DIY MFA Radio

Today, Lori is interviewing Mary Pascual. They’ll be talking about her debut novel, The Byways, and creating multi-dimensional characters. Mary Pascual is a writer and artist who believes finding magic is only a matter of perspective. She loves stories about characters with heart and fantastical settings that are more than meets the eye. She grew up in California and enjoys reading, art, traveling, exploring outside, and building elaborate stage sets for Halloween. Writing has taken her on a number of unexpected adventures, including working in high tech, meeting psychics, interviewing rock bands, and even once attending a press conference for Bigfoot. She got hooked on reading adult science fiction and fantasy in the fifth grade—so in retrospect, much of her reading material was completely inappropriate (which probably explains a few things). She lives with her husband, son, and assorted demanding cats in San Jose, California.   In this episode, Mary Pascual and Lori discuss: Finding the inspiration for a retelling and adding a fresh spin. Why she used an urban setting to tell a grittier tale. The importance of avoiding labels and creating multi-dimensional characters. Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/465

Discover the magic of character development as the hosts delve into method writing to truly inhabit your characters. Learn the TADA! method for balancing thoughts, actions, dialogue, and appearance in scenes. Explore the difference between narrative and character voice and how it shapes reader engagement. Tune in to hear about cozy mysteries and the charm of familiar characters. Plus, find out the hosts' top reading recommendation to enhance your understanding of compelling characters!

Today, Lori is interviewing Daniel Weizmann. They’ll be talking about his neo-noir mystery, The Last Songbird. Daniel Weizmann got his start at 13 under the nom de plume Shredder, writing for the legendary Flipside Fanzine. He went on to write for the LA Weekly, LA Times, Billboard, the Guardian, and others. He contributed to several books, including Drinking with Bukowski, Hardcore California, Too Cool, Timothy Leary's last work, and DeeDee Ramone's autobio. He has also written volumes for Def Jam rappers, standup comics, Mad Libs, and more. The Last Songbird is his debut mystery. You can find him on his website or follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.   In this episode Daniel Weizmann and Lori discuss: Why you should resist the urge to explain yourself in your writing. How to use the negative space to maximum effect. The role of music in his process and its impact in his novel. Plus, his #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/463

Today, Lori is interviewing Jolene Mcilwain. They’ll be talking about Sidle Creek and centering a short story collection around a place. Jolene McIlwain’s fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and appears in West Branch, Florida Review, Cincinnati Review, New Orleans Review, Northern Appalachia Review, and 2019's Best Small Fictions Anthology. Her work was named finalist for 2018’s Best of the Net, Glimmer Train’s and River Styx’s contests, and semifinalist in Nimrod’s Katherine Anne Porter Prize and two American Short Fiction's contests. She’s received a Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council grant, the Georgia Court Chautauqua faculty scholarship, and Tinker Mountain’s merit scholarship. She taught literary theory/analysis at Duquesne and Chatham Universities and she worked as a radiologic technologist before attending college (BS English, minor in sculpture, MA Literature). She was born, raised, and currently lives in a small town in the Appalachian plateau of Western Pennsylvania. You can find her on her website or follow her on Twitter and Instagram.   In this episode Jolene Mcilwain and Lori discuss: Why the length of a story doesn’t equate its emotional impact. How to center a collection around a place and add enough grounding details. Taking on stereotypes and going deeper in your writing.   Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/462

Today, Lori is interviewing Ginny Kubitz Moyer. They’ll be talking about how she started writing her debut novel, The Seeing Garden, with the setting. Ginny Kubitz Moyer is a California native with a love of local history. A graduate of Pomona College and Stanford University, she’s an English instructor and avid weekend gardener.  Her articles have appeared in a variety of publications, including Bella Grace and America Magazine, and she is the author of several books on women's spirituality.  She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two sons, and one adorable rescue dog. The Seeing Garden is her first novel.  You can find her on her website or follow her on Instagram.   In this episode Ginny Kubitz Moyer and Lori discuss: Why she prefers the term “discovery writer” instead of “pantser.” The importance of reading widely and re-reading books. How she picked up the tone of her novel, The Seeing Garden.   Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/461

Today, Lori is interviewing Neely Tubati Alexander. They’ll be talking about Love Buzz and the importance of listening to your intuition when crafting a novel. Neely Tubati Alexander is a first-generation Indian American mother of two. Originally from the Seattle area where Love Buzz, her debut novel, is largely set, she seeks to tell lighthearted, female-driven stories with diverse characters and strong women who pursue both love and careers. If she's not tucked away at the little desk in her bedroom writing, you can find her at some kiddo activity, drinking wine, or watching reality TV, usually the last two together. She lives in sunny Arizona with her family. You can find her on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.   In this episode Neely Tubati Alexander and Lori discuss: Pansing your way through drafts to gain a deeper understanding of your characters. How to tease out secrets and set pacing based on your intuition. Creating a rich cast to support your main character with purpose.   Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/460

