DIY MFA Radio

As a follow-up to our previous episode on Writing Groups, this time we discuss how to give useful critiques. The key to giving critique is to be specific, and to think of the critique relationship as a partnership, rather than an adversarial face-off. For show notes and additional info, visit  DIYMFA.com/016 .

This is a very special episode for DIY MFA Radio because it features a wonderful writer--and one of my writing heroes--Jane Yolen. Known as the "Hans Christian Andersen of America" Jane Yolen has written over 360 books. But what truly sets her work apart is her artristry and versatility. She has written in just about every genre imaginable, and for just about every type of reader. Whenever I've he...

In our Halloween episode, we talk about creative monsters and how to evade them. I'll share was to trick (or treat) your way around these monsters so you can stay confident and creative. The key to avoiding creative monsters is remembering that it's not you, it's them, and not giving them any ammunition. Finally, you have to be kind to your creative self and celebrate your own victories in small b...

Inspired by the Kubler-Ross five stages of grief, this episode walks you through the five stages of how writers process and get through writer's block. Just as people might grieve a loss, when writers are not writing they grieve too. In this episode, I discuss the five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Then I'll show you how you can push through writer's block and beat...

When new writers join DIY MFA, one of the biggest challenges they face is finding a writing group, and what to do when they finally join one. I've been in several writing groups so I thought I'd share some tried and true techniques I've learned from the process. In this episode, I share some tips for finding a group that's right for you, and I walk you through the three stages of receiving critiqu...

Do you love to read? If you're at all like me, chances are your list of books TBR (to be read) is much bigger than the number of books you could ever read in a lifetime. This means that your reading time is precious and you have to be super-smart about how you choose books and approach your reading, so it has maximum impact on your writing. I call this "reading with purpose" and that's the topic f...

Sooner or later you're going to have to ask for something. Whether it's asking readers to buy your book, or asking someone to help you promote it, at some point you'll find yourself in a place where you need to ask for help. Having been on both the asking and helping sides of this equation, I've learned that there's a specific WAY of asking that automatically opens people up to helping you. In thi...

I came to poetry fairly late as a writer, and now I'm on a mission to bring other writers to poetry as well. In this episode, I interview poet and children's book author extraordinaire: Marilyn Singer. You'll hear us dish about our love of poetry, the magic of words, facing criticism, and more! For more info and show notes, check out DIYMFA.com/009 .

We often think of writing purely as an art but when it comes to POV, there's definitely a science to it. When I first started writing I had no idea what POV was all about so I created a nifty POV cheat sheet to help me remember which was which. When other writers started raving about the cheat sheet, I knew I had to share it with my listeners on this podcast. For more info and show notes check out...

When it comes to building a writing community, Karen Dionne knows where it's at. Co-founder of Backspace--an online community for writers of all genres--and organizer of many conferences, Karen knows exactly what goes into creating and maintaining a writing community. In this interview, Karen shares writing community tips for success and avoiding pitfalls. She also gives great advice about choosin...

The first five pages are super-important for setting the tone of your novel. In those pages, you make five key promises and delaying or breaking those promises will create tension in the story. In this episode, you'll learn what these five promises are and when or how to artfully break them. For more info and show notes check out DIYMFA.com/006

As writers, we must look at who the character could be, not necessarily who the character already is. That's the key to writing characters with depth. For more info and show notes check out DIYMFA.com/005

Some people think unlimited possibilities leads to unlimited creativity. Not so. In this episode, you'll find out why it's important to limit your options in order to take decisive action. For more info and show notes check out DIYMFA.com/004

Learn seven good reasons why you should include prompts in your writing practice. You'll also discover a simple three-step process to help you pump up your writing with prompts. This is a tried and true system thta will help build your stamina and get you tangible results. Find out why you should build prompts into your writing and how to make them work for you. Show notes at:  DIYMFA.com/003  

In this episode I'll tell you why you want to build a writing practice, what this writing practice can look like and how to do it. For show notes and more details go to  DIYMFA.com/002

Welcome to the first episode of DIY MFA Radio! I am so happy to share this creative adventure with you. This weekly podcast will offer tips and techniques that you can apply to your writing practice right now. In this episode, I will tell you just how and why I started DIY MFA, and how it can help you to write more, write better, write smarter. For show notes and more details,  DIYMFA.com/001