David Wolverton/Farland
I’ll start off by saying I’m nervous about this post. I’ve wanted to do a Creative Shout-out in David Farland's honor since my first post And So It Begins, but thought I should get the hang of posting first. I want so badly to capture in words what I’ve gained from this man. Second only to my family, David Farland is the reason I want to write professionally. He is, by his own definition, a “Fantasy Author, Writing Instructor, Videogame Designer, Movie Producer, and otherwise unemployable.” He does what he loves—and what he loves is to write, create, and teach others to do the same.
I’d written all my life, but did so only to strip the crazy from my head and nail it to paper. Then, several years ago, my brother Jordan said, “You need to read this. You will not regret it.” He handed me The Sum of All Men, the first book ofThe Runelords series. By chapter three, I was hooked. By the time I readBrotherhood of the Wolf, the second in the series, I felt the desire to let others read my chaos. By book three, Wizardborn, I wanted desperately to write something that could inspire others the way David’s books inspired me. So, when I heard he had courses where he taught small groups in person, I jumped at the chance to learn from him.
In my recent post titled Goals, I said the following:
“Keep testing the mountain until it gives way to your struggle. You must defeat it to stand triumphant at its peak, peering down at those too scared to try. Hold out your hand to help those who follow. Bring them up to stand at your side.”
That statement is largely inspired by David’s generosity and faith in others. I learned so much from his Writer’s Workshops. The greatest thing I took away was written in my notes from the fourth day of class: Keep struggling for the struggle is worth it. Help others along the way. You will only be rewarded for it. I don't remember how he said it exactly, so I'm paraphrasing, but the wisdom is there. David went to college to become a doctor, but was lured down a separate path by his passion to write. He traded his scalpel for a pen, proving it is no less surgical when removing cancer-plaguing works submitted by students from across the globe.
If you’re not already following him on Twitter and Facebook, you should. He has weekly Writing Tips aptly named "Kick in the Pants." I’ve said before that “a kick is what many of us need, especially for those so confident they're blind to their own mistakes.” Trust me. David Farland is a master of waking you up!
Be at peace and keep writing. You can only get better.
~ CR Guardian