Writing lectures by Brandon Sanderson

somnambulist

somnambulist

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For anybody interested, a series of classes taught by Brandon Sanderson have been uploaded up to youtube over the past thirteen weeks. Quite enjoyable background listening and i imagine kinda invaluable if you are the aspiring writer type.

http://www.youtube.com/user/WriteAboutDragons/videos?sort=da&view=0

The lessons are built upon insights specific to a successful published writer like brandon - rather than a creative writing class. The lectures on the publishing industry - agents, editors, contracts etc were less interesting to me as i don't have writing ambitions of my own. What i found really great was the information on exposition specific to fantasy, and the way good writers generally convey information differently than amateurs. You begin to realise the secret to quickly engaging, enjoyable sf/f books is in the craftsmanship. For me, the evidence that brandon has mastered reader psychology and writing craft is in The Way of Kings - an effortless, movie in your head kind of book.

There are some quirks though. First, it's taught in a Mormon university which affects the atmosphere, although not in a particularly negative way. Second, the starter lectures reference writing groups, course administration etc with no writing nutrition, but it isn't much and quickly moves onward.


ps, if this has been posted already then i'm sorry, couldn't find any mention of it and thought you guys might be interested
 
This is such a *great* resource that I'm moving it to the Writing Resources board.

What's especially good is that Brandon covers different levels - while the first couple of lectures were interesting in themselves, it wasn't until lecture 4 that I really started to feel like I was learning something useful.

By lecture 6 I was taking notes.

Anyway, that's a few hours of my day gone so I'll need to take a break before starting lecture 7!
 
I've only watched the first lecture so far but it's definitely worth going through for anybody who wants to write and isn't already a published and established writer.
 
Nice one - I shall have to take a look. Now I've just got to figure out where I'm going to find the time :(
 
Finished watching them yesterday afternoon. I'd skip Lecture 5 (a rambling author standing in for Brandon, taking over an hour to describe his writing career... Ummm...), though.
The rest of the lectures go from basic attitude and style, through to attitude and plotting, with attitude and revision. :) He also covers some interesting points on the business side. I'm going to watch them again, now, and take notes. :)
Each one is about an hour but I prefer to watch the lot in one go.

K
 
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This is such a good resource. I enjoy brandon's writings and it is rather nice of him to put up his writing lectures for free.
 
AmberEyes said:
If you search for Camera Panda on YouTube the 2016 lectures are now up too x
Click to expand...

Indeed they are. I am in the process of mirroring the 2016 videos with a transcription of the whiteboard, color correction on the shots, and detailed lecture notes as well. My own efforts can be found here, though I am a few weeks behind Camera Panda:

Brandon Sanderson BYU 2016 - YouTube
 
I can't stress enough how useful his lectures have been. So much valuable information that allows you to look at your own work with a better critical eye. As someone who never studied writing, it has been a wealth of knowledge for me. Especially his lectures on the pyramid of abstraction and the business of writing.

I would also mention that Brandon Mull did a guest lecture for his class and it is also brilliant if you have the time to watch. More of a general overall lecture, but still good stuff. Mull Guest Lecture
 
Thank you for the great resource here. I've just started the 2013 series. Can anyone comment on which year is best or if it's worth watching them all? Looks like there's a series from '12, '13, '16, '20.
 
We all have different lessons to learn at different points in our lives and those lessons need repeating. They are all good so go through the lot.
 
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