Drawing on the Power of Resonance in Writing

Million Dollar Writing Series

by David Farland

All successful writers use resonance to enhance their stories by drawing power from stories that came before, by resonating with their readers' experiences, and by resonating within their own works.

In this book, you'll learn exactly what resonance is and how to use it to make your stories more powerful. You'll see how it is used in literature and other art forms, and how one writer, J. R. R. Tolkien, mastered it in his work.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference, Education

99 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2012

About the author

David Farland is the author of the bestselling Runelords series, including Chaosbound, The Wyrmling Horde and Worldbinder. He also writes science-fiction as David Wolverton. He won the 1987 Writers of the Future contest, and has been nominated for a Nebula Award and a Hugo Award. Farland also works as a video game designer, and has taught writing seminars around the U.S. and Canada. He lives in Saint George, Utah. He passed away on January 14, 2022.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidf...

Reviews

[R.C. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got this book through StoryBundle, and I'm glad I didn't pay more for it. The book's advice struck me as self-evident and the author's voice pretentious right from the start. The author describes how he flabbergasted a group of writers when he said that "resonance" is the most important thing in writing and they didn't know what he meant. The reason they didn't know what he meant is that no one else uses "resonance" the way he used it. If he'd said "you need to give your readers something familiar enough to hook them but novel enough to be interesting", they would have gone "well, of course."

That was my feeling through most of this book: well, of course. The author spends all of the book going through example after example of ways that you can make your writing familiar to the reader by calling back to famous works, to universal life experiences, and to genre-specific vocabulary that your readers will expect. The main point is that you want to have many points of similarity between your work and other works or events that your reader is likely to have experienced. The author goes on for many pages about how Tolkien does this in his work. The author states several times, "and authors often do this subconsciously!" Well,...of course they do! We live in a world where we ourselves are influenced by fiction, movies, art, and societal culture! ANYTHING WE DO NECESSARILY CALLS BACK TO OUR EXPERIENCES. It left me feeling like the author was telling everyone to do something they'd do anyway.

And my main beef with the book is that the author is telling people to do many things that it's very easy to do WRONG. In fact, I'd argue that most books DO NOT NEED more resonance than the authors would likely put in out of the box. If anything, they need LESS. It's easy to be SO SIMILAR to other things that your work does not offer anything new or original to drown out the hundred pages of Yet Another Hero arriving at (usually his) school and making Two Good Friends and One Horrible Enemy. I haven't read any of the author's work, so I don't know if he falls into the trap of writing things that I would label "more of the same, yawn", but he didn't give the reader any pointers about how to be original while still using familiar elements. I felt the book needed a "How Not to Sound Like Everyone Else" chapter rather desperately, and the fact that the author didn't think one necessary made me leery.

I get the feeling the author's view of a good story is different than mine. In fact, the dissonance between what I want to read and what he wanted people to write was so high that when he was giving examples of plots that he insisted would just NOT work, because they're too Out There...I actually thought those plots sounded pretty neat and interesting. Why? Because I'm tired of reading the same Hero's Journey with the same handful of archetypes in the Hero Seat over and over again. And that was what the author was telling the reader to emulate. Yawn.

[Edward Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This week I picked up David Farland's book "Drawing on the Power of Resonance in Writing". I remember talking about resonance in physics and how sounds resonate with other sounds creating a more enjoyable sound than those that don't. I never thought about resonance from a writers prospective.

Having read this book I find it intimidating so much I never thought about. It has got me rethinking about all the names in my fantasy series, I'll likely have to re think them. There is much more to resonance than just the names. How does it relate to our lives, to other things we've read, our loves and fears, etc. he even pointed out the importance of making a cover resonance with other covers. He uses an artist that has created covers for some of the great fantasy writers this even his covers brings resonance to readers of these other books.

Throughout the book he points out how Tolkien use resonance with his words, the story itself and even in the imagery. Tolkien was a master of resonance there is much to learn from his work.

I must confess I never read "The Lord of the Rings". I read "The Hobbit" which I enjoyed I just never got into "The Lord of the Rings" I did read several other fantasy books and played Dungeons and Dragons for years even became a Dungeon Master. Much of my fantasy world comes from ADND (Advanced Dungeons and Dragons) you could say I refined my world through my Role Playing.

There is much for a novice writer such as myself to learn from this work. I strongly recommend this to all inspiring writers. I wonder if this would have helped me with me reports in collage.

