Much has been said about the importance—or rather, the need—for a writer to have a room of her own. All the better (at least, in the 21st century), if the said room comes with a door that locks from the inside and with zero Internet connection. But what if you don’t have a spare bedroom… Read more »
How many times have you attempted to shoehorn a new habit into your life? Did you start a diet that ignores the camaraderie of pizza night, begin a yoga class that meets at an inconvenient time, and set up a cleaning schedule that includes dusting the baseboards? Many new habits fail because we try to… Read more »
I didn’t come to appreciate the Great Detective (AKA Sherlock Holmes) until I reached my 30s and saw the BBC series Sherlock. I then read some exceptional YA pastiche and became hooked. Those books led me back to the original series. I’m nowhere near having read them all, but I read some of the more… Read more »
If you’ve spent much time in the writing world, you’re probably familiar with the idea of character arcs. For those who are new to this term, character arcs are the internal transformations of your cast as they struggle to overcome major flaws or wounds—typically in the form of a positive, negative, or flat arc. As… Read more »
I know I’m in trouble when I’m taking my work too seriously when I can’t find something to be amused by. I have written about some really unfunny things—addiction, cancer, death. My latest novel, An Upside-Down Sky, is set in Namyan, a Buddhist country modeled after Burma, which is a kissing cousin of North Korea… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Claire Stanford. We’ll be talking about her debut novel Happy for You, a contemporary adult fiction novel grappling with tech, happiness, and what living authentically really means. Have you signed up to be a DIY MFA Radio Insider yet? This is an exciting new monthly newsletter especially for… Read more »
I’ve been watching the war on the Ukrainian people unfold with equal parts horror and amazement. This is history unfolding before our very eyes. You guys, this is David and Goliath; it’s the Spartans and the Persians. The people of Ukraine, and President Zelinskyy in particular, have inspired millions with their refusal to back down… Read more »
The most important pages you need to prepare before you query a literary agent, besides the query letter, are the first pages of your book. But how do you start a book? Or, how do you know when the first chapter you’ve written will hook your reader? Sometimes in an attempt to seduce a literary… Read more »
Recently, I needed a break from the heaviness of the world, so I began revisiting the work of Nora Ephron. She is known for such hits as Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally, and You’ve Got Mail. And I love all of those movies. But I love them because of how she plays. As… Read more »
While writing Khabaar: An Immigrant Journey of Food, Memory and Family, the basic question was how to braid the stories of childhood, memory, and what came after for an immigrant family and in turn, what it meant to the reader. Is it a voyeuristic look at a country that’s foreign to the reader? Is it… Read more »
