Measuring Success

When I was in college and graduate school, one of my favorite times of the year was the end of the semester. I’d take my exams and hand in those last big papers, then a few short weeks later I’d get a transcript spelling out my success in ABC’s. Even after I graduated and started… Read more »

Write It! Wednesday #2: Do You NaNo?

Welcome back to Write It! Wednesday, where we ask a question and you answer either in the comments or on your own blog. Today I’m interested in hearing about your experiences with writing challenges like NaNoWriMo. For those of you who aren’t familiar with NaNo, it stands for National Novel Writing Month and it’s a… Read more »

Writer Under Deadline: Add Speed to Your Writing

For many of us, things would never get done without deadlines. Procrastination would forever delay the finished product. Deadlines tend to creep up quickly, though, and can add a huge amount of pressure to the writing process. As the cut-off date draws near, you might be looking for ways to speed up the writing process…. Read more »

Write It! Wednesday #1: What’s Your Logline?

For a while now, I have been wanting to make the experience a bit more interactive. I love giving you tips and how-to articles, but I also realize that you probably have a lot of things on your mind that you want to share, too. And I want to hear all about it! As I… Read more »

How to Write a Killer Logline

You’re at a your high school reunion and after exchanging pleasantries with your former classmates, someone asks that inevitable question: “You’re a writer? What’s your book about?” You stumble through a reply, explaining that it’s a character-driven coming-of-age story and that the main character is struggling to find love but finds herself instead… And then… Read more »

What Are Your Writing Fears?

This week, I want to talk about fear. Originally, I had planned this week’s articles to talk about fear as it relates to the spooky, trick-or-treat, Halloween spirit. Yet now, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and given some events that I recently learned about in the writing community last week, the fear I want… Read more »

Boost Your Creativity: Ideation Techniques for Writers

Welcome back to our two-part Q&A on creativity with Bryan Mattimore author of Idea Stormers: How to Lead and Inspire Creative Breakthroughs. After hearing Bryan share his general insights on his approach to creativity I got really interested in finding out how writers might apply the techniques. So, mentioned a few different scenarios that writers… Read more »

Idea Stormers: Creativity Q&A with Bryan Mattimore

As many of you know, I’ve been on a major reading kick, consuming as many books about creativity and entrepreneurship as I can find. So, when a colleague sent me a copy of Idea Stormers: How to Lead and Inspire Creative Breakthroughs by Bryan Mattimore a few weeks ago, it didn’t take long to get… Read more »

Writer Igniter: The Story Behind the Web App

The Writer Igniter is a writing prompt generator with literally millions of possible story prompts. It currently exists as a web app right here at DIY MFA, but it hasn’t always been this high-tech. Read on to learn about the process behind how the DIY MFA Team and I developed this new feature. It all… Read more »