[Jaime Buckley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of David Farland's. I had a chance to attended one of his writing workshops, so I jumped at the chance to read this. In fact, I bought copies for my wife and two daughters, who all love writing themselves.

The information David shares is critical...if you want to connect with your readers. His in-depth analysis of Tolkien and TLOTR was brilliant! I was able to identify some of my own attempts to create resonance unconsciously...and personally believe it helped me give greater life to my own stories.

Thank you David.

I highly recommend this book to any and all writers.

So, you ask...Why only 4 stars?

Well, I bought the book for myself, but I own a Nook. This may have been formatted perfect for the Kindle, but it was very rough to read on my own eReader. So I deduct that last star for the formatting, that's all.

Perfect information with less than perfect delivery for Nook owners.
STILL worth every penny.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the reasons David Farland is such a good writer is that he can explain concepts that most writers can only do by instinct. Using resonance to connect readers to your stories is something a lot of authors do without thinking, and Farland tells us why it is so important to do so. Using examples from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, Farland explains exactly how to use resonance and why it has made books like Harry Potter and Twilight so popular. Enclosed in this short book is a lesson every writer needs to learn if they want to be successful.

[Dannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any aspiring writer should give a look at that book. Farland has some interesting points and gives some pretty good advices to plan and write a book.

Plus it's very easy and quick to read.

Beware though, it's full of Lord of the Rings spoilers so if you haven't read it (or seen the movies) you might want to do that before reading that book!

[Carolina Romaní · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drawing on the Power of Resonance in Writing by David Farland is a must read for any aspiring writer. This book dives into the Power of Resonance in Writing and how it can be used to create powerful, lasting stories. It covers topics such as using images, emotions, and techniques to create a powerful narrative that resonates with readers. It also provides helpful tips on how to create compelling characters and plots that will keep readers engaged throughout the story.

[Daniel Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing about a book on writing is perhaps an odd challenge. On the one hand, I read the book because I wanted to become a better writer. On the other hand, I'm reviewing the book, telling where the author (of a book on writing, if you recall) has succeeded or failed at their attempt.

Fortunately, I face no such problems with David Farland's Drawing on the Power of Resonance in Writing. Indeed, there is little I can say to criticize the bite-sized book. In a short time, it has become one of my favorite selections on the writing, one to which I expect I will return again and again in coming years.

A book on writing by a famous writer seems almost cliché. A few pull it off with great success (think On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King), for a more obvious example), while others (which, perhaps, need no mention at all) fail miserably to be little more than regurgitation of typical advice mixed with anecdotes from the writers own career.

Farland's books on writing (I'm reading another of his, also, albeit slower as I try to apply it) are spot on, and this one is fast, to the point, and full of relevant examples. Farland's thesis is that by writing using what resonates with readers--what's already out there in their in the ether, so to speak--writers can pull readers in faster and with more success than by inventing something from scratch. While he cites many examples, the one that he draws on most liberally is that of J.R.R. Tolkein. Tolkein's use of imagery, language, setting, and plot delved deep into readers' subconsciousness and resonated with them in ways they may not have explicitly noticed.

In turn, nearly every successful fantasy since has built on the foundation that Tolkein built, and it is to him that most look for the template. Even Robert Jordan's fourteen volume Wheel of Time series, opening with The Eye of the World, draws on scenes, characters, and even creature names (to say nothing of maps and place names) that are more than reminiscent of Tolkein.

And there's nothing wrong with it, says Farland. On the contrary, finding what resonates with your target audience, and writing it into your fiction is his recommendation.

It's a fascinating suggestion, and the more I think about it, the more I realize that while Farland may be laying it out in new terms, it's not unlike what any professor of literature might suggest in a survey course of fiction through the ages. Thomas C. Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines is an example that comes to mind. It's the best writers that are able to use what we believe and see in the world, draw on common symbols and events, and weave them together into a new story, or in a new setting, or with new problems. It's not plagiarism, but something more: creation, using the fabric of our experience.

As Oscar Wildemight summarize it, "Good writers borrow. Great writers steal." Resonance, says Farland, is just that. It's drawing on what's already there--whether you want to call that borrowing or outright theft--to create a story that readers feel deeper than the words on the page, rooted in experience and knowledge they bring to the story before they even open the book.

If you want your story to last, make it resonate.

[K.C. May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this book. I think too much time was spent on LoTR (vs. illustrating the points with a variety of books), but the information was valuable and well-presented. I really like the notion of resonance, but there could be a point at which an author takes it too far or is too heavy handed. For instance, occasionally you see reviews of books where a reader thought the book "ripped off" another author. I have to wonder whether the author used resonance too heavily or blatantly? If that "fine line" was covered in this book, I missed it. Anyway, I highly recommend it to other writers. Good stuff here!

