“Where do you get your ideas?” People are always curious how writers can come up with unique new stories, especially when those writers are producing books at a fast clip. This is especially true when writing genre fiction, where tropes and genre conventions are prevalent. How do you keep from repeating yourself? How do you… Read more »
One of my favorite short stories is Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”, which is probably one of the most tightly plotted narratives of all time. Barely two pages long, this story incorporates all three acts, plus the pivot points, midpoint, climax, and denouement. It doesn’t miss a single beat and it does all… Read more »
Today, I wanted to talk about an important—and often overlooked—area of the craft, and that is narration. I define narration as any part of the story that’s told by the narrator. This narrator can be a character in the story (as in first person) or they can be an entity outside the story looking in… Read more »
Welcome to DIY MFA Radio, where I do a deep dive into the writing life as well as the craft and business of writing. Today’s episode ends our series: Ten Lessons from Ten Years of Podcasting. This is Lesson 10 – Embrace the Journey. Have you gotten the DIY MFA Starter Kit yet? This is… Read more »
Welcome to DIY MFA Radio, where I do a deep dive into the writing life as well as the craft and business of writing. Today’s episode continues our series: Ten Lessons from Ten Years of Podcasting. This is Lesson 9 – Take Baby Steps. Have you gotten the DIY MFA Starter Kit yet? This is… Read more »
For the past year, lawyer-hubby, the nerdlings and I have been living in a temporary location as our home gets renovated. We hit some bumps in the road and only now, eleven months after moving out, are we finally able to start making any progress on the construction. This got me thinking about how home… Read more »
Welcome to DIY MFA Radio, where I do a deep dive into the writing life as well as the craft and business of writing. Today’s episode continues our series: Ten Lessons from Ten Years of Podcasting. This is Lesson 482 – Practice, Practice, Practice Have you gotten the DIY MFA Starter Kit yet? This is… Read more »
I thought I’d go back to the basics and talk about how to DIY your MFA. If you’re here, reading this newsletter, I know you’re serious about your writing. This is true whether you just started on your writing journey or you’ve been at it for some time. I know this because DIY MFA attracts… Read more »
