What Psychology and Neuroscience Contribute to your Stories

Psychology is classified as a social science. It attempts to apply scientific methodology to a chaotic system (the human mind) which we still don’t fully understand. It can’t be mathematically defined, though statistics can point out correlations. There are so many variables involved (genetics, biology, environment, experience) that it’s difficult to rule out other causes… Read more »

What To Do When Your Social Media Growth Stagnates

We’ve talked before about red flags when your social media following is growing too quickly, but you should always see a little steady growth happening month to month. That said, theory and practice rarely align perfectly. As your following grows, it’s also inevitably evolving. Which means you will have times when what has worked for… Read more »

Writing is My Breath…and Sometimes My Fear

It was such an incidental, fleeting moment…one that didn’t warrant special notice. And, yet, I noticed. On the evening of May 30, 2017, my daughter, Nikky, and I attended one of the last performances by well-known singer and songwriter Sara Bareilles in the lead role of the musical “Waitress,” on Broadway. Right before the curtain… Read more »

The Supply and Demand of the Writing Life

There’s a common theory (presented here by my time-management guru, Laura Vanderkam) that suggests that book-lovers either fall into the “supply” or “demand” category of readers. A supply-side reader builds reading into her life and has habits and schedules that support reading. For example, a supply-side reader will always keep a book next to her… Read more »

How to Take Agency Back from Writer’s Block

I’ve been writing my whole life. Writing is such a part of my life that it didn’t occur to me until I was in my early teens that other people didn’t write as much as I did. Despite this lifelong journey as a writer, I still have times when I encounter what is commonly referred… Read more »

Identifying Themes in the Poetry We Read

I adore poetry. Not only do I write poems and have been fortunate enough to have several published, but I also read this brief but powerful form of literature extensively. And I’m willing to bet that many word nerds read (and maybe write) poetry as well. In fact, fellow DIY MFA columnist Brenda Patterson often… Read more »