[David Leroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am constantly reading in the area of story craft, and I learned a few things by reading this latest addition to my ever growing collection. I like the fact that it is not a long book, and that the author quickly gets to the point, gives his examples and then moves on. The book is based upon a presentation given at a conference on writing. I recommend this book because, frankly the ideas here I have not seen repeated in other books, and that makes it all the more valuable to me.

[Noor Jahangir · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Farland is a modern master of fantasy, evident from his various series, short stories and even moreso from the free advice he doles out to mew and established authors. His students include some of the most successful genre writers out there, including Stephanie Myers. This book focuses on a subject that isn't often covered in creative writing classes or by other writing handbooks and therefore its value is immeasurable.

[Thomas Van Boening · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is some good advice on writing, and some really good teaching on the topic of resonance, a topic you don't hear too much about in other writing books.

Great advice aside, there were some spelling errors in this short manuscript. Not misspelled words, but some incorrect words used on accident, I imagine.

I still give it 4 stars out of 5 because I will always appreciate advice I haven't yet received anywhere else.

[Vikk Simmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short book on a big subject and one that definitely deserves to be read by writers. Farland provides a pretty detailed look at how Tolkien drew on the power of resonance when creating his famous works. Writers would do well to consider this technique during the editorial process.

[Abel Keogh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of resonance and how a writer can use it in their work. My only (small) criticism is that it would have been nice to see how authors other than JRR Tolken use resonance in their books.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book and made me think about some things in writing and stories in new ways.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not what I expected at all. I was hoping to find some kind of in-depth structuralist information about how to effectively use leitmotifs, how to build upon a theme or idea throughout your novel and have it punch the reader in the face at the end as it wraps thematically around to the beginning again. This is eventually addressed (in the most shallow fashion possible) but not before the author spends over half the book saying over and over again how readers generally like things similar to themselves, their lives, or things they've already read and liked before. And after briefly addressing resonance within a single work, he goes back to it!
Not only is this the most common sense thing anybody could say, in fact completely unnecessary to say at all because writers themselves are influenced by their past experiences and past reads and will be doing this subconsciously whether they want to or not (which is the most honest way to go about it, rather than consciously trying to latch onto some specific fanbase like Farland slyly suggests throughout), but it's also the most shallow use of the word resonance one could possibly pick to talk about. I like Lord of the Rings, this book is similar because it has dwarves and elves, therefore RESONANCE. Wow, truly mind-opening stuff.

There are also some extremely weird things in here, like Farland implying a romance novel that uses "gray eyes," instead of "grey eyes," will be flatly rejected by fans of the genre, because grey is the accepted convention due to Bronte's influence, regardless of which side of the pond you're on. I highly doubt anybody's throwing an otherwise fantastic book across the room over the spelling conventions of one word in seventy thousand or more.
Or here's a fantastic little nugget, Farland believes a particular mainstream writer's foray into scifi failed entirely because she called her communicator equivalent an "ICD (Instant Communication Device)," completely embarrassing herself in front of the "real" science fiction fans because we all of course know it's called an "ansible," after a LeGuin novel in the 60s that used it. Uhhh...what? Since when does every work of scifi use the same word for a communicator? Or money? Or most things? Variations abound. I would argue the actual reason mainstream authors usually fail at writing genre fiction is because their knowledge is incredibly surface-level and they think a tired cliche is in fact breaking exciting new ground. The mainstream author trying to write fantasy says, "what if the elves were evil instead? I'm brilliant!" The fantasy nerd says Pratchett already did that, and why even have elves at all, aren't they rather tired, Lord of the Rings was like seventy years ago for fuck's sake, what about a race of beetle-headed people that form sculptures from their spit (China Mieville's Bas-Lag series)?

