lecture notes generated from 2020 Creative Writing Lectures at BYU by Brandon Sanderson

bsanderson2020BYU

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSH_xM-KC3Zv-79sVZTTj-YA6IAqh8qeQ

(This is just a direct transcript, the intro video is short)

Intro

00:00:09 BRANDON: Let’s talk about my philosophy  on teaching writing. All right? So here’s the thing. I can’t teach you how to be a  writer. I just can’t. Writing is a skill that you have to practice on your own. And I can generally  give you some nudges, some tips, some hints, and some tools. And that is my focus in this class.  It’s a focus on giving you as many tools as you can possibly hold, as many as I can give you, so  that when you are doing your own writing you have them in hand and can try different things out. The longer I’ve been a professional novelist,

00:00:51 the more I’ve realized that these sorts of tools  are really handy for troubleshooting, even for me in my career right now. If I have a problem in  a book, I go back to these sorts of fundamentals that I talk about in the class. And I try to say,  OK, people are having this reaction to my book. My editor and my alpha readers are feeling lost at  this point. What’s the problem? Can I diagnose it using these kind of basic structural tools  that we’ll talk about in the plotting lectures? These are not things that I do often anymore when  I’m sitting down and actually writing. They’re

00:01:29 kind of in the back of my head. I use them a lot  in outlining, and I use them a lot in diagnosing. Early in my career, these sorts of tools were  really handy to just try a tool out to see how it worked for me. And I’ll explain what I mean  by tools a little bit later in this lecture. But for right now, the main thing I want  you to take away is, you will probably get almost nothing from this class unless  you are currently working on your writing.

Lecture #1

Definitions

• Gardener: A writer who starts a story with an interesting premise or characters and explores the story organically, letting the narrative develop naturally without a strict outline.
• Architect: A writer who prefers to create a detailed outline and structure for their story before writing, allowing them to focus on individual chapters without worrying about the overall plot.
• Discovery Writing: A writing method where the author explores the story as they write, often without a detailed plan, allowing for spontaneity and unexpected developments.
• Outline Writing: A writing method where the author creates a detailed plan or outline of the story before writing the actual prose, providing structure and direction.
• Workshopee: The writer who receives feedback on their work in a workshop or writing group setting.
• Workshopper: A participant in a writing group or workshop who provides feedback on the work of others.

Lecture Notes: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy

Introduction to the Class

(00:00:00) This class focuses on the practical aspects of writing science fiction and fantasy, covering plot, setting, character development, and the business side of writing.

History and Purpose of the Class

(00:00:07) The class originated at BYU in the 1980s, initially taught by Orson Scott Card, and later by professional writers like David Farland (Dave Wolverton).

• Original Intent:
  • Started as a creative writing class taught by Orson Scott Card.
  • "Way back when in the '80s, Orson Scott Card was going to teach a creative writing class on campus."
• Evolution:
  • Transitioned to a sci-fi/fantasy writing class due to Card's unavailability.
  • Continued due to popularity and demand.
  • "So a professor at BYU, who was a literature professor who liked science fiction, started teaching a class on how to write science fiction and fantasy so that those people who had signed up would still have a class."
• Brandon Sanderson's Involvement:
  • Took the class in 2000 with Dave Farland, which significantly impacted his career.
  • Took over teaching in 2004 to prevent the class's cancellation.
  • "Dave eventually retired from teaching and moved off to do other works, and the class was going to get cancelled."
• Focus:
  • Emphasizes practical writing skills and the business aspects of being a writer.
  • Includes guest speakers to cover specific topics.
  • "We're going to focus on plot, setting, character, and business."

Class Goals and Approach

(00:04:34) The goal is to provide a nuts-and-bolts approach to writing, assuming students aim to become professional writers within ten years, though this is not a requirement.

• Primary Focus:
  • Assumes students aspire to professional writing careers.
  • "For the purpose of this class, I'm going to pretend that you want to be a professional writer in science fiction and fantasy within the next 10 years."
• Open to All:
  • Welcomes those who write for personal fulfillment or other reasons.
  • "You don't have to have, as your goal, that you want to be a professional writer. You can write because it's good for you, and I really think it is."
• Benefits of Writing:
  • Enhances communication skills and emotional engagement.
  • "I sincerely believe that writing stories is the same way, that simply learning to communicate better, learning to take the stories in your head and put them on the page in a way that people will find engaging and will connect to emotionally, this is just good for you."

On Becoming a Professional Writer

(00:08:15) It is possible to become a professional writer, and the chances are better than one might think.

Addressing Discouragement and Misconceptions

(00:08:30) Many aspiring writers face discouragement from others, but it's important to remember that becoming a professional writer is achievable.

• Common Discouragement:
  • Aspiring writers often hear doubts about feasibility and financial stability.
  • "You have probably been told many, many times, 'You can't do that.' Or, 'Oh, um, that doesn't really happen to people.'"
• Family Concerns:
  • Family members may worry about financial stability and suggest safer career paths.
  • "My mother, whom I love, is an accountant. When I said I want to be a writer, she's like, 'Hmm. Maybe you should be a doctor, and then you can write on the side, because all those doctors go golfing all the time.'"
• Success Story:
  • Dave Farland's success after taking the class inspired Sanderson.
  • "I bet I could add up how many people took that class. There would be less than a million people, and Dave made it."

The Reality of Success Rates

(00:10:16) While the odds may seem daunting, a significant percentage of dedicated students can achieve professional status.

• Statistics from Sanderson's Class:
  • Five out of 20 students from Sanderson's class in 2000 went pro in some capacity.
  • "Five of us went pro in one level or another...If you look at that and you're like, 'Wow. Five out of 20, that's kind of a one in four shot.'"
• Broader Statistics:
  • Roughly one in 20 students from Sanderson's teaching career have gone full-time pro.
  • "One in 20 of my students, ish, over the years I've taught this, have gone full-time pro."
• Non-Professional Success:
  • Many writers achieve personal satisfaction and improvement without going pro.
  • "You have to be willing to accept that that's not a fail state."

Personal Reflection and Commitment

(00:12:39) Sanderson's personal journey involved realizing that he would continue writing even without guaranteed publication.

• Challenges Faced:
  • Sanderson wrote 12 novels before selling any.
  • Received rejections and suggestions to emulate popular authors.
  • "At that point, I'd written 12 novels, and I had not sold any of them. I kept sending them out to publishers, and I kept getting two responses. Number one, 'Wow, these are long.' Number two, 'Can't you just write more like George Martin?'"
• Self-Questioning:
  • Considered whether to continue writing if he never got published.
  • "I kind of had to ask myself, I'm like, 'What does my success look like? What am I willing to accept?'"
• Decision:
  • Decided to keep writing regardless of publication success, finding it personally fulfilling.
  • "I realized, yeah, I would. I would keep going."

Can Writing Be Taught?

(00:17:10) Writing can be taught, but much of the advice is subjective and requires writers to learn what works best for them through practice and experimentation.

The Role of an Instructor

(00:17:10) While consistent practice is crucial, instructors can guide and help refine techniques.

• Key to Improvement:
  • Consistent writing and practice are essential.
  • "You've got to spend 10 years, write a bunch of different books. Work hard at it. Write consistently."
• Contradictory Advice:
  • Different successful authors offer varying, sometimes conflicting, advice.
  • "You guys had this? Some of you are nodding. Go read a how-to-write book from a famous writer like, Stephen King's On Writing is a fantastic writing book."

Discovery Writing vs. Outlining

(00:18:41) Writers generally fall on a spectrum between discovery writing (gardening) and outline writing (architecting).

• Gardeners:
  • Start with a premise or characters and explore the story as they write.
  • Examples: George R.R. Martin, Stephen King.
  • "What a gardener does, is a gardener starts a story with an interesting premise or some interesting characters, and they just explore their story as they start writing, and then they just kind of go wherever their winds take them."
• Architects:
  • Prefer to outline and structure the story before writing.
  • Find it easier to focus on individual chapters with a pre-planned structure.
  • "An architect is someone who writes way better if they have a structure to hang their story on."
• Hybrid Approach:
  • Most writers use a combination of both methods, adapting based on the project and their evolving process.
  • "Really, this whole outline writer versus discovery writing thing is a false dichotomy, but it's a model we use to discuss how a lot of writers work and what might help you."

Writing as a Skill and Habit

(00:22:48) Writing, like playing a game, involves moving tasks to instinctual memory, allowing for higher-level focus and creativity.

Analogy to Magic: The Gathering

(00:22:48) Becoming a better writer is similar to becoming a better Magic: The Gathering player, where practice leads to instinctual actions and allows for strategic focus.

• Initial Focus:
  • New writers focus on avoiding basic mistakes.
  • "What they said is, when they first started playing, there were so many little complex minutia about certain things in the game that they had to focus on those little things just to make sure that they weren't making mistakes."
• Progression:
  • With practice, basic tasks become instinctual, freeing up mental space for advanced techniques.
  • "The further they got playing, the more they realized that by focusing on things they'd started to do those things by instinct, and that they then had brain space to start focusing on higher level, and higher level, and different tactics in playing the game."
• Application to Writing:
  • Consistent practice helps writers internalize basic skills, allowing them to focus on more complex aspects of storytelling.
  • "The more I've been able to, by instinct, understand the pacing in this chapter is too slow. I need to speed it up, either by trimming up here, or by making this next part come faster, or by putting something in the middle that gives us some sense of progress."

Importance of Consistent Writing

(00:25:10) Consistent writing, tailored to individual schedules and methods, is crucial for improvement.

• Varied Approaches:
  • Consistency can mean different things to different writers (e.g., daily writing, outlining, binge writing).
  • "For some writers, writing consistently means working on their outline every day for eight months, and then spending four months working 12-hour days on their book, completely binge-writing it and being done."
• Sanderson's Method:
  • Sanderson writes 2,000-3,000 words daily in two 4-hour sessions.
  • "I know other people who are more like myself, this is what I do, who get up and they write 2,000-3,000 words every day. I do it in two 4-hour sessions every day, very consistently."
• Adaptability:
  • Writers with day jobs might write during lunch breaks or after work.
  • "Other people will be like, I can't even do that. Four hours on a Saturday, that's my best I can manage, four hours a week."
• Output:
  • Average writing speed is 300-700 words per hour.
  • Consistent writing, even in small amounts, can lead to completing a novel over time.
  • "Your average novel is around 100,000 words. That's actually a little long for your average novel. Which means that one year, you're going to write a book if you can only find four hours a week, one 4-hour session on a Saturday."

Balancing Writing with Other Jobs

(00:28:04) Certain jobs can be more conducive to writing than others, depending on the mental energy they require.

• Challenging Jobs:
  • Jobs that demand significant mental energy, like computer programming or teaching, can hinder writing.
  • "One is be a computer programmer...it was the only class that I would do my homework for, and then I would sit down to write and feel like I couldn't write because I'd already spent all this time and energy on writing code, and it felt like the same sort of thing."
• Beneficial Jobs:
  • Menial labor jobs can be beneficial as they allow mental space for plotting and planning.
  • "Menial labor tends to actually be really great for writers, for that reason. Kind of bizarre and inverse of what you would think."
• Sanderson's Experience:
  • Sanderson worked a graveyard shift at a hotel, writing from 11 PM to 5 AM.
  • "I worked a graveyard shift at a hotel. I wrote from 11:00 PM until 5:00 AM every day, and that's how I wrote books when I was going to school full time and working full time."

Balancing Writing and Personal Life

(00:32:32) It's crucial to balance writing with personal relationships and to avoid burnout.

Impact on Relationships

(00:33:06) Writing can be all-consuming, potentially leading to neglect of personal relationships if not managed properly.

• Potential Strain:
  • The more consumed you become with your writing, the more other people in your life might feel like they are being left out.
  • "One of the biggest division points I've found in relationships among my writer friends, and this happens kind of unexpectedly, is that the more consumed you become with your writing, the more other people in your life might feel like they are being left out of something that is all-consuming and passionate for you."
• Personal Example:
  • Sanderson's wife felt neglected during a dinner with other authors.
  • "After the dinner, I turned to Emily and said, 'Wasn't that the best dinner ever?' She was like, 'You didn't look at me one time the entire dinner. I just sat there and felt invisible.'"

Strategies for Balance

(00:38:01) Implementing boundaries and being present with loved ones can help maintain a healthy balance.

• Setting Boundaries:
  • Designate specific times for writing and for family/personal life.
  • "And if instead I started putting boundaries in place to contain the imagination, and then be with my family when I was supposed to be with my family, my life would be better."
• Sanderson's Approach:
  • Sanderson avoids working on books from 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM to be present with his family.
  • "So at 5:30, I am not allowed to work on books from 5:30 until 9:00. Doesn't matter if I have free time."
• Benefits:
  • Refreshes and re-energizes for writing sessions.
  • "That barrier lets me step out, live my life as it should be lived, interacting with other people, and it makes me that much more refreshed when I go back to writing."

Involving Loved Ones in the Writing Process

(00:43:34) Sharing the writing process with loved ones can help them understand and support the writer's passion.

• Understanding Interruptions:
  • Explain how interruptions can disrupt the writing flow and cause significant delays.
  • "What my wife didn't understand, and I didn't even understand at the time, is that a 5 to 15-minute interruption can mean more like a 45-minute delay in me getting to that zone where the writing's really working for me."
• Shared Goals:
  • Involve loved ones in guarding writing time and brainstorming.
  • "If you can get your friends and family to be the guardians of that time, so that they have a part in it, so you're like, 'These two hours, make sure no one interrupts me, and then I will be with you after I have done those two hours, because I will be so much more relaxed that I've gotten my writing done.'"

Overcoming Despair and Maintaining Hope

(00:46:19) Focus on personal satisfaction, finishing projects, exploring other options like self-publishing, and building a supportive community can help overcome feelings of despair.

• Hope and Persistence:
  • It's possible to succeed even after years of struggle.
  • "Don't let anyone tell you that if you haven't made it in 10 years that you just will never make it. Go ask George R. Martin what people said to him when he was a mid-lister for 30 years and barely was able to get people to read his books, for a long time, writing great books, and then suddenly he became the best-selling fantasy author in the world."
• Personal Satisfaction:
  • Focus on being proud of your work and the achievement of finishing projects.
  • "Be proud of the fact that you're finishing things. If you're not, we're going to work in this class on learning how to."
• Alternative Paths:
  • Consider self-publishing or finding fulfilling jobs adjacent to writing.
  • "Self-publishing is a real thing. It's possible that you are totally of professional quality in your writing and you just haven't found an editor who's willing to give the books a chance, and you belong in self-publishing as an indie author."
• Community Support:
  • Connect with other writers for support and potential opportunities.
  • "Make sure you're part of the community, and things like that, because that can help. I got published because Dan Wells met an editor at a convention."

Writing Groups

(00:50:38) Writing groups can be valuable tools for feedback, support, and accountability, but they require careful navigation to be effective.

Purpose and Benefits

(00:52:15) Writing groups provide structure, deadlines, support, and feedback from peers.

• Structure and Deadlines:
  • Help writers stay on track and motivated.
  • "Before you get published, having a goal and a deadline for submitting is really helpful."
• Support and Community:
  • Provide a network of peers going through similar experiences.
  • "Having a deadline, having a support group of people who are going through the same things you're going through, also of people who are likely to give you good feedback."
• Improved Feedback:
  • Over time, group members learn each other's styles and can offer more targeted feedback.
  • "A writing group that has been working with you for a while are the types of people who will learn, hopefully, your writing style, learn to like what you're doing, and they will be much better at giving you advice on making the story the way you want to make it, after they get to know you, and things like that."

Potential Drawbacks

(00:53:37) Inexperienced workshoppers may try to mold stories to their preferences rather than helping improve the author's vision.

