Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing GG Kellner. We’ll be talking about Hope, A History of the Future, an insightful voyage into a vision of the future spanning seven generations. Have you signed up to be a DIY MFA Radio Insider yet? This is an exciting new monthly newsletter, especially for our podcast listeners…. Read more »
I’ve heard a lot of talk lately on “passive protagonists” and it got me thinking about how this plays into the world of historical fiction. I’m drawn to brave, almost heroic women from the past, and isn’t that what everyone wants, a protagonist with agency? Let’s break down how to examine HERstory in a way… Read more »
Why Should LGBTQ+ Writers Read LGBTQ+ History? There are so many benefits to reading non-fiction to inform your fiction writing. Not only is history edifying, allowing us to ensure that we’re crafting stories that are accurate and plausible, but reading non-fiction is also a great way to expose ourselves to new ideas. If you want… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Traci Sorell and Carole Boston Weatherford. Traci is the author of the critically acclaimed book We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga. She is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and lives in northeastern Oklahoma, where her tribe is located. Today we’re talking about her picture book Classified: The Secret… Read more »
Whenever I discuss humor writing with anyone—and I mean anyone—people seem immediately intimidated. Some people think that they are not funny enough or don’t have the personality for writing humor. Some might even say they are not familiar with humor but more with things like improv and stand-up. For those still curious how to write… Read more »
Why vote? I never ask myself this question and here’s why. At nineteen, I went on my first trip abroad. It was Fall 1980. My plan was to traipse across Europe with my bestie, starting in October, have grand adventures, become more worldly, and be home by Christmas. I thought I had prepared for the… Read more »
It’s probably fair to say that the number of us actually living our 2020 plan is vanishingly small. It was to have been my year of geographical expansion – a self-organized book tour to signings and festivals around the country. What’s happened instead is a geographical contraction to the four walls of my house and… Read more »
Over the past ten years, historical fiction has become more relevant to readers. As authors, we want to write fiction that helps readers understand their own lives, here and now. Perhaps we also would like to offer readers a visit to another time, a visit that can show how the past has shaped our present… Read more »
What our characters eat depends on when and where they lived, their position in society, and, to some extent, what they were doing. So getting the food details right is one way we can fully immerse readers in our story. In the space of this article, I can’t begin to cover global evolution of foodstuffs… Read more »
My last column addressed how we writers of historical fiction see a modern setting and then imagine our way backward to how it might have looked at the time of our story and what events might have happened in that place. Now let’s focus on the place itself. There’s no substitute for actually visiting the… Read more »
