At least, starting one is. The world of bloggery can at times seem like a nighttime jungle riddled with snakes, rotting trees, booby traps, and poison darts. And this time, Indiana Jones won’t be there to save you. Don’t be intimidated. This won’t hurt… much. If you’re a writer or an author or you eventually… Read more »
Over the last twenty years, the music industry has been shaken to its core. The old ways (nab a record deal, record in a fancy studio, depend on your label to distribute and market) vanished and the new ways (record it yourself, distribute it digitally, promote via social networks and one-to-one community building) took hold…. Read more »
There are many types of writing workshops out there, some more effective than others at giving you useful feedback on your writing. Whether you’re new to the workshop scene or have been participating in critique sessions for a long time, there’s one workshop method that’s been proven time and again to help writers improve their… Read more »
We have a rule in the workshop I teach: we’ll critique any work as long as the writer has not yet submitted it for publication. When it comes to discussion, we’ll discuss any piece of writing published or not. Why this distinction between critique and discussion? And what exactly is the difference between the two? … Read more »
This week at DIY MFA we are working on something new and exciting: we’re creating a DIY MFA writing community. The plan is to use the DIY MFA Facebook page to create a forum where writers (that’s you!) can give and receive feedback to each other. We’re still working out the details so stay tuned… Read more »
What time is it? It’s party time! This weekend, June 1 – 3, comments will be open on this post for you to join the party! Please include: Your name The kind of writing that you do Your website (if you have one) Your favorite online or print resource, from books and magazines to forums,… Read more »
As writers, we arguably make up the most enthusiastic, Twitter-friendly community out there. It logically follows that we should make the best of this amazing resource. Continuing our week-long series on favorite resources, here’s a list of 10 Twitter feeds we love to follow. Twitter Feeds for Writers Elizabeth S. Craig @elizabethscraig An all-things-writers feed,… Read more »
The problem with taking a step away from your computer or your notebook to do anything – eat, talk to someone, clean your house (heaven forbid) – is that every moment you spend doing those things, you’re not writing. I know from experience that slogging through Amazon or combing your nearest bookstore shelves for the… Read more »
If you have a blog, then you need an editorial calendar. Sure, it’s good to leave a little room for flexibility and spontaneity and you could even get away with winging it for a while. Sooner or later, though, if you want your blog to be an effective part of your author platform, you need… Read more »
This past weekend, I had to do something that pained me at my very core: I decided to remove blogs from my Google Reader. I realized I had been following so many blogs that I had no chance of actually reading them all (the number was upwards of one thousand, I think). For some time,… Read more »
