Susan M. Baganz chases after three Hobbits and is a native of Wisconsin. She is an Editor with Pelican Book Group specializing in bringing great romance novels and novellas to publication. Susan writes adventurous historical and contemporary romances with a biblical world-view. You can learn more by following her blog www.susanbaganz.com, her twitter feed @susanbaganz or her fan page, www.facebook.com/susanmbaganz
Show Notes
Caleb: How did you get started writing?
Susan: That started in 2009. I had a dream that God was telling me I should do National Novel Writing Month in November. I started to write what became The Virtuous Viscount, which was my first Regency [novel], and I had 110,000 words within 21 days. I was hooked! I’ve done NaNoWriMo 8 years in a row, now.
Caleb: Tell us more about Regency Novels. What time period constitutes Regency England? What are the characteristics that make it Gothic?
Susan: The Regency period is where King George had gone mad, and his son, who is also George, he petitioned to become Regent and it took a while for that to actually happen. So what it meant was that his father was incompetent to rule so he was the ruler. So he was made Prince Regent on February 5th 1811, and then his father died January 29th 1820. So that’s the period that’s known as Regency. And the Regent was known to be a man of excess. He was very charming, but he blew money like crazy. He wasn’t really known to be a great ruler per se, but he was known for his excesses.
If you listen to or read any of the Regency Romances, there was an author at that time called Radcliffe, and she wrote Gothic Romances. So these are the dark, spooky [novels.] You’ve some darkness to it. You’ve got some spookiness to it. There’s this overarching doom and gloom to it. I guess there’s something kind of fun about having this evil force that they’re fighting against, and it kind of permeates the books.
Caleb: Tell me a little about the romance element of it. That was a totally different time with different customs. How is writing a Contemporary Romance and writing a Regency Romance different? How does that affect their relationships?
Susan: When you’re writing a Contemporary Romance they can pick up a phone and call somebody. They can get in a car and drive. There’s not a lot of restrictions on how men and women interact in our society. We have freedom to do a lot of things. But in that time period, the rules prescribing their behavior were really rigid. A woman could not write a letter to a man who was not related to her, and of course they couldn’t pick up a phone to call. Now if they were engaged, they might be able to communicate. So if somebody got engaged and then went to war, they might be able to exchange letters. Within that society, especially for the upper 10,000 which was the aristocracy, the more wealthy, titled people, you had these strict rules. You couldn’t dance more than typically twice at a ball with the same man. You couldn’t be alone at all with them.
So you have these restrictions on what you can do, so it’s kind of fun to try to play them and throw them on their ear a little bit too. The other thing that’s different about Regencies, as opposed to Contemporaries is the way they express their faith. First of all, you would never use anything except for the King James Bible. That’s all they had back then. There were a lot of pockets of revival in the middle of a lot of unrest, because England was at war with France at the same time. There’s all kinds of things you can tap into, even spiritually, with the stories.
Caleb: What are some of the hallmarks of this genre that someone like an editor or an agent would expect to see?
Susan: I think the general structure of a story is the same regardless of what genre you’re writing in, especially with the romance. You would be looking at possibly some of the language of the day. You’re not going to hear anybody in a Regency use the word “okay”. It’s just not going to happen. They used a lot of French back then, too. They were at war with France, but they were also very enamored by French. They’ve got other words that are specific to that era that can add more color to the language, and you can also write with a larger vocabulary than you can in a contemporary. In Regency, those who read that genre know the words, and if it’s good enough, the context will tell you what it is.
Caleb: How did you do research for this time period?
Susan: First of all, I read hundreds of books in the genre. That alone is great research, but then you do go online and you do look up stuff. Different books just about even the clothing of the era. I’ve got a huge folder of stuff I’ve printed off online about titles and how you refer to people. So all that stuff has to be correct, because somebody who knows that genre is going to know when it’s wrong.
Caleb: Are you an organic writer or an outliner?
Susan: I do not plot out my novels. I let the story take me where it’s going to take me. The characters kind of take over for me.
Best-selling author. Award-winning filmmaker. To date, Bill Myers’ books and videos have sold over 8 million copies. Not bad for a man who never wanted to be a writer.
