feet

Follow the Feet

Do you create a character or does a character create themselves? Thirteen years ago, I was walking over the Norfolk marshes with my husband, an archaeologist. He remarked that prehistoric people had seen marshland as sacred: because it’s neither land nor sea, but something in-between, they saw it as a link to the afterlife. As… Read more »

Editing Our Bias: How to Refer to Race in Literature

With discussions and movements surrounding racial equality growing every day, writers around the world are having to step back and look at the world we love so much. From a lack of Black and Own Voices writers on bestseller tables to everyday racist and bigoted terms that sneak below our editing radar, we writers and… Read more »

Ask The Editor: Character Description

Dear Editor, I’m writing a novel in the first-person perspective, and one of my critique partners just pointed out that they don’t know what my character looks like. Is character description important? If so, how do I describe a character from their own perspective without having them look in a mirror? Sincerely, Wondering Dear Wondering,… Read more »

How to Make Your Character Descriptions Perform Double-Duty

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 »