Ask Becca: So What is New Adult, Anyway?

“I just heard about this new thing called ‘New Adult.’ What is it and what’s the difference between NA and YA?” – Somewhere Between Young and New I remember in my day there was no such thing as New Adult. None of this transitional jibber-jabber. One day you’re an adolescent and the next day you’re… Read more »

#5onFri: Books That Challenged Me to Start DIY MFA

Welcome to our first official installment of #5onFri or “Five on Friday.” This is a weekly column by members of the DIY MFA community, showcasing books (and other writerly things) that we love. Got an idea for a #5onFri? Submit it as a guest post pitch. To kick off our #5onFri series, first I thought I’d share… Read more »

Three Reasons You Should Outline By Hand (And How!)

This is the fifth and final  post in my series on the benefits of writing with an outline. In my first post, I listed three reasons why most writers need an outline. In the second, I discussed three things to keep in mind when creating an outline. In the third, I talked about how to use one while… Read more »

8 Ways to Not Write Every Day

“I try to write every single day, but some days life gets in the way and I can’t do it. Then I feel really guilty. How do I find time to write every single day and how can I stop feeling guilty when I’m not writing?” – Guilty in Galveston Yeah, so. There’s this thing… Read more »

A Chinese Perspective on Western Books: Part II

As an American-born Chinese, I grew up in a small, southern town in North Carolina and spent my summers off in Shanghai, China. In our house, when my sister and I weren’t watching Nickelodeon, we were watching Chinese dramas like Huan Zhu Ge Ge, or “Return of the Pearl Princess.” Even though I couldn’t understand… Read more »

Behind the Scenes at DIY MFA 101

Here’s a quick sneak peek of our flagship course DIY MFA 101. We have a private, members-only website for the class, with exciting features to make accessing the course materials easy. The workshops unlock sequentially on different weeks of the class. Each workshop contains three video lessons with companion worksheets. We also include an audio-only version and… Read more »