As author/screenwriter/director his work has won over 60 national and international awards, including the C.S. Lewis Honor Award. His DVDs and books have sold 8 million copies. His children’s DVD and book series, McGee and Me, has sold 4.5 million copies, has won 40 Gold and Platinum awards, and has been aired on ABC as well as in 80 countries. His My Life As… book series has sold 2.1 million copies. He has written, directed, and done voice work for Focus on the Family’s Adventures in Odyssey radio series and is the voice of Jesus in Zondervan’s NIV Audio Bible. As an author, several of his children’s book series and adult novels have made the bestseller list.
He is also managing partner of Amaris Media, International – a motion picture and media company currently developing several projects for both children and adults. The motion picture, The Wager, starring Randy Travis and based on Myers’ novel by the same name, was released in 2009.
Bill has been interviewed for Good Morning America, ABC Nightly News, The 700 Club, TBN, as well as hundreds of broadcast, internet and print organizations. He can be reached at bill@amarismedia.com
Show Notes:
Caleb: What inspired you to write Supernatural Suspense?
Bill: I got a call, quite a few years ago, from Tyndale House publishers. At that time there were a lot of horror books for teens, so they called me up and said, “Would you like to write a Christian horror series.” I said I would be happy to write about the supernatural, but I’m not going to write horror. Because there’s two sides to the supernatural, and I don’t get why we always have to deal with the devil and the demons and all the horror. That’s part of it, but there is this whole other side to the supernatural. I did a ton of research for the series… everything from UFOs to Ouija boards to possession. I became sort of a reluctant supernatural know-it-all.
Caleb: How did you research these wild topics?
Bill: To me, that’s the best part of writing. People always want to talk about themselves. I’ve interviewed everybody from the head of the CIA Psychic Research Division, to the Son of Sam Serial Killer, to people who claim they’ve been abducted by UFOs. I’ve talked to a lot of people that have prophetic gifts. I have one, who’s become a friend now, who does miracles on a regular basis. There’s a whole world out there that we kind of ignore, because we think it’s too “fantasy”. It’s not fantasy at all. For me the best part is research, and the hardest part about writing is writing. But I guess that comes with the territory.
Caleb: What does your writing process look like?
Bill: I’m really, really disciplined. I can think of dozens of writers more skilled than I am, but they don’t have the discipline to finish it. I write two thousand words a day. I write in three two-hour sessions. Now remember, this is full time. Most people don’t have that, but you can still carve out the time, and say “I’m going to write for this amount of time every day.” And somehow, it turns into a book.
Caleb: I’ve heard some writers say that they like to write organically, and some prefer to stick to an outline. Do you outline?
Bill: You bet! I know every scene before I start to write. It takes me a month to outline a book. But I do that, so I don’t go down some weird rabbit trail. It’s a craft. It’s not some inspirational art. For me, the inspiration happens within the confines of a structure.
A lot of people say to me, “Oh, I wish I was a full-time writer like you,” and my response is usually, “I don’t think you do.” The joys of people who write part-time is that you write from the joy.
Caleb: So after all that research, how do you choose what to weed out and what part to base your story on?
Bill: I always start with a premise, a concept that hopefully hasn’t been done before. I do something called Plot Webbing. I put a circle and write the basic thing, like “dead friend.” Then I put spokes out and say all the crazy things that could happen with that. And then I put another spoke and do all the crazy things, and then I fill up the whole page. Most of them are bad ideas. Before you know it you have pages of bad ideas, but every once in a while, there’s a good one. The next step is that I try to find characters that are engaging, that are original. The next step is to give that character a want that drives them. As soon as I’ve got that, then the rest is just hanging the story on how the person gets it, or doesn’t get it.
Caleb: How do you come up with your characters?
Bill: I ask my characters different questions. One of the most powerful questions I learned is from a movie director. I ask my characters “what are you afraid of?” They start to become vulnerable and they start to become three-dimensional, if I spend enough time with them. Once you give the character a want, once you’ve got a high concept, once you’ve got character’s that are engaging, the writing pretty much takes care of itself.
Caleb: I know you write in many different genres, for both adults and children. What are the biggest challenges when you switch from one to another?
Bill: It keeps me on my toes and stops me from being stale. I love writing children’s books. Most of my children’s books are comedies, and they just loosen my self-importance and make me a kid again. Screenplays are difficult because the people that pay you for screen plays don’t always know a good story. Artistically, it’s not nearly as rewarding as it is writing a book. But, I’ll tell you, writing screenplays has made me a better novelist. One of the first things they teach you in writing is to show something and don’t tell the audience about it, but show it in action. You have to do that on a screenplay, because that’s all there is.
