A great novel is like a well-made house: it needs a sturdy structure, or it will eventually collapse. Unfortunately, that structure doesn’t just happen all on its own through some sort of divine story magic (boy, wouldn’t that be convenient). Instead, structure must be developed and applied with great care. Some authors create this structure… Read more »
Disclaimer: DIY MFA does not provide legal, tax accounting, or financial advice. In making decisions regarding whether and when to file intellectual property (IP) protection or other decisions that may have legal and/or financial ramifications, we strongly urge you to speak to a licensed IP attorney for the most accurate information. Have you ever wondered… Read more »
What’s the hardest thing for you when you write? Besides actually sitting down to write. Many writers might say “starting a chapter”. If you’re one of them, Welcome! Let’s end this trouble, shall we? Entry hooks can be one of the hardest elements of a story to write, regardless of the genre. But if you… Read more »
Welcome back to It’s Messy in The Middle, where we reflect on ways to craft complex characters and build dynamic worlds that readers with underrepresented identities can connect with. For the past year, I have been anxiously sitting on the sidelines, trying to determine if I should address gender identity in this column. While I… Read more »
There’s a lot going on in the world right now, and it often seems overwhelming. Escapist fiction can give readers a break, but it can also feel too flippant for the moment. We want to read and write books that balance the heavy themes of this point in history with a strong, engrossing story that… Read more »
When I first started seriously pursuing writing, I struggled, like many new beginners, with the preciousness of my prose. My early stories were bad. And, I knew it. After a few years, when I finally wrote a short piece I was proud of, it seemed incredibly precious and fragile. When I told a friend that… Read more »
Hello fellow kid lit writers! I’m extra excited about this author interview today because I got to interview one of my dear college friends and brilliant author, Kaela Rivera! Kaela has some great writing advice for you all and some valuable insight into the publishing process. About Kaela Rivera Kaela Rivera is the award-winning author… Read more »
As a writer, it’s tempting to want to test out new styles and approaches to storytelling. One such is writing multiple points of view—where instead of one character’s voice telling the entire story, the author writes with more than one “narrator.” Multi-POV books are popular for many reasons: They allow readers to hear from more… Read more »
1. Pause A lot of folks claim the answer to overcoming burnout is to keep writing. The grit-your-teeth strategy may work for some people—indeed, there will be plenty of teeth-gritting no matter which path you take—but there’s a better way. Writers are performers. We’re professionals. We devote a tremendous amount of mental-emotional energy to our… Read more »
How to Analyze a First Chapter If you want to publish your manuscript, you need to learn how to write well-structured scenes that hook and engage your readers. You also need to learn how to balance fun and important details that work with structure. In other words, you need a scene where every line weaves… Read more »
