Episode 470: Craft Jam: Draft Zero

Episode 470: Craft Jam: Draft Zero

Today’s episode is our monthly Craft Jam. This is a new feature at DIY MFA, where once a month, Lori and I will be jamming about the craft. In these episodes, we’ll be doing a deep dive into various craft topics like character development, story structure, world building, and more. This month’s episode is a… Read more »

Why All Writers Should Play around with Poetry

Why All Writers Should Play around with Poetry

Everyone should play around with poetry. Period.  Your hairdresser. The mail delivery person. The landscaper, the hummingbird feeder refill person. The person who diligently washes, folds and presses your socks.  And, for sure, writers should play around with poetry.  I’m talking to you, non-fiction writers. I’m talking to you, business and copywriter, you life coaches… Read more »

January 2022 Leisure Learning

January 2022 Leisure Learning

Hello and welcome to a new column for DIY MFA. As some of you may know, my name is Melissa Haas, and like most of you reading this, I love to learn! In fact, it’s one of the main reasons that I write: to ensure that I will always keep learning.   However, as much as… Read more »

#5onFri: Five Books to Kickstart 2022

#5onFri: ​​Five Books to Kickstart 2022

Happy January, word nerds! I hope that over the holidays you were able to spend some serious time curling up with a good book and beverage of your choice. Now that it’s 2022, it’s time for you to write the read which will compel your readers to do the same. Today I am recommending five… Read more »

Abigail K. Perry

Use the Story Grid Scene Analysis Template to Read With Purpose

Writers know that reading is essential to growing their craft, but did you know there’s a difference between reading for fun and reading analysis? When I became a Certified Story Grid Editor in 2019 (Story Grid is an editing methodology that provides practical tools and tips to help writers in the writing process), this understanding… Read more »

Jess Walton

How to Deepen Your Characters by Assessing Their Fears

Fear is a very particular and peculiar thing. For some, it can be absolutely debilitating. For others, it can be motivating. And for others still, it can be inspiring.  Several weeks ago, I went into the doctor’s office for my first ever MRI at the age of 29, and it was honestly a terrifying experience…. Read more »

Six Key Elements of Historical Narrative

Some may argue that fantasy offers the most wide-open landscape for storytelling. But with 5,000 years of recorded human history spanning many civilizations both extant and extinct, empires that have come and gone, innumerable people both famous and infamous, and seven continents (well, maybe Antarctica isn’t quite so rich a source), the worlds and characters… Read more »