DIY MFA Radio

Hey there word nerds!

Today I am delighted to have Rodrigo Hasbún on the show!

Rodrigo is a Bolivian novelist whose work has appeared in many top literary magazines such as Granta and Words Without Borders. In 2007, he was selected by the Hay Festival as one of the best Latin American writers under the age of thirty-nine for Bogotá39, and in 2010 he was named one of Granta's Best Young Spanish-Language Novelists.

His latest novel, Affections, is his American publishing debut, received an English PEN Award, and has been published in twelve languages.

Listen in as we chat about Rodrigo's amazing book, and how to find the way to your own best writing practice.

In this episode Rodrigo and I discuss:

• Practicing mindfulness in your writing while not squashing your creative process.
• Using peripheral first person POV to give your protagonist greater impact.
• Keeping readers engaged and invested in your work.
• Translating your writer's instinct into a reliable editing process.
• Broader edits vs. fine tuning, how to use the logic of a film editor for both.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/188

Hey there word nerds!

Today I am delighted to have Rodrigo Hasbún on the show!

Rodrigo is a Bolivian novelist whose work has appeared in many top literary magazines such as Granta and Words Without Borders. In 2007, he was selected by the Hay Festival as one of the best Latin American writers under the age of thirty-nine for Bogotá39, and in 2010 he was named one of Granta’s Best Young Spanish-Language Novelists.

His latest novel, Affections, is his American publishing debut, received an English PEN Award, and has been published in twelve languages.

Listen in as we chat about Rodrigo’s amazing book, and how to find the way to your own best writing practice.

 In this episode Rodrigo and I discuss:

• Practicing mindfulness in your writing while not squashing your creative process.
• Using peripheral first person POV to give your protagonist greater impact.
• Keeping readers engaged and invested in your work.
• Translating your writer’s instinct into a reliable editing process.
• Broader edits vs. fine tuning, how to use the logic of a film editor for both.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/188

Hey there word nerds!

Today I am delighted to have Dr. Eucabeth Odhiambo on the show!

Eucabeth was born in Kenya and her gorgeous middle grade debut novel, Auma's Long Run,is inspired by her memories growing up there as well as her own work experiences with children and educators affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

I read a lot of books for this show and while I'm not supposed to pick any favorites, I have to say it's not often that a book gets me this excited about the story and the meaning behind it.

Listen in as we tease apart the many elements of Auma's Long Run, and discuss the responsibility that comes along with writing an "own voices" novel.

• Crafting a strong female character young girls anywhere can relate to.
• Writing a sport centered middle grade novel with a female protagonist.
• Bringing life to a country and a culture through your characters.
• Dealing with the fear and responsibility of writing about things others have experienced.
• How fiction helps in getting over the hurdles of writing an "own voices" novel.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/187

Hey there word nerds!

Today I am delighted to have Dr. Eucabeth Odhiambo on the show!

Eucabeth was born in Kenya and her gorgeous middle grade debut novel, Auma’s Long Run,is inspired by her memories growing up there as well as her own work experiences with children and educators affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.  

I read a lot of books for this show and while I’m not supposed to pick any favorites, I have to say it’s not often that a book gets me this excited about the story and the meaning behind it.

Listen in as we tease apart the many elements of Auma’s Long Run, and discuss the responsibility that comes along with writing an “own voices” novel.

• Crafting a strong female character young girls anywhere can relate to.
• Writing a sport centered middle grade novel with a female protagonist.
• Bringing life to a country and a culture through your characters.
• Dealing with the fear and responsibility of writing about things others have experienced.
• How fiction helps in getting over the hurdles of writing an “own voices” novel.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/187

Hey there word nerds!

Today I am so excited to have author Stef Penney on the show!

Stef is a screenwriter and author. Her debut novel, The Tenderness of Wolves,was the winner of the Costa Prize for Book of the Year and the Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year, and was translated into thirty languages.

Stef followed up this success with her next highly acclaimed novel The Invisible Ones, and her latest work Under a Pole Star which was the recipient of the 2017 Wilbur and Niso Smith Adventure Writing Prize.

An epic tale of arctic exploration between two rival teams in the 1800's, writing Under a Pole Star became a journey of its own for Stef, as she mapped out her characters' lives and took readers across three continents in this amazing work.

Listen in as we chat about the creation of Under a Pole Star, and how to best prepare yourself for your own writing exploration.

In this episode Stef and I discuss:

• Using visual aids to add reality to a fictional setting.
• When to show your character's back story and how to do it right.
• Preparing yourself to navigate through your writing and what "tools" to take.
• Systems to keep track of and order your research into a novel.
• Dealing with gender roles in a novel without being political.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/186

Hey there word nerds!

Today I am so excited to have author Stef Penney on the show!

