How to write with focus, read with purpose, and build your community with Gabriela Pereira. ----- Welcome to episode 102 of the Food Blogger Pro podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork talks to Gabriela Pereira about becoming a better writer and building a community around your writing. How to Write with Focus, Read with Purpose, and Build Your Community Gabriela got her MFA in 2010, and after she graduated, she realized that a lot of people don’t actually need a formal education process in order to write. If you give yourself permission to own your creativity and writing, and if you learn a few key skills along the way, you can be a writer. She started DIY MFA to teach others how they can do exactly that. By focusing on the work at hand, Gabriela has been able to practice, evaluate, and fine-tune her craft and teach others how to do the same. Gabriela’s strategies about finding the right writing system, tracking productivity, staying inspired, and understanding strengths and weaknesses all play into finding one’s voice and writing style. In this episode, Gabriela shares: What an MFA is Why she considers herself an instigator How she calculates and tracks her productivity How to find a writing system that works for you How she stays inspired How she writes personal posts Why it’s important to get input from the right people Why you should know your strengths and weaknesses Resources: 099: Sponsored Content and Getting Paid What Your Work is Worth with Danielle Liss DIY MFA DIY MFA Book The Writer Igniter Setting the Mood for an Optimal Writing Session Gabriela’s personal post James Altucher DIY MFA Radio podcast Starter Kit If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com.