280. Creating Characters Who Inspire with DiAnn Mills

Author DiAnn Mills explains the importance of fleshed-out characters and character flaws, and how to create a compelling narrative journey that leaves the audience feeling optimistic.
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Visit DiAnn's website:
https://diannmills.com/

Check out her books:
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001JP4L9G

Follow DiAnn on her socials:
https://www.facebook.com/diannmills/
https://www.instagram.com/diannmillsauthor/
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Transcript

Jennia: Hello, I'm Jennia D'Lima. Welcome to Writing and Editing, the podcast that takes a whole person approach to everything related to both writing and editing. I'm thrilled to have DiAnn Mills joining us today. Her work has appeared on multiple bestseller lists, and she's also the recipient of numerous awards, including two Christie Awards. Her books feature characters who encounter hardships, and she believes that seeing characters who overcome their fears and obstacles can inspire readers. This is "Creating Characters Who Inspire."

Jennia: Thanks so much for being here today, DiAnn!

DiAnn Mills: Oh thank you. I'm excited and thrilled to be a part of your show!

Jennia: Well, I'm really glad to have you. So you're an incredibly prolific author, and you write across multiple genres. Do each of your books contain characters who face fears or obstacles? And if so, how does this vary depending on the genre that you're writing in?

DiAnn Mills: I want to show at least one character in all of my books who solves his or her problems from a Christian worldview.

Jennia: Mhm.

DiAnn Mills: And I want to show that. I don't want to tell that. And so it's important for me to have one character. That character is not perfect. That character has issues and flaws, just like all of us do. And I want to show that through a story that is either historical, suspenseful, historical romance, romantic suspense, because we live in a world where it's a bit dangerous, it's a bit unpredictable. So no matter what genre that my readers prefer, I want to give them that hope.

Jennia: Yeah, that's great. You mentioned that your characters are not perfect and that they're always flawed in some way. Can you explain why that's important?

DiAnn Mills: Because we all are. We are all flawed. I don't think our stories can be realistic if we don't show real people. People who want to do their best, want to follow God, but it doesn't always happen because we have this issue inside of us that says, "No, do it a different way." No matter what aspect of the spiritual life that may be an issue in that character's life, I want to show how they go about it, how they're confronted with it, how they make a choice. I don't want to show that it's easy. I want to show that obedience costs.

Jennia: That was so well put, especially the first line (both laugh). You know, not realistic. That really does sum it up so well. So is this something that you've always had present in your writing, or did it come about over time as you finessed your craft?

DiAnn Mills: I knew right from the start, right in 1996, when I started writing, that I wanted to write for the Christian market.

Jennia: Mhm.

DiAnn Mills: And I had to write a lot of books, do a lot of words, to bring myself to the point of, "Okay, show this." This is not, for DiAnn Mills, a way. This is not about a lecture. This is not about a sermon. This is not about two pages of prayer. Or memorizing Bible verses. This is about showing people what it looks like to mirror Jesus in our lives today. I don't want a character to say, "Oh, I've had an epiphany, and I need to ask this particular person for forgiveness. I did that, and now I feel wonderful." No. I want to show the struggle, the dilemma, the difficulty, and then going to that person and asking for a sincere apology whether the other person accepts it or not. That's what I mean by showing.

Jennia: Yeah, I think that works too, just not with even that specific example. But, I mean, people can take that advice and use it for anything that they're writing Because it's one of the main editorial notes that I leave is that it immerses the reader. It helps us cut that psychic distance between us and that that character, whose headspace we're currently in. And it allows us to really experience it as they are experiencing it.

DiAnn Mills: Oh, I love that. Oh, I love that. I need to frame that.

Jennia: Thank you (both laugh). Well, so some of what your characters face, such as hostage situations, are events that most readers will hopefully never experience in real life. So how do you write about some of these events in a way that's also relatable to your readers, or so that they can see something of themselves in it or learn from it?

DiAnn Mills: That takes a lot of research on my part. First of all, I took a class. I'm a big fan of MasterClass. And I found a class by Chris Voss, former FBI, who put together a fabulous negotiating technique.

Jennia: Oh!

DiAnn Mills: I took that class—I think it was either 13 or 15 classes—and redid a few of them so that I would grasp what were his points. And then I also interviewed a couple of other negotiators and psychologists—

Jennia: Mmm.