Caleb: If you had one piece of advice you could give to an aspiring writer, what would that advice be?
Bill: To write. To write every day. To set aside that time. To write good or bad. It’s like going to the Olympics. Nobody drifts into the Olympics. They work out every day.
Bill Myers can be found on Facebook and on his website BillMyers.com.
Michelle Medlock Adams is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author, earning top honors from the Associated Press, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Hoosier State Press Association.
Author of over 80 books with close to 4 million books sold, Michelle’s works have been the recipients of a Maxwell Medal, 2 Illumination Awards and multiple Selah Awards.
Since graduating with a journalism degree from Indiana University, Michelle has written more than 1,000 articles for newspapers, magazines and websites; acted as a stringer for the Associated Press; written for a worldwide ministry; helped pen a New York Times Bestseller; served as a TV host for TBN’s “Joy in Our Town” show; judged writing contests for Writer’s Digest; and served as a blogger for Guideposts. Today, she is President of Platinum Literary Services—a premier full-service literary firm—and co-owner of PlatLit Books. She also serves as chairman of the board for Serious Writer Inc., and teaches courses for Serious Writer Academy (online education).
When not working on her own assignments, Michelle ghostwrites books for celebrities, politicians, and some of today’s most effective and popular ministers. Michelle is also a much sought after teacher at writers conferences and universities around the nation. In fact, she has taught at more than 100 writers conferences, including keynoting at Liberty University and the Todd Starnes Inaugural Fall Retreat at The Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove. She has also served as an adjunct professor at Taylor University twice, teaching “Writing for Children” and is currently teaching again this Spring Semester. Michelle also loves speaking to women’s groups, youth groups, and congregations, encouraging others to discover their destinies in God.
Michelle is married to her high school sweetheart, Jeff, and they have two grown daughters, Abby and Allyson, two son-in-laws, and one grandson, as well as a miniature dachshund, a rescue Shepherd/Collie mix, and two cats. When not writing or teaching writing, Michelle enjoys bass fishing and cheering on the Indiana University Basketball team, the Chicago Cubbies, and the LA Kings.
Show Notes:
Caleb: Why did you choose to write in this genre?
Michelle: I’m a non-fiction girl by trade. I went to journalism school at Indiana University. I grew up in this non-fiction world because I truly like to interview people and tell their stories, and get the bottom line. It only made since that when I became a children’s writer I would still love to tell the truth in such a way that kids are enjoying it. It was really a natural fit for me to transition from writing non-fiction for adults to writing nonfiction for kids.
Caleb: How did those experiences help you in your research and in honing your craft?
Michelle: I always say the best training you could have as a writer is to work for a daily newspaper. You learn how to write accurately, and you learn how to write tight and very quickly. I think that really did set me up to be able to write for children, because I learned how to write tight and say a lot in a few words. And with kids, when their attention span is that of a fruit fly, you have to learn how to make it interesting.
Caleb: Is it easier to write for children or easier to write for adults?
Michelle: Having written for adults and children, I would say writing for kids is way harder. It’s also more rewarding. Now, it is more work because, especially with nonfiction you have to take facts, and figures and interesting things and make sure you write it in such a way that it doesn’t read like a report.
Michelle has written many types of Children’s Nonfiction, including celebrity biographies, activity books, coloring books and devotions for women and children.
Caleb: What inspired you to write devotions for children?
Michelle: I learned how to write tight early in my career. If you’ve written devotions, those are usually around 225 words, maybe 50 for the prayer and the scripture. You don’t have a lot of words there. I love to write for kids, and I love to write devotions. Let’s do devotions for kids! That was a no-brainer! Anytime you can take something that kids are fascinated with and make it into a scriptural lesson for them, that is a great way to make nonfiction fun.
Caleb: What are the Hallmarks of Children’s Nonfiction? What are things that editors, agents and publishers will be looking for? Also, what are some landmines that you’re going to want to avoid?
Michelle: You can use all of your fiction skills as a writer – the storytelling skills. It can be nonfiction and still be super interesting. Put me right there in the scene, and let me smell what you smell. Let me hear what you heard. Sometimes in nonfiction, people will take liberty that they shouldn’t. If it says “nonfiction” you have to just stick with the facts. That’s one of those red flags you’ve got to watch out for. If you can’t find it and back it up, don’t put it in there. You’ve got to have your source!
