One of the fundamental concepts behind DIY MFA is that the program starts with you.  All the creativity, effort and success comes from and goes back to you.  Sure, I can show you some options or suggest some places to start, but ultimately, you are the driving force behind your DIY MFA.  All I’m doing is helping you get started; the rest is up to you.

And that can be kind of scary.

After all, it’s easy to follow instructions and work within an established framework, but do-it-yourself isn’t like that.  It can be terrifying to forge your own path, and sometimes structure can be comforting, even for us free-spirited creative types. 

So what do we do when there is no structure?  We develop a writing habit.  And how exactly do we develop and nurture this habit?  Here are some easy tips.

1) Take baby steps.  Try not to push yourself too hard at first because if you do, you’ll be more likely to face burnout later on.  The goal is for your writing habit to be sustainable in the long run, so don’t go for a huge overhaul.  Instead try to make a handful of small, significant changes that will make a big impact on your writing down the road.

2) Give yourself permission to make mistakes.  Building a habit is like being a constant newbie at something.  After all, as soon as you get comfortable, you take another baby step toward your goal.  This means resting on your laurels is never an option, which is why it’s so important to allow yourself the freedom to make mistakes.  Remember that mistakes are inevitable; you might as well learn how to bounce back.

3) It’s OK to have fun.  Many of us have had the idea that writing is “work” rammed into our heads.  This is why when we start having fun with writing it’s hard to believe we’re actually working.  But we are; we’re just having fun at it.  It’s OK for writing to be fun and just because it feels more like play than work doesn’t make it any less worthy.

4) Real writers write when it’s hard.  Writing when it’s easy is, well… easy, but when it stops being fun, you still need to write.  The thing that separates true writers from the wannabes is what happens when the writing becomes tough.  Wannabes quit when it stops being fun, true writers work through the pain.
 
5) When you fall off the horse, dust yourself off and try again.  Don’t waste precious energy beating yourself up for missing a few days of writing.  Just tell yourself “it’s a new day” and start fresh.

6) Find out what’s causing writer’s block.  If have a string of bad writing days, take a few moments to reevaluate and figure out why that might be happening.  Maybe you’ve been over-stressed or over-tired.  Maybe you’ve got a lot on your plate right now.  Think about how you can adjust your writing habit to account for the hurdles you’re facing.  Once you’ve come up with a plan, let go of the past and move forward toward your goals.

7) Take the day off, now and then.  And when you do, don’t spend the whole time feeling guilty because you’re not writing.  If you need a day off, make a conscious decision not to write, then go about your life.

In the end, it’s all about being a more mindful writer.  Don’t let the past and future moments dictate whether you’re able to write in the present.  Learn from past experiences or mistakes but don’t let them haunt you.  When you’re writing, write.  When you’re not writing, live your life.

Hi everyone!  Hope you’re all getting excited for DIY MFA starting this weekend.  Today, I just wanted to write a quick post to announce the schedule for DIY MFA Twitter Chats.

Starting in April, we’ll be chatting on Sundays from 5pm – 6pm EDT.  Each week I’ll have a topic and we can discuss, or we can talk about DIY MFA in general.  It’ll also be a time to debrief after the Saturday Writing Sprints and a great way to connect with other writers.

DIY MFA chats will use the hashtag #diymfa.

For those who are new to twitter chats, here are a few twitter tips that have helped me navigate the world of twitter chats:

Use TweetChat: tweetchat.com allows you to enter a hashtag and then it opens that hashtag in a new window, sort of like a chat window.  It’s got some great features like it bolds tweets with your @username on it and your own tweets so if there are multiple threads in the chat, it’s easier to follow.  It also automatically adds the chat hashtag to your tweets.

Remember, Twitter Chats are not Chat Rooms:  In a generic chat room, everyone who sees your posts is also involved in the chat, but this is not true for twitter chats.  The trick to tweeting effectively during a chat is to make your tweets specific to the chat but also broad and detailed enough so that if someone sees it out of context it could still make sense.  Of course, it’s impossible to do this with all your tweets, but you should try to avoid strings of tweets that look like this:

@person1: OMG! Awesome!
@person1: @person2  Totally agree.
@person1: @person3  Yeah, me too.

This is where using Retweets can help give your tweets context.  Like this:

@person1: OMG! Awesome! RT @person2 Just finished my novel!
@person1: Totally agree.  RT @person2 Writing a novel is hard.
@person1: Yeah, me too.  RT @person3  I wish I had finished my novel already. Taking too long.

