Excellence in Writing

By DiAnn Mills

When we place our name on our writing, we are ensuring the reader discovers excellence. The effort to create an outstanding manuscript requires time and skill with a commitment to learning the newest trends in the industry. Consistent learning, edits, and rewrites are part of the process.

Whew!

Every writer has experienced the defeat of rejection and the dive into the waters of discouragement. We raise our fists and wade through the tears to work harder and not allow defeat to drown our publishing dreams.

How do we move forward in promoting excellence in our writing? The following are my practices. They’ve proven to work, and I want to pass them on to you.

Schedule time with God every morning before turning on the computer.

•         Before writing a word, spend time in the Word. Simple advice, but the best way to tap into our Creator’s heart.

•         God may have something different for us to write or do, and His ways are always perfect.

•         Pray our words bless His name.

Schedule time daily to study the craft.

•         Explore the blog posts written by professionals who practice quality writing.

•         Read the how-to books, highlight and underline the information that speaks to you.

•         Put the instruction into practice.

•         Don’t be afraid to fail.

•         Don’t be afraid to change.

•         Never knowingly send a faulty manuscript to a critique partner or editor.

Schedule time daily to study social media.

•         Explore the blogs written by social media experts targeted to writers who understand the value of effective and efficient posts.

•         Read the how-to books and highlight/underline the information that pertains to your brand.

•         Learn how to meet readers’ needs.

•         Put instruction into practice.

•         Don’t be afraid to fail.

•         Don’t be afraid to change.

Schedule at least one writing conference per year to deepen knowledge of the craft, network, and find encouragement.

•         Explore all the conferences available and choose the one that fits your genre, brand, and level of expertise.

•         Ask your editor or publishing house for a conference preference

Schedule time to give back to the writing community.

•         If we aren’t diligent in helping others, how can we expect to grow or pass the baton of excellence when our season of writing is over?

•         Practice saying no to those projects that we feel aren’t from God.

•         Consider mentoring a serious writer who is willing to work hard.

We all want three P’s after our name: Published, Professional, and Polished. How will you strive for your writer excellence?

Write on!

______________________________________________________________ 

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She weaves memorable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels. DiAnn believes every breath of life is someone’s story, so why not capture those moments and create a thrilling adventure? 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. DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. She is the director of The Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, Mountainside Marketing Conference, and the Mountainside Novelist Retreat 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 has been termed a coffee snob and roasts her own coffee beans. She’s an avid reader, loves to cook, and believes her grandchildren are the smartest kids in the universe. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas. DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on: Facebook, Twitter, or any of the social media platforms listed at diannmills.com

TO OUTLINE OR NOT

By H. W. “Buzz” Bernard

A question I often hear asked of novelists, at least by other writers, is whether they outline before beginning to hammer out a manuscript.  Or, do they just sit down, an idea aborning in their mind, and began to craft their tale?

The majority of authors, it seems, develop some sort of outline.  I say “some sort,” because there is no standardized style of outline.  It’s basically whatever the writer feels comfortable with, whatever gets the job done.

Outline types range from perhaps a single page of scribbled notes to what sounds to me like an excruciatingly detailed delineation: a one- or two-page synopsis for each chapter.  Again, there’s no style guide here, no right or wrong way of doing things.  If it works for you, it’s the the right way.

What works for me is to get down a couple of pages of thoughts, including major turning points, key scenes and the conclusion--or at least where I’d like to end up.  In my most recent novel, Supercell, I had two alternate endings in mind and really didn’t know which would work best until I got there.

You see, an outline for me is just a guide.  I know I must get from Point A to Point B, but I don’t know how until I start writing.  The characters and circumstances dictate my route.  That, to me, is the fun of crafting fiction.  As Robert Frost said, “No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader.”

To draw a military analogy to outlining, I view an outline as a strategic plan, the big picture.  I execute the plan through a series of tactics: my writing.  And like any military plan, it begins to fall apart as soon as soon as I squeeze off the first round, that is, type the first word. 

As necessary, I go back and amend the plan.  I change the outline.  It’s a “living document” that evolves through an iterative process.  The outline guides my writing, but my writing may feed back into changing the outline.  This may happen once or many times over the course of cranking out a manuscript.

Once, I did try to march off on a literary journey without an outline.  Other people, I knew, had done it successfully.  Why not me?  Well, it turned out I have no sense of dead reckoning.  After about a hundred pages (roughly 25,000 words), I found myself hopelessly lost in a jungle of blind trails, dead ends and improbable plot twists. 

My only salvation was to sacrifice my baby to the slashing teeth of a black paper shredder and allow native beaters to lead me, whimpering, to safety.

I now am a dedicated outliner.