DiAnn Mills: —because what I wanted to show in this book, yes, my character is a hostage negotiator. Yes, it takes courage and guts. Yes, that person has to feel sincere and genuine. That negotiator wants everyone to walk out in one piece. It's not a win or lose. It's see the truth and what is going on. And then while I'm writing this, I realize that the story deals with a lot of family dysfunction—

Jennia: Ohh.

DiAnn Mills: —whereas if a psychologist negotiator had been in the middle of some of these conversations and counseled these various people, they would not have gotten to the state in their relationships where they were. And so while my book, I feel, is exciting and an adventure, and it shows a career that could be difficult, I also wanted to show how we could apply those principles to our lives today, with our family, with our friends. Professionally speaking. The techniques are all about caring for the other person, listening to what that person has to say, and then finding a means of showing that person that they are right. Or maybe they need to rethink a few things.

Jennia: I think you've just really emphasized the need for research, even when we're doing something like a character's profession, because it really helps us get down to that granular level of understanding, but also believability. But I also think it would probably be really difficult to pull out those principles if you didn't have that level of knowledge.

DiAnn Mills: If I relied on me, oh, I don't think I'd sell another book (Jennia laughs). But I do want to talk to those who have walked through tragedies. I do want to interview those who work with those people. I want to ensure my stories mirror real life—

Jennia: Mhm.

DiAnn Mills: —because we meet people every day from all walks of life, and I'm interested in them. I want to know their story. I want to know if I can help and encourage them in any way I can.

Jennia: Aww, and I feel like you're using your books to do that, really. Because there's always this underlying message of hope. So it's not just that this terrible thing has happened to you, or you've been involved in some capacity for helping someone else through that situation, but again, there's always again, that light at the end, that this just—this isn't it. The door has not closed on you in your life.

DiAnn Mills: No. It could be the beginning of something new. That's what hope is all about.

Jennia: Mhm. So going back to talking about the tragedies and things that you talk about your characters experiencing, what sort of care and consideration goes into writing about those and not just using them for dramatic effect?

DiAnn Mills: Reality. That anyone who goes through a tragedy, they don't experience twelve steps of recovery—you know, one through twelve. They can experience emotions all at the same time and not understand. They can feel like giving up. They can feel like, "No, I won't give up." And that is us. I want to show readers that their emotions are natural—

Jennia: Mhm.

DiAnn Mills: —and not to run from them. They may need help in working through them, but it's all part of the experience to understand we've got to walk through grief. I've walked through grief. You've walked through grief. And it's not the same for everyone. And that's okay.

Jennia: Yeah. So, going back to the message of hope, what are some tips that you have for incorporating that amongst these heavier themes?

DiAnn Mills: To show subtly how a breath of fresh air, a kind word, a smile, can give you that glimpse of, "This is what works."

Jennia: Mhm.

DiAnn Mills: It is... right now in my Houston home, the humidity is probably—it is 100 percent, and it's up in the high nineties. And you're thinking, "Why, DiAnn, why do you want to walk outside?" I want to see the day lilies that are blooming. I want to see the lantana that's moving, that smells so fragrant. I want to hear that the birds singing. I want that gift from God to inspire me and give me hope.

Jennia: How beautiful (laughs). How do you work this also into your character arcs?

DiAnn Mills: According to their personality, what types of things affect them. And that means their love language—

Jennia: Mmm.

DiAnn Mills: —that means their life experiences. That means their career choices and education, family life, friends. All of those things can usher in hope. And I want to show it according to that character.

Jennia: Life experience comes up a lot with character development. But love language isn't one I think another guest has ever touched on. So I'd love to have you elaborate on that a little bit.

DiAnn Mills: According to Gary Chapman and his fabulous bestseller, The Five Love Languages, you know, there is touch, there are gifts, there are ... you've done something for me. And right now, my mind's going blank with all of them. But I use, for me, I use a Myers Briggs testing—

Jennia: Oh!

DiAnn Mills: —And so if those listening are interested in, "Oh, wow, how does the love language affect my unique personality?" Just Google it. Myers Briggs on the five love languages. And it's just very insightful, and it doesn't hurt for the writer to check on themselves too. But I know that, for me, compliments and doing something for me makes me feel so good and warm. But I need to know, what does that for you?—

Jennia: Right.

DiAnn Mills: —And my characters use that. Whether it's a detective looking to find the love languages—or love language, whatever it may be—of a character that may need to be arrested. Or maybe I have a couple and he or she is trying to figure out their love language so they can know them better. There's just lots of value there by learning about the psychology of human behavior.