• Misguided Feedback:
  • New workshoppers may try to change the story into what they would write.
  • "One of the things they'll try to do is they'll try to make your story into the story they would write, instead of a better version of the story you want to write."
• Detrimental to Discovery Writers:
  • Can derail writers who don't work from outlines by imposing unwanted changes.
  • "If you don't think about your story ahead of time, if you're not working from an outline, someone can come to you and say, 'Man, it'd be so much better if you did this.'"

Guidelines for Effective Writing Groups

(00:57:08) Workshoppers should focus on descriptive feedback, while workshopees should listen, take notes, and avoid immediate changes.

• For Workshoppers:
  • Be Descriptive, Not Prescriptive:
    • Focus on describing personal reactions rather than dictating changes.
    • "'I was bored,' completely valid...Saying, 'You should add a fight scene' can be really bad advice."
    • "'I'm confused,' always valid."
  • Highlight What Works:
    • Start by pointing out positive aspects of the writing.
    • "Be sure to say what is good...so the writer doesn't actually change the things that are working."
• For Workshopees:
  • Write It Down, Don't Change Anything Yet:
    • Listen to feedback without defending or explaining.
    • "If you're the workshopee, write it down, but don't change anything yet. Give it some time."
    • "Prevent yourself from defending yourself. Prevent yourself from explaining."
  • Consider the Feedback:
    • Reflect on whether the feedback aligns with the intended effect.
    • "Try to get where they're coming from. And understand if that's a reaction you want."

These notes provide a comprehensive overview of the lecture, capturing the key topics, subtopics, and supporting points. The timestamps help locate the discussions in the original lecture, and the telegraphic sentences provide concise summaries of each point.

Lecture #2

Definitions

• Plot: The main events of a play, novel, movie, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence.
• Character: A person in a novel, play, or movie.
• Setting: The place and time at which a play, novel, or film is represented as happening.
• Conflict: A serious disagreement or argument, typically a protracted one. It is the glue that holds together plot, character, and setting.
• Heist: A robbery, especially one in which the perpetrators use elaborate planning and teamwork.
• Feruchemy: One of the three magic systems in the Mistborn series, designed for a separate story before being integrated into Mistborn.
• Allomancy: One of the three magic systems in the Mistborn series, combined with Feruchemy and later complemented by a third system.
• Idea Fairy: A mythical creature that bestows ideas upon writers; used humorously to dismiss the notion that great ideas alone make a great writer.
• Strange Attractor: A concept where a story feels both familiar and strange simultaneously, often achieved by combining familiar ideas in new ways or adding a new spin to a familiar idea.
• Substitution Plot Twist: A plot twist where the reader is led to want something different from the initial promise, and then that new desire is fulfilled.

Lecture Notes: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy - Plot

Introduction to Plot, Character, and Setting

(00:00:01) These elements are interconnected, often developing together, and are bound by conflict.

Origin of Story Ideas

(00:00:46) Ideas for plots, characters, and settings can arise independently and later combine to form a cohesive story.

• Multiple Sources:
  • Ideas often come from various sources, such as other books, movies, and personal experiences.
  • "I was reading Harry Potter, and I thought, 'Man, these Dark Lords never get a break.' It's always some dumb kid comes along and ruins the plan they've been setting up for a lifetime."
• Combination of Ideas:
  • Different ideas merge to create a unique story concept.
  • "A book grows out of multiples of these ideas combining together."
• Example: Mistborn:
  • Inspired by the idea of a failed prophesied hero, the heist genre, and visual elements like fog and lit cathedrals.
  • "The idea for the mist came as I was driving to visit my parents in Idaho and I passed through a fog bank at 75 miles an hour...I equated that in my head with a visit to the National Cathedral in D.C."

Development of Ideas

(00:04:22) Ideas evolve and combine, often requiring multiple concepts to form a complete novel.

• Idea Integration:
  • New ideas are often integrated into an existing concept to enhance the story.
  • "I often describe, ideas are like these little atoms bouncing around. When they mash into each other, they create some core reaction, become something new."
• Necessity of Multiple Ideas:
  • A single idea is usually insufficient for a novel; multiple hooks and concepts are needed.
  • "Most of the time, a book is not one idea. This is where newer authors sometimes have problems. They pick one really good idea and they try to write a book on it."
• Ideas are Cheap:
  • The skill of the writer in executing ideas is more important than the initial idea itself.
  • "Authors make the ideas work. If you give bad ideas to a good writer, you will generally get a really great book. If you give good ideas to someone unpracticed, it's still going to fall apart."

Skill of the Writer

(00:07:57) The ability to engage readers and convey information effectively is crucial.

Recognizing Skill

(00:07:57) Readers and editors can quickly discern the skill level of a writer.

• Analogy to Music:
  • Just as one can easily distinguish between a novice and a skilled pianist, readers can quickly identify a writer's skill.
  • "If I were to bring up here, roll out this piano, and have two people play on the piano, one picked up the piano last year...and then we brought someone in who is 20 years practiced concert pianist...how soon do you think you could tell? Right away."
• Immediate Judgment:
  • Writers are often judged quickly based on their writing quality.
  • "You can, unfortunately, get judged very quickly based on your writing."
• Importance of Engaging Writing:
  • The ability to write captivating scenes from the start is essential.
  • "That means that your ideas, however cool they may be, most of the time people aren't going to get to your cool ideas if you can't write a great scene starting off."

Focus on Plot

(00:09:21) The lecture will concentrate on constructing engaging plots using the principles of promise, progress, and payoff.

• Importance of Conveying Information:
  • Effectively conveying information without resorting to info dumps is a critical skill.
  • "I think the most important one, at least for a fantasy/sci-fi writer, is the ability to convey information in an interesting way, kind of this whole avoiding info dumps, instead using characterization for info dumps."
• Promise, Progress, Payoff:
  • These three elements are fundamental to creating a compelling story structure.
  • "But number two would be the ability to understanding what your promise, progress, and payoff is when it comes to constructing a story."

Promises in Storytelling

(00:11:47) Stories make promises to the reader regarding tone, character arc, and plot type.

Tone Promise

(00:12:28) The introductory chapter sets the tone and style of the story.

• Consistency in Tone:
  • The tone established at the beginning should remain consistent throughout the story.
  • "If you're going to have a wacky comedy, don't start your story with someone dying really tragically and really making us weep."
• Cold Open:
  • A technique used to immediately engage the reader with a microcosm of the story's overall adventure.
  • "The cold open is where you join a character in the middle of an adventure that is a microcosm for the adventure that the entire story is going to be."
• Example: Indiana Jones:
  • The opening scene sets the adventurous tone and introduces the main character's attributes.
  • "The classic example of this is Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark...it starts off with this fun, but very kind of solemn romp about Indiana Jones going into the jungle, trying to get this idol, being betrayed, and failing."

Character Arc Promise

(00:18:52) Indicates the character's growth or change throughout the story.

• Desires and Obstacles:
  • Show the character's desires and the obstacles preventing them from achieving those desires.
  • "You want to show us your character's desires and what's preventing them."
• Reverse Approach:
  • Sometimes, show what the character should want and contrast it with their current lack of desire for it.
  • "Sometimes you do this is a reverse way. Sometimes you show us what we know the character should want, and show the character not wanting that."
• Example: Bilbo in The Hobbit:
  • Bilbo's initial reluctance to go on an adventure contrasts with the reader's expectation that he will embrace it.
  • "He thinks he doesn't want to go on an adventure. We're going to then cheer for him to go on this adventure as he comes to realize he wants to go on an adventure."

Plot Promise

(00:20:13) Indicates the type of plot or the central conflict of the story.

• Umbrella Plot vs. Core Plot:
  • The umbrella plot is the overarching structure, while the core plot is the primary emotional conflict.
  • "The umbrella plot is, in some ways, your visible structural plot. Then you have your core plot, which is what your actual progress and payoff is going to be."
• Example: Romance in Fantasy:
  • A fantasy novel might have an umbrella plot of an alien invasion, but the core plot is a love story.
  • "The core plot, what we really want people to read about, is these two characters falling in love. But our umbrella is, there's an alien invasion and we're going to run away from the aliens."
• Classic Archetypes:
  • Sometimes, the main character resists the call to adventure, delaying the full reveal of the plot.
  • "Sometimes you are following one of these classic archetypes, where the main character doesn't want to leave their comfortable home and go on an adventure and become a better person and learn all the things they want to do."

Predictability and Inversion

(00:26:23) Balancing predictability with subtle inversions to keep the story engaging.

• Subtle Inversions:
  • Introduce small changes to familiar tropes to maintain interest.
  • "You can do subtle inversions, or subtle plays on this quite a bit, to not be so expected."
• Example: Moiraine in Eye of the World:
  • Having a female Gandalf character was a refreshing change.
  • "When the wise wizard shows up and it's a woman who you don't trust, then that's different. I'm like, I know what role this person is fulfilling, but they're doing it in a different way."
• Strange Attractor:
  • Combine familiar ideas in unexpected ways to create intrigue.
  • "This is why you hear so often in Hollywood, 'It's this meets this.' The strange attractor idea for a story is you want to have your story feel familiar but strange at the same time."
• Example: Mistborn:
  • Combines a heist story with a fantasy setting and the My Fair Lady trope.
  • "Mistborn is actually a heist movie in a fantasy world, mashed up with My Fair Lady. That's part of why Mistborn works."

Character Arcs and Iconic Characters

(00:31:52) Not all characters need to have an arc; some can be iconic and unchanging.

• Iconic Characters:
  • Characters like James Bond or Sherlock Holmes often don't change significantly but are enjoyable for their consistent traits.
  • "James Bond, sometimes, depending on who does a James Bond story, will have a character arc in a given movie. That's generally what they do nowadays. But classic James Bond, classic Conan, classic Sherlock Holmes."
• Focus on Tone and Plot:
  • For iconic characters, tone and plot promises are more critical than character arcs.
  • "In Sherlock Holmes, your tone and your plot promises are way more important than promising some sort of character arc."

Progress in Storytelling

(00:36:37) Creating a sense of progress is crucial for maintaining reader engagement.

Importance of Progress

(00:36:37) Progress is vital for keeping readers engaged and invested in the story.

• Example: Inferno by Niven and Pournelle:
  • The presence of a map created a sense of progress, compelling the reader to continue.
  • "But it had Dante's Inferno as a circle, where he started out here at the end and was moving toward the center. And the question of, what's at the center of hell and can he get out, was so compelling that I had to read each next adventure, because I could watch as he moved steadily inward."
• Illusion of Progress:
  • Authors control the pacing and perception of progress to build toward an exciting goal.
  • "You want to create an illusion for the reader that a steady progress toward an inevitable and exciting goal is happening in your story."
• Identifying the Plot:
  • Knowing the core plot helps in creating a sense of progression.
  • "You usually want to do this by identifying what your plot is going to be."

Creating a Sense of Progress

(00:44:35) Use plot archetypes and nested plots to structure progress effectively.

• Example: Star Wars:
  • The umbrella plot is to destroy the Empire, with a core plot of Luke becoming a Jedi and Han becoming less selfish.
  • "In Star Wars, we have an umbrella plot of destroy empire...Your character arc, your main character arc, is Luke becomes a Jedi, or really, Luke trusts the force."
• Nested Plots:
  • Use smaller, interconnected plots within the larger structure.
  • "Example from Star Wars, since we're using that. Alderon was gone and we've been pulled into the tractor beam. New mini plot, new side plot."
• Problems and Setbacks:
  • Introduce problems and setbacks to create tension and advance the plot.
  • "You should be making steps toward these three things. Every scene written in Star Wars...either advances the 'let's get the plans,' 'let's rescue the princess,' 'let's learn to trust the force.'"

Avoiding Pitfalls

(00:46:58) Ensure progress aligns with the promises made to avoid boring the reader.

• Example: Oathbringer Revision:
  • Originally, a sequence felt boring because it deviated from the established goal.
  • "I realized that I had violated this...when I got them together and said, 'We are going to have a mini travelogue in the middle of our story,' it's a plot archetype. 'See this place over here? We're going to go there.' And then we went down here."
• Solution:
  • Changing the promise to align with the progress resolved the issue.
  • "So I revised the story so that up here in this discussion, soon after it, they have a thing where they all get together and say, 'Where are we going?'...Suddenly, the promise became different, and the gamma readers loved the sequence, just as I had been hoping that they would."

Payoff in Storytelling

(01:00:17) Delivering on promises while potentially adding unexpected elements.

Classic Archetype

(01:00:17) Fulfill the promise directly after a period of struggle.

• Straightforward Fulfillment:
  • Promise, progress, struggle, and then deliver exactly what was promised.
  • "You promise your son you're going to buy him a toy car. He waits till Christmas, as he's supposed to wait. He opens his box and gets a toy car."
• Example: Star Wars:
  • Luke is promised he will help deliver the plans; he ends up destroying the Death Star.
  • "This is the Luke Skywalker is promised 'You're going to get to go into the sky and help bring these plans back,' and at the end it's actually, 'You didn't just bring the plans back. You destroyed the Death Star yourself and saved the princess.'"

Plot Expansion

(01:01:47) Exceed the initial promise by delivering more than expected.

• Example: Mistborn:
  • The promise of a heist expands into overthrowing an empire.
  • "Surprise. Sorry, guys. But one of the big twists for Mistborn is, your promise is, you're going to get a heist...I was able to do that, in part, because people don't expect-- People read that book and expect, book three they fight the empire, book one they pull off the heist."

Substitution Plot Twist

(01:03:28) Lead the reader to want something different, then deliver that instead.

• Example: While You Were Sleeping:
  • The audience is led to want the protagonist to end up with the brother, not the initial love interest.
  • "But the story is, of course she has to end up with this guy. But of course, at the end she ends up with the toy plane instead."
• Example: Into the Woods:
  • The story shifts from a perfect fairy tale to a darker, more chaotic narrative.
  • "If you haven't seen Into the Woods, it starts off as a classic set of fairy tells. At the midpoint into Act II, all these people's lives turn into disasters and they all die, and it's miserable. But it's fun miserable."

Final Thoughts on Payoff

(01:06:17) The payoff should naturally follow from the progress and fulfill the reader's expectations, often with an added element of surprise or expansion.

• Natural Flow:
  • Ensure the payoff is a logical conclusion to the established progress.
  • "But just make sure it follows from the progress that you spend your story on, and you will be fine."
• Added Elements:
  • Enhance the payoff by delivering more than initially promised.
  • "Your best bet is to give them a toy car and a plane."

These notes provide a detailed breakdown of the lecture, focusing on the principles of plot, promise, progress, and payoff in storytelling.

Lecture #3

Definitions

• Discovery Writer: A writer who develops the story as they write, without a detailed outline.
• Outline Writer: A writer who creates a detailed plan or outline before writing the story.
• Three-Act Format: A common story structure with three acts, typically involving a shift from an inactive to a proactive protagonist, a midpoint twist, and a low point followed by a climax.
• Hero's Journey: A narrative structure identified by Joseph Campbell, involving a hero who goes on an adventure, faces a crisis, and returns home transformed.
• Plot Archetype: A recurring and familiar plot pattern or style, such as a heist, romance, or mystery.
• Heist: A plot archetype involving a group of people planning and executing a complex robbery.
• Master-Apprentice Plot: A plot archetype where a novice learns skills and knowledge from an experienced mentor.
• Information Plot: A plot archetype where the central conflict revolves around the discovery and interpretation of hidden information.
• Relationship Plot: A plot archetype focusing on the development of a relationship between characters, often romantic or a "bromance."
• Underdog Sports Story: A plot archetype where an unlikely team or individual overcomes challenges to achieve success in a sports setting.
• Yes, but/No, and: A discovery writing technique where each attempt by the character to solve a problem either fails and escalates the situation (no, and) or succeeds but introduces a new complication (yes, but).

Lecture Notes: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy - Plot, Part 2

Introduction

(00:00:01) This session focuses on the practical aspects of constructing a plot and creating an outline, with the understanding that outlining is not the only way to write.

