Brandon Sanderson - 318R - #1 (Course Overview)
Why Writers Stack Exchange recommends it
Writers Stack Exchange answerers point people to it as the start of Sanderson's free lecture series, an accessible grounding in storytelling and fantasy craft.
Recommended by 5 people across 4 different months, 2018 to 2019.
What it is
The first lecture of Brandon Sanderson's 2016 BYU creative writing course (318R), recorded on January 7, 2016 and posted by Camera Panda. It covers the course overview, discovery writing versus outlining, genre fiction, how the class works, workshopping, and a Q&A.
What people said
Strong rec Fayth85 · 2018-02 · Writers Stack Exchange · on “Resources for improving storytelling”
Brandon Sanderson has you covered! Series on YouTube detailing everything he talks about in his lectures. [this video] There are another dozen-odd YouTubers that discuss everything Brandon does, in their own way, and with their own touch added in. Think Shaelin Writes [LINK] , Diane Callahan [LINK] , Francina Simone [LINK] (though she also talks about a lot of other stuff, all quite interesting), and Just Write [LINK] to name a few. For broader storytelling theme (no direct focus on writing, but more for TV and the silver screen), there's also Film Courage [LINK] . But keep in mind, they talk about movies, and therefore it doesn't always translate the right way into novel format. But, I find thei
Strong rec EDL · 2019-07 · Writers Stack Exchange · on “What exactly makes a story interesting? (philosophical)”
If you are looking for general information on storytelling then the online lectures by Brandon Sanderson are an excellent place to start. [this video]
Recommends SFWriter · 2018-02 · Writers Stack Exchange · on “Character, plot, and setting conflicts”
I'm working through the Sanderson youtube classes [this video] on writing fantasy and he discusses the idea that conflict can arise between any two (or three) of the three legs of a story - plot, character, setting. But he hasn't given enough examples. I think conflict and tension are related. I'm trying to increase tension (reader interest) and assume conflict is one way to do this. But what is mostly happening is that my characters are just arguing more. This has the upside of highlighting an idea to explore, and the downside of making the characters all a little less likable. It's characters conflicting with other characters about their personal motivations and goals.(Think: arguing how to get
Recommends Liquid · 2019-01 · Writers Stack Exchange · on “Tips and tricks to describe more”
Coming from a very short, scene and dialogue oriented style, I struggle with this too. I'd argue that sometimes you want brevity and a few quick lines of dialog between two characters are all that is needed to carry the plot forward. But since managing the pace of a story is a whole other can of worms, I'd just leave her some suggestions to add more meat to your descriptions; at least, the same things I follow when I'm stuck in your situation. Sensory information this is probably an advice heard from Brandon Sanderson (either from Writing Excuses or his video lessons [this video] on youtube). The point being, most human beings have five senses. We are always subconsciously aware of what is happen
Recommends sesquipedalias · 2019-05 · Writers Stack Exchange · on “How to create a plot given theme and settings?”
there's a school of thought that has "ideas" as really not being worth all that much... good characters is the hard --and worthwhile-- bit... e.g. see [this video] (also, [LINK] for a great anecdote)