Using the same name for something LeGuin did and that (apparently?) many others have used after her seems like the complete opposite of what the actual issue is. And I guess I'm not a "true fan," because I've never in my life heard of an ansible, but it sounds like some corny thing my grandma would say about a telephone because it's "answerable." Trying to google it only brings up results for open-source automation software, so clearly that reference is still incredibly relevant...
Look, there are plenty of reasons to get annoyed at mainstream/literary fiction writers who think writing scifi or fantasy would be just so easy, I don't disagree at all with the basic premise that deep knowledge of the genre you're writing in is probably important, but this is just not a valid or helpful example of why that's the case. It's not even close, it's just some weirdly specific bone he had to pick. It also ignores the fact that sometimes it does work. Cormac McCarthy's The Road, or Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, just to name a couple. Atwood clearly despises actual scifi and scifi fans, and yet she wrote a great scifi novel. If not for her contributions would modern day scifi be as feminist, character-driven, and introspective as it is? Maybe not. Sometimes an outsider is exactly what we need to shake things up. Get off the "true fan," pedestal you've put yourself on, please. It's a bad look.

All I can say is thank god I got this in a humble bundle.

[Scott Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Farland does a wonderful job of pointing out the universality of what her terms resonance, in all art and cultural artifacts. I don't know that I've ever seen another term that better captures the effect of the cultural and artistic echoes he describes than his use of resonance and resonate.

What I feel is most valuable about this book is that Farland works here to move aspiring (or established) writers from unconscious competence to Conscious competence. I argue for unconscious competence as a starting point rather than unconscious incompetence because as Farland points out, whatever creative endeavor you pursue it will contain resonances from your experiences in life. Your presonal lived experience, as well as your exposure to other art, literature, music, film, etc. The question is whether you will make conscious use of these elements to better your fiction or just muddle through. Farland brings the reader to an awareness of the many, many ways that resonance occurs unconsciously, and then demonstrates how one might consciously use it to strengthen a plot, story, character, or just about any other element of narrative creation whatever the medium. The same idea could be applied (with adjustments to other creative arenas than narrative as well--certainly art and music both partake powerfully of resonance as the term is used here).

Finally a little side note for anyone English nerdy enough like me (full confession, I am a full-time English/Drama teacher, an English Education Major with a Masters in English) than I think you will notice that this feels very much like a plain-language, common-man's "Tradition and the Individual Talent" minus the pretentiousness and academic speak of Eliot's essay and aimed at aspiring writers instead of at academics and aspiring critics.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hadn't thought about resonance much before. Now, I'll probably think about it all the time, thanks to the straightforward explanations in this book.

In the book, you'll find a selection of inspiring uses of resonance across several works, and in an extended exposition, Farland will delve deep into Tolkien's use of resonance in The Lord of the Ring, from his plot, to his prose, to his fictional languages. Before I read Farland's book, I thought I couldn't admire Tolkien any more—turns out I was wrong, and I can learn even more from my favourite author.

Unfortunately, for all its generous advice and encouragement, Drawing on the Power of Resonance in Writing had a string of minor errors, not in the teaching points, but in points of Middle Earth lore. I'm a Tolkien geek, guilty as charged, and I don't mean to be pernickety. However, Farland knocked my concentration out of the lesson time and time again with statements like 'Frodo must sail off into the Grey Havens'. Frodo sailed from the Grey Havens into Valinor.
It's a small mistake, yes. But it's one of too many. And these are mistakes that subconsciously bug this Tolkien fan. And it's unfortunate that Farland's centrepiece—his exposition on The Lord of the Rings—isn't as excellent as it could be.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book about an interesting topic. I love craft books and this one was no exception with many great nuggets of wisdom, HOWEVER...
Dear Mr. Farland,
Tolkien got the part about "Gandalf Greyhame" right...
I think it is safe to assume that Tolkien got the word "hame" from the norse "ham"= skin (pronounced like "harm" with glottal stop), old norse "hamr"=skin - and old english "ham"=shirt.
Hence, Gandalf Greyhame means "Gandalf Greyskin".
"Ham" appears in the modern Danish word "hamskifte" (what a snake does when it sheds its skin).
And in the old norse tales of Thor and Odin, the gods and heros sometimes put on a "falkeham" (falkenskin), or ulveham (wolfskin) etc. This "ham"(skin) is imbued with magic that turns the wearer into that particular animal. For example, Loki even turns himself into a horsefly in one story and a flee in another.
Thus, a "ham" is a skin that can be worn or taken off at will and ties in very nicely with Gandalf, who is Gandalf the Grey and then becomes Gandalf the White - his "Grey hame" is a skin and an identity that he has chosen to wear...

[amax · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful short read about what Farland calls 'resonance' in literature. From what Farland explains, I gather that this idea of resonance in writing can be simplified to literary inspiration. Farland makes a great case of proving that by using Tolkien as an example and showing how other works influenced or inspired him to create his masterpiece The Lord of the Rings. As for 'internal resonance,' Farland explains how themes and plotlines can echo one another within the same piece of writing, creating an effect of familiarity for the reader. All in all, this little book held a lot of information that might seem to be common sense at first, but is nevertheless important to put down on paper and to explore. This idea is worth thinking about when starting out as an aspiring writer.

