Daily Meditations: Writer Tips For 100 Days

by David Farland

In this book, best-selling author and acclaimed writing instructor, David Farland packs years of experience and wisdom into each short, daily tip, including a daily writing quote for inspiration. Learn how to get into "the zone" on Days Five through Eight. Find out the top reasons editors reject stories on Day 46. Read about the "beatitudes" every successful writer needs on Days 54 to 64. Get insight on how to write powerful endings on Day 96. Gain priceless instruction on creating characters, settings, and plots, all from an author who taught #1 New York Times bestsellers such as Brandon Mull (Fablehaven), Brandon Sanderson (Wheel of Time), James Dashner (The Maze Runner) and Stephenie Meyer (Twilight). "Aside from being a talented writer, David Farland is an excellent writing teacher. Hearing him teach live and reading his written advice has helped me focus many of my own thoughts about the writing process. "Those who would like to learn more about the craft of writing would be wise to pay attention." - Brandon Mull, author of the New York Times bestselling Fablehaven series.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing

367 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 20, 2014

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

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice, once a day bit of information and inspiration. Farland doesn't overload you all at once with what an author should be doing to get published or draw an audience. Instead he gives you snippets of advice one day at a time. I know I'll be going back to this as a reference during the different stages of my writing.

[zerogravitas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this and, while it's not as life changing as the Goodreads scale suggests 5* books should be, stars are free of charge.

Farland (Wolverton) was Sanderson's professor at BYU and he also keeps a great blog with advice for writers. I found both his blog and this book very insightful on many occasions. His advice is good and his writing style is engaging. These essays deliver little nuggets of wisdom earned through a lifetime of actively learning and improving as a writer. There are occasional jokes, and for me they always land because they're insightful to a Pratchettian level.

[T.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful and informative book. Each chapter is set up to be read either as a whole or by taking a chapter a day and then taking time out to think about it (a few are separated into parts so those it was useful for me to read the same day).

This is full of useful tips for new writers and even for those who have been writing for a while but might be struggling. I don't agree with all of the advice he gave in this book (although that doesn't make it wrong - let's face it he is more successful so he's probably right but writing is an art form and whilst you want readers to enjoy it there has to be part of you in there.). I for one am not going to put on a face of makeup, get my hair done, and dress up, especially for an author photo. If readers are so shallow that they won't read my book based solely on how good-looking they think I am then I'm screwed and not in the good way.

That aside this is a good book to keep handy and it has gone into my folder of useful info. I received a pdf of it free when I signed up for his email newsletters, I'm not sure if it is still on offer that way but worth getting, especially if it is still available for free.

[Molebatsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Farland's Daily Meditations: Writer Tips for 10 Days makes common the mysteries of writing through writer tips for 100 days, from Promises to Keep on Day 1 to Writing with Great Expectations on Day 100.
Between Day 1 and Day 100, everything significant about writing is laid bare for aspirant writers to start their writing careers - defining yourself as a writer, setting writing goals, on editing your novel...
The book is gem, it will up your writing.

[Jazmine Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though I’m not much of a fan of Farland’s fiction, his writing advice is encouraging, personable, realistic, and accessible. Reading a meditation or two every few days kept me going through a lot of uncertainty about whether I even wanted to keep writing as health issues threatened my capacity and will to write. Turns out I do want to keep at it in spite of everything. And Farland has helped convince me to stay the course.

[Darren Lipman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent advice for writers that can be enjoyed daily or in fewer sittings, if you prefer. I would have liked if the advice were presented in a more structured way; as it was, it didn’t always feel cohesive. Regardless, I’d recommend anyone passionate about writing to give this a read. You won’t regret it.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great advice touching on all aspects of writing - plotting, creativity, marketing. It was impressive how many different authors David Farland has worked with and influenced.

[Z.A. Mackic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lot of tips on how to tackle writing as a craft.

[Anna Bushi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is available for free on the author’s website. I read it slowly, about a chapter or two a day. Lots of nuggets for writers on how to become better. Highly recommend for novice writers.

[Phil Nicholls · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of over 100 short essays is packed with advice, especially for new writers. Each essay is perfect reading with a coffee, making this a great book to dip into. Unlike the Orson Scott Card books from previous months, this is not a deep delve into one topic, rather a broad selection of great advice.

The light style is engaging and informative, like having a chat with a friendly mentor. I will definitely cycle back to reading this advice again next year.