setting is the…

By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Last week I finished a book and sent it to my publisher. Celebration time! Relief and satisfaction soared through me for completing the writing project. As always it was difficult from the time I researched my story idea until the editing stage. Editing is as much…