Diana X. Moga

Diana X. Moga
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Reader. Writer. Relentlessly Helpful.

Fellow Writers

Mistakes I Made Before Writing my Novel

There are things I wish I knew before writing my novel, hence I made some mistakes. While there’s a ton of advice out there this boils down to personal lessons learned. There’s a lot to learn from other people’s going Read more…

By Diana, 1 yearMay 20, 2021 ago
Fellow Writers

How is Top Gun So Good?

The new Top Gun: Maverick blew me away. It’s so good! It was story telling magic just like the original 1986 Top Gun. When the final credits rolled it had me thinking, how the heck did they pull that off? Read more…

By Diana, 1 weekJune 17, 2022 ago
Book Picks

Twenty-Thousand Leagues is not What You Think

I had Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea sitting on my bookshelf and decided to read it. The story isn’t what I thought it would be, plus it moves too slowly for contemporary readers. Same with the Disney movie staring Kirk Read more…

By Diana, 4 weeksMay 30, 2022 ago
Book Picks

Pulp Novels Sell. Here’s a Pulp Novel ‘How To,’ Book

There’s lots of reasons to write pulp novels. One reason is that pulp novels sell, and a writer should never discount what readers want. If you’re a beginner looking for a quick book that will improve your storytelling, here is Read more…

By Diana, 4 monthsMarch 9, 2022 ago
Fellow Writers

3 Simple Tips for a Novel-Rewrite

Here I will share with you my process for rewriting a novel, and it involves a quality notebook and set of good pens. I had every intention of finishing my rewrites before my kids left on spring break. As it Read more…

By Diana, 4 monthsMarch 4, 2022 ago
Book Picks

You’ll Love How This Book Explains the Internet

I came away after reading this book with an ‘aha’ feeling about the intenet. I learned about this book a while ago on NPR and it came to mind recently when I wanted to find a book about the internet. Read more…

By Diana, 4 monthsFebruary 21, 2022 ago
Fellow Writers

5 Practical Stages of the Writing Process

There are five stages in the writing process, and by the writing process, I mean the process that starts with an idea and ends with a manuscript you can pitch to a stranger. Like many things that are more art Read more…

By Diana, 5 monthsFebruary 12, 2022 ago
Fellow Writers

Here’s a Challenge: Should I Read ‘The Hero’s Journey’?

Rather, should you read The Hero With A Thousand Faces? This book is where the Hero’s Journey concept originates. My answer: It depends. It’s a Friday afternoon in glorious Florida. The thermostat in my car read 83 degrees outside. I Read more…

By Diana, 5 monthsFebruary 4, 2022 ago
Book Picks

The Blade Runner Novel Has an Odd Title

The Blade Runner movie is based on a novel with the odd title, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? This novel started the franchise with the original 1982 movie staring Harrison Ford, and more recently, Blade Runner 2049, produced in Read more…

By Diana, 9 monthsOctober 5, 2021 ago
Flash Fiction

Easy Flash Fiction in Less Than 600 words

Here’s a flash fiction example coming in at just under 600 words. I will typically come up with these premises based on some behavior I observe in real life. Real life inspiration, in other words. In this case, I thought Read more…

By Diana, 11 monthsJuly 17, 2021 ago
Fellow Writers

Big Five Science Fiction Tropes, Explained

Sure, there are probably more science fiction tropes, but here I’ve focused on five broad tropes and explained what each trope tries to explore in a sci-fi work. In each genre, there are conventions that readers expect to find. Romance, Read more…

By Diana, 1 yearJune 16, 2021 ago

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Diana

Hi there, welcome to my site. I'm a writer and reserve military officer. I write fiction, professional essays on military topics, and review books and movies. I live in Florida with my husband, two kids, and two cats.

We celebrated my mom’s birthday today (she is also named Diana), and my uncle’s birthday, with a combo birthday cake. Penny took this photo of me in the patio. Welp, today makes 15 years of holy matrimony. Happy anniversary to us ❤️Even though today is a pretty regular day, it’s a good day all the same. Here’s to sticking together through ups and downs, thick and thin. PME complete ✅ Happy Sunday, all. I have been sequestering myself from the internet these past few weeks as I focus on finishing this draft of my manuscript. If social medial taps into our instant gratification, reptile-brain, then book writing calls upon our think-deeply-on-something-forever-and-ever-until-something-clicks, brain. I did some work for the Marine Corps this weekend, here I am with my hubs and straight-faced child after I showed up for my dad’s birthday party. Be well 🙌. Happy Monday, all. I finished reading, “Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet,” this morning. I recommend it if you’ve every been curious about the internet. Blum goes through the history of the internet by way of all the internet’s physical locations. It’s surprisingly refreshing. For a space that feels so abstract, the internet is anything but. I’ve been reading this book lately and I’m only half- way through because it’s kind of a slog. But this is THE book, they say, about character archetypes and the mono myth. This is just a fancy way of saying that all stories are the same. I dig it. I buy the argument. Still all the mythology is a lot to take in, but it’s a must read if you’re into character archetypes and such. It’s a rainy day here in Florida today, and despite the fact that my kids’ soccer practice is canceled, normal life keeps getting in the way of reading my manuscript and pressing on with revisions. If you didn’t know, I have a military+science-fiction+coming of age novel that I’ve been working on. It’s both a passion project and a serious one. Sometimes it kicks my ass. I hit an author-ly milestone this morning. It’s the, “you have an actual story here but you still have more revisions to do,” milestone 😅. This is my second round of professional edits for my book manuscript. It’s New Year’s resolution time.
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