The end of the year is filled with stockpiles of sweets, long lines at the grocery store, and a constant reminder that the clock is ticking on your goals—like where you wanted to be with your manuscript. Even if you’ve boycotted the holidays like Chandler Bing with his Thanksgiving grilled cheese and Frank Costanza with… Read more »
This is the final installment of my 2021 Virtual Writers Sabbatical (“VWS”) series and today we are focusing on book coaching. If you are new to the VWS, it’s a build your own virtual writing craft adventure where you focus on you and your writing craft and identify specific writing goals that you will chip… Read more »
It’s just one of those things you hear, like “the best way to get over someone is to meet someone new” or “expect the best but prepare for the worst.” Either way, the one piece of advice all my writer friends gave me as my debut novel went to print was, “Start working on a… Read more »
Early in my writing career, I won second place for a short story, “When We Leave Here” in a contest sponsored by the Wyoming Writers Association. Encouraged by that recognition, I submitted the first chapter of a novel I’d started to a published author at the conference. After being told “Never start a story with someone… Read more »
Unfortunately, this will be my last post with DIY MFA. While I am sad to end this chapter, I hope what comes next is a bright future. And I hope that for all of you too. The last two years have been hard. Not to understate it, there just aren’t proper words to cover the… Read more »
The thought of writing love scenes sends many authors running for the hills, but love scenes are my favorite scenes to write. It’s a chance for two characters who have spent a good chunk of the story pining for each other and bantering to take things to the next level physically. Here are five tips… Read more »
When I published my first erotica in 2015, I quickly realized there was still a certain level of judgment related to the genre. Sure, we had come far thanks to trailblazers such as Zane, EL James, and Noire (to name a few), but there was an overarching stigma present that the literary community was afraid… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Catherine Baab-Muguira. Catherine is a writer and journalist who has contributed to many media outlets, including Slate, Quartz, CNBC and NBC News. She is a frequent podcast and radio guest, with appearances on NPR and Lifehacker’s Upgrade. Catherine currently lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and baby… Read more »
A well-written story is a well-paced story. It is in the rhythm and flow of events that readers find themselves on a heart-thumping adventure with the characters. And there are only a few stories that occur during an uninterrupted, brief period. Most, however, are spaced out in a span of days, weeks, months, or years…. Read more »
Not long ago, I worked on a copyediting project in which the story included time travel, a narrative element straight out of science fiction. As I worked my way through the manuscript, in which the characters were searching for a way to survive a dystopian future and decided their best option was to live in… Read more »