Don’t be shy.  Jump in.  Tweeps are nice peeps.  Don’t let a chat full of people who know each other make you nervous.  Just say hello and jump into the conversation.

Forgot to add this when I first posted but will add it now:

(I’ll share my #chat picks in the comments.)

Before I get to the main topic of this post, I wanted to remind you all that DIY MFA 2.O is only a few days away and you can register for it by going to this post.  It’s free to register and not only will you get a free DIY MFA eWorkbook but you’ll also be entered for a chance to win an iggilicious prize!

And now for the main topic: I’ve decided to assemble a team of TA’s (Teaching Assistants) for DIY MFA.  These are people who either participated in DIY MFA last time and were very active in the community, some even have official MFAs.  These are folks who have brainstormed with me and helped me work out kinks in the program, to such an extent that they could practically teach it themselves.

Throughout DIY MFA 2.O, the TA’s will be active in the comments and chats.  These people are here to help, so don’t be shy about following them on twitter, visiting their blogs and asking questions.  Here’s a short intro to the TA’s and a little bit of what they have to say about DIY MFA!

J.C. Martin

“As a new-ish writer, last year’s DIY MFA really helped me with getting to grips with writing techniques and ideas! I’m sooo looking forward to DIY MFA 2.0! This time round, I’m hoping to perhaps learn how to really boost my writing productivity!”

You can find J.C. at her website or on twitter (@JCMartin_author). 

Kerryn Angell

“After spending five years pursuing writing for publication and two years editing the same WIP I was lost. DIY MFA opened my eyes to the variety writing has to offer: reading, craft, ideas, community and critique. I fell back in love with reading, connected with my local writing community in person and found a renewed focus and excitement to write.”

Check out more of what Kerryn has to say at her blog and on twitter (@kerrynangell).

“Since graduating with an MFA last spring, I’ve been working hard on my first book, a contemporary YA novel. Writing in the “real world” without the structure and support of an MFA program has been a challenge. That’s why I’m excited about DIY MFA 2.0! I look forward to connecting with other writers, feeling inspired and getting a much-needed boost to finish my book.”

You can find Ghenet blogging, tweeting (@ghenet) and drinking lots of chai tea lattes.

Dave Symonds

“Last fall I benefited most from the Love of Literature posts and was able to put together a solid reading list.  Organizing a reading list helped me get on a reading schedule; not only was I reading more books similar to my WIP, but I was also able to keep up with the latest and greatest in my genre. I’m looking forward to the craft posts this time around, putting writing exercises to good use and improving my WIP on a daily basis.“

Read more of Dave’s words on twitter (@davidiocy).

Thank you to all the TA’s for helping me with this project.  Looking forward to a great month this April!

OMG there are so many exciting things I want to tell you all, I don’t even know where to start.  First, DIY MFA 2.O is only a few short days away and as of today, registration is OPEN! 

Exciting Thing #1:
Everyone who registers for DIY MFA 2.O will receive a free DIY MFA eWorkbook.  This workbook contains a sampling of some my DIY MFA “greatest hits” along with new material, including worksheets that are completely new to DIY MFA!  Just fill out the form and I’ll email you the eWorkbook.  (Please allow 1-2 weeks.) 

Exciting Thing #2:
As with the last DIY MFA, everyone who registers will also be entered in a giveaway!  This time around I’ll be giving away five (5!) adorable iggi journals to five lucky winners.  These iggilicious journals will look a little something like this:

Here are the rules for the giveaway:

• Please sign up using the form below.
• Giveaway ends at 11:59 EDT on April 30, 2011.
• Everyone who signs up before the closing date automatically gets one entry in the giveaway!
• For extra entries you can:
     1)  Tweet about DIY MFA Registration between today and Friday (+1 entries per tweet for up to 5 tweets).  Don’t forget to include a link back to this post and to use the #diymfa hashtag!
     2)  Post a badge on your website or blog with a link back to this registration post (+2 entries).  Don’t forget to enter your blog or website URL on the form.  You can find badges on the iggi-Graphics page.
     3)  Write a post on your blog about DIY MFA this week (+3 entries).  Again, please include your blog URL and please link back to this post.

OK, so just fill out the form and you’ll automatically get a free copy of the DIY MFA eWorkbook and you’ll be entered for a chance to win an iggilicious journal!

Edit: Contest is now closed.  But you can still sign up to get a free workbook by joining the DIY MFA List.  Don’t worry, you won’t get spam and I won’t share your email address with any person or entity.  All you’ll get is the occasional DIY MFA update and the free workbook (please allow 5-7 days).