Jennia: That's just such a fascinating concept. I feel like that could be an entire interview all on its own and how to explore that more thoroughly and then use that as a basis for character creation. Because it also helps differentiate your characters, then, if one responds mostly to acts of kindness, for instance, and another needs physical touch. So maybe that one character needs you to go wash their car, but the other one just needs a hug at the end of the day. So then too, you don't have that same stock character being repeated throughout.

DiAnn Mills: And a little chuckle for you on myself: And that is the times that I have accomplished something, my husband knows that I'm going to creep to him in private and say, "Are you proud of me?"

Jennia: Aww (laughs)

DiAnn Mills: I mean, that's my love language, and he knows it. And it always creates a giggle in him and encourages me to do it. That's people. That's humanity.

Jennia: And on a character level, even taking that little story about you and your husband, that can help show the reader the level of intimacy between different characters. Where when one just knows what to do to reach that other person without having to run through this list of possibilities or go through some trial and error as they're guessing what is going to help them in that situation.

DiAnn Mills: Oh very much so. And you and I have all met people, or read about characters, and they'll say, "You don't even know me."

Jennia: Yes!

DiAnn Mills: And that is so true. So that is something we can weave in our stories to make people feel accepted, to make the reader feel accepted. My personal goal in writing fiction is to—first to entertain, of course. But then to inspire the reader to, "Oh, wow, I can ask for forgiveness. I can go back to school and get my degree. I can be a better wife, mother, husband, father," whatever that may be. And also to encourage that reader wherever they are. "You go, reader! You got this!"

Jennia: I love that. And I think that is so true, because sometimes we may not realize that we have a certain amount of potential left in us or that that option is even available to us until we see a character who might be in similar circumstances. Or even if the circumstances are incredibly different, maybe they still remind us of who we are and where we're currently at in life. And it helps expose us to that possibility as well.

DiAnn Mills: Wow! I feel like we've just created a prescription to help the world be a better place (laughs).

Jennia: It all starts with books. No (laughs).

DiAnn Mills: Yes!

Jennia: But yeah. Especially because when we are so bogged down in whatever is happening to us, or even those people who might feel uncomfortable sharing it with someone else. Or maybe not even sharing, but sharing on a shallow level, so there isn't really going to be any noticeable feedback or actionable help. But yeah, when we seal it in a character, we're able to more personally then apply it.

DiAnn Mills: Oh yes. And that brings me to another DiAnn Mills statement (Jennia laughs). And that is, you and I all have friends, and family, neighbors, co workers, professionals, who are not Christian.

Jennia: Mhm.

DiAnn Mills: They're not going to go with us to church. They're not going to go to a Sunday school picnic. But we can hand them a novel that shows one character walking through life solving their problems from a Christian worldview, and that plants a seed. And I love that about a fiction. I love that about what God's called me to do.

Jennia: Yeah. I do think we can find inspiration and hope in places where we might have closed ourselves off to it before because we did have some preconceived ideas about what it would be like or how we even might react to it. You know, we're already expecting that we're not going to like it. It's sort of like when you go to a restaurant with your young child and you encourage them to try this new menu item, and they've already decided, "I'm going to hate it." (laughs) And then it ends up being their favorite thing.

DiAnn Mills: Yes (laughs). Oh yes. I had four boys. I get that (laughs some more). Our conversation has just built me back up with hope that I can make a difference. And that's what I want for you and your listeners—

Jennia: Yes!

DiAnn Mills: —is to understand hope. One thing I will say is, if anyone is interested in how I create characters—

Jennia: Mhm.

DiAnn Mills: —I'm a seat-of-the-pants writer, but I have a 15-page character sketch that I complete my point-of-view characters before I do chapter one, line one. And it does have a lot of those links and resources that I use. If anyone is interested, all they have to do is go to diannmills.com, contact me, and tell me what they wanted. I'd be glad to send it.

Jennia: Aww, that's fantastic. Thank you so much for doing that.

DiAnn Mills: I believe that whatever a writer learns, no matter how small, no matter how insignificant, if that writer is willing to share it with a serious writer, then that says a whole lot about that serious writer wanting to better themselves. So I'm open to that.

Jennia: That's really nice of you. Thank you so much.

DiAnn Mills: You're welcome (laughs). It took a lot of years to put it together, and I'm continually adding and working with it. Which is something else I encourage writers—You know, my brain doesn't work like yours, so, you know, glean what you can and change what you need to.

