How Good is Your Agent?
Every day on my Facebook page or in my emails, I hear authors proudly proclaim, “I’ve been approached by a literary agent!” in tremendous excitement,
David Farland
December 1, 2016
David Farland: Story Doctor Writing Tips
Recent Writing Tips
The Perfect Story: Balance
I’ve been talking about some of the attributes that I would look for in a perfect story, whether it be a novel, movie, or short
David Farland
November 29, 2016
Artistry
It seems that in the past few weeks I’ve heard from a lot of people who want to write so that they can get rich
David Farland
November 25, 2016
Writing a Bestselling Series, Chapter 19: All Good Things Must come to an End
There is a saying among writers: “When you write a book, the first words of the novel will sell that novel, but the last words
David Farland
November 22, 2016
Make the Bookstores Your Partners
Most authors have no idea how to sell books, and I’m always interested in new techniques. Earlier this year, the folks at Bridge Publications re-released
David Farland
November 18, 2016
The Man Who Learned Better
It has been said that there are only a few types of stories—the “boy meets girl,” “the hero journey,” etc. One of the most popular
David Farland
November 15, 2016
Writing the Perfect Story, Part 2
Earlier, I talked about one attribute that the perfect story will display—honesty. You can’t layer a tale with a thin veneer of factoids and give
David Farland
November 8, 2016
Handling Multiple Viewpoints
When you’re writing a novel, you will find that if you stick to only one point of view, it can be rather stifling. The problem
David Farland
November 2, 2016
Great Ideas
As a judge for one of the world’s largest writing contests, I’m often asked, “What are you looking for?” The truth is, I’m looking for
David Farland
October 7, 2016
Writing a Bestselling Series, Chapter 18: Going to Hollywood
Among novelists, there is a saying: Don’t go to Hollywood. It seems to be something of a graveyard where authors go to die. But every
David Farland
October 4, 2016
The Key to Making Your Book Better than the Movie
You’ve all experienced this: you went to a movie that was based on a book, and on the way out of the theater you heard the comments
David Farland
September 27, 2016
Heroes and Anti-heroes
When you’re writing a novel, you may create a protagonist who is “heroic,” or one who is an “anti-hero.” But do you know the difference
David Farland
September 23, 2016
Dreadful Hesitations
One of my mentors, the wonderful author and teacher Algis Budrys, wrote an article called “Writing to the Point.” It’s one of the most brilliant
David Farland
September 15, 2016
Writing a Bestselling Series, Chapter 17: A Few Lessons Learned
After I finished my first series, I still found that I had a lot to learn. As a reader, I’ve always enjoyed long books. I
David Farland
September 9, 2016
What “Rejection” Really Means
For the last few weeks I’ve been scurrying to finish up judging on a large contest. I’ve had to “reject” thousands of stories. I hate
David Farland
September 7, 2016
