335: The Art of Heartfelt Teaching (and Writing)— Interview with Diane Zinna

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hey there word nerds!</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Diane Zinna.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Originally from Long Island, Diane received her MFA from the University of Florida and went on to teach creative writing for ten years. She formerly worked at AWP—the Association of Writers & Writing Programs—which hosts the largest literary conference in North America each year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 2014, Diane created the AWP Writer to Writer Mentorship Program, helping to match more than six hundred writers over twelve seasons. Diane lives in Fairfax, Virginia, with her husband and daughter, and</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The All-Night Sun</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">is her debut novel.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode Diane and I discuss:</span></h3> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How a dream she had, her experience with grief, and her memories of Sweden inspired the premise of her novel.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why she started the story where she did and why she almost wrote Lauren a completely different ending.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What kind of heartfelt teaching Diane feels is imperative to the workshop experience.</span></li> </ul> <h4><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Plus, their #1 tip for writers.</span></em></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For more info and show notes: <a href="https://diymfa.com/podcast/episode-335-diane-zinna" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diymfa.com/335</a></span></p>