Reading Verse Novels

Today I’d like to welcome Caroline Starr Rose back to DIY MFA.  Caroline and I met through the blogsphere in 2010, when she hosted a Verse Novel Challenge on her blog.  Being a fan of verse novels, I joined the challenge and have had the pleasure of following her writing and publishing journey ever since. … Read more »

Poetry Reading List and Resources

I’m guessing that after a week of reading about how great poetry is, you might be ready to dive in and read or write some poems of your own. But where to start?  With all the literary resources out there, where do you go to find resources on poetry? Never fear! I’ve put together a… Read more »

Poets on Poetry

It can be a challenge to wrap our minds around poetry. It’s not as straight-forward as non-fiction or fiction so many people choose to bury our heads in the sand, hoping that if we can’t see poetry then poetry can’t see us. Why not learn directly from those who have tamed the beast? That’s where… Read more »

My Not-So-Epic Journey into Poetry

Some time ago, I came to a realization that made me go from having a visceral hatred of poetry to suddenly rediscovering its beauty.  The realization was this: It’s not that I dislike all poetry, I just dislike bad poetry. Let me backtrack a little bit.  It’s 1993 and I’m in ninth grade biology class… Read more »

Reading in Public: 3 Steps to Captivate Your Audience

Whether it’s in an auditorium in front of hundreds of people or in your living room with a couple of close friends, reading your work in public can be nerve-wracking.  In fact, even writers who have been speaking in public for years still get nervous when they have to read their own work aloud.  I… Read more »

Why Writers Must Be Readers First

This is a DIY MFA Manifesto for Why Writers Must Be Readers First One year ago, I heard Richard Nash (Publisher of Red Lemonade) give a fascinating talk about how writers have to be readers.  His argument was that reading and writing are the opposite sides of the same interaction.  I remember thinking: OMG did… Read more »

Copyright Resource List

As our “Legally Speaking” series winds down, I thought I would share some links and resources where you can find more information about copyright and legal issues for writers.  This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it can certainly help you get started. Law School Clinical Programs In addition to the resources and… Read more »

Why Writers Should Read Short Form Literature

First of all, let me start by clarifying what I consider short form literature. For me, short form literature is basically anything that can be read in one gulp, one sitting. In other words short form literature is: poems, essays, short stories, and picture books. I include picture books on the list because in my… Read more »