Writing A Bestselling Book Series, Chapter 2: Hooked On Writing
I’m not sure exactly when I got hooked on writing. As a child I began experimenting with drawing pictures and adding a few words of story to them, as many children do. At the age of 9, I wrote a little poem about Halloween and drew a picture to go with it. My schoolteacher showed […]
Writing a Bestselling Book Series, Chapter 1
Frequently I’m asked, “How do you write a novel series?” and I’m left to flounder for words. You see, I know what they really want. They don’t want to know just how to write a series. Any fool can do that, and a lot of them try. There is no sense in writing a series […]
Escalating Your Story
Every story consists of a character with a problem, and deals with his attempts to resolve that problem. This happens in several phases. In phase 1, the character recognizes that he has a problem–a big problem, one that will change his life. In phase 2, the character tries to resolve the problem and fails. As […]
David Farland Discoveries: Feather and the Moon Well
That happens sometimes. I’ll spot an author’s gifts. For example, while grading Stephenie Meyer’s papers in college, I recall thinking that she had a tremendous gift of voice. With J.K. Rowling, I recognized within three chapters that she had a world-class talent for audience analysis. Brandon Sanderson showed his genius at plotting in the first few pages of Elantris. With Shean, I saw a gift for creating complex characters that aren’t quite likeable, yet I somehow fell in love with them anyway.
Dealing with Editors
Of course, if an editor loves you, she’s going to give you a pass on things. She might not notice weaknesses in your manuscript in such things as plotting, characterization, or voice. You really can’t have that. A great editor is like a wise counselor, peering over your shoulder, offering advice on how to bring your story to life.
Salt Lake Comic Con FanX Schedule
I’ll be at Salt Lake Comic Con FanX in a few days. If you are going to be there, you should stop by my booth or panels. Here is my panel schedule: Thursday, March 24th 4-5 p.m. The Newt Harry Potter 6-7 p.m. Writing Fantasy: An Inside Look at the Art & Craft of Creating […]
Building a Better Battering Ram
Last night, a new writer who is preparing his first novel asked, “When do I begin approaching agents?” I get that question at least once a week, and my answer is always the same: “When your novel is done. And by that I mean, well done!” I think that it is human nature to be […]
Bringing Your Scene to Life through Action
Have you ever read a story that starts with a character sitting in a still forest, just thinking? They’re almost always dull. I’ve read, and rejected, thousands of them for publication. Why? Because the whole darned story is just sitting there, doing nothing, too. So we’re trained as writers to avoid such scenes, to start […]
7 Ways to Be More Creative
I’m doing something a little different today for my writing tip. This article, 7 Ways to Be More Creative, caught my attention this week, and I thought it was a pretty good read. So, for today’s tip, I’m going to send you to it to read: 7 Ways to Be More Creative. Hopefully it will […]
How Bad is Your Antihero?
Lately I’ve had several people ask for tips on how to write antiheroes. So my first question is, “How ‘bad’ is your antihero?” An antihero is a character without traditional heroic qualities, but they may have heroic qualities in their own right. He or she is the kind of person who knows how to kick […]