• Q&A Next Week:
  • Questions about plot will be addressed in the next session.
  • "If there are things that I don't answer about plot, or things that are confusing or whatnot, or you want me to dig in deeper to, put them on your sheets, and those will come to me next week and we'll do a Q&A episode."
• Guest Speaker:
  • Mary Robinette will discuss short stories in the following week.
  • "The week after that, I believe, Isaac can confirm, will be the week that Mary Robinette will be here...and she is going to talk to you about short stories."

Outlining vs. Discovery Writing

(00:01:24) Writers generally fall on a spectrum between outlining (front-loading work) and discovery writing (back-loading work).

• Spectrum of Approaches:
  • Writers vary in how much they plan upfront versus how much they revise later.
  • "Generally, as we talked about the first week, people do kind of fall in this spectrum between how much upfront work they want to do, and how much back end work they want to do."
• Both Involve Work:
  • Both outline and discovery writers have to do work at the beginning and end of the process.
  • "Both have to do some up-front work, and both have to do some back-end work."
• Discovery Writing as Outline:
  • Some discovery writers use their first draft as an outline for the second draft.
  • "In fact, a lot of my friends who are discovery writers, it's like their first draft is kind of like a really good outline."

Brandon Sanderson's Outlining Method

(00:03:47) Sanderson's method involves creating detailed outlines with sections for character, setting, and plot, focusing on progress.

Why Outlining Works for Sanderson

(00:03:47) Outlining allows Sanderson to offload some of the cognitive load, freeing him to focus on chapter-level execution.

• Offloading Work:
  • Outlining helps manage the complexity of plotting by planning in advance.
  • "An outline works a little bit like that for me, in that I can offload some of the work that I would have to be doing while I'm sitting and writing to a planning session before I start the book."
• Focus on Chapter Execution:
  • With the plot structure planned, Sanderson can concentrate on writing engaging chapters.
  • "Which means that when I sit down to write the chapter, there are fewer things I have to keep in my brain, because the chapter outline has provided some of the high-level stuff that I need to accomplish."

Structure of Sanderson's Outlines

(00:05:33) Outlines are organized by character, setting, and plot, with detailed subsections.

• Document Format:
  • Uses Microsoft Word's document map for easy navigation.
  • "I will use Microsoft Word's document map, and I'll make these top level of an outline."
• Character Section:
  • Includes character arcs and descriptions for main and side characters.
  • "Under each of these characters, like if you went to the Kaladin one...it'll say, under this I'll have a paragraph that explains who they are. Then I'll have another one that's just kind of like, this is intro, and this is arc."
• Setting Section:
  • Covers magic/tech, physical setting, and cultural setting, resembling an encyclopedia entry.
  • "Under setting I will have large headings that will talk about things like the magic or the tech, the world building, like the physical setting, and the cultural setting."
• Plot Section:
  • Focuses on promises, progress, and payoff, often using plot archetypes.
  • "When I'm building my plot in an outline for a book, I am looking for a couple of things. One of the main things I'm looking for are my promises, my progress, and my payoff."

Plot Archetypes and Structures

(00:10:27) Sanderson uses plot archetypes to guide his plotting, focusing on the desired reader experience.

Defining Plot Archetypes

(00:10:27) Plot archetypes are styles of plots that create specific emotional experiences for the reader.

• Distinction from Plot Structures:
  • Plot archetypes differ from plot structures like the Hero's Journey or Three-Act Format.
  • "By my definitions today, a plot archetype is different from a plot structure...A plot archetype is a style of plot, what we're trying to achieve."
• Examples from Mistborn:
  • Heist, master-apprentice, information plot, and relationship.
  • "When I was building Mistborn, there were a couple of things that made me excited to write the book. The first was that it was going to be a heist."

Analyzing Plot Archetypes

(00:14:25) Sanderson breaks down archetypes by studying examples and identifying what makes them satisfying.

• Research and Analysis:
  • Study successful examples of the archetype to understand their appeal.
  • "What I did is I went to a bunch of my favorite heist stories...and I settled on there being two main archetypes for a heist. I realized there was what I'm going to call the Oceans 11, and what I'm going to call The Italian Job."
• Identifying Key Elements:
  • Determine the essential components that make the archetype enjoyable.
  • "Breaking this down, let me ask you guys. Thinking about as a chef, why is a heist satisfying? Why do people want to watch a heist?"

Applying Plot Archetypes

(00:24:35) Archetypes can be stripped down and applied to different genres, creating fresh stories from familiar structures.

• Genre Transposition:
  • Apply the core elements of an archetype to a different genre or setting.
  • "You can strip a plot down to its archetype, and you can apply the genre trappings to it."
• Example: Infinity War:
  • The Russo brothers used a heist archetype for a superhero movie.
  • "He said, 'Oh, it's really cool. Not a lot of people understand what it is, but we just took a heist...And we said, we're going to do a superhero movie that's a heist, and we're going to plot it like this and apply it to superhero sci-fi.'"
• Example: Underdog Sports Story:
  • Used in Hoosiers, Ender's Game, and The Way of Kings.
  • "I've talked a lot about the underdog sports story as an archetype. Because the underdog sports story is a fun one to point out that Hoosiers, Ender's Game, and The Way of Kings all use the underdog sports story plot archetype as a major section of their story."

Creating an Outline: Backward Outlining

(00:35:06) Sanderson starts with the desired ending and works backward, creating bullet points for each step.

Identifying the End Goal

(00:35:06) Begin by defining the desired outcome for each plotline or character arc.

• Relationship Example:
  • Define the end state of the relationship.
  • "Relationship. Character A and B are a couple at the end. I will define what that is based on the story."
• Information Plot Example:
  • Determine the key discovery or revelation.
  • "Discover X, and explain why discovering X is going to be awesome. I want that end scene to be really, really cool."

Creating Bullet Points

(00:36:29) Develop bullet points outlining the steps needed to reach the desired outcome.

• Relationship Plot:
  • Outline scenes showing character development and interaction.
  • "Then you will want to introduce why they don't just immediately propose to one another the first time they meet...Then I'm going to create-- I'm not going to actually create the scene. I'm going to say, 'Scene where they are working together.'"
• Information Plot:
  • Outline clues and discoveries leading to the final revelation.
  • "Well, here, instead of all the other things, these are going to be clues that are going to be discovered, that are going to interlock with the other clues, or sometimes be red herrings that you later on discover weren't doing what you thought they would do."

Organizing Bullet Points

(00:40:18) Initially, the outline is organized by section; later, bullet points are rearranged chronologically.

• Initial Organization:
  • Bullet points are grouped under character, setting, or plot headings.
  • "My outline is generally, at this point, not in order. It is an order by section."
• Chronological Arrangement:
  • As writing progresses, bullet points are moved into chronological order.
  • "Then, as I start writing, I start grabbing bullet points from different headings and saying, chapter 1 is going to be this bullet point and this bullet point."

Challenges and Considerations

(00:42:36) Discusses challenges like keeping multiple plotlines fresh and engaging, especially in longer works.

Multiple Plot Archetypes

(00:42:36) Longer works often require multiple intertwined plot archetypes.

• Necessity of Multiple Plots:
  • Longer stories benefit from multiple plotlines to maintain complexity and interest.
  • "The shorter the piece you're writing, the fewer of these you're usually going to have, and the longer the piece you're writing, the more of them you're going to have."
• Example: Skyward:
  • Uses a "boy-finds-a-dragon-egg" archetype, a relationship plot, and a character arc.
  • "For Skyward, which is much less complex, for Skyward I was using the 'boy-finds-a-dragon-egg' plot archetype...But I had a secondary relationship plot going on, and I had a tertiary. I had a character arc for her."

Keeping Plots Fresh

(00:45:57) Using unique elements and strong execution to keep familiar plots engaging.

• Strange Attractor:
  • Combine familiar plots with new twists or settings.
  • "'It's the story of a boy and his dragon, except it's a girl and a spaceship.' Suddenly it adds-- you're telling people what the new fresh take on it is."
• Execution:
  • Strong writing and character development make the story work.
  • "That's what's going to make any book work. But what hooks people is saying, 'Oh yeah, the hero who was prophesied to save the world failed, and now a bunch of people are going to rob it.' They're like, 'Ooo, tell me more!'"

Balancing Multiple Plots

(00:50:18) Techniques for managing multiple plotlines in long stories.

• Robert Jordan Method:
  • Break the plot into sections with mini climaxes.
  • "The Robert Jordan method is to basically break your plot into sections, and then you will get, you'll be like, all right, there's kind of a mini climax here."
• One at a Time:
  • Focus on one plotline at a time, then switch.
  • "But there is also the method of do them one at a time. Be like, all right, opening part of this big, long book, we are going to focus on the relationship."
• Interweaving:
  • Weave plots together, ensuring each gets attention.
  • "I try to make sure you're getting conclusions to both of them in the same book, and that Kaladin in that first book acts as a through line."

Plot Structures: Hero's Journey and Three-Act Format

(00:54:23) Discusses common plot structures and their usefulness and limitations.

Hero's Journey

(00:54:57) A common narrative structure involving a hero's departure, initiation, and return.

• Origin:
  • Popularized by Joseph Campbell, based on recurring patterns in myths.
  • "A brief history of it is that a guy named James Campbell was a researcher, an ethnographer, and a folklorist, and was researching different stories that different people told themselves...a lot of different cultures across cultural barriers, language barriers, whatever, were telling the same sorts of stories."
• Key Stages:
  • Includes the call to adventure, refusal of the call, crossing the threshold, trials, descent into the underworld, atonement, and return.
  • "The monomyth is you have a character at home who doesn't want to go on an adventure. They get called on an adventure. They refuse the call. And then they are forced to go out and cross the threshold into the world."
• Usefulness:
  • Provides a framework for creating satisfying character arcs and plot progression.
  • "It's really useful for envisioning a character arc in an interesting way. It's really handy."
• Limitations:
  • Can lead to formulaic storytelling if followed too rigidly.
  • "This is where it gets different from an archetype. The plot archetypes are like, I want to achieve this emotion in my readers, and here are some steps to get that emotion. Structure is, all right, here's how I actually structure my story."

Three-Act Format

(01:03:18) A structure involving a setup, rising action with a midpoint twist, and a climax followed by a resolution.

• Key Elements:
  • Act I: Inactive to proactive shift.
  • Act II: Rising action, midpoint twist.
  • Act III: Low point, climax, resolution.
  • "Three Act format imagines a story as three acts with two major division points, the first one being generally where the character becomes proactive...This is the moment where you go from Act I to Act II, where the character says, 'I will go do this.'"
• Usefulness:
  • Helps structure the story with clear turning points and increasing stakes.
  • "This can be really handy, again, to structure your story if you know you need to have a moment where your character takes initiative."

Discovery Writing: "Yes, but/No, and"

(01:07:41) A method for discovery writers involving escalating problems and character reactions.

• Mary Robinette's Method:
  • Involves throwing characters into difficult situations and having them react.
  • "Mary Robinette...taught me a discovery writing method that works pretty well, and it is called 'yes, but/no, and.'"
• How It Works:
  • Characters attempt to solve problems, leading to either new complications or bigger problems.
  • "Have them do that, and then ask yourself, does it work? If you say yes, you add a but, something else has gone wrong. Or you say no, and you escalate that problem to a bigger problem."
• Benefits:
  • Creates a sense of motion and increasing stakes.
  • "What this does is it creates this sort of sense of motion where something is always going wrong for the character, which can be really handy to keep your stakes up in a discovery written story."

These notes provide a thorough overview of the lecture, detailing Sanderson's outlining method, the use of plot archetypes, and various plot structures.

Lecture #4

Definitions

• Epistolary: A literary work in the form of letters or other documents.
• Classic First Person/Flashback: A narrative where a character tells a story from their past.
• Cinematic/Immediate First Person: A narrative told in the first person as if the character is narrating their life in real time.
• Omniscient: A viewpoint where the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all characters.
• Present Narrator: A type of omniscient viewpoint where a storyteller is narrating the story, often jumping between different characters' perspectives.
• True Omniscient: An omniscient viewpoint where the reader has access to all characters' thoughts and emotions simultaneously, without a specific narrator character.
• Limited Third Person: A viewpoint where the narrative is limited to one character's thoughts and perspective at a time, but can switch between different characters.

Lecture Notes: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy - Q&A on Plot and Viewpoint

Introduction

(00:00:01) This session focuses on answering questions about plot, followed by a discussion on viewpoint.

• Format:
  • The instructor will answer questions submitted by students about the plot.
  • "I'm just going to go down this list that my assistant has given me, and I'm going to cherry pick some questions."
• Open Q&A:
  • Time will be allocated for audience questions.
  • "If you have other questions about plot you want to throw at me if we don't get to yours, we will do for questions from the audience today as well."

Question 1: How Long is Too Long for Introductions?

(00:00:36) Introductions should be as short as possible while still establishing tone, character, and conflict.

• Answer:
  • Introduce tone, character conflict, and personality quickly.
  • "The sooner you can introduce the tone of your story and your character's main conflict, maybe not the main conflict of the plot, but how the character is going to relate to it, the better off you're going to be."
• Factors:
  • Novel length, structure, genre, and author's reputation.
  • "Novels are not like screenplays where it's very easy to pinpoint the number of pages you should spend doing a given thing because a novel's length is going to vary wildly and your structure is going to vary wildly, depending on your own preferences and the genre you're writing in."
• Reader Threshold:
  • Readers have varying levels of tolerance for slow starts.
  • "It's like, every reader has a certain number of, like a threshold of crap they'll let an author get away with."
• Risk-Taking:
  • Taking risks is necessary; eliminating all potential "red marks" can lead to bland stories.
  • "If you try to get rid of all potential red marks that anyone could have against your book, your book will probably turn out to be bland and uninteresting and nobody will love it. So you're going to have to take risks."

Question 2: How to Reverse Engineer Stories and List of Plot Archetypes

(00:06:36) There is no master list of plot archetypes; students should create their own by analyzing stories.

• No Master List:
  • A comprehensive list of plot archetypes is not readily available.
  • "I can't. Because I haven't been able to find one."
• Recommendation:
  • Watch Writing Excuses Season 11 for insights into plot structures.
  • "But Writing Excuses Elemental Genres season, which I think is Season 11, we spend all of that year breaking down Brandon's philosophy on this story structure thing, and we look at something like, here's a thriller type of plot, here's how you build one of these, and here are some examples."
• Create Your Own List:
  • Analyze movies and books to identify and categorize plot archetypes.
  • "But start watching the movies you watch in a different way. Start reading the books you read in a different way. Say, can I boil this down to some similar themes and similar plot archetypes of others and build your own."

Question 3: How to Effectively Nest Plots and Prevent Subplots from Feeling Like Diversions

(00:09:58) Ensure subplots are relevant by investing readers in the characters, making the right promises, and showing progress.

• Reader Investment:
  • Ensure readers are engaged with viewpoint characters and understand their motivations.
  • "One thing I'll warn you of is that readers will generally pick their favorites out of a cast of characters."
• Promises and Progress:
  • Make appropriate promises for each character and show progress toward those promises.
  • "Make sure you're making right promises for that character, and the showing progress upon the thing you promised the reader that you were going to get."
• Relevance to Main Story:
  • Show how subplots connect to the main story, if applicable.
  • "And then it is usually really handy to start showing how this is going to combine to the main story, how it's relevant to the main story in some way."
• Treat Subplots as Main Plots:
  • If characters are separated, treat each subplot as its own story.
  • "If you do your job right, people will be invested in that character to the point that it won't feel like a deviation from the main plot."

Question 4: How to Avoid Clichéd Twists

(00:17:33) Ensure twists serve a purpose, escalate conflict, and enhance the story rather than subverting expectations just for the sake of it.

