Finding a Work/Life Balance When Writing—Brandon Sanderson

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[sanderbregman]

Brandon, thanks to your work, I literally went from not reading a book in 5 years to reading 26 books in 2020 and then writing three drafts of a 100k word book over 6 months, which is going out to beta readers next week. I cannot express how much your work as an author and as an educator has had a positive impact on my life since quarantine began, and I just wanted to say thank you and to keep doing what you're doing! Us here at the Brandon Sanderson School of Creative Writing at YouTube University appreciate you!

[christophersilverio]

That's the strangest writing schedule I've ever heard of but I'm glad you shared it. John Green referred to that writing state of mind as "being in Cheyenne, Wyoming", which I think was in turn a reference to an older Vietnam war film. During a firefight, when asked if he's ok, a soldier replies "I ain't even here, I'm in Cheyenne, Wyoming" or something to that effect - Green did a video on it a while ago. I told my family about this and now they jokingly refer to it the same way. It takes a lot of concentration to not be in that state all the time, so it's nice hearing someone refer to a 'spin-up' and 'spin-down' time that needs to be solitary and scheduled. Really simple but probably my favourite video you've released so far.

[AnineVdR]

Brandon: ‘the watcher from Belgium’
Me, a girl from Belgium: ‘how does he know a Belgian’s watching??’

[RJ_Ehlert]

It's very validating to hear that other writers can have a "catastrophic" time dealing with interruptions. It's almost impossible to motivate myself to write when I know I'm going to be interrupted every 20 minutes over the next couple of hours.

[zenbrandon]

Brandon, these short advice videos are great daily motivation. They're the main thing keeping me going with my own creative pursuits. From a fellow Brandon, thank you so much!

[benjamingrant]

Writing is not a strong interest of mine, but I really appreciate all the advice you have given on time management and motivation, as these are things I struggle with. These are things which make you a great role model to me. The fact that you make great books is good too.

[henrychipperfield]

Wow I really had a thing in my brain where I thought brando sando was a big morning person. And now I've watched this, I'm surprisingly taken aback by the fact that he is in fact mortal like the rest of us. The more you know!

[ebofthechill]

How most aspiring authors will execute this advice (myself included):
"How was your writing time? Productive?"
"Did you know we know more about space than we do about the bottom of the ocean?"
"You didn't write anything did you?"
"Well I imagined a ton of cool stuff, I just need to write it down tomorrow. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go feel guilty about the last 4 hours and hope to God I convince myself to write tomorrow."

[AnakinTheWeird]

Oh thank God. I thought I had a problem with losing all momentum after a few hours or getting distracted. Knowing how normal that is is a serious motivational boost.

[wendydewit]

Omg haha i'm a watcher from Belgium

[chandlerholloway]

Thanks for this Brandon. Some of the best advice I’ve ever heard have come from your channel. I’m 28 and not married in the Utah community, and knowing that you weren’t married until 30 gives me hope and encouragement.

[bjutsao]

This is helpful for journaling too! I just got through the Emperor's Soul, and the concept of diaries and sifting through them, sifting through them TOO much, resonated with me.

[Sestrim]

Really appreciate that Brandon is speaking on this. I hate it when people think it's either work or family. Balance is hard, but it leads to a more fulfilling life IMO. Doesn't relate to the family aspect, but I think it's relevant. Forcing myself to take a few hours off each day really helped me feel happier and more productive (varies between days, but I won't go into details). It's especially important for creatives IMO since we need inspiration to work. You're never gonna get that if you don't actually live your life and keep your work in a vacuum.

[masonwheeler]

The way I keep from "spinning down" when interrupted is to just say "can it wait a moment?" That doesn't knock me out of the zone, and people around me understand that I need to concentrate, and when I'm done with the thing that needs concentration I can give them my full attention.

[JocieFire]

Not a writer, but very much relate to the 'spin-up' & 'spin-down' and interruptions being catastrophic. Walling off time for family and walling off time for writing (or other projects) is BRILLIANT. 'Not even think about' current project= ouch. You have had a tremendous literary impact on our family by providing characters and struggles my husband and sons can relate to. Wax & Wane jokes are my favs, love what you did with the relationship with Steris! And could go on and on...Lyft & sword Nimi...THANK YOU!

[lotus]

Personally I try to write every day. I don't have to write a lot, even just a hundred words, but just getting in the habit of doing that every single day has been incredibly helpful.

[devanshushukla]

Great advice Brandon. You're helping so many writers like myself shape their work ethics and way of life. 😊👍

[JeszikaLeVye]

Such great advice! I found this really applies to my life as an artist as well - and I've had some hard won lessons about balance and burnout in the past that I think this advice would have helped curtail.

[jeremy]

Your lecture series have given me the confidence to start my first book. I have major neck issues that showed up last year, making 2020 even more obnoxious. After your lecture series, I started my own outline, got 3000 words in and started my own book a few days ago. Consistence is the key. I'm 3600 words into my Novel(not including the outline) and I'm convinced that I can do hard things. Thank you for not only being a great author but a worthy teacher.

[grantwilliams]

I have no idea why I listened to all of this. I'm a developer and have 0 interest in writing, but I will say that a ton of this applies to development work as well. Especially the warmup/cooldown portion of the talk.