Today, Lori is interviewing Anne Marie Wells. They’ll be talking about her poetry collection, Survived By: A Memoir in Verse, and using poetry as a method of dealing with heavy emotions. Anne Marie Wells (She | They) is an award-winning Queer poet, playwright, memoirist, and storyteller navigating the world with a chronic illness. She is a faculty member for The Community Literature Initiative through the Sims Library of Poetry and Strategic Partnership Fellow for The Poetry Lab. She earned the 2021 Peter K. Hixson Memorial Award in Poetry, the 2020 Wyoming Writers Milestone Award, and was a 2021 Wyoming Woman of Influence nominee in the arts for amplifying the voices of the LGBTQ and disabled communities with her writing. Her first full-length collection of poetry, Survived By: A Memoir in Verse + Other Poems, debuts with Curious Corvid Publishing on April 30, 2023.  You can find her on her website or follow her on Facebook and Instagram.   In this episode Anne Marie and Lori discuss: Choosing poems for a collection and deciding on their chronology. Using poetry as a way to deal with grief and its power to heal. The significance and symbolism behind white space.   Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/459

Today, Lori is interviewing Donnaldson Brown. They’ll be talking about Because I Loved You, and about how her background in screenwriting has influenced her prose. Donnaldson 's debut novel, Because I Loved You, is due out in April 2023 with She Writes Press. An attorney and former screenwriter, she worked with Robert Redford’s film development company for several years. Her spoken word pieces have been featured in The Deep Listening Institute’s Writers in Performance and Women & Identity Festivals, and in the Made in the Berkshires Theatre Festival in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. She’s been awarded several residencies. A longtime resident of both Brooklyn, New York and western Massachusetts, Ms. Brown grew up riding horses on a family ranch in East Texas as well as in her native Connecticut. She is a facilitator and trainer with The Equus Effect, offering somatic based experiential learning with horses for veterans, first responders and others struggling with ptsd, and is also certified to teach meditation and several forms of yoga.  She is a proud mother, and loves to sing, cycle, and hike with her dogs.  You can find her on her website or follow her on Facebook and Instagram.   In this episode Donnaldson and Lori discuss: The impact of secrets on multiple generations. Starting a project with an image and painting it into prose. Directing a reader’s imagination through clues and cues.   Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/458

Today, Lori is interviewing Leslie Karst. They’ll be talking about weaving past experiences into your writing and her new book Justice is Served.  The daughter of a law professor and a potter, Leslie Karst waited tables and sang in a new wave rock band before deciding she was ready for a “real” job and ending up at Stanford Law School. It was during her career as a research and appellate attorney in Santa Cruz, California, that she rediscovered her youthful passion for food and cooking, at which point she once again returned to school—this time to earn a degree in culinary arts. Now retired from the law, Leslie spends her days penning the Sally Solari culinary mystery series, as well as cooking, gardening, cycling, and singing alto in her local community chorus. She and her wife and their Jack Russell mix split their time between Santa Cruz and Hilo, Hawai’i. You can find her on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.   In this episode Leslie Karst and Lori discuss: Letting go of ego in order to follow your dreams. The importance of perseverance How the writing mindset for memoir is different from that of mystery.   Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/457

Today, Lori is interviewing Danielle Mitchell. They’ll be talking about the methodology of writing and reading poetry. Danielle Mitchell (she/her) is an intersectional feminist, poet, and teaching artist. She is the Founding Director of The Poetry Lab, an online learning platform that rallies in service of working-class writers around the globe. Danielle is the author of Makes the Daughter-in-Law Cry, winner of the Clockwise Chapbook Prize (Tebot Bach, 2017). Her poems have appeared in Hayden’s Ferry Review, Vinyl, Four Way Review, Transom, New Orleans Review, Nailed Magazine and others. Danielle has received scholarships to travel to Patmos Island, Greece to study poetry, as well as grants from Poets & Writers and the Ashaki M. Jackson No Barriers Grant from the Women Who Submit. She is the inaugural winner of the Editor’s Prize from Mary Magazine and the Editor’s Choice Award from The Mas Tequila Review. She has performed on stages all over Southern California including the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Danielle holds bachelor’s degrees in Women’s and Gender Studies and Creative Writing from the University of Redlands and is an alumna of the Community of Writers. She is currently working on a manuscript of poems about misogyny and the Internet. You can find her on her website or follow her on Instagram, Tiktok, and LinkedIn. Also, check out The Poetry Lab website or follow The Poetry Lab Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Goodreads.   In this episode Danielle Mitchell and Lori discuss: Adding emotional stakes to poems to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. The magic of tapping into things you don’t understand. Her annotative document process. Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/456