• Purpose of Twists:
  • Twists should add tension, expand conflict, or provide a satisfying surprise.
  • "What is the purpose of it? There are totally valid purposes for twists. When, early in a book, when you kill of a main character in a way that is unexpected, it can add tension for the rest of the story and the rest of the series."
• Subversion vs. Escalation:
  • Mere subversion is not inherently virtuous; twists should escalate and enhance the story.
  • "His book seems a perfect example of why simply subverting expectations is not itself necessarily a virtue."
• Example: Darth Vader Twist:
  • The twist escalates the conflict and deepens character relationships.
  • "So suddenly it's a twist that expands the conflict in beautiful ways. It is the picture-perfect way to manage a twist in your story. Try to do that if you can. Escalate instead of completely undermine."

Question 5: Can a Story Be Episodic and Still Be a Page-Turner?

(00:23:35) Yes, episodic stories can be page-turners by using strong hooks at the end of each episode and ensuring they are interesting.

• Episodic Hooks:
  • End each episode with a hook that promises something interesting in the next.
  • "Most of the time, the secret to episodic page turners is to have a good hook at the end of your episode to promise what the next episode's going to be and make that really interesting."
• Types of Hooks:
  • Avoid cheap tricks; make hooks meaningful and relevant to the character and plot.
  • "Avoid those if you can, and instead make them legitimate moments of crisis or curiosity to the reader to get them to turn to the next episode."

Question 6: Is There Always a Twist?

(00:27:35) No, but there should be an escalation of conflict or a significant change in the status quo.

• Escalation, Not Necessarily Twist:
  • Stories need escalation, where things get worse or stakes are raised.
  • "An escalation does not have to be a twist, but it usually fills the same role as a twist. An escalation is when things get worse."
• Example: Romantic Comedies:
  • Often feature a breakup or crisis moment.
  • "This is why most romantic comedies, even though you know they're going to get together, everyone knows they're going to get together, has a breakup scene somewhere around the three-quarter mark of the story."
• Satisfying Endings:
  • A satisfying ending is generally more important than a twist.
  • "Don't, particularly twist endings, get hung up on twist endings too much. Being satisfying is generally better than having a twist."

Question 7: How to Tell if Character or Plot Needs to Change

(00:31:12) This comes with experience; newer writers should focus on finishing the story, while experienced writers can use their instinct and tools to diagnose issues.

• Newer Writers:
  • Finish the story regardless of perceived issues; the act of finishing provides learning and tools for revision.
  • "If you are a newer writer, my recommendation is that most of the time finish the story. Don't stop, even if you think something is fundamentally broken, because the mere act of finishing the story will start to give you the tools to fix that story."
• Experienced Writers:
  • Use instinct and writing tools to identify and address problems.
  • "This is when I dig out all of the writing tools that I talk about in class, that my friends talk about using, that I see in books on instruction in writing. I say, all right, let's break this down to things like, where are my motivations for my characters? What are my promises? What is my plot archetype and my trajectory? How am I pacing? How am I doing? And I start digging apart the story and looking for where the problem is using all of these tools."

Lecture on Viewpoint

(00:37:58) Different viewpoints offer different advantages and disadvantages; choosing the right one can significantly impact the story.

• Types of Viewpoint:
  • Omniscient, first person, and second person.
  • "There are three standard viewpoints that you can use, of which two are really the ones that people use. We have omniscient. We have first person. And we have second person."
• Second Person:
  • Rarely used; often literary or experimental.
  • "Second person, generally, I would recommend don't do unless you want to make it a major selling point of your story and you know what you're doing."

First Person

(00:40:08) Includes epistolary, flashback, and cinematic styles.

• Epistolary:
  • Told through documents like letters or journals.
  • "Epistolary is where all of the story is being told through ephemera or pieces of writing that someone has found and collected."
  • Advantages: Mystery, immersion, can hide information easily.
  • Disadvantages: Can stretch believability, rigid structure.
• Flashback:
  • Character narrates a past story.
  • "This is your classic first person. Your classic first person is your flashbacks narrative where someone is telling you a story."
  • Advantages: Deep character understanding, can foreshadow.
  • Disadvantages: Often know the character survives.
• Cinematic/Immediate:
  • Told in real-time as if the character is narrating their life.
  • "It's being told in the first-person but kind of as if the character were narrating their life as they're living it right now."
  • Advantages: Strong character voice, immediacy.
  • Disadvantages: Harder to manage with multiple viewpoints.

Omniscient

(00:44:57) Includes present narrator, true omniscient, and limited third person.

• Present Narrator:
  • A storyteller narrates, jumping between character perspectives.
  • "The narrator is jumping all around and telling you things. Basically you have a first-person frame story of the person jumping into an omniscient narrator telling you a story."
• True Omniscient:
  • Access to all characters' thoughts and emotions simultaneously.
  • "When someone walks on stage that's going to betray them, you jump in his head and he's like, 'Boy, it's going to suck when I betray these people.'"
  • Advantages: Unique, can build tension through anticipation.
  • Disadvantages: Can be difficult to manage, less common in modern fiction.
• Limited Third Person:
  • Limited to one character's perspective per scene, but can switch between scenes.
  • "Limited is, for a given scene, you pick one character's viewpoint, you see through only their eyes."
  • Advantages: Credibility, easier to manage large casts, allows for contrast between character perception and reality.
  • Disadvantages: Less intimate than first person.

Conclusion

(01:02:17) The next session will focus on character development.

• Next Week:
  • Discussion will shift to character development.
  • "All right, guys. We will, next week, jump into probably character for a couple weeks. So we will see you then. Take care."

These notes provide a comprehensive summary of the lecture, addressing the questions on plot and providing an in-depth discussion on viewpoint.

Lecture #5

Definitions

• Sanderson's First Law: "Your ability to solve problems with magic in a satisfying way is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic." It emphasizes the importance of foreshadowing and clarity in how magic works within a story.
• Sanderson's Second Law: "Flaws or limitations are more interesting than powers." This law highlights that the restrictions and costs associated with magic (or character abilities) often create more compelling narratives than the powers themselves.
• Sanderson's Third Law: "Before adding something new to your magic, and I'll put your setting in general, see if you can instead expand what you have." It suggests that deepening existing elements is often more effective than constantly adding new ones.
• Sanderson's Zeroeth Law: "Always err on the side of what is awesome." This principle encourages writers to prioritize cool and exciting ideas when developing their stories.
• Soft Magic System: A magic system where the rules, costs, and consequences are not clearly defined, often used to evoke a sense of wonder or mystery.
• Hard Magic System: A magic system with clearly defined rules, limitations, and consequences, allowing readers to understand how the magic works and how it can be used to solve problems.
• Deus Ex Machina: A plot device where a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence.
• Epistolary: A literary work in the form of letters or other documents.
• Foreshadowing: A literary device where a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story.
• Info Dump: A large amount of information delivered all at once, often in a way that is considered clumsy or uninteresting.
• McGuffin: An object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself.
• Iceberg Theory of Worldbuilding: The idea that only a small portion of the worldbuilding is visible to the reader, with a vast amount implied but not explicitly stated. The lecture argues that, in practice, writers often create a detailed surface with hints of depth, rather than a fully developed substructure.

Lecture Notes: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy - Worldbuilding and Sanderson's Laws

Introduction

(00:00:01) This lecture covers Sanderson's Laws of Magic and touches on aspects of worldbuilding, with a focus on how these principles can be used to create more satisfying and engaging stories.

• Schedule Change:
  • Worldbuilding will be covered for the next two weeks due to a request from the 15-person workshop.
  • "I had a request out of my 15-person workshop that I move world building up a little bit, because they're starting new stories and the world building comes up very early."
• Upcoming Guest:
  • Mary Robinette will discuss short stories on the 20th.
  • "We'll then have Mary Robinette come and talk to you about short stories."
• Format:
  • Today's lecture will focus on Sanderson's Laws, followed by a Q&A and a discussion on prose the following week.
  • "Today writer going to do the lecture on Sanderson's Laws...Then we'll do the Q&A on world building, along with some prose stuff the next week."

Sanderson's First Law

(00:01:21) This law emphasizes the importance of the reader's understanding of the magic system for satisfying problem-solving within the story.

• Origin:
  • Developed from Sanderson's experience with Mistborn, where adding a new power late in the story felt unsatisfying.
  • "Sanderson's Laws started when I was working on Mistborn, the first book...and as Mistborn 1 was coming out, I started to realize that I felt like I'd done something wrong in Mistborn 1. Something wasn't working with the ending the way I wanted it to."
• The Law:
  • "Your ability to solve problems with magic in a satisfying way is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic."
  • "Your ability to solve problems with magic in a satisfying way is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic."
• Explanation:
  • Deus ex machina and unsatisfying resolutions often stem from a lack of reader understanding of the magic system.
  • "I had known that deus ex machina is a bad thing. If you're not familiar with this phrase it means god from the machine...We use it in modern storytelling to mean the author inventing a mechanism by which the characters are saved from the consequences of their actions in the late part of the story."
• Analogy to Other Genres:
  • The principle applies to any genre; unsatisfying resolutions can occur in any story, not just fantasy.
  • "But you can just as easily write a romance where the primary tension is that Character A is nobility and Character B is a commoner and that's keeping them apart. You could have, at the 90% part, a long-lost uncle walk up and say, 'Oh, by the way, she's royalty. You guys can totally get married,' and evaporate the conflict."

Hard vs. Soft Magic Systems

(00:10:29) Sanderson discusses the spectrum between magic as a science (hard magic) and magic as a source of wonder (soft magic).

• Continuum:
  • Magic systems can range from well-defined rules to mysterious and unpredictable effects.
  • "On one side is a sense of wonder about the magic specifically, and on the other side is problem solving with magic, or magic as science."
• Hard Magic:
  • Emphasizes rules, limitations, and predictable consequences.
  • "The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse they had a mystery tool. 'We don't know what this is. It'll solve a problem eventually.'"
  • Examples: Allomancy in Mistborn, the ring in Lord of the Rings.
  • "What does the ring do? It turns you invisible. Yep. It turns you invisible and expands your lifespan. What are the costs? Sauron sees you and you turn into Gollum."
• Soft Magic:
  • Focuses on mystery, wonder, and unpredictable outcomes.
  • "A soft magic is you don't know the consequences or even really the cost of using the magic, and you are not certain you can predict what the ramifications or effects will be."
  • Examples: Gandalf's magic in Lord of the Rings, naming magic in Name of the Wind.
  • "You know Gandalf has power and can do stuff. You're not sure what it is."
• Hybrid Systems:
  • Some stories use both hard and soft magic to create contrast and depth.
  • Examples: Lord of the Rings (the ring vs. Gandalf's magic), Name of the Wind (sympathy vs. naming).
  • "Lord of the Rings uses for the ring what I would call a magic that is toward the magic as science with the ring...But in the books, Gandalf is pretty much all the way over here. You know Gandalf has power and can do stuff. You're not sure what it is."

Sanderson's Second Law

(00:39:40) This law posits that limitations, flaws, and costs are more interesting than powers themselves.

• The Law:
  • "Flaws or limitations are more interesting than powers."
  • "Sanderson's Second Law is that flaws or limitations are more interesting than powers."
• Explanation:
  • Limitations and costs create narrative tension and drive character development.
  • "But the flaws and limitations and the costs are where generally your story happens."
• Examples:
  • Superman: Stories often focus on his inability to solve problems with brute force.
  • "Superman has classically been a very difficult character for people to do films about...And this kind of comes down to the fact that people are like, Superman has too much power."
  • Wheel of Time: Using the One Power risks insanity.
  • "All these mystical, wonderful powers, but the more you use them, the more likely you are to become insane and kill everyone you love."
  • Elantris: The magic system is broken, creating a central flaw around which the story revolves.
  • "In Elantris the whole story is about a flaw in the magic. The magic stopped working 10 years ago. We don't know why."
• Categories:
  • Flaws: Problems that can be fixed with effort or character growth.
  • Limitations: Inherent restrictions that characters must work with.
  • Costs: Consequences or sacrifices associated with using magic.
  • "Flaws, basically, are things the character could change, or the magic you don't understand yet, and with more application of effort or character change, you will be able to fix...A limitation is different for me, both for a character and a magic system...You're going to work with it. And then cost."

Sanderson's Third Law

(00:55:32) This law advises expanding existing worldbuilding elements before adding new ones.

• Origin:
  • Developed from Sanderson's experience with The Way of Kings, where he initially tried to include too many elements.
  • "Sanderson's Third Law comes about because I was sitting and thinking about, what are new powers? What are new things I can put in my books that are going to be different?"
• The Law:
  • "Expand what you have before adding more."
  • "Sanderson's Third Law is where I realized that 'Before adding something new to your magic, and I'll put your setting in general, see if you can instead expand what you have.'"
• Explanation:
  • Deeper exploration of fewer elements is often more satisfying than a superficial treatment of many.
  • "But most readers will latch onto one idea done really well, better than they will latch onto 100 ideas just barely touched on."
• Example:
  • The Elder Scrolls: Daggerfall vs. Skyrim. Daggerfall's vast but shallow world vs. Skyrim's smaller but more detailed world.
  • "In fact, one they kind of tried to fix in the most recent one, Skyrim by saying, 'We're going to back away from the procedural generation, and make some of these dungeons have a lot of attention to detail, particularly the ones that you're most likely to play through, so that they're interesting and engaging.'"
• Iceberg Theory:
  • The common idea of extensive worldbuilding beneath the surface is often an illusion; writers create a detailed surface with hints of depth.
  • "When I first became a writer, I heard a lot of authors on panels talking about how world building should be an iceberg...Here's the iceberg, here's the water, and there is this huge body of world building underneath the ice that the reader should be able to tell that you did, but you're not going to show them on the page. Right? Well, this is usually wrong."

Sanderson's Zeroeth Law

(01:10:37) This principle emphasizes prioritizing "awesome" ideas when starting a story.

• The Law:
  • "Always err on the side of what is awesome."
  • "Sanderson's Zeroeth Law is, 'Always err on the side of what is awesome.'"
• Explanation:
  • Stories often begin with a cool concept, and the rules and structure are built around it.
  • "It started because I wanted to tell a story about knights with magical power armor. That is the origin, well one of them, there's a lot of different threads that became The Way of Kings, but one of the main origins was, wow, power armor is cool."

Conclusion

(01:12:17) The lecture concludes by reiterating that these laws are guidelines, not absolute rules, and encourages writers to find what works best for their stories.

• Flexibility:
  • Sanderson's Laws are tools to help tell certain types of stories, not rigid rules.
  • "Remember that making a great story is the goal, and if these rules help you do that, great. I'm glad I shared them with you. If they don't, throw them away."
• Next Week:
  • The next lecture will delve deeper into worldbuilding techniques.
  • "Next week we'll dig into all the different types of things you can put into a fantasy novel, and it will feel like, 'Oh, no, I need 100 PhDs to write this book.'"

These notes provide a detailed breakdown of Sanderson's Laws and their application to worldbuilding and storytelling, along with examples and explanations to illustrate the concepts.

Lecture #6

Definitions

• Worldbuilding: The process of constructing an imaginary world, sometimes associated with a fictional universe.
• Sanderson's Laws: Guidelines for writing fantasy and science fiction, particularly concerning magic systems. (Note: These were covered in the previous lecture.)
• Info Dump: The act of providing a large amount of information all at once, often in a way that is considered clumsy or uninteresting.
• Maid and Butler Dialogue: A type of dialogue where characters explain things to each other that they already know, often for the benefit of the audience.
• Pyramid of Abstraction: A model used to describe the level of concreteness or abstractness in language, with concrete descriptions grounding the reader in the story.
• Show, Don't Tell: A writing technique that encourages writers to show events and character actions rather than simply stating them.
• Deus Ex Machina: A plot device where a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence.
• Cultural Butterfly Effect: The idea that small changes in a fictional culture can have significant and far-reaching consequences.

Lecture Notes: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy - Worldbuilding, Week 2

Introduction

(00:00:00) This lecture focuses on worldbuilding, emphasizing its role in enhancing the story and providing practical advice for creating engaging and believable worlds.

