I was sure my first novel was a romantic suspense. At least I thought I had structured it that way. The story has danger, mystery, and an escalating romance between two people, who, under any other circumstances, would unlikely get togeter. Eager to see how readers would receive the initial draft, I entered my story… Read more »
Dear word nerd, If you answered “Yes” to the question in the title, then you got it wrong. The fabulous Kristen Lamb—author, blogger, and friend—often gives this pop quiz at conferences. She’ll tell the audience: “Raise your hand if you’re an aspiring writer.” Some people wave wildly like the writing version of Hermione Granger. A… Read more »
When you hear the term “break out of your comfort zone” you probably think about something drastic like sky diving or quitting your job to live on the road. These are completely valid ways to break out of your comfort zone, but you don’t have to do anything nearly so drastic to find the perfect… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today we’ll be doing something a little bit different on the show. Usually DIY MFA Radio features interviews with authors and publishing industry professionals, but let’s face it: there’s more to life than writing. In fact, if we want to find success in our careers as writers, we have to think… Read more »
Kimberly Bell is a historical romance author, and she’s here to share her secrets about getting two book contracts and writing five books in two years. Her first two books were published by Penguin Intermix last year, with her third book releasing next week on April 18th. Her second romance series will begin releasing through Entangled… Read more »
Last month, I wrote about minimalism, and how I thought the lifestyle might have particular value for writers. I planned to take the month of March to experiment with de-cluttering and embracing a more minimalist lifestyle in my home and on my computer. A month and many, many trashbags later, I’m still not quite done with the… Read more »
Some writers strike lightning on their first books—landing an agent, a book deal, even the Times list on the very first manuscript they’ve ever written. This article is not for those writers (though I tip my hat to them). This is for the rest of us—the writers with a novel, or two, or ten, in… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today I am excited to interview author and creative writing professor, Susan Perabo. She is a writer-in-residence and professor at Dickinson College, and in this episode, we talk about making that transition from short fiction to novels (or vice versa) and what writers can learn from both forms. We also discuss different… Read more »
Maybe it’s my inner academic, or my inner word nerd, but I have a “thing” for defining terms. If we can’t agree upon what we’re talking about, how can we have a productive conversation? And that’s one of my primary aims with this column: to promote discussion and general thoughtiness with regard to speculative fiction…. Read more »
Most of us know the basics of online platforming by now – slap those links on your home page, post regularly, be engaged. But when I tell people that I do a lot of my best online platform growth at in-person events, I get a lot of raised eyebrows. It can already feel like a… Read more »
