Who's the Boss by DiAnn Mills

by DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills

Every time I begin a new writing project, I panic. Can I do this again? Do I have the necessary skills to carry another

book through to completion? Will my readers like the characters? Is my plot credible with enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing? Will my critique buds keep me accountable?

Then I remember who’s my Boss.

I bet many of you thought writing would be free of the worries and hassles of a boss. No clocking in. No staying late and arriving early. Then you discovered all the demands made on your time and effort: publishers, agents, editors, copy editors, publicists, critique partners, readers, social media, and family responsibilities. But did you stop to consider your real Boss?

Stress . . . Deadlines . . . Beat the clock

The One who called you into the writing ministry?

If you’ll think back to the time when writing began as a dream, the urge and passion to communicate through the written word became so powerful that you didn’t know what to do with it.

It was power.

It was passion.

It was alive.

It was undeniable.

A realization began to grow deep inside you that this newfound urgency came from outside the realm of your own being. Writing had become a calling from God, and you had a responsibility to learn the craft.

With the understanding that God purposed you to write, I can assume He didn’t include a timetable as to when you’d be published. If He did, please forward me that e-mail.
I can also assume the techniques and tools of the craft weren’t immediately drop-shipped into your brain. If so, I want that e-mail too.

This wild, sweet gift of writing is a lot like the road David walked in the Bible. He discovered his Boss at a young age, and he clung to Him all the days of his life. 

David didn’t take the throne immediately. He had much to learn.

David had to learn how to be a king.

David battled lions and bears to build strength, courage, and endurance.

David’s family probably didn’t understand who he was or what he was attempting to accomplish.

David fought Goliath - the world of publishing - by using his skills and trusting in God.

David faced rejection from Saul, his wife Mikel, and those he thought were his friends, and family.

David made mistakes and had to ask for forgiveness.

David never gave up. He had hope, which means he waited for the Lord to fulfill His promises. What about you? Where is your hope and commitment?

We use our words to entertain, inspire, and teach. That’s what God wants for His writers. Like David we can dream, learn, obey, and reach our purpose.

So I ask you, who is your Boss?

A finished book is a read book

      

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She combines unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels.

Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. Library Journal presented her with a Best Books 2014: Genre Fiction award in the Christian Fiction category for Firewall.

DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers; the 2015 president of the Romance Writers of America’s Faith, Hope, & Love chapter; a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and International Thriller Writers. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.

DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com.

Read More

Writer Quotes with a Twist by DiAnn Mills

by DiAnn Mills

Writers appreciate a solid writing quote. We share them and tape them above our computer screens. These precious gems of wisdom can inspire, encourage, make us laugh, or kick us in the seat of the pants. Sometimes writer quotes dump reality into our veins.

Listed below are a few favorites that I use when I need a prescription for what ails me or my story.

Inspire:

To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music that words make.
Truman Capote

A wounded deer leaps the highest.
Emily Dickinson

Pick your idea and write!

Choreography is writing on your feet.
Bob Fosse

The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.
Gustave Flaubert

Encourage:

Writing's still the most difficult job I've ever had - but it's worth it.
John Grisham

Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
E. L. Doctorow

It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.
Ernest Hemingway

Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.
William Faulkner

Out of the gray morning came a ...

The most difficult and complicated part of the writing process is the beginning.
A. B. Yehoshua

Kick in the Pants:

You fail only if you stop writing.
Ray Bradbury

Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.
E. B. White

Writing is an extreme privilege but it's also a gift. It's a gift to yourself and it's a gift of giving a story to someone.
Amy Tan

The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.
Sylvia Plath

Nothing haunts us like the things we don’t say.
Mitch Albom

Make us Laugh:

So I can still keep my day job?

Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.
E. L. Doctorow

I can’t write five words but that I change seven.
Dorothy Parker

Half my life is an act of revision.
John Irving

If Moses were alive today he’d come down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments and spend the next five years trying to get them published.
Anonymous

Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamppost how it feels about dogs.
Christopher Hampton

Reality: My personal favorite

Writing a novel is a terrible experience, during which the hair often falls out and the teeth decay. I’m always irritated by people who imply that writing fiction is an escape from reality. It is a plunge into reality and it’s very shocking to the system.
Flannery O’Connor


DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She combines unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels.
                                                                                                               
Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. Library Journal presented her with a Best Books 2014: Genre Fiction award in the Christian Fiction category for Firewall.

DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers; the 2015 president of the Romance Writers of America’s Faith, Hope, & Love chapter; a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and International Thriller Writers. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.

DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com.

Read More