On Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll
Years ago, there was a powerful writer that I liked. His stories were energetic, lyrical, evocative and imaginative, so I studied a couple dozen of them to see what I could learn from him. The author was a songwriters and composer, which explained his poetic bent, but I found something odd when looking at the […]
Can Writing be Taught?
As a teacher I can offer inspiration, point out the writer’s natural gifts, and help develop new skills. In fact, I’ve found that I can help most people learn to write to a publishable level and in many cases I can bring them to the point where they write at an award-winning level. At this time in my career, I’ve trained dozens of authors who have gone on to become New York Times bestsellers, and I still have to wonder: How much can I really help a new writer, and how much of what they do is innate ability?
Opening Strategies
There are many ways to hook a reader who opens your book–a great cover, a catchy title, luscious descriptions on the back cover, an endearing character portrait, a captivating first line to your novel, and so on. Yet all too soon, much of how well the story grabs a reader will depend upon whether your […]
Finding Your Theme
In brainstorming a work, you will often find that you want your characters to behave in certain ways. And as they grow and develop, you may even find that you need to justify why they do what they do. If you get deep enough into their thought processes, you can almost imagine them arguing with […]
Emotional and Intellectual Payoff
Some stories gain power by tapping into the emotions that we felt at a particular age, or during a certain time of our lives. For example, some novels use nostalgia as a powerful draw. I can think of a few extremely popular fantasy novels that hearken back to Tolkien’s work. Years ago, one major reviewer […]
How to Develop a Fictional Character: 7 Tips a Best-Selling Author
Of all the topics on how to write, I suspect more books have been written on how to create solid characters than on anything else. So there are a lot of great resources out there on how to create characters, and I can’t even touch on every topic that I would like in the space […]
The Super Writers’ Bundle
The Writers’ Bundle—On Sale Now! David Farland has helped dozens of authors hit the New York Times bestseller list, contributing to the careers of J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, James Dashner, and many more. With this bundle, you’ll get access to the audited versions of Dave’s online workshops and receive copies of his writing […]
Tips for Plotting Your Novel
A plot doesn’t have to be brilliant for a story to work. It just needs to have some basic components: characters, in conflict, and in a setting. The characters must struggle to overcome some obstacle (or obtain some goal) on three or more occasions, and the tale must resolve in such a way so that […]
Writing Easy
I’ve been a bit sick for the past few months. In fact, back in September I got sepsis and had to make a trip to the emergency room at the hospital. I had a high fever and plummeting blood pressure, so the doctors put me on fluids and a broad-spectrum antibiotic. Once you start treatment, […]
Writing Tip and David Farland’s Illness
I’d like to talk a bit about how to deal with criticism that you disagree with. There are a lot of reasons that people will dislike your work that have nothing to do with your work. If you look at online reviews of Lord of the Rings, which is widely acclaimed as perhaps the best […]