I’m a summer gal. I love the long days that seem full of possibility. They make me want to make the most out of my waking hours. This means getting my work done more quickly and efficiently so that I have more time to read, write, and do other things I love. Maybe you are… Read more »
Seven summers ago, I walked into a small conference room at the Writer’s Digest Conference, wondering what I was doing there. The topic was YA literature, and while I was interested in YA, the novel I was working on was for adults. I think it’s safe to say that if there had been anything more… Read more »
Last week, during my yearly checkup, my doctor told me that she would be retiring in February. I expressed my regret and she decided to tell me why she was leaving. “They say 2020 is the year of reflection,” she said. “I just reflected on my life and I realized that it was time to… Read more »
Hello, readers! I’m so excited to share with you my interview with Finola Austin, an historical fiction author who just published her debut novel in early August 2020. Finola and I connected at the Writer’s Digest Conference in 2018 and I’ve eagerly cheered her querying and publishing successes. Finola has some fantastic tips for writers,… Read more »
“Write what you know.” It’s the most eye-rolling of writing cliches, isn’t it? Yet it’s a cliche because it contains an element of truth. You can’t write about a mechanic unless you know something about cars. You can’t write about life in 1935 unless you know something about world events, fashions, and technology from that… Read more »
Well hello there, writers! How are you all doing out there? Oh, you’re struggling? Yeah, me too. At least, I’m struggling to write this post. You see, this is the first post I’ve written for DIY MFA since the pandemic started, and when it goes live, we’ll probably still be under some level of quarantine…. Read more »
Way back in 2009, five major events deeply altered me. In April, my beloved grandmother died. Six weeks later, I married my now-husband. Over the following summer, my husband lost a grandmother on one side and a grandfather on the other. And the following fall, my husband and I bought our first home. While two… Read more »
It’s time for the final installment of our series on the WHY-WHAT-HOW of your writing life. In the first post, we discovered our writing purpose. In the second post, we turned that purpose into specific goals. Today’s focus will be on creating routines and habits that bring our purpose and goals into reality. Step One:… Read more »
In my last Be Well, Write Well post, I launched a 3-part series designed to help busy writers find their rhythm. In our first post, we focused on finding our WHY, the purpose behind everything we do. We created purpose statements that brought the elements of our working, family and inner self pieces into a… Read more »
Here’s a peek into my day: I start just after five in the morning. I get up, wash my face, and grab my laptop. I spend the next hour as a writer, drafting and editing, fine-tuning and submitting. I have a few minutes to get myself ready for the day, and then I wake up… Read more »
