#askbecca: I’m committed to my writing, but I’m so exhausted by the time I get home from work and put the kids to bed that there’s no creative energy left. How can I inspire myself, even when I don’t feel like it? I get it. When I worked full time as a copywriter, I was… Read more »
Structure. Constraints. Boundaries. Are you already withering up a little and looking for an escape? The idea of being fenced in by rules and structure can feel stifling, but it shouldn’t. Adding structure can actually be freeing. In one famous experiment, preschool children were observed playing at a playground without a fence around it, and later… Read more »
Creating Youtube videos is one of the most effective ways for a writer to enhance his or her community. First, we’re going to look at what groups make up our writing community, what we give them, what we gain from them, and most importantly, what we should not expect to get from them. Then, we’ll… Read more »
We are SO excited to announce a new, bi-monthly feature on DIY MFA — Ask Becca. Every other Friday, our very own Becca Jordan will be answering your questions about writing, reading and community. Got a question? Tweet @beccaquibbles with the hashtag #askbecca. Or just leave a comment below! You might see it answered right here on… Read more »
For the first article in this series, click here. After attending ThrillerFest, I decided to follow the advice of the pros and take a step back from my book. It was a tough call, and a scary one. I had spent so long with the characters and world, but I knew I needed clear head-space…. Read more »
November is almost here and with it comes pumpkin spice everything, splashy fall colors and a chance to show off the sweaters I knit over the summer. But even better November brings one of my favorite writing events of the year: NaNoWriMo. Full disclosure: I’ve never actually done NaNoWriMo, at least in a way that would qualify… Read more »
Imagine taking a sweet picture book about cats and then altering it completely – crossing out and penciling in new text, drawing over the illustrations and scribbling laser beams that shoot out from the cat’s eyes with a permanent marker. Back when we were wildly imaginative kids, we did this to books all the time…. Read more »
When I attended ThrillerFest this summer, I was at the tail-end of a long wait for query responses. I’d had a few requests. Some promising leads. But in the end, nothing panned out. I actually received a rejection letter while at the Conference. Talk about a bummer! But, thankfully, I’d spent a day listening to… Read more »
For all too many writers, the short story market is like a black box: stories go in, rejections come out. I’ve been on the receiving end of those rejections, even when I’ve been notified I’ve made the ‘final round’. So, I decided to find out just how one gets from the slush pile to the… Read more »
We’ve introduced the DIY MFA reading and community resources, but in the end, it all comes down to writing. Sooner or later writers need to get their backsides in the chair and do the work. To that end, we’ve created a go-to list of writing resources here at DIY MFA so that you to help… Read more »
