This August, we’re celebrating an awesome DIY MFA milestone—five years of our “Five on a Friday” series. The Five on Friday column is one of my favorite things that I get to work on every week. Why? Because while everything we do here at DIY MFA is for Word Nerds, these articles are often by… Read more »
It’s easy to take writing prompts for granted. Maybe because they’re so abundant, we wonder if they can really help that much. Maybe it’s because they’re so fun, it’s hard to take them seriously. Those suffering from writer’s block especially seem to go to extremes in their approach to prompts. On one side, blocked writers… Read more »
In the case of my Antasy series, larger than life worldbuilding meant getting very small. I imagined a distant future where humans evolved to the size of insects and then intertwined with their world. But as different as this world is from our own, it’s still a recognizable place, one that can be assimilated. I… Read more »
So many times in a writer’s life (#ahem. Every. Single. Day?), we are faced with “I don’t wanna”, and no tricks to talk ourselves out of that mindset. The problem is not that we can’t write; we know we can. The problem is that fear-boredom-anxiety-busyness, resistance, or the big green monster, or whatever you want… Read more »
Remember, when you were a child, how much you wanted to become a published writer when you grew up? The image of being a successful writer has so much glory and aspiration that everyone dreams of it at some point. Besides, when you don’t dive too deep into it, it seems like writing a bestseller… Read more »
Writers need to find their tribe, and many times that’s other writers. It’s the natural fit. It makes sense. Finding the right mix of people will add more depth and potential to your writing journey. Sometimes it takes a village. Your job is to find the right village, and if you can’t find it, create… Read more »
As writers, we’re told to develop thick skins. The world of writing is full of both wanted and unwanted feedback and criticism. But it is difficult to not let criticism seep into our very beings. Because fiction writers are emotionally attuned, critiques can cut deeply. And sometimes, writers tie their self-worth to the feedback they… Read more »
As a declared English major from day one, my running joke through four years of college was, “I’ve just always wanted to live in a box.” But of course, I still got offended when non-English majors laughed, because I believed it was as useful and applicable a major as anything else—and I wasn’t wrong! Sure,… Read more »
It’s that time of year again: the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, the pool is beckoning, and you are…stuck inside, trying to make progress on your latest draft. Sigh. We all know that writing is notoriously difficult during summer—which is partly why we tend to concentrate our creative efforts during fall and winter… Read more »
Are you insecure about your art or grammar? Do you need help with deep point of view or writing children’s books? Are you looking for a powerful tool to help your brand? I have five books that can help you through your insecurity and teach you what you need to know to grow as a… Read more »
