Million Dollar Outlines

De: David Farland

Narrado por: Gary Johnston

Best-selling author David Farland has taught dozens of writers who have gone on to staggering literary success, including such number-one New York Times best sellers as Brandon Mull (Fablehaven), Brandon Sanderson (Wheel of Time), James Dashner (The Maze Runner) and Stephenie Meyer (Twilight).

In this audiobook, Dave teaches how to analyze an audience and outline a novel so that it can appeal to a wide readership, giving it the potential to become a bestseller. The secrets found in his unconventional approach will help you understand why so many of his authors go on to prominence.

Please note: Any files referenced in the audio will not be included.

Please note: The PDF for this title is no longer available.

©2013 David Farland (P)2013 David Farland

An Emerald among the rubies

This is not a step by step write-by-numbers book. It is Monet standing over your shoulder. i listened to it several times and sent a copy to a dear friend. I recommend it

THIS IS IT!

What made the experience of listening to Million Dollar Outlines the most enjoyable?

I've read many books on writing, many I never finished after dying of boredom, but this one.... This is the first book I've read on writing that didn't tell me something I already knew! It's filled with so many fresh, amazing ideas I found myself raping the rewind button... If I read this book 10 years ago, I'd be a millionaire by now. An amazing resource! I immediately ordered a paperback copy, and will have my highlighter pen handy when it arrives.

A top 3 writing resource

If you could sum up Million Dollar Outlines in three words, what would they be?

"A game changer"

What did you like best about this story?

The intro looks at "what makes a story tick". I think this is something often overlooked by other writing guides that deal with the technical details.

What does Gary Johnston bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Well narrated although I did wish that there is a way to see the examples and exercises in print format.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

N/A

Any additional comments?

This book made me recosider my approach to storytelling. It is infused with practical examples and tools. I only wish I had read it sooner!

Readable, Enjoyable and Valuable

A reference book filled with great stories about stories, solid advice and good recommendations for other books / websites for further reading.

Amazing resource, minor errors in the recording

Narrator mistakenly said 'casual relationship' when he should have said 'causal relationship' and 'smile' instead of 'simile' this was consistent and bugged me quite a bit. Otherwise, excellent production.

The content of the audiobook is superlative. Extremely helpful and educational.
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If you want to be a great writer, buy this book.

This is one of the very best books I’ve ever read about learning how to write.

It's worth it.

A previous reviewer stated that the podcast "writing excuses" covers everything this book had to offer.
With respect to that reviews opinion, I'd like to strongly disagree.

Writing excuses is good. I'm a big fan, but this is an entire book on the subject of outlines, and not 15 minutes.
Also this is much more a first had teaching, where writing excuses (even if it is good on it's own) is somewhat a synopsis if this kind of information. It's simple and to the point.

I wanted to dive in a bit more and this book did just that. I got a much fuller overview on this topic.

Other then that- I'd say that this book was enlightening. I was disappointed that there was so much back and forth about how much this movie made or that movie. It seemed like the reader was just reading out a chart to me during that chapter. That may he been helpful for some- but I have Dyscalculia so it was just numbers and names for me on that part- but I'm sure not going to rate it down for that because I'm sure it would be helpful for those who understand numbers.
And even with that handicap I still loved it- so what does that say? I'd call it a keeper.

Nothing about outlines.

What was most disappointing about David Farland’s story?

This book didn't deal with outlines at all.

Any additional comments?

This is NOT a book about outlines. It's a decent book on writing commercial fiction. I'd have given it 4 stars had it been advertised as such.

Interesting concepts

I'm trying to change my ways as a writer and need practical help with outlining. While this book gives great things to think about and include in your outline, I would have appreciated a more step by step approach. The final chapters had what I was looking for, but it took a long time to get there.

All the things an author needs to consider

Where does Million Dollar Outlines rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It ranks very high. It's one of those books I go back to time after time.

What other book might you compare Million Dollar Outlines to and why?

I compare it to Story for the volume of useful information it contains.

What about Gary Johnston’s performance did you like?

His delivery comes across like a friend in a conversation or who has left you voice mail.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Considerations of story writing

Any additional comments?

You'll want this book for your reference desk. It will expose you to mistakes that can make your book a non-starter.