I do my best writing reading. Yes, you read that right. I write best when I read what I want: spicy romance, psychedelic fiction, heart-expanding poems. I finish one book; I pick up another. Along my meanderings, I discover good writing across authors, genres, and forms. How does all of this indiscriminate reading help my… Read more »
Early this year, I read a book called The Kite and the String: How To Write With Spontaneity and Control –and Live to Tell the Tale. It’s a fiction craft book featuring some of the requisite advice you’d expect from a writer with several novels under her belt and loads of short stories in The… Read more »
Web Editor’s Note: Please join me in welcoming Terri Frank to the DIY MFA team! In addition to being a writer, Terri is a professional librarian, and her column, “Your Personal Librarian” will give you tips and tricks to get more reading done, expand your knowledge of genres and authors and, of course, to read with… Read more »
Web Editor’s Note: Please join me in welcoming Abigail K. Perry to the DIY MFA team! In her column, Let’s Talk Books, she’ll be dissecting passages from great writers, breaking down why what they do works, and how you can apply it to your own writing. Have you ever walked into a park and people watched? How… Read more »
There have been a few condescending articles throughout the years about why adults should not read young adult literature. I won’t bother linking to any of them, because I think they’re totally wrong and don’t deserve the web traffic. Despite how these articles denounce YA lit, adults still make up a large percentage of its… Read more »
When you hear the term “break out of your comfort zone” you probably think about something drastic like sky diving or quitting your job to live on the road. These are completely valid ways to break out of your comfort zone, but you don’t have to do anything nearly so drastic to find the perfect… Read more »
When I made my first attempt at NaNoWriMo, I was living in Florence and was quite literally inspired every time I turned a corner. As I walked down the quaint streets, beautiful sentences would write themselves in my head. One might assume, then, that my writing reflected the splendor of the city; elegant as the… Read more »
When you search for a book to read, do genre labels drive your choices? They certainly affect mine. If I want a fast paced, edge-of-your-seat-experience I look for a thriller. If I’m in a puzzle-solving mood, it’s off to the mystery section. And I expect them all to have elements of suspense. And yet, on… Read more »
Stephen King says, “If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.” Most of us know that if we really want to improve our writing we need to read, a lot. But most of us also have day jobs, families, and adult responsibilities on top of… Read more »
Graphic novels are enjoying a great deal of popularity these days, with some of them taking home some significant awards. El Deafo by Cece Bell, was named a Newbery Honor Book in 2015, the first ever graphic novel to win this distinction. The graphic novel Smile, by Raina Telgemeier, was an American Library Association Notable… Read more »
