In my last post, I talked about why I started DIY MFA and how to create your own do-it-yourself, MFA-style education. Today, I wanted to take a few moments to share the story of how DIY MFA got started. As you’ll find, the month of September has a special significance to DIY MFA. Of course,… Read more »
Writing—and reading—dialogue is one of my favorite things. I love how it allows the story to zip along, plus it makes me feel extra-smart because I read it so much faster than regular prose. I love how I can hear the characters’ voices in my head as though they are real people. I love how… Read more »
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about writing-life balance, and what it looks like to live an author life. This topic has been on my mind because I’ve been secretly working on a new project for DIY MFA. This project is a free event that we’re planning for this Fall where I’m interviewing a bunch… Read more »
Before we dive in, I have a short warning. What I’m about to share here is not a glowing, rose-colored-glasses view of being an author, but the sometimes-tough realities of the publishing business. If you’re living blissfully in denial—and that denial helps keep you motivated—keep doing that! Seriously, if not knowing the cold, hard numbers… Read more »
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about endings, in particular the denouement. The denouement is that “sigh of relief” that happens after the climax, that extra scene or two (or many) that allows the story to wrap up and come to a satisfying conclusion. It got me wondering why we even need a denouement. After… Read more »
I’ve been thinking about supporting characters a lot lately. These are the unsung heroes of storytelling, and yet they are often misunderstood. We might call them “side” characters or “secondary” characters as if they play second fiddle to our main character, but the truth is they play a very specific purpose in the story. You… Read more »
For the past several months, I have been going through a period of creative burnout. Maybe it’s the aftermath of COVID and how it has changed the way we learn and interact online. Or maybe it’s because some things in my non-writing life have just been really hard lately. Or maybe it’s the result of… Read more »
Point of view is one of the trickiest and most technical aspects of writing, but it’s also my favorite. There are so many choices and possibilities—it’s like being in the literary version of a candy store! At the same time, however, this variety of options can be overwhelming, making us feel like we’re being pulled… Read more »
As a New Year’s resolution in January of 2007, I decided I was a writer and would start acting like one. No more excuses. I was going to stop complaining and saying that I’d start writing “someday.” I would glue my backside to the chair and start writing right now. The problem was, I had… Read more »
At the end of January, I pulled out an old notebook and started journaling. Eleven months and nine notebooks later, I have written something just about every day since then. (Okay, I’m not counting the week I was on vacation at the end of June. I gave myself a free pass on that. After all,… Read more »
