Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Ryan Dalton. We’ll be discussing his latest novel, This Last Adventure, a middle-grade story about the bond between a teenage boy and his grandfather, how that boy copes with his grandfather’s memory loss, and what it means to live a life worth remembering. Have you signed up to… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Sacha Black. Sacha is an author, rebel podcaster, and professional speaker. She has five obsessions; words, expensive shoes, conspiracy theories, self-improvement, and breaking the rules. Sacha writes books about people with magical powers and other books about the art of writing. When she’s not writing, she can be… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Tasha Suri. Tasha is an award-winning author, occasional librarian and cat owner. Her books include the Books of Ambha duology and The Jasmine Throne, (which is out now). When she isn’t writing, Tasha likes to cry over TV shows, buy too many notebooks, and indulge her geeky passion… Read more »
A good friend once asked me who my favorite literary character was and why. I immediately responded with Mary Katherine (Merricat) Blackwood from We Have Always Lived in the Castle. As I described Merricat—destructive, chaotic, manipulative—my friend interrupted to ask why I liked her. Clearly someone with so many negative qualities was the villain of… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Alexandra Monir. Alexandra Monir is an Iranian-American author and recording artist who has published six popular young adult novels. Her internationally-bestselling debut, Timeless was a Barnes & Noble Bestseller and Amazon.com “Best Books of the Month.” In 2018 she published the hit sci-fi novel The Final Six and… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Ace Atkins. Ace Atkins is the author of twenty-six books, including ten Quinn Colson novels and eight New York Times–bestselling novels in the continuation of Robert B. Parker’s iconic Spenser series. HBO has optioned the Quinn Colson novels with a series currently in high… Read more »
Somehow bad guys and gals are in many ways more challenging to create than our so-called heroes or heroines. This is an area of your writing that invites you to stretch yourself, to play with multiple violations, remembering that you will fall in love with this character, and you will have to manage, at the… Read more »
Here’s a secret writing exercise I only recently learned: If you want characters to feel real for the reader, you have to hint they have the potential to be the opposite of what they appear. Wait, what? The opposite of what the character seems . . . wouldn’t that mean the character is acting out… Read more »
Hello and thank you for tuning in! Today we’re going to talk about 5 common supporting character archetypes. But first, I want to remind you to sign up for the DIY MFA email list, so you can receive my mostly weekly updates as well as all the wonderful tips and information I have to share… Read more »
On Monday we talked about how character’s are the story. Today, I pose another idea: while characters may be the story, what really makes your story interesting is the antagonist. And in the case of most thrillers, the antagonist happens to be a villain. If you’re wondering about the distinction between villains and antagonists, check… Read more »
