DIY MFA Radio

Hey there word nerds! Today I have the absolute pleasure of speaking with Glynn Stewart on the show! Glynn was liberated from a bleak future of being an accountant by his unstoppable writing habit which led him to write several science-fiction, space opera, and fantasy series. He is the author of the Starship's Mage, a bestselling science fiction and fantasy series where faster-than-light travel is possible—but only because of magic. His other works include science fiction series Exile and Castle Federation, as well as the urban fantasy series ONSET and Changeling Blood. Glynn is also the author of the space opera trilogy Duchy of Terra as well as its sequel series Light of Terra, the first book of which (Darkness Beyond) was released in October of 2018. I am in the midst of reading the first book in the original Duchy of Terra series, and OMG it is so awesome! It combines my two favorite things, pirates and outer space, into one epic story. So listen in as Glynn and I talk about this amazing series, and turning the tropes of military science fiction upside down. In this episode Glynn and I discuss: Crafting a strong female protagonist in military science fiction the right way. The art of using a point of view that is both limited and omniscient. How to create alien species that don't feel earthbound. Worldbuilding through phased info dumps. Using history to inform your science fiction. Plus, Glynn's #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/241

Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of speaking with New York Times and USA Today bestselling author B.J. Daniels! After a career as an award-winning newspaper journalist, B.J. wrote and sold over 37 short stories before she finally wrote her first book, Odd Man Out, which went on to be nominated for Best First Book and Best Intrigue for 1995 in the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Awards. Since then she has sold more than 40 short stories and over 100 books, and has won numerous awards including a Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award in 2002 with her novel Premeditated Marriage, and a Career Achievement Award for Series Romantic Suspense in 2002 from the Romantic Times. Her latest novel, Stroke of Luck, kicks off her newest romantic suspense series, Sterling's Ranch.So listen in as B.J. and I chat about this awesome book and how to weave together the suspense of mystery with the tension of romance into one amazing story. In this episode B.J. and I discuss: Using a compressed space to amplify the tension between your characters. How to craft the "fool" supporting character archetype the right way. Happily ever after, making the inevitable romance ending surprising every time. Bringing a unique world to life through the eyes of your characters. How to write a series for new readers and loyal fans at the same time. Plus, B.J.'s #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/240

Hey there word nerds! Today I am delighted to have Dan Grant on the show! Dan is an author with a background in electrical engineering who has always loved the world of stories and intriguing tales, especially suspense and thrillers that weave science, medicine, or technology into the fabric of the drama. As a licensed professional engineer he's had the unique opportunity to work with a variety of medical and technological projects and to get behind the scenes at military facilities. And as you read his debut thriller, The Singularity Witness, you can definitely see how his engineering background has filtered into the narrative to form a broader storytelling tapestry. Dan is currently hard work on his next thriller entitled Thirteen Across, as well as the next book in his Singularity series. Now listen in as Dan and I chat about his awesome debut The Singularity Witness, and how to balance hard science with the fast pace of thrillers. In this episode Dan and I discuss: How to use research for a science based thriller without info dumping. Showing your story's world through the perspective of an outsider. How to add depth to your characters without slowing down the plot. Worldbuilding in a unique setting grounded in today's reality. Choosing the path of self publishing. Plus, Dan's #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/239

Hey there word nerds! Today I am so excited to be hosting Brazilian author Tony Bellotto on the show! As some of you may know, my parents are from Brazil and my first language is actually Portuguese. Though I was raised in the U.S. I consider myself as much Brazilian as American so I am super thrilled to have a Brazilian author here today! Tony is the author of the best-selling Bellini mystery novels, which have been released as major feature films and translated widely, establishing him as the preeminent writer of Brazilian detective fiction. He is also a guitarist and songwriter for the famed Brazilian rock band Titãs (The Titans), which has released twenty albums and sold over six million copies. On top of all that, Tony is also the editor of Rio Noir and São Paulo Noir, both published by Akashic Books, who are also releasing the English translation of his Bellini mysteries starting with his debut novel, Bellini and the Sphinx, which is now available. Now listen in, and get ready to hear a little Portuguese, as Tony and I chat about the two awesome anthologies he edited and what it really means for a story to be noir. In this episode Tony and I discuss: The broad definition of "noir". How to create a crime fiction anthology with non-crime fiction writers. Using humor to create the noir atmosphere. Why you should divide an anthology into sections, and how to do it right. International publishing and the translation process. Plus, Tony's #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/238

Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of hosting Kevin Brooks on the show! Kevin is a critically acclaimed young adult novelist whose first book, Martyn Pig, was named a Publishers Weekly "Flying Start" selection. Kevin has written many books since then including Black Rabbit Summer, which was shortlisted for the 2009 Carnegie Medal, and The Bunker Diary, which won the Carnegie Medal in 2014. His most recent novel, Born Scared, is a terrifying thriller about a 13-year-old boy named Elliot confined to his home by incapacitating fear. But then on Christmas Eve, a mixup at the pharmacy leaves him with not enough pills. His mother must go out into the snowstorm to get more, and when she doesn't come back Elliot has to venture out after her on his own. This book really resonated with me on so many levels and I'm sure it will resonate with many of you as well. So listen in as Kevin and I talk about this amazing book, and learning how to embrace the fear of writing not just on the page but as writers. In this episode Kevin and I discuss: Tackling the deeply, dark reality of mental illness on the page. How to deal with "analysis paralysis" and keep writing. Creating drama and suspense when your character is in a very confined space. The technique of shifting between 1st and 3rd person POV, and how to do it right. How to use the design aspects of writing to enhance your story. Plus, Kevin's #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/237

Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Jeff Somers on the show! I first met Jeff at BookExpo this past spring and had the opportunity to hear him speak at the Writer's Digest Conference this past summer, and the moment we crossed paths I knew that we were going to be instant writing besties. First off, he's hilarious. Second, he's an iconoclast, so not really into following the rules, which is totally my jam. Plus, his wife is also super-awesome which means he has great taste. This is why I just knew I had to have him on the show so we could geek out about his book Writing Without Rules. But first, a little more about Jeff. Jeff began writing by court order as an attempt to steer his creative impulses away from engineering genetic grotesqueries. He has since published nine novels, including the noir-scifi novels in the Avery Cates Series, the darkly hilarious crime novel Chum, and most recently tales of blood magic and short cons in the Ustari Cycle, which includes the novel We Are Not Good People and four novellas. He has also published over thirty short stories, including "Ringing the Changes," which was selected for inclusion in the Best American Mystery Stories 2006, writes about books for Barnes and Noble and about the craft of writing for Writer's Digest, which also published his book on the craft of writing Writing Without Rules in 2018. He considers pants to always be optional. So listen in as Jeff and I geek out about this awesome book, debunk some of the greatest writing myths in history, and discover exactly why pants should always be optional. In this episode Jeff and I discuss: Why only writing what you know creates boring books. What "show don't tell" really means. Write every day, the god-emperor of bad writing advice. Solving the mystery of "kill your darlings". How to expand your vocabulary, without a thesaurus. Plus, Jeff's #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/236

Hey there word nerds! Today I am so excited to have Ashley and Leslie Saunders on the show! Ashley and Leslie are award-winning filmmakers, twin sisters, and authors. Hailing from the suburbs of Dallas these two honed their love of storytelling at The University of Texas at Austin. While researching their debut novel, The Rule of One, Ashley and Leslie fell in love with America's national parks, as they traveled the path of their main characters (also twin sisters) Ava and Mira. I'm reading The Rule of One right now, and OMG it is soooooo good! I was delighted to learn that this book will be followed by a sequel, The Rule Of Many, releasing in spring of 2019. So listen in as Ashley, Leslie, and I chat about this awesome book, and crafting a visually stunning near-fi dystopia on the page. In this episode Ashley, Leslie, and I discuss: Crafting a realistic twin sister relationship. Worldbuilding techniques for "near-fi" stories. The challenges of writing a novel vs. a screenplay. How to build a visual story on the page. Why connecting with other writers can motivate you to keep writing. Plus, Ashley's and Leslie's #1 tips for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/235

Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of hosting David Corbett on the show! I know David as a highly sought-after instructor at ITW's Master CraftFest and CraftFest, and it's easy to see why as he is the award-winning author of six novels, the story collection Thirteen Confessions, and the writing guide The Art of Character which has been called "A writer's bible." His short fiction has been selected twice for Best American Mystery Stories, and his non-fiction has appeared in several places including Writer's Digest magazine where he is a contributing editor. David's latest novel The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc Holliday (OMG best alliterative title EVER!) about the possible discovery of the most notorious love letters in American history was released in 2018. So listen in as David and I discuss this awesome book and how to ratchet up the realness of your story's world through its characters. In this episode David and I discuss: Choosing the right details to include that will pull your readers in. How to inject verisimilitude into your story. Why you should use real people as the basis for character creation. Crafting deeply flawed and relatable characters. Weaknesses, wounds and flaws, what they are and how to use them right. Plus, David's #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA/com/234

Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure and honor of hosting David Morrell on the show! David is the bestselling author of numerous books including First Blood, the award-winning novel in which Rambo was created, and the classic spy novel, The Brotherhood of the Rose, which was the basis for the only television mini-series to be broadcast after a Super Bowl. In his over forty years of writing experience David has received many well deserved awards and honors, including the Thriller Master award from the International Thriller Writers organization and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Bouchercon, the world's largest convention of mystery and thriller enthusiasts. He holds a Ph.D. in American literature from Penn State and was a professor in the English department at the University of Iowa. He is truly a phenomenal teacher of writing and every time I hear him teach or speak on a subject, I learn something new and different. And today he's here to talk with us about his latest novels, the Thomas De Quincey Victorian Mysteries triad Murder as a Fine Art, Inspector of the Dead, and Ruler of the Night. So listen in as David and I chat about these awesome books, and how to craft a novel with just enough detail to keep your readers enthralled in the story. In this episode David and I discuss: How to avoid the info dump, while still keeping your readers in the story. Framing details around the characters to bring them to life on the page. How to play with point of view to create verisimilitude in your story. Becoming the omniscient narrator. Why inserting journal entries can enhance your story, and how to do it right. Plus, David's #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/233

Hey there word nerds! Today's show is our last episode of 2018 so Happy New Year everybody! And this episode is an especially awesome one because it features three members of my awesome DIY MFA team. I am so excited to have DIY MFA columnists Melanie Marttila, Brenda Joyce Patterson, and Stacy Woodson on the show! I also want to take a moment to mention that these three amazing women are only a tiny sample of the awesome members of DIY MFA. We currently have 21 members on our team, from columnists who contribute articles to people who work their magic maintaining our archives and helping to curate all the voices we feature on our site. So a big thank you to all the members of the team for another awesome year! Now, let me introduce the three amazing ladies I'll be chatting with in this interview. Melanie Marttila is a certified corporate trainer by day and fantasy writer by night. She writes the DIY MFA column Speculations, which is all about science fiction and fantasy. Her own works of scifi and fantasy have appeared in several places such as Bastion Science Fiction Magazine and On Spec Magazine. Brenda Joyce Patterson is a poet, writer, librarian, and lover of short writing forms. Her column at DIY MFA, Writing Small, focuses on the various different short forms of writing such as short stories, poetry, and essays. She is a mentee in the Association of Writers & Writing Programs' Writer to Writer Mentorship Program for Fall 2018—which is a very prestigious and selective mentoring program—and her poetry and flash fiction have been published in numerous literary magazines such as Vayavya. She has also had a travel essay published (along with works by Maya Angelou and Gwendolyn Brooks) in the anthology Go Girl: The Black Woman's Guide to Travel and Adventure. Stacy Woodson writes crime fiction and is the columnist behind Hook, Line, and Dagger, which dives into all things thriller and mystery. She is a U.S. Army veteran and memories of her time in the military are a source of inspiration for her writing. Stacy is a Daphne du Maurier winner and a Killer Nashville Claymore finalist. She also has several short fiction pieces forthcoming in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Malice Domestic's Mystery Most Edible, and Chesapeake Crimes: Invitation to Murder. Didn't I tell you my team was amazing?!?! But I'll stop gushing and let you hear from these fabulous women themselves. So listen in as Melanie, Brenda, Stacy and I chat about the aspects of genre writing and give you a sneak peek at the behind-the-scenes of DIY MFA. In this episode Melanie, Brenda, Stacy and I discuss: An inside look at the Speculations, Writing Small, and Hook, Line, and Dagger columns. The different conventions within genres and writing forms. Why reading with purpose in your genre is so important. Pitfalls to avoid when writing thriller, scifi/fantasy, and short forms. Book recommendations to help you dive into each of their genres. Plus, all these lovely ladies' #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/232