David Farland: Story Doctor Writing Tips

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.  

Before you start writing a novel, screenplay, or any tale at all, you should decide a number of things:    1) Do you like the

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

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.

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

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.

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

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 quick judgment. A few years ago, I happened to meet a writer at a convention who had produced half a dozen novels. I’d seen

A new writer recently asked, “I’ve been told to avoid the use of the word “was,” but I frequently see it used in published fiction.

In Hollywood, before a producer or a studio even begins filming a movie, they go through a process called “greenlighting” to figure out whether it

When you look at novels carefully, you will notice that the bestselling books of all time are usually big “doorstoppers.” In each genre, we see

In high school, I was fairly good in math—good enough to win a National Math Award and complete several years of college math in one