Brenda Joyce Patterson

Writing Small in Viral Times

This is not the article I intended to write.  But I found, just as likely you, too, that I couldn’t focus on anything other than the viral elephant in our global living room. This coronavirus, COVID-19, won’t let any of us ignore it. Constant news alerts about death, the reality of livelihood loss, and the… Read more »

Short Forms: No Stepping Stone

I have done my beloved short forms an injustice. And I’ve led you, my readers, to believe that poems, short stories, and novellas are simply stops on the way to the writing world’s holy grail: novels. This column, Writing Small, is an exploration into this near-mystical thing called writing. My aim is to plumb others’… Read more »

Writing By Reading

I do my best writing reading. Yes, you read that right. I write best when I read what I want: spicy romance, psychedelic fiction, heart-expanding poems. I finish one book; I pick up another. Along my meanderings, I discover good writing across authors, genres, and forms. How does all of this indiscriminate reading help my… Read more »

Opening Doors Through Poetry and Short Fiction

Web Editor’s Note: Please join me in welcoming Brenda Joyce Patterson, poet, writer, librarian,and the newest columnist for DIY MFA! In her column, Writing Small, she’ll be talking about the world of short fiction and poetry!  Raise your hand if you read poetry. How about short stories? I so wish I could be a fly on… Read more »