Are you waiting to be discovered?
All of us writers are.
Maybe you’re a new writer hoping for praise from a writing group. If so, you’re waiting to be discovered. Or maybe you’re a first-time novelist waiting to hear back from an agent, or an old pro like me hoping to make a big movie deal.
No matter what stage you’re at in your career, you’re probably waiting to get discovered by someone—the critics, the public at large, or your favorite movie director.
No matter where you are in your career, there’s always someone higher than you on the ladder of success.
So what stops us from being discovered?
For most of us, the answer is “ourselves.”
As a young man, I spent a lot of time going to school, hanging out with friends, working out—doing just about anything other than writing. For me, that first hurdle was simple: I had to get a body of work out to the public. I had to do something more than just wait to be discovered. I had to write something.
That’s your first task. Write. Rewrite. Make your current project remarkable—whether it be a poem, a book, a screenplay, or something else.
I’m a firm believer that if I “get it right,” if I create a beautiful work, I’ll find an audience. A story that is unique, engrossing, and powerful will attract attention. People will talk about it. If enough people get excited, it will be like a bolt of lightning that electrifies everyone that it touches, and then reaches out to touch others.
So your goal for today is to get it right.
Once you do that, you still have to market your works, let enough people—the right people—know what you’ve done.
But for today, let “writing beautifully” be your goal.
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2017 Salt Lake City – Worldbuilders Party
WHAT: Join creators from across fantasy and science fiction for an afternoon of gaming and partying to benefit Worldbuilders, a nonprofit that helps raise funds to combat poverty in developing countries.
WHEN: Friday, September 22nd, 2017 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM (MST)
TICKETS: Buy tickets here!
WHERE: Salt Palace Convention Center 100 S W Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84101 (Room 355 B&C)
DETAILS:
- Play games and schmooze with authors, game designers, and performers.
- Receive a swag bag filled with fun surprises like books and games.
- Hors d’ oeuvres & cash bar
- Amazing silent auction items from our generous sponsors.
Learn more here.
Zombies Need Brains Kickstarter
The latest Kickstarter from Zombies Need Brains is now live! We have three new anthologies–THE RAZOR’S EDGE, GUILDS & GLAIVES, and SECOND ROUND: A RETURN TO THE UR-BAR–with some stunning anchor authors, special reward level, stellar early backer and high backer incentives, and a bunch of stretch goals that we’d really like to reach ASAP. Keep in mind that as soon as the Kickstarter funds, we’ll do an open call for submissions to all three of the anthologies for all of you writers out there! Check it out, choose a reward level that works for you, and then BACK THE PROJECT! Featuring Troy Bucher, SC Butler, Patricia Bray, Gerald Brandt, William C. Dietz, Db Jackson, Chris Kennedy, Kay Kenyon, Sharon Lee, Steve Miller, Steve Perry, Seanan McGuire, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Jacey Bedford, Gini Koch, Juliet E McKenna, C.E. Murphy, Kristine Smith, Kari Sperring, David Farland, David B. Coe, James Enge, Esther Friesnerr, Howard Andrew Jones, and Violette Malan.
Learn about it here.
Writing Workshops
Writing Enchanting Prose
Dallas, Texas
Hampton Inn Dallas-North-I-35E At Walnut Hill 11069 Composite Drive, Dallas, TX 75229
September 25-29, 2017, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
10 Attendees Total
$799
In this workshop we will work heavily on imbuing your prose with the richness and details that bring a story to life. The goal is to teach you how to fully transport readers as you take them on a journey that captivates their hearts and minds. David Farland will teach you how to totally transport you readers so that they become so immersed in your story, they forget where they are—they forget they are reading at all.
This workshop is similar to the Writing Mastery workshop, but will be more exercise-oriented, with in-class practices. Writing Enchanting Prose is more in-depth than any of David’s past prose workshops.
In this workshop, Dave would like to create an intimate environment where individual students will receive ample time for one-on-one interaction and critiques. Dave will be spending personal time with each student. Because of that, we will be strictly limiting the number of students allowed to attend to 10.
The Writer’s Peak
Provo, Utah
Courtyard Marriott
1600 N. Freedom Blvd
Provo, UT 84064
Friday and Saturday, November 3rd and 4th
$299
Bestselling authors typically have a few things in common. They know what they want to write, and they develop the skills needed to write efficiently.
But many new authors suffer from writer’s block (usually because they haven’t learned what they are doing yet), or they may bring unhealthy mindsets to the craft. Well, we can fix those problems!
In this course, New York Times Bestselling author David Farland will team up with neuro-linguistic programming instructor Forrest Wolverton to teach the skills you need in order to overcome writers’ block, write more effortlessly, rearrange your own priorities, and increase your productivity. The goal is to help you develop the tools that you need in order to become a super-productive writer, the kind who can complete multiple books per year and win the trust of publishers and fans.
We’ll cover such topics as
- Designing a Career. Many writers waste years trying to figure out what to write. We’ll provide information so that you can decide now what career path you would like to pursue, and then set goals accordingly.
- Moving from to apprehension to excitement. Have you lost your love of writing? We’ll teach you how to ground yourself in such a way that writing becomes more than effortless, it becomes something that you are eager to do!
- Learn to set compelling goals that you will be driven to achieve.
- Eliminate internal conflicts and self-sabotage that keep you stalled out.
- Learn how the professional authors manage their mental and emotional state to write when they want to–and do it for yourself.
- Take control of your motivation and direct it toward what you want.
- Are you better at starting, maintaining, or finishing? Would you like to be able to do all three and get you stories out and finished?
- Find out how to decrease the time it takes to find solutions for any task or challenge.
- Learn how to effectively tell your stories by understanding plots, characterization.
- Discover the secret to silencing your inner critic when it is sabotaging your work
- Eliminate doubt about your future success.
- Learn how to organize your mind like bestselling authors and get results fast.
This two-day workshop will cover all of this and more. Space will be limited to 20 students. Please bring something to take notes on and be prepared to change your life.
Register now for both days for $299, and get two additional online seminars (a $58 value) for free!
