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 talk about what they do, both at DIY MFA and beyond. My goal with these behind-the-scenes episodes is for you to get to know the different people who help make DIY MFA awesome, plus hear their insights about books and all things literary. As you probably already know, I see DIY MFA as a collaborative and collective venture. While I may be the instigator, DIY MFA would not be nearly as great if it weren't for all the amazing people who have partnered with me on this project. My hope is that this series will showcase the incredible talent we have on this team, and help you get to know these awesome people. Our co-host today is the fabulous Sara Letourneau, author of the DIY MFA column Theme: A Story's Soul. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/041

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, is here to stay. It's fully integrated into our lives and has changed the way we communicate radically. As writers, our best approach is to embrace the opportunities that social media affords us, rather than trying to fight against it. In this episode, I'll give you 7 steps to help you get a handle on social media, but in a way that's totally doable and won't take over your life. Most importantly, if you're just learning these platforms, be gentle with yourself. Social media is constantly changing. You don't have to do all of it, or get everything perfect right away. You just need to understand enough so that you can use social media to bolster your writing career. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/040

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 inspirational totems that help me find my focus. Honestly, I could do a whole episode on the "brain book" alone and the significance of each of the items I keep in it. But there's one item in particular--an unsharpened pencil--that has a special significance. It was given to me by a teacher who told me to always carry it with me as a symbol of my untapped potential. I still have that pencil almost fifteen years later, and I keep it as a reminder of how important my education is to my writing. It also remindes me that I should always be open to new ideas. Each time I launch a new class on DIY MFA, I get that same giddy feeling of anticipation and untapped potential. Since DIY MFA 101 starts next week, I this got me thinking about all the pieces that go into a writing life and how important each one is to your writing life as a whole. In this episode, I share my seven essentials of a writer's education, and show you how to build each aspect into your writing life. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/039

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/038. Take-home message: intelligent planning is not the enemy of creative genius.

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 what Jeff's feedback refers to. Head over to DIY MFA.com/037 for all the details.

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 from writerigniter.com to inspire their submissions. Interested in submitting to the anthology? Check out our submission guidelines. In this episode, I chat with Anthology Co-Editor Elisabeth Kauffman about how to submit to anthologies or literary magazines. She and I shine light on all those nitty-gritty details you want to know about submitting your work but were afraid to ask. So even if you're not planning to submit to this anthology, check out this episode for lots of info about the submission process. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/036

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 submitted by people in the DIY MFA audience. You'll want to read the show notes for this one, and also follow along reading the queries as you listen to the critiques. Head on over to DIYMFA.com/035 for all the details.

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 can create dynamic, interesting characters in your story. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/034

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 share my go-to techniques for voice, but in making your characters come to life, and for finding your voice in the narrator. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/033

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 conference I attend, and now I'm speaking at them too! In this episode I reveal the #1 thing you must do at a conference in order to get the most out of it. I also walk you through the before, during, and after stages, with practical tips of what to do at each point. I share a simple 4-step formula to help you connect with bigwigs in any situation, plus I'll give you insights on what NOT to do so you always put your best foot forward. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/032