dart board

Precision

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Writers of the Future Coordinating Judge and bestselling author, Dave Farland discusses why some stories just aren’t publishable and it usually narrows down to a few common mistakes.
stack of blocks balanced

Questions of Balance

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Writers of the Future Coordinating Judge, David Farland, passes on his tips on writing stories that are well balanced.
man looking at bulletin board

Avoid Hesitation

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When you sit down to write a story or the opening to a scene, you’re presented with a problem: how to begin? As a contest judge, I see too many tales that don’t work—right from the very first sentence.
Playing the odds

Writers of the Future: Playing the Odds

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A friend recently asked me about ways to improve your chances in the Writers of the Future contest. I thought it was a good question, and I thought my answers were a nice summary of lessons learned. So I decided to share them here as a simple set of “rules”
Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle at a book signing

Spectacular Settings

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I mentioned last week that when I judge a story, one of the simple things I look at is your setting. There are so many aspects to setting, here's a look at just a few.
Illustration for “Everything You Have Seen” by Karsen Slater

Imagination

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New York Times bestselling author and Coordinating Judge for the Writers of the Future Dave Farland gives tips on writing, taking up the subject of imagination and originality.
Dr. Yoji Kondo talking to the writer winners at the Writers of the Future Workshop, 2006

On Writing Science Fiction by Dr. Yoji Kondo

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"On Writing Science Fiction" is an article by Dr. Yoji Kondo with tips on writing. It originally appeared in Writers of the Future Volume 14.
Small kids handing soldier a ball

Character Traits

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New York Times bestselling author Dave Farland gives tips on characterization in story writing including common problems to avoid.
Thumbs up

A Guide to Critiquing a Story: Seven Vital Elements Every Story Must Have

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Frequently authors ask if I have a “form” that I used to help me critique a story. Given the large number of things that I look at in a story, any form that I had would simply be too long to be workable. Yet it makes sense to try to codify the critiquing process.
Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle at a book signing

Building Plausible Futures by Jerry Pournelle

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This article by Dr. Jerry Pournelle was originally published in Writers of the Future Volume III. Timeless advice then and now.