Build Your Writing Career By Investing In the Right Help

One question we are asked to weigh in on is whether an MFA in creative writing is worth the investment. After all, an MFA is a huge commitment and can be costly so writers should investigate thoroughly before jumping in.

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Becca and I don’t have our MFAs but we know many others who do. An MFA can be a terrific way to gain the tools one needs to make writing a career. But, a graduate program is one path a writer might take. There are others to consider, and each person should decide what is right for them.

We are blessed to live in a time where great education is often only a few clicks away. We can invest in learning online when it fits our schedule, from home, and it works with our budget!

Choosing online education can lead to another hurdle, however: how do you tell the worthwhile courses from ones that are not? No one wants to waste time or money. If we are in the market for a course, we want to take it from someone who has proven themselves again and again, right?

Well, if you are looking for this sort of help right now, we know of a program that might be right for you: DIY MFA 101.

Get the Knowledge Without the College

[image error]What if there was a way to get the MFA experience without going to school? You could become a better writer and make progress toward your writing goals, and maybe even get published, without…

Having to quit your job
Abandoning your family responsibilities
Moving to a new city
Plus, you could save tens of thousands of dollars by not attending a traditional writing program.

Believe it or not, this is totally possible. In fact, that’s what DIY MFA is all about. When you DIY your MFA, you have the freedom to build a writing life—and career—that fits within the scope of your real life and also serves your writing goals.

Our friend and resident writing coach, Gabriela Pereira, is the founder and instigator of DIY MFA, and she’s built a program for writers who are hungry to master the craft, write stories, and share them with the world, but who don’t want to put their lives on hold in order to do it. Gabriela has been working with writers for over a decade and has helped hundreds of people just like you craft great stories and pursue their writing goals.

[image error]But she doesn’t just talk the talk. Gabriela built her own career as an author by doing the very things that DIY MFA teaches you how to do. She also knows a thing or two about the traditional MFA system because she earned one herself.

Based on both her own experience in graduate school, and extensive research she’s done on other programs, she discovered that an MFA in writing boils down to three basic pillars—Writing, Reading, and Community—and her flagship course DIY MFA 101 covers all three things. (More about DIY MFA 101 here.)

Her 10-week program includes ten modules, full-to-the-brim with material to help you write more, write better, write smarter. You’ll also be able to participate on three discussion calls with Gabriela so you can connect with other writers in the class and get your questions answered.

This course includes 10 weeks of video lessons, each week focusing on one essential aspect of a writer’s education. Topics include:

Writing habits and productivity

Crafting strong characters

Plot and story structure

Point of view and voice

World building scene-by-scene

Reading like a writer

How to get feedback on your work

Publishing fundamentals

Each week’s materials includes video lessons as well as audio recordings and slides, so you can digest the material in the way that’s best for you. You’ll also get worksheets with each lesson so you can absorb and understand what you learned.

The entire course is housed on a private course website, so you can access the materials anytime, anywhere. You’ll also have access to group discussion calls and a private course-only Facebook group where you can ask Gabriela questions and connect with other writers in the class.

Finally, you’ll also get continued access to the material even after the course is over. This way, if you can’t take it all in during those ten weeks (there’s a LOT in this course!) you can always come back and finish it later.

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This is a comprehensive program that doesn’t just give you tons of information on the writing side of things, but also helps you with those other important things like navigating the publishing process or learning how to apply what you read to your writing.

To learn more about DIY MFA 101 and to register, go here. (Note: this is an affiliate link, meaning WHW will receive a thank you fee should you decide to sign up for this course. Affiliate partnerships are very common in our industry, but not for Becca and I. We only partner with those who provide something exceptional to our readers.)

If you are looking this type of help, I urge you to visit the DIY MFA site and poke around.

Read some articles, listen to Gabriela’s great podcast, or watch her TEDx talk. Spend time getting to know what she is all about and why we adore her!

[image error]You may also want to check out her free video series HERE where she looks at common writing blocks and shares key mindset shifts to help you be more resilient and productive as a writer.

Learn more about DIY MFA 101.

Happy writing, all!

Angela & Becca

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