Lecture #1: Introduction — Brandon Sanderson on Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy

Welcome to my first (very blurry - it should be fixed for the next upload) lecture of my BYU 2020 creative writing class. As you probably surmised from the title of the video, I focus on writing science fiction and fantasy.

This class was more of an introduction for the rest of the term but I do discuss a few important things: creating writing habits, a bit about discovery/architect writing, and how writing groups should work.

[gregorygerety]

I'm seeing a trend with his class size. Brandon's class in 2025 will be held in a football stadium.

[stephensorenson]

Notes from the video:

1. Branden looks back at this course as the most impactful one he took for helping him become the author he is today
i. In his words the course "changed everything for him" - he had already written 8 novels at this point.

2. The class is centered around the nuts & bolts of writing covering the following:
i. Two weeks on plot
ii. Two weeks on character development
iii. Two weeks on setting
iv. Two weeks on the business side of becoming an author
v. The remaining lectures are filled with guest authors/lectures Branden feels can cover an area of writing better than himself

3. Branden believes writing stories is good for you just by itself, no need to aspire to become a professional author

4. You don't need to aspire to become a SciFi or Fantasy genre author to derive value from this course

5. Branden teaches this course with the goal to provide the student all the tools and information needed to reach Sanderson's level of success in 10 years. (No guarantees on success just the right information)

6. Out of the 20 students who took this class in 2000 @ BYU, 5/20 are now professional authors or editors (including Sanderson)
i. Branden claims about 1/20 students go full time professional authors/editors out of his BYU classes on average

7. Branden believes 90% of becoming a professional author is training yourself to write, working hard and writing consistently for 10+ years
i. Role of the instructor is to help you develop these skills and provide information

8. Two kinds of writers:
Gardner's - Write without structure and explore the story
Stephen King
George R. R. Martin
Architects - Write outlines/have structure first than fill in the story from there

9. Branden believes the most important skill to becoming a professional writer is being a consistent writer.
Perfect jobs/careers while working on becoming a professional author
i. Bad choices from his experience and anecdotes from others:
Computer programming - Brandon was too exhausted after programming to write
Being a teacher - never able to stop thinking about the classroom
ii. Good choices
Manual labor jobs (layering bricks/consutruction), allows you to think during/after work.
Graveyard shift at the Hotel front desk (tons of downtime to write on the job)
Whatever works for you!

10. Branden explains it's common for writers to balance family, friends and consistent writing
i. 2+ hours a day comes from somewhere
ii. You need to learn how to best balance your life
iii. Branden personally splits his writing into two 4 hours chunks with a gap between where he doesn't write from 5:30 pm - 9 pm designated for family/relationships

11. While struggling to make it as an author, you need to focus on what you have power over
i. Consistent writing
ii. Finishing your novels

12. Writing Groups - Can be helpful or harmful depending on the individual writer
i. Do the following to make the most out of writing groups:
1. Be descriptive of your emotions when reading others works, not prescriptive
2. Tell them what your experience was when you read the material, not what they should do in your opinion. You may not know exactly what style or theme they are going for in the work.
3. Share what is good about the author's work upfront before diving into areas for improvement
4. Share your natural reaction, don't overthink it
5. Author listening to the feedback:
* Write it down and don't change anything right away until you can work over the feedback.
* Don't defend our explain your writing to the writing group, you want your readers to absorb the meaning from your story not your verbal explanations.
* Avoid tainting your feedback; people will withhold feedback if you get defensive about your writing every time they provide feedback.

[hondasamer]

Joey Tribbiani: there are no selfless acts.
Me: **pointing to Brandon uploading lectures for free on YouTube**

[vernazzasyrah]

48:22 “Focus on what you have power over: You have power over whether you finish your stories. You have power over whether you’re consistent. You have power over whether, you know, you are excited and interested in the stories you are creating. You do not have as much power over whether you’re going to make it or not.”

So, so, so good.

[TheCloserLook]

I've been looking forward to this.

[XCatherine]

I’M IN THIS EXACT CLASS and it feels even more special! Thank you Sanderson, for your awesomeness💛

[kermitdfrogz]

Whether or not he realizes it, he's saving lives and people from despair that have dreams and feel trapped. God bless you, Brandon.

[michaelkuntz]

Sign above says "No food or drink in auditorium." Water bottle in hand most of the class. A true rebel, Brandon is.

[jbizzlemcnizzle]

Thanks primarily to Brandon, after 15 years of being a writer who never finished anything, ever, I'm finally on pace to finish at least 2 novels a year, every year! I'm still not at a point where I feel like my books are worth submitting, but I have grown so much and it's because of these classes and Writing Excuses. I've even started looking at agents. Thank you, Brandon!

[zigi]

This has been the most liberating thing ever ... I DON'T NEED AN OUTLINE oh my god thank you my life has been saved

[letsrock]

I am the Brick Layer.

Thanks for the class while I work Blue Collar. Having this on YouTube means everything to someone like me.

[jimmyslaughter]

I've never written anything outside of college assignments, but I just finished writing chapter 1 of my story. It just feels good to get the story out. I'm not sure how far I'm gonna go, but I'm gonna follow my heart.

[MrYessir]

I love his analogy with the basketball players and writing. You don't need to become a professional writer! One thing that Brandon said that got me to start writing was that he just wrote novels for himself. That really stuck with me.

[kushpatel]

The biggest difference I find between these 2020 lectures and the 2016 ones is that in 2016 Brandon said "if you want to become a pro" and now he says "if you want to become me."
He knows now that he has made a mark on the fantasy world.
Great guy, Sanderson.

[_mollusc_lover_]

I know this comment will get buried, but as someone with a hearing impairment I'd just like to thank the youtube channel/whoever was in charge for putting good captions on this video :)

[AndYouWillBeWithMe]

I know this is dramatic, but I wanna cry lmao. I studies literature in university. My passion for literature died in those classes. Sanderson has a way of communicating his passion to students and even viewers not in the room.
I want to bust out my laptop and start taking notes, revise them, prepare the next class, damn. Like he makes me feel like I will LEARN and I will be incredibly skillful by the end of these lectures. That in itself is something worth complimenting in a way words cannot describe

AND THIS IS

[jareddavis]

The fact that he uploads these blows my mind. So thankful for this being here as a resource

[nightforest]

So glad this is back. Loved his past classes.

[contactsergio]

A week ago I told my sister that I was finishing the first draft of my first novel ever and she asked me "But is someone forcing you to write it or something?" We live in a world where if you don't get profits (the money!) for your time is a wasted time. Thank you Mr. Sanderson for this amazing lectures!

[Arkady]

Listening to this while not being American is like a glimps into another dimension - a world in which a succesful writer may actually earn money writing. That's the US for ya' I'm a writer from Poland, got 3 bestsellers, am published abroad in the Ukraine and Russia... and would die of starvation if I wanted to live off the writing. Different market, different reader.