NaNoWriMo Inspirations by David Farland on 10/28/2013
Genres: Nonfiction
Pages: 110
Format: Kindle or ebook
Purchase: Amazon
Add to Goodreads
NaNoWriMo Inspirations will help you through your 30-day novel writing adventure. David Farland, best selling author and acclaimed writing instructor, packs years of experience and wisdom into each short, daily tip.
Need a quick refresher on elements of a good plot? On day 3 you’ll read about plotting a story, including The Inciting Incident, The First Try/Fail Cycle, The Second Try/Fail Cycle, The Climax, and The Denouement. Characters feeling a little stale? Days 9 and 10 will show you what you REALLY need to know about creating characters.
You’ll need more than just writing advice to get through the November frenzy.
Near the middle of your month-long journey to write a book, Day 17’s chapter is on Dealing With Mental Exhaustion. Day 21 is all about defining yourself as a writer.
Grab a copy of NaNoWriMo Inspirations, and start your daily writing practice off with a quick tip from David Farland.
A writing masterclass in miniature
A writing masterclass in miniature, NaNoWriMo Inspirations is a book I will return to again and again as I work on improving my fiction writing skills. Among the many things I loved about it is that David Farland doesn’t look down on genre fiction — not even romance, which some writers of other genres ((most of them male) often dismiss. Instead, Farland sees genre fiction as just as valid and satisfying to readers as literary or “general” fiction, a viewpoint with which I heartily agree.
The book is full of nuggets of wisdom on everything from developing characters to story structure. My Kindle copy is full of highlights and bookmarked pages. I wish there were a paperback copy so I could more easily annotate and return to specific sections, but unfortunately, there isn’t. (In fact, the book is only available for Kindle as far as I can tell.)
I first learned of David Farland through the Writing Excuses podcast. A best-selling fantasy and science fiction author, Farland also taught a creative writing class at BYU as well as a number of private classes and workshops throughout his career. His students include Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Brandon Mull, Stephanie Meyer, and many other successful authors. I wish I had been able to take a class with him (alas, he passed away in 2022), but reading his books on writing is the next best thing.
Challenges: COYER Unwind (2024), Chapter 2
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- COYER Unwind (2024) – Chapter 2
aimee can read
I haven’t written anything fictional in so long and I miss it! I’m so glad you got a lot of helpful tips and advice from this. 🙂