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What Makes a Story Great?

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Recently I’ve had a number of my students ask, “What makes a story great?” For example, what sets apart a story that wins major awards from one that doesn’t? What makes one story monumental, a landmark in its field, while another story fades from memory?
David Farland speaking to several of the 2017 Writers of the Future winners: (l-r) Stephen Lawson, Ziporah Hildebrandt and Molly Atkins

Persistence

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There is a myth among the general public that the greatest writers are born with uncanny innate talents that average folks dare not aspire to. Yet there is only a sliver of truth to that argument. Talent is helpful, especially for new authors who are just trying to break in, but you can’t make a career out of it.
David Farland talking to winners at the Writers of the Future Workshop

Why You Only Got an Honorable Mention

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A while ago I promised to tell you why I reject good stories when I’m reading for Writers of the Future. So let’s talk about those stories that get an Honorable Mention
Grand Prize Winners 2017, Jake Marley and Michael Michera

David Farland’s 10 Points to Avoid in Writing Short Fiction

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This past week I've been judging Writers of the Future. Most of the stories come to us electronically, so much of my day is spent opening files, taking a look at them, and then putting in a review–usually one that says “Rejected.” I hate that “Reject” button . . .
Frank Herbert

Writing Advice from a Legend-Honoring Frank Herbert-Our Dear Friend and Judge  (1920-1986)

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The single most important piece of advice I ever got was to concentrate on story. What is "story"? It's...
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Mega-Best-Selling Author Reveals Secret of Getting Started as a Writer

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With over 200 million copies of his works in print, the late L. Ron Hubbard is the author of dozens of international bestsellers. A newspaper reporter once asked Hubbard if he had any advice for budding writers, to which he replied ...
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To Read or to Write: That is the Question

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Writing Tips #11 in the Series Close last year’s Writers…
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Self-Advocacy and Publishing

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Once you have written that story what do you do with it? Obviously you are going to head over to the submit page for Writers of the Future, but after that, what? ...
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The End

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One thing can be worse than the empty page—as you come to the last pages of your Writers of the Future entry, or that book you’ve been planning on submitting to Tor—and that is a full page that leaves the reader unsatisfied...
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Developing Some Character

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Sentences can be passive or active depending on how you construct them. Characters too, can be passive or active based on how you write them. Are they watching things happen around them or are they doing something? ...