Caleb: Do you have any tips on how to properly conduct research for nonfiction?
Michelle: You want to have 2 to 3 sources for everything, so make sure you keep track of your sources in a separate file so that when you turn it in, you’ll be able to prove where everything came from. That’s one of the other things you’ve got to be careful of with nonfiction – you need to know where you got the information and make sure it’s a credible source. If Wikipedia is your main source, then you are never going to get another assigned work from that publisher.
Michelle suggests finding credible sources such as museum websites, other books that have been written about your topic, scholarly journals, university presses and the Library of Congress website.
Caleb: Most books for kids are significantly shorter than books written for adults. What are some other ways to compensate for a child’s short attention span?
Michelle: Always have a story. Draw them in with something they can relate to. Keep it funny.
Michelle uses the Children’s Writer’s Word Book by Alijandra and Tayopa Mogilner, which can be used to help children’s writers find words that are appropriate for their audience’s reading level.
Michelle: Keeping your sentences shorter will obviously make it for a lower grade level. But even when you’re doing that, I don’t like it to read choppy.
Caleb: Great advice! Just because something needs to be digestible, doesn’t mean it can’t be eloquent.
Michelle: I think some people think, “I can write nonfiction, and it doesn’t have to be as good.” No, it has to be better. It’s like digging for those pearls – those stories that maybe nobody else knows, or at least hasn’t been told in the way you’re telling it.
Sometimes in nonfiction books, they want you to provide activities so that you drive home the message in that chapter. I think that’s a great idea, because sometimes we don’t remember things until we apply them. There are also some topics that we call “evergreen.” Forever and ever people are going to need them (books about bullying, fear and concept books such as ABC and counting). Write about some of those hard issue needs, like what happens when somebody dies. That’s a nonfiction book that has to be written, because kids need to know what happens.
Caleb: Do you spend a lot of time around kids?
Michelle: I always say my best friends are 3 feet and under. Every summer I go to Camp Challenge, and I hang out with them for an entire week. I’m just listening to the kids and hearing how they phrase things, how they talk and things that are important to them. If you don’t love kids, this is not for you. You have to really love your audience. You should be reading what they’re reading.
Michelle can be found on social media and on her website, MichelleMedlockAdams.com.
Michelle’s newest book, “Dinosaur Devotions: 75 Dino Discoveries, Bible Truths, Fun Facts, and More!” is available for purchase on Amazon.
Michele Chynoweth is the best-selling and award-winning author of The Faithful One, The Peace Maker and The Runaway Prophet, contemporary suspense novels that re-imagine Old Testament stories in the Bible. Michele is also an inspirational speaker, giving workshops at writers conferences across the country, a college writing instructor and a book coach, helping other writers become successful authors through her editing services and assistance with publishing and marketing their books. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, she and her husband have a blended family of five children and live in North East, Maryland.
Michele Chynoweth – Contemporary Bible Stories
Caleb: Tell us more about yourself and the different things you’re involved in.
Michele: I am the author of three books that are out so far with the fourth coming out next year. I’m also an inspirational speaker. I speak at a lot of writer’s conferences about what I do as an author. That led me to become a writing instructor at Cecil Collage in my hometown of North East, Maryland. I teach “Writing Your Book” and also “How to Get Published.” I have 30 years of marketing experience. After I graduated collage, I was a news reporter. Then I went into marketing and the advertising world, and had my own ad agency for 20 years. Of course I became an author along the way, and love teaching what I know. I’ve always had my hand in writing.
Caleb: I wanted to talk a lot about your contemporary Bible stories. First, can you define your genre in a little more detail and explain why you decided to write these types of stories?
Michele: I’d like to say it chose me. My novels are contemporary suspense with a little romance. I call them Edgy Inspirational Fiction. They’re based on Old Testament stories in the Bible. You could consider them “Christian Fiction”, but also outside of that – they cater to a non-denominational and even universal audience. They re-imagine the stories in the Old Testament in a contemporary way with characters and plots we can relate to today. But I stay true to the plot.
I’ve always wanted to write since I was ten years old, and life happened. Along the way that writing bug bit me again and I wrote what I thought was the Great American Novel. It won the drama fiction contest for the Maryland Writers Association. The prize was literary agency representation with Writer’s House in New York. Then 9-11 happened, and they were in New York. We all lost the prizes and that book never saw the light of day. I was devastated.
