When I sit down to write a novel, setting comes first. And the setting needs to be familiar. I spent much of my time in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio, before we moved to the suburbs of Southern California. All my books have been set in one of these two locations. I love that my… Read more »
Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Heloisa Prieto. We’ll be talking about all of the puzzle pieces in her book, The Musician. 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… Read more »
Like many mystery readers, I love mystery television shows. Although I found it a tough task to narrow them down, today I share my favorites. I think there is something for everyone on this list, from cozies to gritty police procedural to dark (sometimes really dark) suspense. Happy reading and watching! Shetland Genre: Police Procedural… Read more »
Twitter, the linchpin of the publishing industry online, has felt like it may very well be crumbling under the new leadership of Elon Musk. With this, there’s been a lot of chatter in the publishing community about where we go from here. It’s up to you whether and when you choose to go down with… Read more »
It was six months into the COVID pandemic that I made one of the biggest career decisions of my life. I had spent over 20 years in the tech industry, mostly as a founder, or early employee, at Silicon Valley tech startups. I had just decided to shut down my latest venture and was feeling… Read more »
There are so many ways to structure a novel, and one key consideration is the timeline. Are you telling the fast-paced, high-tension story of a heist that takes place over a week (or a day)? Are you crafting a family saga that spans generations? Once you have a sense of where your story takes place… Read more »
Today, Lori is interviewing Deeba Zargarpur. They’ll be talking about family trauma and her book House of Yesterday. 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 recaps of… Read more »
This has been one of these days where no matter how hard I try, I simply cannot focus on the task at hand. OK, maybe it’s been one of those months. I know for some people, it’s been difficult to find focus since the pandemic started. Every person has their own way of finding focus…. Read more »
I’ve discovered several advantages if I start to plan for the new year at the beginning of December: more time for my reflections and new ideas to marinate, I feel ahead of the game on January 1, and I’m more intentional with my time and focus in December. Rather than working double time to accomplish… Read more »
Writers deal with ambiguity regularly. Every time we submit a piece to a publication, it exists in both states: published and unpublished. Until the acceptance or rejection slides into our inboxes, the piece remains in limbo. Maybe we decide to send it out to several places at a time. The anxiety heightens. What if two… Read more »
