Author Interview with Dina Al Hidiq Zebib: 5 Questions to ask an author about Book Writing Process & Mindset

If you aspire to become a writer, then JUST WRITE! No matter what you write, there will be readers who will love it, and others who won’t, says Dina

Author Dina Al Hidiq Zebib
Author Dina Al-Hidiq Zebib

In this author interview series “5 questions to ask an aligned writer“, we got lucky to win a chat with multiple award-winning author Dina Al Hidiq Zebib who shared with us valuable insights about her book writing process and mindset with tips on research, genres, outlining, why you should write, do’s and don’ts of writing and common lack mindset traps for aspiring and emerging authors.

In her multiple award-winning non-fiction book The COMPLETE Model for Positive Behavior Management; highly sought-after educational consultant and certified PBIS coach Dina Hidiq lays out an exceptional results-driven behavior change and administration model for parents and educators alike.

The word “COMPLETE”—an acronym guides them through the process of eight essential steps guaranteeing to achieve behavior transformation in children at educational or non-educational settings.

Dina Al Hidiq Zebib is an award-winning Certified PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) Coach, Transformation Coach, Educational Consultant, Master Trainer, Author and Poet.

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education, a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, a certificate in Coaching for Multi-Tier System of Supports for Behavior, and certificates in Life Coaching, Transformation Coaching and Solution-Focused Coaching.

She has worked as a district-level coach for hundreds of schools, a teacher and coach in schools with children of various ages and with students who have special needs. She also taught adolescents and adults in universities and educational centers, and worked as a consultant and a director of a child education center.

She is married and has two children. She was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and lives in Belgium with her family. When she is not working or writing, she loves to play music and travel with her family.

The COMPLETE Model for Positive Behavior Management: A Transformational Guide for Parents and Educators

BLURB

The COMPLETE Model for Positive Behavior Management: A Transformational Guide for Parents and Educators Book
The COMPLETE Model: A Transformational Guide for Parents and Educators

The procedures presented in this book are those derived from the author’s educational practices within a positive, proactive and preventive behavior management approach that she has been implementing for more than fifteen years. These procedures present themselves as effective habits for the personal transformation of adults, as well as for use with children at home, and with students at school for the management of their behavior.

The author presents the COMPLETE Model that she has created as a transformational approach for parents and educators. Every chapter will introduce and explain a step from the model, as well as provide examples, procedures, strategies and tools to guide step-by-step implementation.

If we want to see changes in our children and students, we need to begin changing ourselves.

This concise and practical educational guide will aid you to model and represent the changes that you would like to observe in your children and students, while creating positive and proactive environments necessary for their academic and behavioral success.

BOOK AWARDS 

The COMPLETE Model has received the following awards:

5 Author Interview Questions about Book Writing Process Answered

#1 What genre do you consider your books? Have you considered writing in another genre?

I haven’t written in one particular genre. Personally, I will write the book that I feel inspired to write—no matter what genre. My first book was a contemporary women’s romance novel; my second was an educational book; my third was a collection of romantic poetry. Currently, I’m working on a psychological thriller. So, I let my book guide me as to what it wants to be! It’s basically the story line, characters and theme that guide my story or the message that I want to convey to my readers.

#2 Tell us a little about how this story first came to be. Did it start with an image, a voice, a concept, a dilemma or something else?

The COMPLETE Model for Positive Behavior Management is an educational book and a transformational guide for parents and educators. The idea for this book came to me in a very powerful moment of inspiration, and I wrote it in a week!

During the time, I was working in Qatar Foundation as a district level instructional and school-wide PBIS coach, consultant and international trainer (PBIS stands for Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports). My schedule was jam packed with coaching sessions and trainings for schools across the country as well as professional development training sessions in Qatar as well as around the world.

So, the idea hit me during one Easter holiday that I should create a guide that would walk the reader through a step by step transformational process that would be similar to me coaching them through the same process. That’s when I spent the entire week of my holiday writing my book.

I created my COMPLETE Model which is an acronym for the steps required to achieve the transformation necessary to change from within and then outwards in order to manage our children’s behaviors in a positive and proactive way, leading to a change in their behavior.

The trick to be able to correct our children’s inappropriate behaviors is to change our own behaviors first—which is not easy! However, the transformational process that I created—incorporating probing questions, actionable steps, clear examples, and useful tools throughout every stage—allows the reader to gradually transform from within and then as a result be able to transform their own children’s behavior.

I’m very proud of this book—which has proved to be a huge success globally—because I feel that through this book, the ‘coach’ in me can be with every parent and educator who is reading it!

#3 What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

Research is KEY when writing any book—no matter what genre. If, for example, I’m writing about child depression, I have to double check my facts and make sure that the information I am presenting is backed by evidence-based research. Even though I have several degrees and certificates in psychology, education, and coaching, I nevertheless have to fact check the information I am presenting to my readers. When I include a city or a landmark in my story line for example, I research that before I write about it. Everything a writer writes about must be error-free and fact checked so that the writer will be a trusted and reliable source for the reader.

Research isn’t just a process a writer conducts before beginning a book; it is a continuous process that goes hand in hand with the entire writing of the book. As long as we are writing, we are researching!

#4 Does writing energize or exhaust you?

Writing completely energizes me! I am never as motivated as I am when writing a book. For me, writing is both therapeutic and stimulating. Of course the actual writing, the focused attention and the researching is tiring, but I do not feel a negative impact. It’s more like going for a sprint in a beautiful forest; you are tired from the run, but invigorated from the exercise and beautiful scenery

#5 What are common traps for aspiring writers?

I have talked to so many people who tell me that they have always dreamed of writing a book. My advice to them is always: “If you aspire to become a writer, then JUST WRITE!

So many people dream of writing, but very few actually write. Even those who do end up writing their first manuscript, many of them do not publish their work.

These traps, I believe, are a lack of self-discipline to actually ‘write’ because writing is quite an arduous job that requires a lot of time, effort, dedication, and self-discipline. Furthermore, publishing our written work is scary! A lot of my fellow writers spent years pouring their hearts out into beautiful manuscripts, only to feel too afraid to publish. My advice to them is always the same: “No matter what you write, there will be readers who will love it, and others who won’t. What matters is that if you love it, then publish it and let it shine in the world! It is definitely worth sharing with the world and, once you do, you cannot imagine how proud you will feel!

Answer #5 is my personal favorite. Comment below to tell me yours. Have more questions on writing or have a question for the author? Send them in to have them answered. #thealignedwriter

Follow Dina

Website       http://www.dinaalhidiq.com/
Blog             http://www.dinaalhidiq.com/blog-posts-by-coach-and-author-dina-al-hidiq-zebib/
LinkedIn     https://www.linkedin.com/in/dina-al-hidiq-zebib-a88523101/
Amazon      Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads  https://www.goodreads.com/author/Dina_Al_Hidiq_Zebib
Instagram   https://www.instagram.com/dinahzebib/
YouTube     https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnAtM5LcWUNsa0tTdU1bBW
Twitter        https://twitter.com/dinahidiq

Share the Love:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.