Tag Archive for: Dave Farland

man writing

More than Fame or Fortune

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Writing tips from bestselling author, Dave Farland on what motivates a writer to write.
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.
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”
Girl at typewriter

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.
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.
Salt Lake Comic Con 2017

Galaxy Press Rocked the Salt (Salt Lake City that is…)

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We attended the Salt Lake City Comic Con which took place at the Salt Palace in downtown Salt Lake City with over 100,000 attendees over the 3-day event.
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.
Now, back to the story.

Back to the Story

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What defines "good" writing when it comes to a story? That's a question I have to ask time and again as I'm judging contest entries.
Girl at typewriter

Avoiding Cliché Openings

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Many years ago, Damon Knight, a fine writer and editor, wrote a book on how to write short fiction. Damon talked a bit about avoiding clichés.