No money for a writing workshop this summer?
That’s ok, because you’ve got author Brandon Sanderson to the rescue!
Brandon Sanderson’s 2012 creative writing lecture class at Brigham Young University was recorded and posted free online for everyone to enjoy and learn from. (Also all are on YouTube) The class is pretty fantastic, though the first few videos have some technical issues, it doesn’t matter. Brandon’s handwriting on the white board is horrifying, so you’ll do just as well sticking your headphones in and listening while you multi-task.
I’m a HUGE fan of his character section. The class is weighted specifically for science fiction authors (which Brandon is) but you do not need to be a sci-fi writer to get a lot out of this class. He just uses a lot of classic sci-fi as his examples. His YA knowledge is a little bit lacking, I think, just a little bit, but that’s fine. He writes for adults so I don’t expect him to be an expert at YA and he admits he’s not. Still, most of his lectures are about craft, and that’s pretty universal no matter what you write.
He also participates in a podcast with authors Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and (the amazing!) Dan Wells. The podcast is called Writing Excuses and it’s OMG brilliant. The latest podcast, in fact, is about time travel. And you guys know how I feel about time travel. I like their tag line too:
Fifteen minutes long, because you’re in a hurry, and we’re not that smart.
Your Writing Tools:
- Brandon Sanderson’s Creative Writing Lecture Series on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/WriteAboutDragons
- Brandon Sanderson’s Creative Writing Lecture Series Website: http://www.writeaboutdragons.com/home/brandon_w2012/
- Writing Excuses Podcast: http://www.writingexcuses.com/
Video 1:
Sommer
My name is Sommer and I'm a writer from the Midwest. I am currently working on a YA novel about superheroes, reading as much as I can, blogging, and saving the world.
This dude is really famous here in Utah. Everyone worships him…kinda like a deity of sorts.
That’s weird and funny! He seems like a good natured fellow. I like a lot of his ideas.
I’ve been meaning to watch this since I saw the forum thread on it, though have yet to get to it. I’m much more likely to listen to podcasts than stream videos. But I will get to it.
I listen to these sometimes when I’m working on something mindless at work. I don’t watch them. It’s pretty boring to watch – he stands in front of a white board and writes some things down in handwriting you can’t read.
He’s got some really great ideas.
I’ll have to check it out then!
You’ll probably get more out of them than most. Almost all his examples are sci-fi or fantasy based.