What’s in Your Secret Sauce?
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
David Farland
February 23, 2016
David Farland: Story Doctor Writing Tips
Recent Writing Tips
Writing Wretched Dialog Tags
If you really want to write wretched dialog, you should consider working on your dialog tags. Here are a few options that you might not
David Farland
February 18, 2016
How to Write Wretched Dialog
Recently I read a couple of stories where it felt as if the author was struggling to come up with bad dialog. So I thought
David Farland
February 16, 2016
Stalking the Wild Reader + Get 5 Free Books
A couple of years ago, I read an article about hounds hunting for rabbits. Researchers had found that when a hound is hunting for a
David Farland
February 9, 2016
What’s the Rush?
I see a lot of trends in today’s literature. Perhaps the biggest one is that every writer seems to be in a rush. Many new
David Farland
February 2, 2016
Aim for Profundity
So how do you write a story that is profound? Here are a few things to think about.
1. Does the story present a theme? In other words, does it touch on topics that people deal with on a regular basis and argue about?
2. Does the story present a viewpoint that the reader hasn’t considered before?
3. Does the tale present an actual argument, thoughtfully taking into account opposite points of view?
4. Does the tale offer an ingenious solution?
David Farland
January 29, 2016
Installing a New Habit
Humans are creatures of habit. We learn how to do a thing—such as drive a car—and then put ourselves on autopilot. We don’t have to
David Farland
January 26, 2016
Is Your Story’s Concept Broken?
Every story begins with an idea. The idea may come to you while listening to a song, driving a car, or reading a newspaper. You might be the kind of person who gets a dozen story ideas a day, or maybe they come to you rarely.
David Farland
January 21, 2016
The Secret Power of Writing Groups
If you do this for a year, writing just ten pages per week, you’ll write a novel in the course of a year. In that time, you’ll most likely go from an “unwilling writer” who is just dragged along by your peers to becoming a self-starter.
David Farland
January 19, 2016
Four Ways to Avoid a Dead-End Career
Have you ever seen a talented new writer rise to seeming stardom, only to crash and burn within a couple of years? I recall being a new writer and studying my contemporaries with a mixture of awe and fear, trying to figure out who the big writers would be in the future. Ten years later, nearly all of them were gone, even the big award winners.
David Farland
January 11, 2016
The Value of a Logline
A log line, or logline, is a simple description of a story that is only a sentence long. It boils the story down to its essence. Unlike the tagline, which is created as a marketing hook, the logline gives the basic premise of the story.
David Farland
January 7, 2016
The Value of a Tagline
So a tagline is used for advertising a film or book, but what else is it good for?
As a writer, your tagline can be considered a touchstone. It may define certain elements of your story, things that you dare not vary. For example, let’s say that you chose that Alien tagline—“In space no one can hear you scream.” You begin writing, and as you’re halfway through the screenplay you decide that your heroine, Ripley, really needs a love life. So you create a nice male protagonist whom you decide will survive to the end of the story. Maybe she’ll save him from the aliens, or maybe he’ll save her.
David Farland
December 30, 2015
Are You Writing a Book, or a Movie?
As a novelist, you’re most likely to tell a story in a way that your audience will experience it. In other words, you will typically stick to one or two viewpoints for major characters. You’ll tell us how the story unfolds making sure to use all of the senses—sight, sound, smell, taste, feel—and you’ll also touch deeply on the internal thoughts and feelings of your character. By doing this, you can maximize the strengths of the novel as a storytelling medium.
David Farland
December 28, 2015
Writing Workshop Holiday Gift Cards
If you would like to give a writing workshop or lecture from MyStoryDoctor.com to a loved one, email David at dwolvert@xmission.com for more information on
David Farland
December 23, 2015
Now Back to the Story
What defines “good” writing when it comes to a story? That’s a question that I have to ask time and again as I’m judging contest
David Farland
December 22, 2015