• Schedule Adjustment:
  • Worldbuilding will be covered for two weeks due to a request from the 15-person workshop.
  • Mary Robinette will guest lecture on short stories the following week.
  • "I had a request out of my 15-person workshop that I move world building up a little bit...I'm going to do world building for the next two weeks."
• Q&A:
  • A Q&A session on worldbuilding will follow either next week or the week after.
  • "And at some point I will do the Q&A on worldbuilding, either maybe next week is half of that lecture, depending on how much time Mary Robinett takes, or maybe the week after."

Audience Participation: Favorite Examples of Worldbuilding

(00:00:34) The class discusses examples of stories with strong worldbuilding.

• Examples:
  • John Wick
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender
  • Firefly
  • The Expanse
  • Dune
  • "All right, guys, today writer going to answer questions. Yay! CLASS: Yay! The things that you guys have written down for me about plot we're going to talk over, and then if I get bored of that we'll do maybe a short lecture, maybe not."

Why Worldbuilding Matters

(00:01:59) The class explores the reasons why readers and writers are drawn to worldbuilding.

• Reasons:
  • The Impossible Made Plausible: Creating a sense of realism for fantastical elements.
    • "The impossible made plausible, is one of the purposes of world building, to take that impossibility and make it-- you're able to suspend disbelief while you're in there."
  • Theme: Using the setting to enhance or reflect the story's themes.
    • "Like if you're having, for example, a more serious story, you could have more serious or grungy setting."
  • Sense of Wonder/Exploration: Providing an escape from mundane reality.
    • "Because my real life is boring...OK. OK. So can we say maybe sense of wonder and/or exploration in regard to that?"
  • Sheer Coolness: Creating interesting and unique settings and concepts.
  • Cultural Butterfly Effect: Exploring the impact of small changes on a fictional society.
    • "I really enjoy seeing like a cultural butterfly effect. You change one small thing...Right. OK. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I'll write that up."
  • Approach Real-World Ideas in a Disconnected Way: Discussing sensitive topics without the baggage of real-world context.
    • "Ability to approach ideas in a fresh way...You can talk about something without the baggage that it brings to talk about it in a real-world setting."
  • Play God: The creative freedom to design and shape a fictional world.
    • "It's reminiscent of the sins...Play God."

Worldbuilding in Service of Story

(00:06:46) Emphasizes that worldbuilding should enhance the story, not overshadow it.

• Worldbuilding, Story, and Character:
  • While worldbuilding is a defining feature of sci-fi/fantasy, it is generally less important than character and plot.
  • "Generally, if you have a story with excellent worldbuilding but bad characters and story, or bad characters or bad story, you're going to have a worse story than one that does an excellent job of character and story and has weak worldbuilding."
• Worldbuilder's Disease:
  • The tendency to over-develop the world at the expense of the story.
  • "This is where you become so enthralled with building the world of your story that you never finish worldbuilding and never start your story."
• Goal:
  • Use worldbuilding to enhance the story, making it an integral part rather than a distraction.
  • "World building in service of story...so that that worldbuilding becomes a big part of that story, and an important part of that story, and not just something that's there like billboards to watch on the way to actually getting to your story."

Avoiding Info Dumps

(00:08:39) Techniques for conveying information about the world in an engaging way.

• The Grand Skill of Sci-Fi/Fantasy:
  • Conveying information about the world without boring the reader.
  • "I often say that I consider the grand skill of writing science fiction fantasy, the single most important thing to learn for sci-fi/fantasy, as opposed to other genres, is learning to convey information about your world in a way that is interesting and not boring."
• Show, Don't Tell (Through Character):
  • Use character perspective and actions to reveal worldbuilding details.
  • "If you can find a way that you can convey your setting information through the eyes of your characters in a way that exemplifies who that character is, so that the point of the sentence or the paragraph is actually to give us more information about the character, but you, as a side effect, tell people about the world, it's what you want to do."
• Avoid Encyclopedia Entries:
  • Resist the urge to provide large blocks of expository information.
  • "You want to avoid the, number one, the encyclopedia entry. A lot of fantasy in its early days, in particular fantasy, some science fiction, would start with an encyclopedia entry."
• Avoid Maid and Butler Dialogue:
  • Avoid dialogue where characters explain things to each other that they already know.
  • "Maid and butler dialog comes from the old stage plays where they would often start the stage play by having the maid and the butler come up onto the stage and be like, 'As you know, the master is away for the weekend.'"

Pyramid of Abstraction

(00:13:58) A model for understanding the level of concreteness in writing and how to use it effectively.

• Concept:
  • Descriptions form the base of a pyramid, grounding the reader in the story. More abstract concepts are at the top.
  • "And he said, imagine your descriptions as a pyramid. The goal of your descriptions are to form kind of the base of a pyramid, so that you ground a reader into a story, so that when you start talking about things that are a little more high level, or a little more abstract..."
• Concrete vs. Abstract:
  • Concrete descriptions are specific and tangible; abstract concepts are more general and conceptual.
  • "Dog is way up here, probably right underneath love, but maybe above it. Because everyone in this room, when you say dog, how many of you imagine the same dog? Almost none of you."
• Application:
  • Use concrete language to establish a firm sense of setting before delving into more abstract ideas or exposition.
  • "The way that you offset that, because you want to have some of this stuff in stories, is you let the abstract, be the tip on the pyramid that you earn by laying your groundwork with concrete language, so that the reader is very firmly set in your world in a real concrete place and time..."
• Show Don't Tell:
  • Showing is generally more concrete than telling, but it often requires more words.
  • "We talk about in writing this phrase called show don't tell. And it's become a mantra...But show versus tell is not something to hold up as, like, the absolute gold standard, because almost always showing more and pulling down on the pyramid of abstraction requires what? More words."

Worldbuilding Categories: Physical and Cultural

(00:44:37) Divides worldbuilding into two categories to help organize the process.

• Physical Setting:
  • Elements that would exist even without sentient beings.
  • "Physical setting, for me, is all the stuff that would exist whether or not there were sentient beings on the planet doing things."
  • Examples: Weather, tectonics, maps, flora, fauna, magic, cosmology, climate, terrain, races.
• Cultural Setting:
  • Aspects of the world shaped by sentient inhabitants.
  • Examples: Religion, government, economics, gender roles, borders, fashion, food, lore, history, rites of passage, social hierarchy, accents, languages, taboos, military.

Worldbuilding Exercise: Applying Elements to Different Genres

(00:55:32) The class brainstorms how to use specific worldbuilding elements to enhance different story genres.

• Action-Adventure with Climate:
  • Everything on Fire: A dangerous environment that creates constant challenges.
  • Sudden Climate Change: A sudden shift that disrupts the status quo and creates immediate conflict.
  • Regular Fog Banks: Limited visibility creates suspense and danger.
• Mystery with Fashion:
  • Masks: A society where everyone wears masks, enhancing the mystery of "whodunnit."
  • Constantly Changing Clothes: Characters frequently change outfits, making identification difficult.
  • Clothes Disintegrated by Atmosphere: Clothing degrades, requiring frequent changes.
  • Naruto Cosplay Convention: A murder occurs at a convention where many attendees are dressed as the same character.
  • Uniform Clothing/Clones: Everyone looks the same, making it difficult to identify individuals.
  • Distinctive Family Embroidery: Clothing features unique markings that can be traced.
• Romance with Military Structure:
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: Characters from opposing factions or ranks fall in love.
  • Forbidden Relationships: Certain relationships are prohibited by military rules or social customs.
  • Romance by Combat: Relationships are determined through ritual combat.
  • Military Pair Bonding: Characters are required to be married or bonded to serve in the military.
• Horror with Economics:
  • Economic Collapse: Societal breakdown due to economic disaster.
  • Monster for Sale: The wealthy can purchase solutions to supernatural threats.
  • Alien Invasion via Stock Market: Hostile takeover by extraterrestrial entities.
  • Adam Smith's Invisible Hand (Literal): The economic concept manifested as a physical threat.
  • Economic Pressure Leading to Terrible Decisions: Characters are forced to make horrific choices due to financial desperation.
  • Tax Day Horror: Exaggerated fear of tax season.
  • Nightmare Escape Through Higher Tax Bracket: A dystopian setting where wealth determines the quality of one's reality.
  • Contract Killers Everywhere: A society where assassination is a common profession.
  • The Purge: A society where all crime is legal for a limited period, driven by economic/political motives.
  • Hunting the Rich: The wealthy can pay to hunt people for sport.

Sanderson's Third Law Revisited

(01:08:35) Expand on existing elements before adding new ones.

• Concept:
  • Focus on developing a few key elements in depth rather than superficially covering many.
  • "But most readers will latch onto one idea done really well, better than they will latch onto 100 ideas just barely touched on."
• Example: Stormlight Archive:
  • The highstorms are a central element that influences climate, flora, fauna, magic, and other aspects of the world.
  • "There's a magical hurricane that hits the world every couple of days. Now, what I want to do is I want to interconnect it."
• Interconnection:
  • Connect different worldbuilding elements to create a cohesive and believable world.
  • "If there's one thing I want you to take from this particular lesson, it is that picking an idea and then interconnecting it into the rest is a lot of times the best way to create an epic fantasy or epic science fiction."

Iceberg Theory vs. Reality

(01:07:41) Most writers create a detailed surface with hints of depth, rather than fully developing every aspect of their world.

• The Myth of the Iceberg:
  • The idea that there's a vast amount of unseen worldbuilding is often an illusion.
  • "When I first became a writer, I heard a lot of authors on panels talking about how world building should be an iceberg...and there is this huge body of world building underneath the ice that the reader should be able to tell that you did, but you're not going to show them on the page. Right? Well, this is usually wrong."
• The Reality:
  • Writers create a detailed surface and imply depth, rather than fully developing everything.
  • "What we're really doing is we're doing that. It is a hollow iceberg, that we've done just enough work so that if you look down through the water, you're like, 'Yup, it goes on.'"
• Practicality:
  • It's not feasible to fully develop every aspect of a world, especially when writing on a professional schedule.
  • "But remember, this class' job is to assume you want a professional career in sci-fi/fantasy where you're releasing books consistently, because that's what you'll need to do in the market today, is have a book every few years. You don't have time to do that iceberg that people are talking about."

Sanderson's Zeroeth Law Reminder

(01:10:37) "Always err on the side of what is awesome."

• Explanation:
  • Stories often start with a cool idea, and the worldbuilding is built around it.
  • "Sanderson's Zeroeth Law is, 'Always err on the side of what is awesome.' This is because I wanted to be very clear with myself that most of my ideas-- my idea for Way of Kings, where did it start? It didn't start with all this cool stuff. It started because I wanted to tell a story about knights with magical power armor."

Conclusion

(01:12:17) The lecture emphasizes the importance of using worldbuilding to serve the story, focusing on key elements, and creating a sense of depth without necessarily developing every detail. The next session will likely continue the discussion on worldbuilding or transition to character development.

Lecture #7
with guest instructor Mary Robinette Kowal

Definitions

• MICE Quotient: An organizational theory for storytelling, where M stands for Milieu, I for Inquiry, C for Character, and E for Event. It helps determine story structure, conflict types, and length.
• Milieu Story: Begins when a character enters a place and ends when they exit. Conflicts involve navigating the environment.
• Inquiry Story: Driven by a question; begins with a mystery and ends with its resolution.
• Character Story: Focuses on internal change; begins with a character's dissatisfaction or identity shift and ends with a new understanding of self.
• Event Story: Driven by external threats; begins with a disruption of the status quo and ends with a new status quo.
• Nesting: A structure where different MICE threads are enclosed within each other, like nested boxes or code.
• Try-Fail Cycle: A narrative structure where a character attempts to achieve a goal, fails, and tries again, often with escalating stakes.
• Yes, but/No, and: A method for creating conflict and consequences in a story. "Yes, but" means progress with a new problem; "No, and" means failure with worsening conditions.
• Pyramid of Abstraction: A model for using concrete language to ground the reader before introducing abstract concepts.
• Show, Don't Tell: A writing technique that encourages showing events and character actions rather than stating them directly.
• Maid and Butler Dialogue: Unnatural dialogue where characters explain things to each other that they already know, for the audience's benefit.
• Info Dump: Delivering a large amount of information all at once, often in a clumsy or uninteresting way.
• Worldbuilding in Service of Story: The idea that worldbuilding should enhance and support the story, not overshadow it.
• Three-Quarter Effect: A psychological phenomenon where people feel a task is more difficult or impossible to complete when they are about three-quarters of the way through.

Lecture Notes: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy - Short Stories with Mary Robinette Kowal

Introduction

(00:00:00) Mary Robinette Kowal, an expert in short stories, is introduced as a guest lecturer.

• Guest Introduction:
  • Brandon introduces Mary Robinette Kowal, highlighting her expertise in short stories.
  • "Everyone give a warm welcome to Mary Robinette...Brandon invited me here to talk to you about short stories, because he is good at many things . . . that are not short stories."
• Fractal Nature of Writing:
  • Principles that work at one length (e.g., short story) can be applied to other lengths (e.g., novel).
  • "Writing is fractal. Once you understand how something works at one length, you can actually apply it to other lengths, as long as you understand the principles that are involved."

Short Stories vs. Novels: Different Experiences

(00:00:36) Short stories deliver a specific emotional punch, while novels provide immersion.

• Short Story:
  • Delivers a specific emotional punch.
  • "Short stories are about delivering a specific emotional punch. It's a specific experience."
• Novel:
  • Provides immersion and a longer, more involved experience.
  • "Novels are about immersion."
• Analogy:
  • Watching the Olympics: Immersive experience vs. watching a highlight clip.
  • "A short story is, someone has forwarded you a YouTube clip of the gymnast doing the flippy flippy routine, and you watch it, and it begins right before they flip, and it ends when they stick the landing."

The MICE Quotient

(00:03:01) An organizational theory for storytelling that applies to all story lengths and genres.

• MICE Elements:
  • Milieu: Story begins and ends with entering and exiting a place.
    • "A milieu story begins when your character enters a place, and it ends with your character exits the place."
  • Inquiry: Story begins with a question and ends with an answer.
    • "Inquiry stories are driven by questions. They begin when a character has a question. 'Huh?' And they end when they answer it. 'Aha!'"
  • Character: Story begins with a character's unhappiness or identity shift and ends with a new understanding of self.
    • "Character stories are driven by angst. 'Oh, my life is so hard!' In the simplest form, they begin when a character is unhappy with themselves, and they end when they're happy."
  • Event: Story begins with a disruption of the status quo and ends with a new status quo.
    • "Event stories...begin when the status quo, or the sense of normal, is disrupted, and they're restored when there's a new status quo."
• Conflict Types:
  • Milieu Conflict: Difficulties navigating or surviving in a place.
    • "Milieu conflict, if it ends when you exit a place, all of the stuff in the middle is about difficulty with navigating that space."
  • Inquiry Conflict: Obstacles to finding the answer (lies, misunderstandings, dead ends).
    • "For an inquiry conflict, your goal is to keep your character from finding the answer. They're lied to. They can't understand the answer. The answer leads to a dead end."
  • Character Conflict: Preventing the character from changing or breaking out of their role.
    • "Your character is trying to change. Stop them. Don't let them break out of their role. Fill them with self-loathing."
  • Event Conflict: Preventing the restoration of the status quo (fights, chases, explosions).
    • "Don't let your character restore the status quo. You have fight scenes. You have chase scenes. You have explosions."
• Character vs. Event:
  • Character stories are about internal change; event stories are about external threats.
  • "Character story is interior. I'll never be popular. Event story is external. Asteroid coming at the earth."
• Nesting:
  • MICE elements are often nested within each other (e.g., an inquiry within a milieu).
  • "If you open milieu, and then you open inquiry, you have to close the inquiry before you can close the milieu."
• Example: The Wizard of Oz:
  • A beautifully nested story with character, event, milieu, and inquiry threads.
  • "It begins as a character story...Dorothy is dissatisfied with her role as a Kansas farm girl. Then we open the event. Tornado! Then we open the milieu. 'Welcome to Oz.' And then we open the inquiry. 'What do the ruby slippers do?'"

