Taking Control
I know a lot of writers who feel that they don’t have control of their writing lives. After all, when you send a novel into an editor or agent, you can’t control whether it will be accepted—even if it later becomes an all-time bestseller. Nor can you control the whims of a reviewer who might feel like slapping you down just because her cat is sick.
Sure, there are things that you can’t control, but here are some things that you can:
1) You can control how often you write. Most people can find an hour or two a day to write, if they will structure their time around it. I’ve found time to write in airports, restaurants, before work, after work, on lunchbreaks, and of course those frequent times when I wake up in the middle of the night and have to type a few thoughts.
2) You can control how long your writing sessions last. There have been many times when I’ve gone to work on a story and found myself writing for twelve or sixteen hours straight. There are no labor laws that will prevent you from writing your book.
3) You can control the quality of your writing. Many writers don’t put in a lot of effort at writing, but you can reinvent scenes, brainstorm more-interesting characters, and polish your prose until it shines.
4) You can become a writing expert. Many people study the craft of writing, but don’t study the business. You can do both, though, if you put a little consistent effort into it.
5) You may not be able to control the markets, but you can make wise marketing decisions.
When you think about it, we have a tremendous amount of control over our writing destiny. So go ahead, take control!
Live Writing Workshops
Fyrecon Master Class
Explore the writing process step-by-step over three days (four hours each day) and see exactly how it is done. Each hour we’ll cover a new step toward completion and beyond.
Hour 1–Brainstorming, “1001 Ideas in an Hour”
Hour 2–Brainstorming Settings
Hour 3–Create Your Characters
Hour 4–Weaving the Plot
Hour 5–Focus on Writing (Cleaning your palette, creating a writing space, focus)
Hour 6–Drafting Your Opening/Hooking Your Reader
Hour 7–Enchanting Your Reader Image by Image
Hour 8–Adding Complications
Hour 9–Powerful Endings
Hour 10–Editing to Greatness/Working with Editors
Hour 11–Sending it Out, Dealing With Editors and Agents
Hour 12–How to Make a Living as a Writer
12 Hour Master class $239
(includes general admission)
Sale $209
Class is limited to 30 students
Thursday, June 21st, 9am – 1pm
Friday, June 22nd, 9am – 1pm
Saturday, June 23rd, 9am – 1pm
Register or learn more here.
Quick Start Your Writing Career
Please join David for his new workshop, Quick Start Your Writing Career, held on June 30, 2018 at the the Provo Marriott Hotel and Conference Center at 101 W. 100 North, Provo, Utah 84601 USA. Ph. +1 801-377-4700.
The workshop will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a one-hour break for lunch. There are numerous restaurants near the hotel.
The workshop costs $99 for the day and lunch is not included. There is space for 80 attendees.
Dave will speak about the following subjects:
- Breaking onto the Bestseller Lists
- How to Get Discovered
- Defining Yourself As an Author
- Plotting Your Career
- Going Indie vs. Traditional Publishing
- Multimedia–Your Most Indispensable Asset
- How to Reach a Vast Audience
- Dealing with Agents, Editors, and Movie Producers.
Register here.
Fantasy Writing Workshop
YHA Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
August 22-August 28, 2018
Number of Students: Strictly Limited to 12
Number of Days: 7
Cost: $1,099 for the workshop. Lodging, food, and travel are all the student’s responsibility
TBD, Dublin, Ireland
August 7-August 13, 2019
Number of Students: Strictly Limited to 12
Number of Days: 7
Cost: $1,099 for the workshop. Lodging, food, and travel are all the student’s responsibility
Join us for our most magical workshop ever! In this workshop, David Farland will be focusing on writing fantasy—building powerful magic systems, cultures, and worlds, creating fantasy characters, plotting fantasy, and writing powerful prose.
Students will need to bring a laptop, an unfettered imagination, and a strong work ethic. Being half-mad would also be a help.
This workshop will last three days longer than most of Dave’s workshops so that you will be able to focus on writing each day but still have some afternoons free to do some sightseeing.
Oxford: We will spend time visiting nearby sites like Stonehenge, The Eagle and Child Pub (where Tolkien and Lewis met with the Inklings writing group), Warwick Castle, Shakespeare’s home, and we will be within easy striking distance of London.
Dublin: We will spend time visiting nearby sights like The Book of Kells, Dublin Castle, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Register here.
Advanced Intensive Writing Workshop
St. George, Utah
Ramada Inn
1440 E St George Blvd,
St George, UT 84790
Phone: (435) 628-2828
October 22-26, 2018
10 Attendees Maximum
$799. Room, travel, and meals are separate
Prepare for National Novel Writing Month right in this workshop exclusively for those who would rather be dead than unread!
Dave is ratcheting up his popular Writing Mastery camp and this will be an advanced workshop where we perform daily writing exercises, give daily critiques, and work to improve our writing craft.
During the workshop, instruction and exercises will cover such topics as:
Adding intrigue to your tale
Creating tension
Using the eight kinds of hooks
Using appeals to various senses to hypnotize your reader
Weak appeals versus strong appeals versus “failed” appeals
The music of writing–assonance, consonance, metaphors, etc
Developing and using both your voice and your character’s voices
Advanced descriptive techniques
And more!
We will have at least ten assignments over the course of the class, and Dave will review each assignment and offer critiques. We will also invite other writers to offer their own insights.
During lunch and dinners, authors will be able to set up appointments to dine with David in order to talk about specific concerns that they have with their writing, or to plan their careers.
Note to David Farland’s Advanced Intensive Writing Workshop Participants: You must bring a laptop computer with you. If you don’t own one, then borrow, rent, or buy one.
While the goal for this workshop is to allow the writer to have fun, to get inspired, to work in an intellectually rich and emotionally fulfilling environment, this will be David’s most intensive class ever!
Register here.
