A Writer’s Holiday Survival Guide: Part One

(Web Editor’s Note: This is an article first pubbed in November 2013 we thought we’d dig out of the archives and share again! Check out Part Two right here, and the bottom of the article for a few more holiday-themed posts to inspire you this season!) It’s hard to find time to write. It’s hard… Read more »

#5OnFri: Five Ways to Answer the Worst Question Ever

We’ve all been there. You’re sipping eggnog and listening to your aunt bragging about your baby cousin’s latest football victory. You’re wrapping gifts with your sisters. Gathering to watch the ball drop on New Year’s Eve. And just when you think you’ve made it through the holidays unscathed, someone turns and asks the five most terrifying… Read more »

Episode 72: How to Write a Killer Query – Interview with Janet Reid

Hey there word nerds! Thanks for joining me today for DIY MFA Radio. I’m so excited to share this episode because I’m interviewing literary agent Janet Reid, AKA the Query Shark. *Cue music from Jaws in 3… 2… 1…* Janet is a literary agent at FinePrint Literary Management in NYC, where she represents mostly crime novels and thrillers, with some… Read more »

What to do About Twitter Non-Followers

In my last column, I talked about using the follow-back practice to build a following. In this one, we’ll look at what you should do when others don’t follow you back. As a quick recap, so we’re all moving forward from the same understanding: The follow-back strategy is based on the Twitter etiquette that if… Read more »

#5OnFri: 5 Things You Wouldn’t Expect as a NaNoWriMo Newbie

I have called myself a writer for almost twenty years, yet somehow the madness of NaNoWriMo managed to elude me until this fateful November, 2015. Over the summer and even more in October, I started seeing posts about something with a weird nickname that was making people crazy on an international level. “NaNoWriMo?” I thought… Read more »

Episode 71: Read Like a Writer – Interview with Lorin Stein

Hello hello Word Nerds and welcome back to DIY MFA Radio. Today I’m interviewing Lorin Stein, editor of The Paris Review,  and we’ll be talking about literature, reading, and what makes stories great. We’ll also be discussing a book he recently edited titled The Unprofessionals: New American Writing from The Paris Review. But first, here’s a little bit… Read more »

Take a Staff Meeting . . . With Yourself

The year is coming to a close, but we still have a few weeks left to assess where we are in 2015, and where we want to be in 2016. What did you accomplish this year? What are you hoping to accomplish next? It’s time for an Annual Review at your writing corporation of one…. Read more »

#5onFri: My Gratitude List — The DIY MFA Team

Dear Word Nerds, As we launch into the holiday season, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the wonderful things that have come of this year, and—more importantly—all the people who helped me get where I am. While DIY MFA started off as a one-woman show, these days it is far from that…. Read more »