What does it mean to leave a legacy? Typically it implies that someone has handed down something of value to a successor or the next generation. That legacy can be tangible (wealth, property, artistic works) or intangible (influence on a field or industry, life lessons), and its impacts can sometimes change the world forever. In… Read more »
My writing habits tend to follow a feast or famine pattern. Trapped behind an invisible dam, my words dry up for days. When a gush of creativity bursts forth, I’m graced with thousands of words pouring from my fingertips with ease. I crank out several pitches and surf high on a wave of productivity and… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today I am so excited to have author D.P. Lyle on the show! In his writing career, Doug has received a Macavity and Benjamin Franklin Silver Award and has been nominated for a gazillion others including, but nowhere near limited to, the Edgar, Agatha, and Silver Falchion. He is the author… Read more »
Getting libraries to purchase your book can have a big impact on your overall reach. But how do you get libraries to make that all-important sale? Here are five tips from DIY MFA’s personal librarian, Terri Frank. 1) Get Reviewed As a librarian responsible for purchasing, I read around 150 book reviews per day. These… Read more »
Camaraderie. Feedback. The opportunity to vent. These are just a handful of the numerous benefits of joining a writers’ group. Writing is mostly a solitary endeavor, and it’s easy to feel isolated as you toil away day after day behind a computer screen. Whether you write novels, short stories, screenplays, or something else, it’s refreshing… Read more »
Happy Holidays word nerds! To help you enjoy this special week between Christmas and New Year’s, we’ve got an awesome show for you featuring author Stephen Morris! Stephen holds degrees in medieval history and theology from Yale and St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Academy. He is also a former priest of the Russian Orthodox Church. He… Read more »
You may have seen the title of this post and thought I was going to talk about travel writing. But that’s not the only genre of creative nonfiction in which you can write about place! A common misconception about writing about place in creative nonfiction is that you have to write about particularly exotic spaces…. Read more »
Rick Kerb’s Little Miss Sunshine (featuring Alan Arkin, Steve Carell, and Abigail Breslin) won the Oscar for best original screenplay in 2007, and for a good reason. Not only does this film follow a cast of colorful characters, the story also thrives on sharp, engaging dialogue rich with tension. But what can screenwriting teach fiction… Read more »
I have been to writing conferences, to conventions, to workshops, and retreats, but nothing compared to the transformative experience of the Writing Excuses Retreat Baltic cruiseI embarked on this past summer. Accordingly, I’m not going to focus on the clear and present benefits of such an event, the opportunities to network with industry professionals, to… Read more »
Today I have the pleasure of talking with author Ada Palmer on the show! Ada is an intellectual historian and the author of the four part science fiction series Terra Ignota. The first book in the series (also Ada’s first science fiction novel), Too Like the Lightning, was a Hugo Best Novel Finalist in 2017… Read more »
