One of the greatest things about being a writer today is that there is a market for every flavor of story in any genre. This is even true of genres-within-genres, those special gems of writing that pursue one strand of writing within another context. For example, LGBTQ+ stories can now be found in any and… Read more »
Whenever I think of investments and, by extension, returns on investments, words like appreciation, capital, and risk usually come to mind. For most of my life, investments seemed a foreign concept. As someone who lives paycheck-to-paycheck, is perpetually broke, and can never seem to have more than a $13.00 balance in their checking account after… Read more »
I’ve always believed that a story idea is a magical butterfly that flutters around and lands on the one person that has the magnificence—that perfect combination of experience, perspective, emotions, heart, mind, and desire—to bring the story to life in such a way that reflects the writer’s soul and captures the reader’s heart. If a… Read more »
Toni Morrison once said, “If there’s a book you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” This is my absolute favorite quote about writing because it empowers me with the courage to try anything. It’s an awesome feeling, this surge of courage, but let us back up a… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Ana Maria Spagna. Ana Maria is the author of Uplake: Restless Essays of Coming and Going and several previous nonfiction books on nature, work, civil, indigenous, and LGBTQ rights. Her previous books include: Reclaimers, stories of elder women reclaiming sacred land and water, which was a finalist for… Read more »
Greetings, Speculators! May was Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. So, yeah, I’m a little late with this recommended reading list, but you can read these great books any time. Diversify your reading game and include some of these suggestions in your to be read (TBR) list. Ken Liu Ken Liu is author… Read more »
I’m the Operations Maven at DIY MFA. That role encompasses a lot of things, but the common thread—the thread I want to pick at in this essay—is my responsibility to build our community. One of the beautiful things about DIY MFA is how far-flung we are. As a community, we cover the globe. We are… Read more »
When you are writing a memoir, you spend a lot of your time excavating a past that is often elusive. To bring a memory to life on the page, you have to call up all the myriad details that filled it with emotion and meaning at the time, and the full force of any memory… Read more »
As writers, we spend a lot of time thinking about our story and our characters. We agonize over plot points and think about how to create heroes and heroines that our readers will love. We meticulously review the structure of our scenes, trying to keep our readers surprised and engaged. But we often skip right… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing award-winning debut author Denny S. Bryce. Denny won the RWA Golden Heart® and was a three-time GH finalist, including twice for Wild Women and the Blues. She also writes book reviews for NPR Books and entertainment articles for FROLIC Media. Additionally, the former professional dancer and public relations… Read more »