Jennia: That's something that also comes up on this show, talking to various writers, and just something I've told authors I work with, that we often hear this is the way to do it. "Here is this five-step process. Here is this ten-step list for how to do XYZ." But it really just means that it works for that person and it won't necessarily work for you. So don't take it upon yourself to then berate yourself as a writer when it doesn't work for you. But there's usually still an inkling of an idea that you can get from it or maybe something that you can pull out of it. Even if it's just that one step out of ten that does work for you in your process.

DiAnn Mills: Oh, absolutely. I think we should have a parade. And you should put your last statement on a big banner. And we're going to march down through Houston, or wherever you live, and we will let writers know that.

Jennia: And it just dawned on me, literally just now as we were talking; we don't have these same expectations for our characters. You know, we don't expect them to react the same way to the events or circumstances or even other characters and what they say. So then why do we expect that from ourselves when we're given writing advice?

DiAnn Mills: Oh, I don't know. Can you imagine? And you and I have read some books where it just seems like, "Well, that's the story I just read. They just replaced the characters' names." And that defeats our purpose. There's more to story than that.

Jennia: Yeah. It has that formulaic feel to it, I think, when they do that. But yeah, then you lose, again, that depth from the character and that emotional connection, because they aren't doing the groundwork to include that. So in Lethal Standoff, which is your most recent book, Carrington's profession naturally puts her in these predicaments that, again, she's going to be exposed to things that are emotionally heavy. So how do you write about these events in a way that isn't going to overwhelm the reader, or even overwhelm you as you're researching them, and writing about them?

DiAnn Mills: I have to look at this as a real person I want to help. A real person that has some behavior that, "Oh, Carrington, I wish you wouldn't do that. I wish you wouldn't think that. I wish you wouldn't say that." So what I want to do is to put the worst possible situation in front of them and see if they can rise to the top like rich cream.

Jennia: Oh yeah—

DiAnn Mills: And in Lethal Standoff, I had to think, "What is the worst possible thing that could happen to a negotiator?"

Jennia: Mmm.

DiAnn Mills: And I found that thing, that haunting ghost ... that is her worst fear. I like the way it goes, and I like the way that she is finally able to accept and stand up to that particular horrible thing that could happen to her. And that's how I want to do it, with a hero. I love my hero.

Jennia: Levi?

DiAnn Mills: (in unison) His name is Levi. And he is a Messianic Jew. And his family, who are very strict Orthodox Jews, have shunned him. They've even had a type of burial for him. And I interviewed several Messianic Jewish people who gave me a lot of insight that if my Levi had chosen to be Southern Baptist or Lutheran, he would not have faced the shunning that he did. And because of that, he no longer has family. He's starting all over with friends turning into family. And I love that because I wanted him to stand up for his principles—

Jennia: Mhm.

DiAnn Mills: —but have that sweet spirit about him who loved and cherished his family, and hoped one day to have reconciliation.

Jennia: I think that does a wonderful job too, of showing that these largely dramatic events can sometimes be inward facing and not outward facing that are going to necessarily employ a lot of action and fast-paced urgency to escape something. But yeah, that a lot of these fears are very much internalized.

DiAnn Mills: Oh yes. My expectations are that my characters have to solve the inner turmoil before they can expect to achieve the goal or solve the problem that is plaguing their lives.

Jennia: I think you just explained how to have a compelling character arc as well (DiAnn laughs). Well, if you have any final advice you'd like to share, or even an upcoming project or event where listeners can meet you?

DiAnn Mills: Oh my goodness. Please go to my website. I'd love to hear from you. You can contact me. It goes right to my inbox. I'll find out where I'm going to be. I'd love to meet you. Hug a neck. If you're a writer looking for mentoring or something along that line, it's all there. I just want to be able to encourage you, and meet you, and know that you are not alone in whatever you're going through.

Jennia: Mmm. Well, thank you again! Your genuine kindness has just been such a delight. And talking to you has been wonderful.

DiAnn Mills: I think that talking to you has been a delight too. Thank you!

Jennia: Thank you so much! (laughs)

Jennia: And thank you for listening, and be sure to check out the show notes for additional information. And I'll have all of DiAnn's links included there so you can go out and do these things. And then please join me next week as author Tiffany Aurora talks about running an in-person writing group. If you enjoyed today's show, please subscribe and share the link with a friend. Thanks again!