DIY MFA Street Team Round-Up: Weeks 1-4

by Elisabeth Kauffman
published in Community

High-ho, Elisabeth Kauffman here (I’ve always wanted to start a post that way… any other original Muppet Show fans here?).

The past few weeks I’ve been honored to meet and participate with the DIY MFA Street Team, a group of committed and enthusiastic writers who are helping us get the word out about DIY MFA, The Book. We’ve had Facebook chats and conference calls to talk about writing and publishing. But best of all, we have a Question of the Week emailed to us by Gabriela that we can all ponder and reflect on in our writing. I have really enjoyed hearing the personal writing journeys of my fellow Street Teamers these past few weeks!

We wanted to give a shout-out to some of these amazing Street Teamers by highlighting their blog posts here at DIY MFA. So without further ado, here are 4 stand-out posts and the DIY MFA Street Team Questions of the Week that inspired them (weeks 1-4).

Week One Question: Have you ever thought about getting an MFA? If so, did you pursue it? (And what was that experience like?) If not, what have you been doing instead to enhance your writing education?

Emma Nelson – MFA Programs vs. DIY-ing Your MFA

Emma tackles Week 1’s question head on, talking about reasons she’s pro-MFA, whether it’s traditional or DIY. I love her no-nonsense approach to the question and the solutions she comes up with for people who are struggling to decide whether an MFA is right for them.

Week Two Question: How did you become a writer? Just as writing is a superpower, every superhero has an origin story. What’s yours? When did you realize that you wanted to write? What motivated you to get started?

AR Neal – Becoming a Writer – DIY MFA Question of the Week 2
Andreé shares her struggle to make her voice heard in response to Week 2’s question about our writers’ origin stories. I love the pluck and determination that young Andreé has in the face of less than supportive authority figures. Sometimes you have to fight for your write!

Week Three Question: One of the most important themes in DIY MFA is honoring your reality. Have you ever had a moment when you had to do that? What was is? How did you balance writing and life?

Kamsin Kaneko – How to honour life and writing
In response to Week 3’s question about honoring your reality as a writer, Kasmin gets real about her need as a mother to find balance in her creative life, and how the creative establishment isn’t always willing to help.

Week Four Question: Everyone has a writing superpower. What’s yours?

Melanie Marttila – What’s my storytelling superpower and my writer’s Kryptonite?
In a brave display of her superpower, Melanie responds to two questions in one post! I love how, in response to Week 4’s question, she applies her results from the Storytelling Super Power Quiz to her current works-in-progress.

What I love most about DIY MFA, and what the Street Team proves over and over again is that we all have different backgrounds, but we all have similar themes that bind us into a talented and inspiring community.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to stop in and show some comment-love to these writers. There’s nothing that writers love better than to know that someone out there is reading what we’ve written. And stay tuned for more round-ups of great writing from the DIY MFA Street Team.


Elisabeth-headshot-1-275x275Elisabeth Kauffman is a freelance editor in California. Her favorite genres are YA fantasy, sci-fi, and romance. She regularly obsesses over board games, Doctor Who, and Harry Potter. Come share your ideas with her on Facebook and Twitter and on the web at www.writingrefinery.com. Also, check out her author website: www.elisabethkauffman.com and her author page on Facebook.

 

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