Greenlight Your Story’s Concept
In short, a story isn’t just one idea, it’s a conglomeration—basic concepts about characters, how and why they act, and how others react to them. If you analyze even a short story, one that is only ten pages long, you’ll find that the author makes dozens, maybe even hundreds of choices regarding milieu, character, conflict, theme, and treatment.
Rules for Your Writing Group
In our Apex writing group, Apex is an umbrella organization that provides services for a large number of writers, but we also encourage writers to do things in smaller groups. For example, some writers are having great success by meeting together for daily writing sprints, or weekly brainstorming sessions or critique groups. Remember, a writing group is a living, growing thing. It may change over time, and your rules need to evolve with it.
Deciding What to Write
Before you start writing a novel, screenplay, or any tale at all, you should look at two things: Do you like the basic concept? Will the story sell? In short, before you write anything, you need to take an adequate survey of the field.
Deciding What to Write
Before you start writing a novel, screenplay, or any tale at all, you should decide a number of things: 1) Do you like the basic concept? If you aren’t excited about a novel, chances are excellent that you’ll lack the energy to finish it. Your subconscious will rebel at the idea, and you’ll just […]
Writing Media Tie-ins
One perennial need is for novelists to write film or gaming tie-ins. If you are a successful writer, the chances are excellent that all kinds of people will approach you to write for them. Imagine for a moment that you’re a producer and you’ve created a major motion picture, a television series, or a video […]
A Kick in the Pants: Attributions in Dialog
There are a lot of ways to weave your attribution into your dialog. For example, bestseller John Green will often have well-known characters talk without description, just giving a name before the dialog.
Green Test for Overusing the F-Bomb
Today’s writing tip is offered by Jan Nerenberg. The “Green” test for the “F” bomb. What is it and how can you use it to avoid overusing the f-bomb? Recently I edited a manuscript and noted the overuse of the “f” word. The writer questioned why the use of the “f” bomb was offensive, after […]
Heating Up
First off, let me explain that any one person might fulfill several roles. In other words, you might be able to fill three or four roles. Just as you can be a loving father, a tough soldier, and a devoted son to your mother, you can fill any of these roles listed below. In fact, to some degree you have to fill all of them. Yet if you are in a group with others who help support you, you may be stronger together than you are apart.
David Farland’s Writing Tips—Your Reader’s Alter Ego
Forty years ago, I was introduced to a nerdy game called D&D, and quickly found myself becoming a “Dungeon Master,” the person who created adventures and led people on imaginary quests. I even began designing my own games. Creating Characters I quickly learned something about people. When I introduced someone to D&D, people wanted to […]
David Farland’s Writing Tips: How Real Do You Want Your World to Be?
When I approach creating a world for a story, I ask myself, “How real do I want this world to be?” This might sound like a trite question, but it’s not. More than 400 years ago, William Shakespeare was born into a world where playwriting had become rigid and stagnant in its traditions. In his day, it […]