_____________________________________________________________________________

H. W. “Buzz” Bernard is a writer, retired Weather Channel meteorologist and USAF veteran.  His debut novel, Eyewall,which one reviewer called a “perfect summer read,” was released in May 2011 and went on to become a number-one best seller in Amazon’s Kindle Store. Plague, also reached Kindle best-seller status, and was selected as a finalist in the 2014 EPIC eBook Awards suspense/thriller category. Supercell, a fast-moving drama set against tornado chasing on the Great Plains, came out in November 2013. Buzz worked at The Weather Channel in Atlanta, Georgia, as a senior meteorologist for 13 years. He served as a weather officer in the U.S. Air Force for over three decades with therank of colonel and receivedThe Legion of Merit. His “airborne” experiences include a mission with the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters, air drops over the Arctic Ocean and Turkey, and a stint as a weather officer aboard a Tactical Air Command airborne command post (C-135).In the past, he’s provided field support to forest fire fighting operations in the Pacific Northwest, spent a summer working on Alaska’s arctic slope, chased tornadoes on the Great Plains, and served two tours in Vietnam.  Various  jobs,  have taken him to Germany, Saudi Arabia and Panama. A native Oregonian graduate of University of Washington in Seattle with a bachelor’s degree in atmospheric science. Buzz currently is vice president of the Southeastern Writers Association.  He’s a member of International Thriller Writers, the Atlanta Writers Club and Willamette Writers.He and his wife Christina live in Roswell, Georgia, along with their fuzzy and sometimes overactive Shih-Tzu, Stormy. Stormy’s namesake appears in Supercell. His latest book, Blizzard, available now.

To Outline or Not

By H.W.“Buzz” Bernard

A question I often hear asked of novelists, at least by other writers, is whether they outline before beginning to hammer out a manuscript. Or, do they just sit down, an idea aborning in their mind, and began to craft their tale?

The majority of authors, it seems, develop some sort of outline. I say, “Some sort,” because there is no standardized style of outline. It’s basically whatever the writer feels comfortable with, whatever gets the job done.

Outline types range from perhaps a single page of scribbled notes to what sounds to me like an excruciatingly detailed delineation: a one- or two-page synopsis for each chapter. Again, there’s no style guide here, no right or wrong way of doing things. If it works for you, it’s the right way.

What works for me is to get down a couple of pages of thoughts, including major turning points, key scenes and the conclusion--or at least where I’d like to end up. In my most recent novel, Supercell, I had two alternate endings in mind and really didn’t know which would work best until I got there.

You see, an outline for me is just a guide. I know I must get from Point A to Point B, but I don’t know howuntil I start writing. The characters and circumstances dictate my route. That, to me, is the fun of crafting fiction. As Robert Frost said, “No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader.”

To draw a military analogy to outlining, I view an outline as a strategic plan, the big picture. I execute the plan through a series of tactics: my writing. And like any military plan, it begins to fall apart as soon as I squeeze off the first round, that is, type the first word.

As necessary, I go back and amend the plan. I change the outline. It’s a “living document” that evolves through an iterative process. The outline guides my writing, but my writing may feed back into changing the outline. This may happen once or many times over the course of cranking out a manuscript.

Once, I did try to march off on a literary journey without an outline. Other people, I knew, had done it successfully. Why not me? Well, it turned out I have no sense of dead reckoning. After about a hundred pages (roughly 25,000 words), I found myself hopelessly lost in a jungle of blind trails, dead ends and improbable plot twists.

My only salvation was to sacrifice my baby to the slashing teeth of a black paper shredder and allow native beaters to lead me, whimpering, to safety.

I now am a dedicated outliner.

_____________________________________________________________________

H. W. “Buzz” Bernard is a writer, retired Weather Channel senior meteorologist for 13 years. He served as a weather officer in the U.S. Air Force for over three decades.  He attained the rank of colonel and received, among other awards, the Legion of Merit. His “airborne” experiences include a mission with the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters, air drops over the Arctic Ocean and Turkey, and a stint as a weather officer aboard a Tactical Air Command airborne command post (C-135). In the past, he’s provided field support to forest fire fighting operations in the Pacific Northwest, spent a summer working on Alaska’s arctic slope, chased tornadoes on the Great Plains, and served two tours in Vietnam.  Various other jobs, both civilian and military, have taken him to Germany, Saudi Arabia and Panama. A native Oregonian he attended the University of Washington in Seattle where he earned a bachelor’s degree in atmospheric science; he also studied creative writing. Buzz currently is vice president of the Southeastern Writers Association.  He’s a member of International Thriller Writers, the Atlanta Writers Club and Willamette Writers. He and his wife Christina live in Roswell, Georgia, along with their fuzzy and sometimes overactive Shih-Tzu, Stormy.  Stormy’s namesake appears in Supercell. His debut novel is, Eyewall followed by Plague and his third novel, Supercell is now available.