Writing Lectures

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I have a love-hate relationship with writing advice and instruction. In my youth, I was discouraged by the idea that everything being taught was absolute law. I felt boxed in by the constraints of writing techniques and tips and knew I didn't want my writing to become buried under the notion that it needed to fit whatever was the agreed upon standard at the time.

So I shelved writing advice almost entirely and headed off down my own path, writing the things I wanted to with no regard for adherence to popular writing and publishing rules. And for years, I was quite happy doing this.

However, there was a lot about writing and publishing that I did want to know. But I was continually deterred by the oftentimes forceful way instructional content is presented. I wanted to learn the rules, but I did not want my creative voice to be constrained by them.

Enter Mr. Brandon Sanderson. Two or so years ago, on an absolute whim, I decided to check out his 2020 writing lectures, and my goodness did I find a kindred spirit to learn from.

First of all, I loved the atmosphere he brought to the lectures. He peppered the lessons with jokes and seemed passionate about the subject. Through his humor and energy, he created an environment in which learning about the writing craft was actually... fun. Fun is not something I usually associate with writing instruction, so to actually enjoy the lectures and look forward to watching them was honestly surreal.

Second, he was (obviously) very knowledgeable about the subject and had a shockingly clear way of communicating that knowledge. There would be times when students would ask questions and, for whatever reason, I wouldn't understand what they meant, but then he would break the concept down and explain it in such a way so that I better understood both the question and the answer. He's an incredibly gifted communicator.

The biggest thing that stood out to me though, was his humility. He would often say things along the lines of, "I'm not super knowledgeable about that aspect of writing, actually. If you want to know more on that, I suggest you check out ___ or ___ as they actually have the personal experience on that." Or he would end a lecture or segment of a lecture with something like, "I'm just explaining what I do and what works for me. And while I highly suggest trying out the tools I'm handing you, if they don't work for you, throw them out and find another way." 

Funnily enough, it was because he wasn't adamant that I follow his clearly successful style, mind you, that made me actually want to follow it. Or at least to try it out. 

I'd like to think it's not just me being contrary lol! Genuinely, I think it's because he taught in such a way that made me feel as though he believed I was already smart. Like, he had faith that I knew what I was doing and that I could make decisions for myself regarding what I did with my writing. He just, in the most nonchalant manner, created a space in those lectures where I could learn writing skills and be the writer I want to be.

Here's the link to the lectures playlist if you'd like to check them out. From my memory, they are mostly clean, though there is a joke in the 6th lecture about worldbuilding that is mature, but I'm fairly certain that's the only thing. 

2020 Writing Lectures

(Do you know, I've actually never read a Sanderson book before. I've heard about him for years, but this class was my very first actual introduction to him.
Also, no this post isn't sponsored or anything like that haha. Just wanted to have a record here on my blog of a resource that was really helpful to me.)