[Laura DeGrave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stories draw strength from previous known tales made into a new perspective.

Excerpt:
'When most people choose to buy a book or go to a movie, it is because it resonates with things that they have seen and enjoyed before.'

Write what you know from experience and read books in the field you enjoy for more in depth strength.
If you don't like what you're writing or have no knowledge of the genre, it will show.

Excerpt:
'The truth is that if you as an author are not aware of the conventions and vocabulary of the genre that you're trying to write in, you will fail. Your readers will feel uneasy about your work, the critics who are familiar with the genre will lambaste you, and you will bomb at the bookstore.'

I found this book to be upfront and honest about writing.
A useful compass to help direct aspiring authors onon their journey.
Example comparisons for resonance uses J.R.R. Tolkien's work.
Recommend for lovers of writing, no matter the diversity genre.

[Naiá Lusvarghi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sinceramente,, achei bem fraco. A ressonância a qual o autor se refere é quando se reconhece elementos de outras obras ou da vida em determinada obra. Segundo ele é algo que os escritores já fazem isso de forma inconsciente, mas ele propõe que se faca de forma consciente. Daí ele analisa a obra Os Senhor dos Anéis, e supõe de onde vieram algumas das referências. Porém ele não propõe técnica para usar as referências na sua obra de forma consciente.
O que realmente me fez achar o livro fraco foi o fato de que eu creio que os artistas já usam referências de outras obras e de sua vida para escrever uma estória, então o livro me parece um tanto inútil.

[sjac · Rating 2 out of 5]

I disagree that everything mentioned in this book fits under the one umbrella term 'resonance', there are a number of concepts discussed that should not all be conflated under this term. They were interesting concepts, though, and I appreciated that.

Another area I disagree with is the emphasis on focusing on relevant works, target audience and trends so strongly in the context of creating a story. I'm not going to write my rebuttal here, because it's more well written here: https://paulgraham.com/greatwork.html

Lastly, the bragging and name dropping got on my nerves. We get it, you're a big deal Mr. Farland, no need to go on about it!

[Selina Shapland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook and it is filled with excellent commentary on how to create resonance in writing stories. It focuses a lot on fantasy which is great for me as that's one of the genre's I want to learn to write. I think if you are looking for something that will help develop your creative resonance, you'll find plenty of tips that are transferrable to other genres too.

David Farland narrates the book well. I enjoyed listening to the author speaking rather than a professional audio actor. It's a very short book on audio but one filled with gems for authors.

[Kirstie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ideas in this book are great. Farland has a talent for taking complex concepts and explaining them thoroughly but in an easy to understand way.

The resonance referred to by the title is both the broader concept stuff (like theme) working down to finer points like names I like some of the ideas regarding resonance in names, especially the Lord of the Rings examples ;p

This feels like one of those writing books I'll touch base with on a regular basis.

[Jazmine Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick but essential read for writing fiction and connecting with the reader. I had noticed “resonance” in fiction for a long time but had no word to describe it. As soon as Farland named and defined it, I could recognize it and the lack thereof in my own writing. Every fiction author should get through this quick read to either be aware of what they’re already doing, or get started using resonance in the first place.

[Joana Stoyanova · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was indeed an amazing book and I devoured it like a starving man would devour food :D I've never thought of resonance in such way before and I am surprised how logical and true it is. I'm super happy to have picked it and for everyone who really wants to win a big, wide audience with his books this one will definitely open your eyes for the subtlest way to do it.

[Spuddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting in-depth look at how authors use resonance to other books, movies, life, etc. to help readers connect with their story. Informational, to the point, and short. Worth reading at least once for writers.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately this book caters to fantasy and sci-fi writers. And, overall, the book seemed poorly organized, and it lacked depth and a thoughtfulness to truly impact a reader. I’d steer others interested in this topic toward Donald Maas instead.

[Candice Azalea Greene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned quite a lot of interesting information (from a writer standpoint) about how Tolkien developed his characters, character names, world, and such. I wouldn't have minded if the book went on a little more and delved even further into resonance.

[Jeffing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Farland describes an interesting perspective and approach to writing that I haven't come across in the vast material I've read, etc, on the topic. intriguing and worth a second read to perhaps better... resonant.