Story Length and Tension

(00:10:23) The length of a story thread affects the tension and cathartic release at the end.

• Tension and Release:
  • Longer threads create more tension and a greater sense of release when resolved.
  • "That piece of thread, that elastic thread, is your reader's attention. So the longer that attention has been under stress, the more the cathartic release you're going to get at the end."
• Fizzling Out:
  • Releasing a thread too early can make the story feel like it fizzles.
  • "If you release something early, you don't actually have enough time to get another piece of thread up to that same tension, because you aren't spending as much time with it, which is why sometimes a story will feel like it just fizzles out."

In-Class Writing Exercise: Flash Fiction

(00:11:10) Students are guided through writing a 250-word flash fiction piece.

Step 1: The Opening (3 Sentences)

(00:12:07) Establish who, where, and genre in the first three sentences.

• Assignment:
  • Genre: Science Fiction
  • Character: Jockey (definition up to the writer)
  • Object: Coaster (definition up to the writer)
  • "Science fiction, jockey, coaster. OK? Now, before you start, let me give you just a little bit more to help you out."
• Elements to Establish:
  • Who: Character, defined by action and attitude.
    • "For your location, I want a sensory detail. For your character you're going to be wanting to use point of view, how the character sees and interacts with the world."
  • Where: Location, established through a sensory detail.
    • "Your reader wants to be grounded about where they are. For the location, I want you to link to a sensory detail."
  • Genre: Genre-specific detail.
    • "Then the genre, you want to get in a genre-specific detail as fast as you can."
• Example:
  • "Hydraulic fluid dripped out of the roller coaster’s AI straight onto Chelsea's jockey I.D. Where the heck was that leak?"
  • "Hydraulic fluid dripped out of the roller coaster’s AI straight onto Chelsea's jockey I.D. Where the heck was that leak?"

Step 2: Introducing the Conflict (2 Sentences)

(00:21:07) Establish what the character is trying to do, why, and what's stopping them.

• Try-Fail Cycle:
  • Introduce the character's goal and the obstacle preventing them from achieving it.
  • "In a short story, and sometimes a novel too, I would normally ask you to give me that first conflict within the first 13 lines. But in a piece of flash fiction, for our purposes of this exercise, you get two sentences, and those are your next two sentences."
• Example:
  • "If she didn't manage to get the coaster back online before the race, she'd have to forfeit her entry money. Not a gosh darn suggestion from the trouble shooter on her heads-up display had isolated the problem."
  • "If she didn't manage to get the coaster back online before the race," this is what she's trying to do, get the coaster back online, "she'd have to forfeit her entry money." There is the why. And I'm at BYU. "Not a gosh darn suggestion from the trouble shooter on her heads-up display had isolated the problem."

Step 3: The Middle - Try-Fail Cycle (5 Sentences)

(00:23:12) The character tries to overcome the obstacle, fails, and the situation worsens.

• Identify MICE Element:
  • Determine which MICE element is driving the conflict (milieu, inquiry, character, or event).
  • "Are they trying to escape from something? Are they trying to navigate in a place? If they are, then you've got a milieu...Are they trying to answer a question? If they are, then you've got an inquiry story going on."
• Escalating Conflict:
  • The character's attempt to solve the problem fails, and things get worse.
  • "When something fails, they try a different approach. That's what the try-fail cycle is."
• Example:
  • "Fine. It was time to improvise. Chelsea stuck her hand into the AI's guts and traced the slippery fluid up as far as she could go. The interior of the roller coaster was still cold from sitting overnight in the cryo bay. Condensation clung to the walls and mixed with the hydraulic fluid coating her fingers. She closed her eyes, trying to imagine the interior, as she ran past the junction box, AND sudden heat stung her fingers. Chelsea jerked back, cracking her head on the toolbox behind her. 'Gosh darn it all to heck!'"
  • "Fine. It was time to improvise." So that's the thing she's trying. She's improvising. "Chelsea stuck her hand into the AI's guts and traced the slippery fluid up as far as she could go."

Step 4: The End of the Middle - Try-Succeed Cycle (5 Sentences)

(00:29:58) The character tries a new approach and succeeds in solving the problem.

• Shift to Resolution:
  • The character's actions now lead to progress towards the goal.
  • "The try-fail cycle is the middle. The end of the middle is where we're coming out of this. It's about the two-third or three-quarter mark in most things."
• Yes, and/No, but:
  • "Yes, and" means progress continues; "No, but" means a reversal with some progress.
  • "The resolutions are . . . faint. Yes, and. Because that's a movement towards the goal and a continuation towards the goal. And represents continuing in the same direction in many ways. Excuse me, yes, that. This marker is terrible. Can she write on the board? I have no comments at all on that, because I know whose guest room I'm staying in. No, but."
• Example:
  • "Shaking her hand, she glowered at the roller coaster. 'You know, if I have to forfeit this entry money, I'm going to have to sell you just to pay rent, and you'll probably wind up in scrap.' She reached into the chassis again. 'Please, please let me find the leak.' Her heads-up display lit up with what looked like a diagnostic message, from the AI that was supposedly offline. 'The leak is from the thermal coupler in my right braking mechanism, but fluid dynamics make it appear to come from the manifold.' Chelsea's mouth dropped open. 'If you knew that all along--?'"
  • "Shaking her hand, she glowered at the roller coaster. 'You know, if I have to forfeit this entry money, I'm going to have to sell you just to pay rent, and you'll probably wind up in scrap.' She reached into the chassis again. 'Please, please let me find the leak.'"

Step 5: The Ending (3 Sentences)

(00:35:32) Close out the MICE elements and mirror the opening, showing change.

• Closure:
  • Resolve the major MICE threads that were opened.
  • "In the ending, we aim towards closing out the MICE elements we opened."
• Mirroring:
  • Echo the opening's who, where, and genre/mood, but show how things have changed.
  • "You're mirroring the ending, which also means that you're going to mirror those-- if you think about it as mirroring those last three sentences, that you actually need the same things. We need to know who, where, and genre or mood."
• Example:
  • "Chelsea's mouth dropped. 'If you knew that all along--' She closed her eyes, cursing her own stupidity. Three years as an AI jockey and you'd think that she would remember that even in a roller coaster, the temperamental things needed the magic word. Next time she'd say please sooner."
  • "Chelsea's mouth dropped. 'If you knew that all along--' She closed her eyes, cursing her own stupidity. Three years as an AI jockey and you'd think that she would remember that even in a roller coaster, the temperamental things needed the magic word. Next time she'd say please sooner."

Story Length Formula

(00:18:57) A formula to estimate story length based on characters, locations, and MICE threads.

• Formula:
  • Length ≈ (Number of Characters + Number of Stages/Locations) * 750 words * (Number of MICE Threads / 1.5)
  • "The length of your story is equal to the number of characters, plus the number of stages, or scenes, scenic locations, times 750 words, times the number of MICE threads you have, divided by 1.5."
• Explanation:
  • Each character and location adds roughly 750 words.
  • Each MICE thread increases the story length by about half again.
  • "Each character or location you add has the potential to add, on average, 500 to 1,000 words to your scene or story."

Q&A

(00:39:37) Mary Robinette answers questions about writing short stories and applying the concepts discussed.

• Changing Goals Mid-Story:
  • Signpost the change by hinting at the new goal early on.
  • Close out the initial goal, even if it changes.
• Establishing Genre in Longer Works:
  • Still try to establish genre within the first three sentences to ground the reader.
• Urban Fantasy Genre Clues:
  • Try to hint at both magic and technology early on, or rely on the bookstore shelving to provide context.
• Worldbuilding in Epigraphs:
  • Use epigraphs to dole out worldbuilding slowly, but be aware that some readers may skip them.

The lecture concludes with a thank you to Mary Robinette and an encouragement for students to practice writing flash fiction.

Lecture #8

Definitions

• Worldbuilding: The process of constructing an imaginary world, often associated with a fictional universe.
• Sanderson's Laws: Guidelines for writing fantasy and science fiction, particularly concerning magic systems. (Note: These were covered in the previous lecture.)
• Revision: The process of making changes to a piece of writing to improve it.
• Internal Consistency/Logic: The coherence and consistency of the rules and logic within a fictional world.
• External Consistency/Logic: The degree to which a fictional world aligns with real-world logic and science.
• Alpha Readers: The first readers of a manuscript, often industry professionals or trusted colleagues, who provide feedback on major issues.
• Beta Readers: Readers who provide feedback on a manuscript after the alpha read, typically representing the target audience.
• Polish: The final stage of revision, focusing on refining prose, eliminating errors, and improving readability.
• Show, Don't Tell: A writing technique that encourages showing events and character actions rather than stating them directly.
• Deus Ex Machina: A plot device where a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence.
• Epistolary: A literary work in the form of letters or other documents.
• Foreshadowing: A literary device where a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story.
• Info Dump: A large amount of information delivered all at once, often in a way that is considered clumsy or uninteresting.
• McGuffin: An object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself.
• Iceberg Theory of Worldbuilding: The idea that only a small portion of the worldbuilding is visible to the reader, with a vast amount implied but not explicitly stated. The lecture argues that, in practice, writers often create a detailed surface with hints of depth, rather than a fully developed substructure.
• MICE Quotient: An organizational theory for storytelling, where M stands for Milieu, I for Inquiry, C for Character, and E for Event. It helps determine story structure, conflict types, and length.
• Milieu Story: Begins when a character enters a place and ends when they exit. Conflicts involve navigating the environment.
• Inquiry Story: Driven by a question; begins with a mystery and ends with its resolution.
• Character Story: Focuses on internal change; begins with a character's dissatisfaction or identity shift and ends with a new understanding of self.
• Event Story: Driven by external threats; begins with a disruption of the status quo and ends with a new status quo.
• Nesting: A structure where different MICE threads are enclosed within each other, like nested boxes or code.
• Try-Fail Cycle: A narrative structure where a character attempts to achieve a goal, fails, and tries again, often with escalating stakes.
• Yes, but/No, and: A method for creating conflict and consequences in a story. "Yes, but" means progress with a new problem; "No, and" means failure with worsening conditions.
• Pyramid of Abstraction: A model used to describe the level of concreteness or abstractness in language, with concrete descriptions grounding the reader in the story.
• Maid and Butler Dialogue: Unnatural dialogue where characters explain things to each other that they already know, for the audience's benefit.
• Hard Magic System: A magic system with clearly defined rules, limitations, and consequences, allowing readers to understand how the magic works and how it can be used to solve problems.
• Soft Magic System: A magic system where the rules, costs, and consequences are not clearly defined, often used to evoke a sense of wonder or mystery.

Lecture Notes: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy - Q&A on Worldbuilding and Discussion on Revision

Introduction

(00:00:00) This lecture is a Q&A session focusing on worldbuilding, followed by a discussion on revision techniques.

• Format:
  • Q&A based on student-submitted questions about worldbuilding.
  • Discussion on revision strategies.
  • "This week we are doing Q&A from the things you turned in on world building. All right?"

Q&A on Worldbuilding

Question 1: What flaws do you have that make you a better writer?

(00:01:16) This question explores the idea that flaws can be strengths in disguise.

• Answer:
  • Sanderson's eagerness to work on new projects (strength) led to a lack of focus on revision (flaw).
  • "I think naturally, as a writer, one of my greatest strengths was also one of my greatest flaws, which is often the way it is. In fact, if you can write your characters that way, it is usually a good idea. For me, this was my ability to write fast and my eagerness to work on new projects."
  • This prevented him from developing revision skills early in his career.
  • "The biggest thing that held me back from getting published was the ability to take an okay or good story and turn it into a great story. That is a separate and important skill."

Question 2: How do you create magic that doesn't seem like magic?

(00:04:15) This question delves into the concepts of internal and external logic in worldbuilding.

• Answer:
  • Use technology or science fiction elements to create a system that feels grounded in reality (external logic).
  • "How do you make a magic system that doesn't feel like a magic system? One way is you make it technology."
  • Leverage genre conventions that readers already accept (e.g., spy gadgets, vampire abilities).
  • "But you can also, generally a good way to leave some mystery, is to say, 'Here is your one little segment of the world you're going to understand, Harry, but there's so many other things that people are doing.'"
• Internal vs. External Logic:
  • Internal Logic: Consistency within the rules of the fictional world.
    • "Internal logic, internal consistency, is usually really important for most stories."
  • External Logic: Alignment with real-world science and logic.
    • "External logic, or external consistency, where when you try to explain why the things are happening in a way that makes sense to a person who understands physics and the laws of our universe."
  • Most stories prioritize internal logic, but external logic can enhance believability.
  • "Internal logic is almost always your best choice, if they conflict."

Question 3: How do you give enough exposition without info-dumping while maintaining mystery?

(00:12:13) This question addresses the balance between providing information and maintaining reader engagement.

• Answer:
  • Use techniques like hanging a lantern on inconsistencies to signal mysteries to the reader.
    • "This is a stage term. I don't know where it came from. It's where you have a character specifically say, 'These two things don't look like they go together. Oh, well, they obviously do.' That's you saying to the reader, 'Hint, hint. Something's wrong here.'"
  • Show contrasting elements that create dissonance and raise questions.
  • Focus on what the characters know and experience, especially in third-person limited.
    • "Focus on what the characters know. Focus on seeing things from their perspective, and that allows the world to seem so much bigger, because it's around you."
  • Use a Watson character or an apprentice to naturally introduce information.
    • "This is why so often you see authors using Watson characters in fantasy novels, apprentice characters."

Question 4: Do you change rules based on the age of the intended reader?

(00:17:10) This question explores how target audience affects writing choices.

• Answer:
  • Generally, Sanderson does not significantly alter his approach to magic systems for different age groups.
  • "Generally, I do not. There's this really fine balance between writing down to an audience and writing specifically toward an audience."
• Age Categories:
  • Children's Books: 18 and under (includes YA).
  • Young Adult (YA): 13 and up (age of protagonist + 2 is a good rule of thumb).
    • "A rule of thumb: Age of your protagonist plus 2 is about the age group you're intending the book for."
  • Middle Grade: Generally 8-12.
    • "Down here we call it middle grade. There's a big dividing line right here that's different based on the age of the reader, where the teen stops reading books that gatekeepers give them and start picking up books that they have chosen."
  • Chapter Books: Younger than middle grade.
  • New Adult: A category that has not gained significant traction in the market.
    • "New adult has not become a thing...There was an attempt at creating a new thing here that was like 18 to 22 called new adult. This was just the children's publishers looking to have another audience."
• Content Editing:
  • YA is generally not edited for content (swearing, sexuality, violence), except by some specific publishers.
  • Middle grade is generally edited for content.
  • "YA is not edited for content...Middle grade is edited for content by most publishers, which means that they will try to get the middle grade to have less of an R rating, if you've written an R-rated middle grade for some reason."
• Complexity:
  • Middle-grade editors may suggest streamlining and simplifying worldbuilding.
  • YA editors often encourage more emotional touchstones.
  • "For middle grade, generally, my editors have been like, 'Let's streamline this. Let's focus on one character. Let's keep the complexity down. And let's make sure that your magic system is simple and straightforward.'"

Question 5: What's your opinion on fan fiction?

(00:40:49) Off-topic, but Sanderson expresses a positive view of fan fiction.

• Answer:
  • "I think fan fiction is cool. I'm glad people write fan fiction...I think it's an important and valid part of the writing community."

Question 6: Is editing a good backup plan?

(00:47:35) This question addresses the difficulty of breaking into the editing profession.

