DIY MFA Radio

Welcome to another episode of DIY MFA Radio! Today I'm doing things a little bit differently. Instead of an interview, I'm bringing one of my team members on the show as a co-host and we'll have a conversation about books, writing and the creative life. This episode is part of a new series I'll be doing called "Behind DIY MFA," where I'll bring members of my team on the show as a co-host and we'll...

Hey there, word nerds! Thanks for joining me for today's episode of DIY MFA Radio. Today we're going to talk about a super important topic for any author: Social Media. Social media can be tricky for writers because there's so much to wrap your head around. We're going to talk about the nuts and bolts, basic information that you can put into practice right away. Social media, for better or worse,...

Hello and thank you for joining me today! Today's episode is all about the seven essentials for a writer's education. I've been thinking about this topic for a while, and after I wrote  this article  a few weeks ago about my philosophy of teaching writing, I thought it was time to share these seven essentials with you. Whenever I write, I keep with me a "brain book" filled with tools and inspirati...

Welcome to another episode of DIY MFA Radio. So glad you're here! Today I'm so excited to interview Stuart Horowitz from Book Architecture. Stuart is someone who is as excited about connecting with writers and helping them reach their goals as I am. We'll be talking about planning your novel and how to plot without a formula. Listen in for the interview and check out our show notes at DIYMFA.com/0...

Today is part two of the query critique series with my awesome agent, Jeff Kleinman. In this episode, Jeff and I look at a few more query letters, giving feedback and line-by-line critique so you can see what works and what could be improved. As with Part 1 of this series, you'll want to check out the show notes and follow along with the queries as you listen to the critiques so you know exactly w...

Today I have an exciting announcement at DIY MFA: we are launching an Anthology! Our goal with this anthology is to address both the Read with Purpose and Write with Focus components of DIY MFA, by bringing together an interesting collection of prose and poetry that shows various writing techniques in action. We also want to encourage creative outside-the-box thinking, so writers must use a prompt...

I'm especially excited to share today's episode with you because it features my awesome agent, Jeff Kleinman. In this episode, Jeff and I talk about query letters: what they are, why you need one, and how to make yours stand out from the slush. After asking Jeff about the nuts-and-bolts basics of query letters, we then launch into a query critique session in which he gives feedback on queries subm...

Supporting characters are an essential ingredient for crafting your story. Not only do these characters add depth and further the plot, they also help support the protagonist's character arc. In this episode, I'll share five supporting character archetypes, who they are and why they exist. While in writing there are no hard and fast rules, these archetypes can serve as a jumping off point so you c...

Voice is one of those topics in writing that is so hard to pin down and define. The one thing that we can be certain of with voice, though, is that we know it when we hear it. When we read a story or book with a particularly strong voice, we can tell right away. Today's episode was inspired by a question from a listener about how to keep character voices distinct and engaging. In this episode, I s...

One of the biggest game-changers for my writing career has been attending writers' conferences. In this episode, I share some insider conference tips to help you get the most out of the experience and help you network like a pro (even if you're an introvert, like me). I used to be terrified of live events because I'm painfully shy, but with practice I've learned how to bring my A-game to every con...

Do you ever feel pulled in a million different directions, chasing one sparkly writing project after nother. This episode is all about figuring out where to focus your writing energy so you can get results and finish a project. Finding focus is all about balancing three things: your passions, your strengths, and ROI (return on investment). For more info and show notes:  DIYMFA.com/031

 Today is an extra special episode because I'll be interviewing a fabulous author and my good friend: Kathryn Holmes. We're going to be talking about how to create a setting that feels real to the reader, a subject you'll find she knows  a lot  about. Kathryn's debut novel is out this week and (as you can imagine from the title of this episode) setting and world-building play a HUGE role in her st...

I have been a long-time follower of author Jeff Goins and his work, so it was an absolute thrill to host him on the show for this episode. In it we discuss his journey as a writer and how he got to where he is now, how he found his purpose (and how other writers can do the same), and the power of building an online platform. We also talked about finding that "sweet spot" between what you're passio...

Today's episode is especially for the children's writers out there. Have you wanted to create a picture book, but weren't sure how to translate it from paper to a Kindle eBook? Fear not! Kindle has made some amazing changes lately that make publishing an electronic picture book super-easy. Not only that, now that picture books have gone digital, the flexibility and options available to writers and...

I am absolutely thrilled for this episode today. Not only is the topic timely and something that's on a lot of writers' minds, but I get to interview two awesome authors about their new book: The Art of Social Media. These authors are, of course, Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick and their book is filled with tips and techniques that will help with your social media, whether you've been on social m...

Many people  say they want to write a book, but very few actually do it. Stop dream, start doing. I'll show you how. Today's episode is all about getting those words on the page and that book out into the world. During the show I talk about  why you need to write this book in the first place. Then I debunk three major myths about writing, plus give you a "secret" formula for how to up your game. F...

Today's episode was inspired by a question I got from a listener. Got a questions about writing or publishing that you want to hear answered on the show? Just email gabriela[at]DIYMFA[dot]com with "DIY MFA Radio" in the subject line. I can't promise to answer every single question in an episode, but I'll pick the most frequent ones and use them to inspire show topics. Plus, you might just get a sh...

Do you set goals only to lose momentum after a few days or weeks? Don't worry, I've been there and I know how you feel. In this episode I share my go-to productivity tool that has helped me get my projects from dream to done. Check out the show notes page for more information and for a free download:  DIYMFA.com/024

Crazy fact: Did you know that while 45% of Americans make New Year's resolutions, only 8% actually achieve what they set out to do? Here at DIY MFA we want to see you rock your New Year's resolutions (both for writing and for life) so in this episode I walk you through a simple 5-step process for setting resolutions that really stick. For more info and show notes:  DIYMFA.com/023

Happy Holidays! In today's episode, I explore the Santa Claus story, and the five lessons that writers can take from it. Like Santa, writers are creative. We make stories out of words. As you'll hear in this episode, this is not the only thing that writers and Santa have in common. Tune in to find out more. For show notes and more info:  DIYMFA.com/022 Season's greetings to all, and to all a good...

I used to hate outlines, but now I love them. In this episode I share my five go-to outline techniques: mind maps, scene cards, story mapping, story sketch and mood boards. I'll give you the inside scoop on which technique to use in different types of projects and scenarios. My hope is that with several different outline methods in your arsenal, you'll always have the right tool available for ever...

Today we have Daniel Milnor, photographer at large for Blurb, Inc., joining us. Dan and I talked about how the book has evolved, what it means for something to be a book, and what these changes mean for authors. I’m so excited to share our conversation with you. For show notes and more info:  DIYMFA.com/020

It's December and if you did NaNoWriMo, you've probably got a big pile of pages that need shaping and editing. But where do you start? This episode will give you a simple 3-step process to help you take your book from draft to done. This method isn't just for NaNos, though. Anyone can use these tips to polish up their work and get it submission-ready. All you need is a complete (or almost complete...

Happy Wednesday-before-Thanksgiving, everyone! I'm so thankful that you are all here and going on this podcast journey with me! This week, I wanted to share something else that I'm super-thankful for: the ability to Shakespeare in the original English. In this episode  I will be deconstructing one of my favorite poems, Shakespeare's Sonnet #90. I'm so glad you're here to enjoy this wonderful work...

If you're like me (and most writers) you probably love acquiring new books. But how do you know if a writing book will teach you what you need to know? Or will it just collect dust on your bookshelf. That's where the Essentials come in. Using a simple ABC formula, I show you which essential books you must absolutely have in your writing library. And since this is DIY MFA, you can adjust these sele...