I was driving along one day and the thought hit me out of the blue, “You should write a book based on the story of Job.” At the time, I wasn’t a big Bible reader. I just wanted to be rich and famous at the time. I thought “How is that going to get me there?” But it wouldn’t let go. So I started writing it, and I realized God was trying to tap me on the shoulder. I was going through a lot of Job like stuff: losing my marriage, losing my business, losing my health. I had the family disease of alcoholism. In the end, God brought me through all that, and in the end it helped me and now I help others. Fast-forward to today and I’m living my dream as an author, speaker and book coach. That book became “The Faithful One”, my first novel, and set me on the path to this genre.
Caleb: What inspires you to modernize these stories? How do you go about choosing what to change and what to keep the same?
Michele: That story hit me. I got it self-published originally. Then a Christian publisher picked it up and published it. They were coming up with a new genre – re-imagined Bible stories. A friend of mine suggested that I write the next one based on Abigail. I said “Abigail who?” and he said to look her up in the Bible. Abigail becomes the second wife of King David. Before that she was originally married to Nabal, who’s a mean, narcissistic bad guy. I thought that if I modernize it, David and Nabal could be running for President of the United States and Abigail gets stuck in the middle. That idea became “The Peace Maker”, my next novel.
I had been fighting this whole idea of “do I want to write in this genre?” At first, I just wanted to be rich and famous, now I realize it’s more about following God’s call and helping others. Bits and pieces of me are in there, or people I know. So I piece those stories together, but I really stay true to the plot and re-imagine them in a modern day way.
Caleb: What do you find is the main difference between writing in this genre and writing other types of fiction? What is different and what is the same?
Michele: This is somewhat of a new genre. What makes it different is that it bridges the gap between Christian fiction, which tends to be very clean. My books are clean and meet those Christian guidelines, but they’re also universal. They have themes and characters that are real. “The Runaway Prophet” is set in Las Vegas, and there’s prostitution and there’s gambling, and drug-addicts. There’s an underground, radical Islamic terrorist group trying to destroy Las Vegas, which is like a modern-day Nineveh. It’s real. It’s gritty. And that’s really what’s in the Bible.
Caleb: One of my writing friends, Molly Jo Realy, pointed out to me that you can’t really show how God can rescue you, until you show what He can rescue you from.
Michele: And sometimes when you help rescue someone, God rescues you in the process. That’s part of the message as well. I try to get to that underlying message that I think we miss in those Old Testament stories because they’re hard to read – hard to comprehend. So I try to uncover that, but not in a preachy or religious way.
Caleb: How has this given you more insight into the Bible? I’m guessing you had to really dig deep into these characters for research. Has this helped you more in your spiritual life?
Michele: Absolutely! I’ve actually sat down and read the Bible cover to cover. What I do is start with good research tools that get into the history, the wording and God’s messages. And then I also authenticate each novel with somebody in the clergy in various denominations. I want to make sure I’m following the Scripture’s story.
Caleb: How do you research your characters? What tools have you used to help get in the mindset of someone who lived thousands of years ago?
Michele: I do it more in a contemporary way. I really base my characters on bits and pieces of people I know. When I visualize them, I tend to think like a movie director. When you’re writing that kind of contemporary, fast-paced fiction, it should unravel like a movie.
Caleb: Tell us a little more about your writing process. Are you an organic writer or an outliner?
Michele: I’m a big advocate of a chapter outline. I feel like I need a road map. You’re going to veer off a little, as it changes and evolves. But at least you know where it’s going.
Caleb: If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring author, what would that advice be?
Michele: Don’t lose your passion. Stay at it! Carve out your writing time and carve out time for you. You’re worth it!
Michele can be found on social media and through her website: Michelechynoweth.com
Michele offers book coaching through her website Bookcoachmichele.com
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; a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association; International Thriller Writers, and the Faith, Hope, and Love chapter of Romance Writers of America. She is co-director of Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference with social media specialist Edie Melson where she continues her passion of helping other writers be successful. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country.
DiAnn and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.
Mystery, Suspense and Thriller – Show Notes
Cherrilynn: DiAnn, can you tell us why you got into this genre, and what you do to get your story?