• Answer:
  • No, becoming a sci-fi/fantasy editor is very difficult due to limited job availability and high competition.
  • "The answer is no*. All right? The reason that planning on becoming an editor as a backup for becoming a published author is that there are fewer editing jobs than there are jobs for professional writers."
  • Most jobs are in New York, requiring relocation and competition with graduates from specialized programs.
  • "If you want to be a trade science fiction/fantasy editor, you are going to need to move to New York. That is where 95% of the jobs are."
• Alternatives:
  • Consider editing other genres or pursuing related fields like becoming a literary agent.
  • "But do know there are lots more jobs if you are willing to not edit sci-fi/fantasy. If you're willing to edit trade manuals for hearing aid companies, there's a lot of jobs."

Question 7: How do you make limitations or weaknesses not seem contrived?

(00:52:45) This question explores how to make limitations feel natural within the story.

• Answer:
  • Use internal and external logic to make limitations believable.
    • "Usually, we do these with some measure of internal or external logic."
  • Provide explanations and foreshadowing to make limitations feel integrated into the world.
    • "If you're doing this with a magic system, just try to juggle your consistency, your logic, in such a way that it makes a certain amount of sense in the book."
  • Show, don't tell, to demonstrate the impact of limitations.

Question 8: How do you tie disparate magic systems together in a novel?

(00:54:51) This question addresses combining different magic systems within a single world.

• Answer:
  • Find a common theme or underlying principle to connect the systems.
  • "I said, 'This is going to feel really weird adding this magic system to this one where people jump around on bits of metal and eat it. How do I make it consistent? Oh, we're just going to make it, metal be a theme.'"
  • Use the magic systems to enhance each other and create a sense of cohesion.

Question 9: What's your opinion on The Mandalorian?

(00:57:27) Off-topic, but Sanderson expresses enjoyment of the show.

• Answer:
  • "I liked The Mandalorian. I really enjoyed it. It was just fun."

Question 10: How do you add new magic without it feeling like a deus ex machina?

(00:58:51) This question revisits the importance of foreshadowing and setup.

• Answer:
  • Indicate holes or mysteries in the existing magic system.
    • "One of the dangers of this is taking bad habits and perpetuating them so long that it's that much harder to break you out of those bad habits later on, particularly prose-wise, things like that."
  • Foreshadow the new element early on, even if it's subtle.
    • "But another great way is to foreshadow things going wrong."
  • Use the new element to resolve a previously established problem or conflict.

Question 11: How do you prevent worldbuilding from feeling like a chore?

(01:03:18) This question addresses the potential for worldbuilding to become tedious.

• Answer:
  • For discovery writers, focus on writing the story first and add worldbuilding details later as needed.
    • "If you're feeling like world building's a chore, don't do it yet. Do what makes you excited to write your story."
  • Identify what aspects of worldbuilding are necessary for the story to function and focus on those.

Question 12: How do you do this if you are a hard outliner?

(01:07:41) This question addresses how to incorporate worldbuilding into a detailed outlining process.

• Answer:
  • Recognize that not every story requires extensive worldbuilding. Focus on the elements that are most important to the specific story.
  • "But you can acknowledge, OK, they're confused here. We need a little bit more here or things like that and use the tools to write the story you want to write."
  • Use worldbuilding to enhance the story, not as an end in itself.

Question 13: What is your opinion on fanfiction?

(01:08:39) Off-topic, but Sanderson expresses a positive view.

• Answer:
  • "I think fan fiction is cool. I'm glad people write fan fiction...I think it's an important and valid part of the writing community."

Question 14: How do you know if your magic system works?

(01:09:21) This question addresses how to evaluate the effectiveness of a magic system.

• Answer:
  • Define what you want the magic system to achieve in the story.
    • "How do you know if your magic system works?" All right. We have to define "works." Because like every other part of writing, a magic system is a tool to help you achieve your goals, and you have to decide what your goals are."
  • Get feedback from your target audience to see if it resonates with them.
    • "You find your audience, somehow, who are people that you are writing this book for...And you give the book to them and judge their reactions."

Question 15: Any tips for screenwriting for animation?

(01:10:37) Sanderson admits he is not an expert in screenwriting.

• Answer:
  • "No. Well, one. Go to a screenwriting class. I am, unfortunately, not an expert in screenwriting."

Question 16: How to handle magic systems in urban fantasy where magic is often hidden?

(01:12:45) This question addresses a specific subgenre challenge.

• Answer:
  • Try to introduce hints of both magic and technology early on to set expectations.
  • "Urban fantasy is a good question. One of the tricky things with magic, in urban fantasy in particular, is that often when you introduce magic, people will think it's in the past, and if you introduce techy, people will think magic isn't going to happen."
  • Recognize that the setting (e.g., bookstore shelving) can provide context for the reader.

Discussion on Revision

(01:13:17) Sanderson shares his personal revision process and philosophy.

• Revision as Refinement:
  • Revision is a vital part of the writing process, used to improve and polish the story.
    • "Revision is this process by which we refine a book and make it better."
• Sanderson's Revision Process:
  • 1.0: First draft, focusing on plot arcs and character beats.
  • Revision Guide: A list of issues to address, from major plot problems to minor details.
    • "I will actually start adding things to the bottom for a next revision, if there are things I notice I need to do for another revision."
  • 2.0: Major revisions based on self-assessment and revision guide.
  • Alpha Readers: Feedback from industry professionals or trusted colleagues.
  • 3.0: Revisions based on alpha reader feedback.
  • Beta Readers: Feedback from target audience readers.
    • "Beta readers are generally going to be casual readers or super fans who are readers, those two."
  • 4.0: Revisions based on beta reader feedback.
  • 5.0: Polish draft, focusing on prose, eliminating errors, and cutting unnecessary elements.
    • "But this is my last one where I'm going to cut 10% of the book. I'm going to try and kill every instance of passive voice that I can."
• Revision Philosophy:
  • Goal-based: Each revision should have specific objectives.
  • Targeted: Focus on specific areas for improvement in each pass.
  • Iterative: Multiple rounds of revision with feedback from different sources.
• Alternative Philosophy:
  • Some writers believe revision is unnecessary or even detrimental, but Sanderson disagrees.
  • "There is a small but vocal group of writers who believe that you should never revise...I have not found this to be true in my writing. Your mileage may vary."

The lecture concludes with a reminder that the next session will focus on character development.

Lecture #9

Definitions

• Empathy: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another. In the context of this lecture, it refers to the reader's ability to connect with and care about a character.
• Rooting Interest: The reader's investment in a character's goals and desires, making them want the character to succeed.
• Progress: The sense of change or development in a character, often shown through their increasing competence or movement along a specific arc.
• Likeability: The degree to which a character is perceived as pleasant, enjoyable, or easy to like.
• Proactivity: The extent to which a character takes initiative and actively pursues their goals.
• Competence: The character's skill or ability in a particular area relevant to the story.
• Iconic Hero: A character who does not significantly change in likeability, proactivity, or competence throughout the story.
• Internal Logic: The consistency and coherence of the rules and logic within a fictional world.
• External Logic: The degree to which a fictional world aligns with real-world logic and science.
• Foreshadowing: A literary device where a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story.
• Flaw: A weakness or shortcoming in a character that they could potentially change or overcome.
• Handicap: A limitation or challenge that a character faces, often beyond their control.
• Limitation: A constraint or boundary within which a character must operate, not necessarily something to be overcome.
• Motivation: The underlying reasons or driving forces behind a character's actions and goals.
• Deus Ex Machina: A plot device where a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence.
• Show, Don't Tell: A writing technique that encourages showing events and character actions rather than stating them directly.
• Info Dump: Delivering a large amount of information all at once, often in a clumsy or uninteresting way.
• Pyramid of Abstraction: A model for using concrete language to ground the reader before introducing abstract concepts.
• Maid and Butler Dialogue: Unnatural dialogue where characters explain things to each other that they already know, for the audience's benefit.
• Hang a Lantern on It: Acknowledging a potential plot hole or contrivance within the story, signaling to the reader that it will be addressed later.
• Gorilla in a Phone Booth: A metaphor for a distracting or illogical element in a story that pulls the reader out of the narrative.
• Revision: The process of making changes to a piece of writing to improve it.

Lecture Notes: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy - Character

Introduction

(00:00:00) This lecture focuses on character development, exploring the purpose of characters and how to make readers care about them.

• Purpose of Characters:
  • Characters are not just people who do things in stories; they fulfill specific roles and shape the plot.
  • "They're the people who do the stuff in the stories. But characters fulfill different roles, and the way that you use your main characters, in particular, is going to form a lot of the shape of your story and your plot."
• Making Readers Care:
  • The lecture addresses the crucial question of how to make readers care about characters.
  • "How do I make people like my characters? How do I make people care about reading my story?"

Three Pillars of Character Engagement

(00:01:48) Sanderson outlines three primary ways to make readers care about characters: empathy, rooting interest, and progress.

1. Establish Empathy

(00:02:10) Create a connection between the reader and the character.

• Methods:
  • Relatability: Show that the character is like the reader in some way.
    • "Showing that a character is relatable immediately establishes empathy."
  • Niceness: Make the character kind, compassionate, or likable.
    • "Another way that we do it is we make them nice."
  • Show Them Being Liked: Demonstrate that other characters like and care about them.
    • "We will instantly like someone who is liked by other people."

2. Establish Rooting Interest

(00:07:56) Make the reader invested in the character's goals and desires.

• Methods:
  • Give Them a Motivation: Show what the character wants and why.
    • "You're going to show us what the character wants. Characters who want things are naturally more interesting to us than characters who don't."
  • Create Obstacles: Explain why the character can't have what they want.
    • "Why can't the character have this thing that they want?"
  • Personal Connection to Plot: Link the character's motivations to the main conflict of the story.
    • "You make sure that there is a reason that your protagonist is connected to the plot."

3. Establish Progress

(00:11:03) Show how the character will change or grow throughout the story.

• Methods:
  • Show a Flaw: Indicate an area where the character needs to improve.
  • Establish a Journey: Outline the character's path of development or change.
  • Create Mystery/Question: Make the reader wonder if the character will succeed or change.
  • "Will they be able to become the thing that we know inside they can become? Will they be able to-- Will Spiderman become a superhero?"

Sliding Scales of Characterization

(00:12:16) Sanderson introduces three sliding scales for analyzing and developing characters: likeability, proactivity, and competence.

• Scales:
  • Likeability: How pleasant or enjoyable the character is.
  • Proactivity: How much initiative the character takes.
  • Competence: The character's skill or ability in areas relevant to the story.
• Purpose:
  • These scales help analyze how characters function within a story and how they create a sense of motion or progress.
  • "I could have characters moving on any one of these actual scales to create a sense of motion and progress for the story."
• Examples: Star Wars:
  • Han Solo: Initially moderate likeability, low proactivity (needs to be pushed), high competence (as a pilot).
  • Luke Skywalker: High likeability, low initial proactivity, mixed competence (good pilot, but needs to learn the Force).
  • Leia Organa: High likeability, very high proactivity, high competence (in her domain).
• Iconic Heroes:
  • Characters who do not change significantly on these scales, or are already at the top. (Examples: James Bond, Sherlock Holmes)
  • "An iconic hero generally is going to have one or all three of these ramped to the top so that they cannot move anywhere else because they are already as competent and capable as they can be."

Flaws, Limitations, and Handicaps

(00:15:38) These elements create conflict and drive character development.

• Definitions:
  • Flaw: Something the character can and should change.
    • "A flaw is something that the character could change, or the magic you don't understand yet, and with more application of effort or character change, you will be able to fix."
  • Handicap: A challenge or obstacle that is not the character's fault and is beyond their control.
    • "A handicap I put as something that must be overcome, absolutely must be overcome, but is something that is not the character's fault and they have no power over whether this thing can be changed."
  • Limitation: A constraint the character must work within, not necessarily something to overcome.
    • "A limitation, for me, is a thing that is not to change, not to even overcome. It is a constraint you work within that you don't necessarily want the character to overcome."
• Purpose:
  • These elements create conflict and drive the story.
  • "Most of your conflict is going to arise out of the face that they have flaws, handicaps, limitations."
• Connection to Quirks:
  • Quirks can be more effective if linked to flaws, limitations, or motivations.
  • "If you've got a quirk that can somehow connect all of these things, you are going to have a much stronger character."

Character Voice and Avoiding Stilted Dialogue

(00:59:27) Techniques for creating distinct and believable character voices.

• Key Elements:
  • Background: Let a character's history and experiences shape their language.
  • Motivations: How a character thinks and speaks should reflect their goals.
  • Personality: Diction, syntax, and overall tone should be consistent with the character's personality.
• Beyond Cliches:
  • Go beyond simple tricks like removing contractions for intelligent characters.
  • "You should still have this character use slang and this character's diction reflect the academy, but the way that they argue, the way that they see the world--"
• Show, Don't Tell:
  • Use dialogue and descriptions to reveal character traits rather than stating them directly.
  • "If you can show in even your descriptions that somebody really hates this other person by the way they describe how fiddly they are with their hair and how, of course, their perfect shoes are polished, and things like that, rather than saying, 'She really hated Amy, because she was a prep.'"
• Practice Exercise:
  • Write a scene with multiple characters arguing, without using dialogue tags, and see if readers can still distinguish who is speaking.
  • "One of the best things you can do to learn how to write stronger writing is learn how to make your dialog work without dialog tags and without any descriptions around it."

Additional Q&A

Question 1: How do you handle multiple viewpoints?

(01:08:21) This question addresses the challenges of writing stories with multiple perspectives.

• Answer:
  • Decide how much viewpoint time to allocate to each character.
  • "One of the first things I will decide is how much viewpoint time I'm going to give to each of these characters, and the more viewpoint time you have, the most nuanced you can be in a lot of these things."
  • Avoid writing characters solely to a role; give them their own motivations and internal consistency.
  • "When I started to kind of embrace this idea that every character is the hero in their own story. Every character, they're the protagonist, I should say, in their own story."
  • Use techniques like hanging a lantern to address potential inconsistencies or reader confusion.
  • "Hanging a lantern on it is one of the good ways where you are basically saying to the reader, 'This isn't a flaw in the story. I know. I am going to deal with it eventually.'"

Question 2: How do you know when to abandon a character or rebuild the plot around them?

(01:13:17) This question deals with the decision of whether to change a character or change the story.

• Answer:
  • Consider whether the story is stronger with the character's current trajectory or if the character is taking over in a detrimental way.
  • "Do I need to rebuild my story to fit who this character's becoming? Is the story a stronger version, is it a stronger story, if this character continues on this path? Or is this character going to completely take over the story, and it's going to turn it into something completely different?"
  • Sanderson often rebuilds the plot to accommodate a compelling character.
  • "If I'm really interested in a character, personally, I am really good with plot and setting. I know I can rebuild that plot and that setting. If I've captured something in a character that's really working, I generally want to see where that character goes, and I rebuild my plot for them."

Question 3: Why use motivations instead of goals?

(01:16:49) This question clarifies the distinction between a character's immediate goals and their underlying motivations.

• Answer:
  • Goals can be accomplished, while motivations are ongoing.
  • "Goals can be accomplished and then your story is done. Motivations continue."
  • Motivations provide a deeper understanding of the character's desires and drive.
  • "Giving them a goal is OK. Giving them a motivation, letting the reader understand why they want to live the championship is actually where most of your story is going to lie, because it can then intertwine with things like the character's sense of progress and stuff like that."

Question 4: How do you write a character who is lying to themselves or doesn't understand their own motivations?

(01:22:33) This question explores techniques for portraying characters with internal conflicts or self-deception.

• Answer:
  • Show a contrast between their stated goals and their actions or underlying needs.
    • "You can show a contrast between their stated goals and their actions or underlying needs."
  • Use a trustworthy narrator or another character to highlight the discrepancy.
  • Establish a character's competence in a smaller sphere to contrast with their larger flaws or limitations.

Conclusion

(01:23:38) The lecture ends with a reminder that the next session will cover Character, Part 2. The discussion emphasizes the importance of understanding character motivations, using flaws and limitations to create conflict, and crafting distinct character voices. It also touches on the revision process and the challenges of balancing different storytelling elements.

