Episode 198: Let’s Talk About the Weather — Will Dowd Discusses the Personal Essay

by Gabriela Pereira
published in Podcast

Hey there word nerds!

Today I am so excited to be talking with Will Dowd on the show!

Will Dowd is a writer and artist from the Boston area. He earned a BA from Boston College, an MS from MIT,and an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University.

His writing and art have appeared in many notable places, including LitHub and Tin House online. Will’s debut collection of essays, Areas of Fog, which takes readers on the whimsical and unpredictable journey of one year of New England weather, was released by Etruscan press in November 2017.

Listen in as we chat about this thought-provoking essay collection, and staying true to your voice even when the world tries to dampen it.

In this episode Will and I discuss:

  • Finding the unique but universal concept for your writing to latch on to.
  • Learning to turn down the volume of your inner critic.
  • How the argumentative nature of the internet affects the personal essay.
  • What techniques to use to craft an essay, with an example from Will.
  • The importance of being compassionate with yourself as a writer.

Plus, Will’s #1 tip for writers.

About Will Dowd

Will Dowd is a writer and artist from the Boston area. He earned a BA from Boston College, as a Presidential Scholar; an MS from MIT, as a John Lyons Fellow; and an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University, as a Jacob K. Javits Fellow. His writing and art have appeared in numerous places, including LitHub, Tin House online, Post Road Magazine, and NPR[dot]org. His debut collection of essays, Areas of Fog, was published by Etruscan Press, and is now available.

To connect with Will check out his website at www.willdowd.net.

Areas of Fog

Will Dowd takes us on a whimsical journey through one year of New England weather in this engaging collection of essays. As unpredictable as its subject, Areas of Fog combines wit and poetry with humor and erudition. A fun, breezy, and discursive read, it is an intellectual game that exposes the artificiality of genres, that in the author’s own words is, “a collection of lyric essays touching on literature, history and the vicissitudes of New England weather.”

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

(Right-click to download.)

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Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

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