Do you ever feel like you could fill out a thousand character worksheets and still not get to the soul of who your protagonist, antagonist, or supporting cast are? Not the details of what they look like, what they do, and what they want, but the essence of what makes them them. It’s that depth… Read more »
Today, Lori is interviewing Amanda Jayatissa. They’ll be talking about secrets and hidden motivation in her latest thriller, You’re Invited. Have you signed up to be a DIY MFA Radio Insider yet? This is an exciting new monthly newsletter especially for our podcast listeners. Every month, you’ll get an email from our podcast producer with… Read more »
Ah, mid-November! When, in many parts of the US, one delights in autumnal hues, crisp, sweet, final apple harvest days, and pumpkin-spiced everything as far as the eye can see! Or, if you are participating in National Novel Writing Month, this might be the crankiest time of year. “50,000 words in 30 days? What on… Read more »
I call my first draft a “pile of words.” The first draft of anything is just about getting the words on the page, and those words don’t have to make a lot of sense. Between the time I shove that pile of words out of my brain and deliver a finished piece to an editor,… Read more »
Fiction isn’t journalism, of course. You don’t need to cram all five Ws (who, what, when, where, and why) into the opening paragraph of your novel or short story. Still, if you’re writing mainstream fiction, your readers ought to be able to establish some bearings early in the narrative. You need to set the scene. … Read more »
Time, or lack thereof, is the biggest hurdle most writers seem to face. It’s also one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves. And look, as far as excuses go, I’m the queen of them. Homeschooling three kids, a farm, family commitments, blah, blah, blah. But here’s the thing, I mean, the dishes and the… Read more »
Today, Lori is interviewing Suzanne Parry. They’ll be talking about the power of art and her book Lost Souls of Leningrad. Have you signed up to be a DIY MFA Radio Insider yet? This is an exciting new monthly newsletter especially for our podcast listeners. Every month, you’ll get an email from our podcast producer… Read more »
Writing can be a struggle. You have days where you just don’t feel like it, or the words just don’t come. Distractions happen. Other important things on your to-do list come up, right? Does this sound familiar? This doesn’t have to be the case. Writing is a skill you can practice and improve on, and… Read more »
Today, Lori is interviewing Lenore Borja. They’ll be talking about how she created a natural flow for her characters and her world in her book The Last Huntress. Have you signed up to be a DIY MFA Radio Insider yet? This is an exciting new monthly newsletter especially for our podcast listeners. Every month, you’ll… Read more »
In my new book, The Linchpin Writer: Crafting Your Novel’s Key Moments, I talk about how movies can sabotage a novelists’ writing skills. Novelists can definitely learn storytelling techniques from movies, but you shouldn’t rely on movies too much. After all, they are a different storytelling medium, and books can do things that movies can’t… Read more »