DiAnn: I would never have started writing if my husband hadn’t dared me. Sometimes we just need that push. What he said to me back in ’96 – he said “Stop telling me that you’re going to write a book. Just do it!” If you’re viewers out there just need that little extra punch, I’m challenging all of you to get started now. I started out writing romance, both historical and contemporary. But my heart was in the mystery and suspense. The biggest reason is this – we live in a dangerous and unpredictable world. And I want to be able to provide stories that show there are trained people out there who are willing to go the extra mile, who are willing to sacrifice, who are noble role models for the readers.
Cherrilynn: Can you tell us the difference between a mystery, a suspense, and a thriller?
DiAnn: Mystery is when you have an investigator – someone who is probing into a crime that has been completed. Who-done-it is the basis. Suspense is like a dripping faucet. “We have got to end this horrible wave of crimes” or “We have to stop somebody before this horrible deadline.” And that dripping faucet, that ticking clock, that hourglass that sand is trickling through – that’s what makes it suspenseful. Someone is in peril. Then we move on to the thriller. The thriller has more impact. “If we don’t find out who’s behind these bombings, then our cities are going to be destroyed.” Or it’s a countrywide, or nationwide, or maybe a people group. A thriller takes in a huge area of concern.
Caleb: How do you come up with your story ideas?
DiAnn: I go with a “what if”. That is my root foundation. I either see a movie, or often media headlines. For example the book that’s coming out in October – Burden of Proof – what happens if the hostage negotiator becomes the hostage? And I just played with that until I could find a character who would have the most to lose, the most to gain, the highest stakes. What does she have working against them? Where could I put them? In this case it was East Texas. Whatever I can toss against my protagonist, I’m going to do it, including the setting. No setting is worth its salt unless it’s antagonistic. Don’t make it easy on your protagonist.
Cherrilynn: I believe you go above and beyond what most writers do for your research. Can you talk a little bit about what you do to research a novel, and what is the most dangerous position you’ve put yourself in to get the details.
DiAnn: All I can say is it’s a good thing I’ve never placed a story on the moon, because I really do try to walk where my characters have walked – do what they do.
DiAnn has traveled to Southern Sudan and ridden along the Rio Grande with the Border Patrol researching the settings for her novels.
DiAnn: I will say that I got smarter about my research, and when I was writing about the FBI, I called the FBI in Houston and forged a beautiful relationship that has extended to a contact who’s helping me now in DC at FBI Headquarters. I’m very blessed, because I don’t want to put anything out there that isn’t true.
Caleb: Where do you start when you’re coming up with characters? What’s the first thing that helps you form them in your mind?
DiAnn: Who has the most to lose? In the book that comes out in October – what if an FBI Hostage Negotiator put her life on the line because she believed the criminal was innocent. What’s that doing to her career? How many sacrifices will she make? You have to open your mind to the possibility of anything happening.
Cherrilynn: I know you had told us that you were an organic writer. How does that play in?
DiAnn: I’m all about character and the “what if”. I never know how it’s going to end. I know that I want to throw a big wrench in the middle. I have an idea of the scenes that I want to put in that novel, but as far as sitting down and plotting – no. To me that destroys the creativity. But I’m not saying that won’t work for you. I would venture to say that no two writers look at the process quite the same way.
Caleb: Do you ever see the ending coming when you’re starting a novel? If so, does the ending usually change as the story progresses?
DiAnn: It usually changes. How am I going to get them there in a way that is credible and unpredictable? Am I going to eliminate the bad guy at the end? Do I want him to simply go through the legal process? The FBI shoots to kill. What’s going to work out best for the story? I have to keep all that in mind.
Caleb: You’ve also written some non-fiction. What was the greatest challenge from switching from the world of fiction to the non-fiction world?
DiAnn: I’m all about putting the reader in the character’s shoes. In non-fiction you’re not doing that. Emotion is there, but it’s a whole different ball game, because you are encouraging. For me, I’m talking about my non-fiction book “Dance of Character and Plot.” In nonfiction, it has to be in order. It needs to be as exciting as a novel, because we want them to take action. And because of that, it was very difficult. Writing non-fiction to me is like trying to teach a class and make it as exciting as possible.
Cherrilynn: If you had one minute to give a tip to a writer, what would that tip be.
DiAnn: Read – write – pray – repeat. If I could add number four, it would be “edit”. Read everything you can get your hands on. Write: give yourself a word count, and stick to it, and do it every day. I don’t care if it’s a hundred words. And pray. “Where do you want me, God?”
DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on any of the social media platforms listed at ww.diannmills.com.
