David Farland: Story Doctor Writing Tips

A writer once came to me saying that his critique group often tells him, “You’re almost there, but you need to take it up a

In my book Million Dollar Outlines I discuss some of the markers that can help me discover if a book is a potential hit. I

Many new writers don’t know when to stop polishing a manuscript and move on to the next. Part of the reason for that might have

I once received the following question in the mail from one of our readers, “I am hoping to take one of your workshops soon, and

When you’re brainstorming a new story, how do you know that it will be good? A young writer once presented me with an outline for

In Hollywood, it is said that “There are only two ways to make a likeable character.” Here are those two ways, plus a few more.

If you are producing anything—toy dolls, bread, vacuum cleaners, or novels—there are some variables that you have to work with. Ideally, a publisher would like

Sometimes you’re not in the mood to write, but you know that you should.  Maybe you’ve set a goal and hope to reach it, or

One form of writer’s block comes from being stressed. This is almost always a temporary condition, and there are ways to work around it, but

I often look for similarities in great stories to see what works. One aspect that I see very often is that powerful stories resolve “the

In everyday life, a crucible is a container used to hold metal or liquid as it boils.  For example, to melt gold, one takes a

One Sunday my wife suggested that we go for a hike, and we convinced my son Forrest to come with us. Now, I like to

A writer who had just begun brainstorming a novel wrote to me several years ago. He had an idea for a book, but while doing

Remember when you were young and your mother or father read a favorite story to you over and over? Or do you recall that one

Many wannabe writers are pretty sedentary. We tend to watch too much television, read too much, play video games too much, and chat online too