Hey there word nerds! Today’s interview features Brian Meehl, author of four novels that have garnered several awards and starred book reviews: Out of Patience, Suck It Up, Suck It Up and Die, and You Don’t Know About Me. His latest genre-bending novel, Blowback ‘07, transports readers back to 1907, a time when legendary coach… Read more »
I’d bet we all know what it’s like to fall head over heels for an author—I’d be lying if there aren’t a few who have completely stolen my heart away. This very special kind of chemistry generally goes beyond any individual book, and extends to the author’s overall persona. It can seem that these authors… Read more »
I’m a fairly new fiction writer, but I’ve been a journalist for decades. You would think I’d have some sort of writing routine down, some alchemy that I draw upon from my non-fiction world when I slip into my fiction realm. You would be wrong. I’m used to winging it, writing in my car and… Read more »
For the past six months, Bess McAllister (DIY MFA web editor) and I have been hard at work on a top secret project: scouting and on-boarding new columnists for the website. Today we are thrilled to introduce you to the four newest members of the DIY MFA team. At DIY MFA, we believe building your… Read more »
Hello word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Sally Parry, the Executive Director of the Sinclair Lewis Society. She earned her PhD in American Literature (as well as 19th Century British Fiction and Medieval Literature) from Fordham University in NYC and wrote her dissertation on Sinclair Lewis (Sinclair Lewis: The Darkening… Read more »
When someone tells you “I’m stressed,” your response is probably a sympathetic, “I’m sorry.” We’ve been taught that stress makes us feel anxious, worried, or tense. And it does make us feel those things, but let’s put that aside for now, because those feelings aren’t the only outcome of stress. In fact, stress is vital… Read more »
I’m a self-described builder, a maker of things. I’ve been working on a tool to help my writing, it’s a notebook fused with workbook combined with productivity hack. I call it INDITE and it’s currently funding on Indiegogo. I’d love it if you could check it out right here. While working on this special writers… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of interview award-winning author Sebastian Barry, about his latest book Days Without End. Sebastian Barry is the author of seven novels, including A Long Long Way and The Secret Scripture (now a major motion picture starring Rooney Mara and Vanessa Redgrave). He has won the Costa… Read more »
It’s always disappointing to receive a rejection, but perhaps the worst kind of rejection is the standard form letter. Everyone knows that most editors don’t have the time to write out detailed, personalized rejections, and if you’ve amassed a large pile of these form responses, you might be left wondering how your manuscript keeps “falling… Read more »
We writers can edit and revise until we think our story is the best it can possibly be. But no matter how great we are at self-editing, every piece of work can benefit from another set of eyes, and every writer can benefit from working with an editor. Another person’s red pen has the potential… Read more »