Stef is a screenwriter and author. Her debut novel, The Tenderness of Wolves,was the winner of the Costa Prize for Book of the Year and the Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year, and was translated into thirty languages.

Stef followed up this success with her next highly acclaimed novel The Invisible Ones, and her latest work Under a Pole Star which was the recipient of the 2017 Wilbur and Niso Smith Adventure Writing Prize.

An epic tale  of arctic exploration between two rival teams in the 1800’s, writing Under a Pole Star became a journey of its own for Stef, as she mapped out her characters’ lives and took readers across three continents in this amazing work.

Listen in as we chat about the creation of Under a Pole Star, and how to best prepare yourself for your own writing exploration.

In this episode Stef and I discuss:

• Using visual aids to add reality to a fictional setting.
• When to show your character’s back story and how to do it right.
• Preparing yourself to navigate through your writing and what “tools” to take.
• Systems to keep track of and order your research into a novel.
• Dealing with gender roles in a novel without being political.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/186

Hey there word nerds!

Today I am so excited to have bestselling co-authors Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi on the show!

Angela and Becca co-founded the popular Writers Helping Writers site, a hub where authors can hone their craft, as well as One Stop for Writers, an innovative online library built to help writers elevate their storytelling. I happen to be part of their current cohort of Resident Writing Coaches on Writers Helping Writers and have been a longtime fan of their work.

They are also both writing coaches and international speakers, and their books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world.

Angela and Becca's popular Writer's Thesauruses series is now up to fourteen books in total with their latest edition, The Emotional Wound Thesaurus, which is available now.

Listen in as we chat about their latest thesaurus, and dig deep into what an emotional wound is and how to use to create more believable characters.

• Tips to find and use a character's emotional wound to draw your readers in.
• Avoiding the research rabbit hole, finding what you need to know to write the story.
• What "show don't tell" really means and how to do it right.
• Backstory, when to use it and why.
• The want, the wound, and the desire,how to combine them in your characters.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/185

Hey there word nerds!

Today I am so excited to have bestselling co-authors Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi on the show!

Angela and Becca co-founded the popular Writers Helping Writers site, a hub where authors can hone their craft, as well as One Stop for Writers, an innovative online library built to help writers elevate their storytelling. I happen to be part of their current cohort of Resident Writing Coaches on Writers Helping Writers and have been a longtime fan of their work.

They are also both writing coaches and international speakers, and their books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world.

Angela and Becca’s popular Writer’s Thesauruses series is now up to fourteen books in total with their latest edition, The Emotional Wound Thesaurus, which is available now.

Listen in as we chat about their latest thesaurus, and dig deep into what an emotional wound is and how to use to create more believable characters.

• Tips to find and use a character’s emotional wound to draw your readers in.
• Avoiding the research rabbit hole, finding what you need to know to write the story.
• What “show don’t tell” really means and how to do it right.
• Backstory, when to use it and why.
• The want, the wound, and the desire,how to combine them in your characters.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/185

Hey there word nerds!

Today I am so excited to have bestselling author Kat Martin on the show!

Kat is the author of sixty-eight historical and contemporary romantic suspense novels, and with over sixteen million copies of her books in print in twenty countries outside the US, you could say Kat knows a thing or two about building a long-term career as an author.

The first book of her most recent series The Texas Trilogy, also known as the Beyond— series, Beyond Reason, received a coveted starred review from Publisher's Weekly. The second installment, Beyond Danger, hit shelves on January 30, 2018, and the third, Beyond Control, is coming in June 2018.

Listen in as we chat about not only Kat's latest series, but the strategic decisions she made on her career path to bestselling author.

• How to keep yourself motivated in the early days of your writing career.
• Knowing when to say goodbye, how to change agents and publishers.
• Who owns the rights? What to look for in contracts.
• Matching your writing pace to the voracious romance reader without going crazy.
• Kat's tips for staying in control of your series.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/184

Hey there word nerds!

Today I am so excited to have bestselling author Kat Martin on the show!

Kat is the author of sixty-eight historical and contemporary romantic suspense novels, and with over sixteen million copies of her books in print in twenty countries outside the US, you could say Kat knows a thing or two about building a long-term career as an author.

The first book of her most recent series The Texas Trilogy, also known as the Beyond— series,    Beyond Reason, received a coveted starred review from Publisher’s Weekly. The second installment, Beyond Danger, hit shelves on January 30, 2018, and the third, Beyond Control, is coming in June 2018.

Listen in as we chat about not only Kat’s latest series, but the strategic decisions she made on her career path to bestselling author.

• How to keep yourself motivated in the early days of your writing career.
• Knowing when to say goodbye, how to change agents and publishers.
• Who owns the rights? What to look for in contracts.
• Matching your writing pace to the voracious romance reader without going crazy.
• Kat’s tips for staying in control of your series.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/184