Lecture #10

Definitions

• Dialogue: Conversation between two or more characters in a book, play, or movie.
• Description: The act of giving a detailed account of something or someone, often used to paint a picture of the setting, characters, or objects.
• Beats: Small actions or moments of pause within dialogue or action, often used to add rhythm, pacing, or characterization.
• Introspection/Navel Gazing: A character's internal thoughts and reflections.
• Likeability: The quality of being pleasant, enjoyable, or easy to like in a character.
• Proactivity: The degree to which a character takes initiative and actively pursues their goals.
• Competence: The character's skill or ability in a particular area relevant to the story.
• Motivation: The underlying reasons or driving forces behind a character's actions and goals.
• Empathy: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
• Rooting Interest: The reader's investment in a character's goals and desires, making them want the character to succeed.
• Progress: The sense of change or development in a character, often shown through their increasing competence or movement along a specific arc.
• Iconic Hero: A character who does not significantly change in likeability, proactivity, or competence throughout the story.
• Flaw: A weakness or shortcoming in a character that they could potentially change or overcome.
• Handicap: A limitation or challenge that a character faces, often beyond their control.
• Limitation: A constraint or boundary within which a character must operate, not necessarily something to overcome.
• Info Dump: A large amount of information delivered all at once, often in a way that is considered clumsy or uninteresting.
• Maid and Butler Dialogue: Unnatural dialogue where characters explain things to each other that they already know, for the audience's benefit.
• Pyramid of Abstraction: A model for using concrete language to ground the reader before introducing abstract concepts.
• Show, Don't Tell: A writing technique that encourages showing events and character actions rather than stating them directly.
• Establishing Shot: In film, a shot that sets the scene or location; in writing, a descriptive passage that establishes the setting.
• Anchoring Descriptions: Brief descriptions used to keep the reader grounded in the setting during a scene.
• White Room Syndrome: The effect where a scene lacks sufficient description, causing the reader to imagine the characters in a blank, featureless space.
• Said Bookisms: Overly descriptive verbs used in dialogue tags (e.g., "he exclaimed," "she retorted").
• Internal Logic: The consistency and coherence of the rules and logic within a fictional world.
• External Logic: The degree to which a fictional world aligns with real-world logic and science.
• Hanging a Lantern: Acknowledging a potential plot hole or contrivance within the story, signaling to the reader that it will be addressed later.
• Gorilla in a Phone Booth: A metaphor for a distracting or illogical element in a story that pulls the reader out of the narrative.
• Revision: The process of making changes to a piece of writing to improve it.
• Alpha Readers: The first readers of a manuscript, often industry professionals or trusted colleagues, who provide feedback on major issues.
• Beta Readers: Readers who provide feedback on a manuscript after the alpha read, typically representing the target audience.
• Polish: The final stage of revision, focusing on refining prose, eliminating errors, and improving readability.
• Direct Speech: Quoting a character's exact words or thoughts.
• Free Indirect Speech: Reporting a character's thoughts or words without quotation marks, blending the character's voice with the narrator's.

Lecture Notes: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy - Character, Part 2

Introduction

(00:00:00) This lecture continues the discussion on character development, focusing on dialogue, description, beats, and introspection.

• Purpose:
  • To explore how these elements can be used to characterize and create engaging stories.
  • "Today we're going to kind of just talk about this idea of characters as elements in your story, and how do you do things like make your reader care about them."

Dialogue

(00:00:42) Strategies for using dialogue effectively to convey information, develop characters, and create engaging scenes.

Avoiding Monologues

(00:01:20) Dialogue should feel like a natural conversation, not a series of monologues.

• Problem:
  • Large blocks of uninterrupted speech from one character, followed by minimal response from another.
  • "Big dialogue chunk, then another character says, 'Ah!' and then big dialogue chunk, and the character says, 'Hmm.' You will find yourself doing this naturally, and this reads pretty poorly."
• Solution:
  • Break up dialogue into smaller chunks, with interruptions, questions, and reactions from other characters.
  • "More effective is generally when you have it look like a conversation. Bum, bum, buh, person starts to launch into, em dash, gets interrupted by other character who says, 'Wait, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.'"

Expressing Character Through Dialogue

(00:03:50) Use dialogue to reveal a character's likeability, proactivity, motivation, flaws, and competence.

• Likeability:
  • Increase: Use humor, kindness, empathy.
    • "Humor. They're funny. They're making a wisecrack. Absolutely."
  • Decrease: Make them whiny, argumentative, inconsiderate, or cruel.
    • "Whiney...Argumentative without it actually serving a purpose. Not paying attention. Making fun of the character in a way that's not funny, that's just cutting them down."
• Proactivity:
  • Show them taking initiative, offering solutions, and being enthusiastic.
  • "They talk a lot. They're really excited about this idea...They offer. When you're in the group meeting, if you ever do this, and someone volunteers to take a task, that's, like, a great thing."
• Motivation:
  • Have characters express their desires, goals, and reasons for acting.
  • "But, oh, my son...That is expressing the character's motivation."
• Flaws:
  • Reveal weaknesses, mistakes, or negative traits through their words and choices.
    • "You could make your character stubborn, where they are constantly repeating the same thing...Have them say something really stupid."
• Competence:
  • Increase: Show them having knowledge, offering insightful observations, and making informed decisions.
    • "If they know a lot about the issue and things other people don't know and put things together no one else has put together."
  • Decrease: Have them make mistakes, ask obvious questions, or demonstrate a lack of understanding.
    • "They're talking like they think they know a lot about something, but obviously they don't... 'I didn't know that.'"

Varying Character Voices

(00:08:39) Create distinct voices for each character based on their background, personality, and motivations.

• Beyond Cliches:
  • Avoid relying on simplistic tricks like removing contractions for intelligent characters.
  • "The cliched way to do this is the character who has a scientific mind doesn't use contractions...You can totally do that. But it should go further than that."
• Diction and Argument Style:
  • Reflect a character's education, social class, and personality in their word choice and how they argue.
  • "They're going to be rhetorically grounded. They're going to use-- they're going to arrange their arguments in such a way to use rhetoric. This character does not."
• Metaphors and Imagery:
  • Use metaphors and imagery that are consistent with the character's background and experiences.
  • "This character always stutters and pauses and has lots of ellipses. And wow, I can follow them all because of the diction, and of course, they're arguing for different things from different directions."
• Practice Exercise:
  • Write a scene with three characters arguing, without dialogue tags, and see if readers can distinguish them.
  • "If you can write a scene where three or four different characters are having an argument, and we can track who is who with no dialog tags, then you're starting to get there."

Dialect

(00:10:36) Use dialect sparingly and strategically.

• Less is More:
  • Avoid overusing dialect or tag words, as they can become distracting.
  • "But you don't need nearly as many as you think you need."
• Contextual Clues:
  • Provide enough context for readers to understand the meaning, even if the dialect is heavy.

Dialogue Tags and Beats

(00:19:34) Use dialogue tags and beats purposefully to control pacing and create specific effects.

• Said Bookisms:
  • Generally, favor "said" and "asked" as they are less distracting.
    • "Said and asked should be, rule of thumb, 90% of your attributions. The reason this is a rule of thumb is that said and asked are invisible to the reader, and it doesn't draw focus away from the dialogue."
  • Use other verbs sparingly for emphasis.
• Adverbs:
  • Use adverbs sparingly, and try to show rather than tell.
    • "If you have to replace shouted with someone actually emphasizing a word and being very angry, then you will write your dialogues more strongly than if you could just say, 'He said angrily, furrowing his brow.'"
• Beats:
  • Use actions or descriptions within dialogue to add variety, pacing, and characterization.
    • "You can imagine, on the page, how different it's going to be if you read a scene that looks like this. Short dialogue, short dialogue, short dialogue, short dialogue joke, short dialogue. Now change that just in your mind to beat right here."
  • Fewer beats create a faster pace; more beats slow it down and emphasize introspection.

Punctuation Marks

(00:36:35) Use punctuation to guide the reader and clarify meaning.

• Comma: Separates clauses and ideas, controls reading flow.
  • "They're not parentheticals, but they are controlling how the reader absorbs your information."
• Em Dash: Indicates a parenthetical thought or an abrupt break in the sentence.
  • "Em dash is when you say, 'I was on my way to get, I had to go get milk. Oh, and my wife had also said that I should stop by and pick up the kids on the way home-- when I got in a car wreck.'"
• Semicolon: Connects two closely related independent clauses.
• Colon: Introduces a list or a definition.
• Italics, Caps, Small Caps: Used for emphasis or to indicate a specific type of communication (e.g., telepathy, internal thoughts).

Description

(00:41:18) Use description to establish setting, ground the reader, and reveal character.

Establishing Shots

(00:48:39) Provide an overview of the setting at the beginning of a scene.

• Purpose:
  • To orient the reader to the location and create a visual image.
  • "You will often see writers start scenes with an establishing shot, which is description."
• Caution:
  • Be mindful of viewpoint; avoid starting with a character's name if the scene is not from their perspective.
  • "If you're in third limited, be careful about how you start a scene, because the first name that a reader sees is the one that they are going to assume you're in that person's head."

Anchoring Descriptions

(00:50:16) Use brief descriptions throughout a scene to keep the reader grounded.

• Purpose:
  • To prevent "white room syndrome" and maintain a sense of place.
  • "You use this sometimes as beats, which we're kind of moving into here, and sometimes just as pull back for a second, give us another sentence of description."
• Multiple Senses:
  • Engage multiple senses, not just sight, to create a richer experience.
  • "Remember description has to it more than one sense. There are five senses, depending on who you talk to. You're going to over-rely on sight."

Characterizing Through Description

(00:41:59) Use descriptions to reveal a character's personality, motivations, and perspective.

• Example:
  • Two characters with different goals (getting A's vs. getting married) will describe a classroom differently.
  • "Just try to imagine two different characters describing this classroom, one whose main goal is to get A's on every class, and it's working for them, how are they going to describe their classroom, and another whose main goal is to get married."

Beats and Action

(00:52:43) Use beats (small actions) and action sequences to create pacing, tension, and character development.

Action Sequences as Mini Arcs

(00:53:35) Structure action sequences with a clear beginning, middle, and end, including:

• Character Motivation: What does the character want to achieve?
• Plan: How does the character intend to achieve their goal?
• Progress: How does the action unfold, with steps toward or away from the goal?
• Payoff: The outcome of the action, success or failure.
• "You can do in action scenes little mini versions of each of these things. The character's like-- if it's-- how about this? There's a great scene where, in The Emperor's New Groove, there's a short action sequence where Kronk cuts a rope and drops a chandelier on Izma."

Writing Fight Scenes

(00:58:15) Tips for writing engaging and believable fight scenes.

• Back and Forth: Show small victories and changes in status quo.
• Injuries and Fatigue: Depict the physical toll of the fight on the characters.
• Knowledge of Fighting Techniques:
  • If unfamiliar with fighting techniques, use general terms or focus on the character's experience.
  • "You can use it like dialect. This character's using dialect, but we're going to make sure there are summaries periodically so that you know what's happening as the reader, even if you don't know all of these things."
  • Research and consult experts if possible.
  • "You have the advantage that you can get-- you can learn a bunch about a topic very quickly and get yourself up to, I'm making up these numbers, you can get 50% of the way to an expert on something with a minimal amount of research."

Introspection (Navel Gazing)

(01:06:07) Use introspection carefully and purposefully to reveal character and advance the story.

• Breaking it Up:
  • Avoid large blocks of introspection; intersperse with dialogue, description, and action.
  • "Try to break it up. Try to use the other things."
• Purposeful Introspection:
  • Ensure that introspection reveals character motivations, flaws, or internal conflicts.
  • "Make sure that the naval gazing is causing your reader to strengthen their motivation or change their motivation."
• Framing with Direct Thoughts:
  • Use italicized thoughts as subject sentences or concluding sentences to frame sections of introspection.
  • "I prefer thoughts right here in italics to launch us into it, and maybe a summarizing thought right here to keep us focused in the character's scene, and then a thought right at the end to summarize what the character's come-- the decision they've made."

Character Arcs

(01:07:16) Most character arcs involve a reassessment of goals and a shift from inactive to active regarding their flaw.

• Want vs. Need:
  • Characters often have to reconcile what they want with what they truly need.
  • "At some point, most flaws that's going to be the case. Sometimes you have an entire book where the character does not acknowledge their flaw until the end, and the end of book one is the character saying, 'I really need to work on this thing.'"
• Inactive to Active:
  • Characters often transition from passively accepting their flaw to actively working to change it.
• Relapse:
  • A character may temporarily regress or backslide into their flaw, creating a moment of crisis.
• Intersection of Internal and External Conflict:
  • A key moment where the character's internal struggle aligns with the external plot.

Revision

(01:13:17) The process of making changes to a piece of writing to improve it.

• Sanderson's Revision Process:
  • 1.0: First draft, focusing on plot arcs and character beats.
  • Revision Guide: A list of issues to address, from major plot problems to minor details.
  • 2.0: Major revisions based on self-assessment and revision guide.
  • Alpha Readers: Feedback from industry professionals or trusted colleagues.
  • 3.0: Revisions based on alpha reader feedback.
  • Beta Readers: Feedback from target audience readers.
  • 4.0: Revisions based on beta reader feedback.
  • 5.0: Polish draft, focusing on prose, eliminating errors, and improving readability.

Conclusion

(01:23:38) The lecture concludes with a reminder of the importance of character development and the various tools available to writers. The next session will focus on Character, Part 2, delving deeper into these concepts.

Lecture #11

Definitions

• Dialogue: Conversation between two or more characters in a book, play, or movie.
• Description: The act of giving a detailed account of something or someone, often used to paint a picture of the setting, characters, or objects.
• Beats: Small actions or moments of pause within dialogue or action, often used to add rhythm, pacing, or characterization.
• Introspection/Navel Gazing: A character's internal thoughts and reflections.
• Likeability: The degree to which a character is perceived as pleasant, enjoyable, or easy to like.
• Proactivity: The extent to which a character takes initiative and actively pursues their goals.
• Competence: The character's skill or ability in a particular area relevant to the story.
• Empathy: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
• Rooting Interest: The reader's investment in a character's goals and desires, making them want the character to succeed.
• Progress: The sense of change or development in a character, often shown through their increasing competence or movement along a specific arc.
• Iconic Hero: A character who does not significantly change in likeability, proactivity, or competence throughout the story.
• Flaw: A weakness or shortcoming in a character that they could potentially change or overcome.
• Handicap: A limitation or challenge that a character faces, often beyond their control.
• Limitation: A constraint or boundary within which a character must operate, not necessarily something to overcome.
• Motivation: The underlying reasons or driving forces behind a character's actions and goals.
• Deus Ex Machina: A plot device where a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence.
• Show, Don't Tell: A writing technique that encourages showing events and character actions rather than stating them directly.
• Info Dump: Delivering a large amount of information all at once, often in a clumsy or uninteresting way.
• Pyramid of Abstraction: A model for using concrete language to ground the reader before introducing abstract concepts.
• Maid and Butler Dialogue: Unnatural dialogue where characters explain things to each other that they already know, for the audience's benefit.
• Hanging a Lantern: Acknowledging a potential plot hole or contrivance within the story, signaling to the reader that it will be addressed later.
• Gorilla in a Phone Booth: A metaphor for a distracting or illogical element in a story that pulls the reader out of the narrative.
• Revision: The process of making changes to a piece of writing to improve it.
• Alpha Readers: The first readers of a manuscript, often industry professionals or trusted colleagues, who provide feedback on major issues.
• Beta Readers: Readers who provide feedback on a manuscript after the alpha read, typically representing the target audience.
• Polish: The final stage of revision, focusing on refining prose, eliminating errors, and improving readability.
• Direct Speech: Quoting a character's exact words or thoughts.
• Free Indirect Speech: Reporting a character's thoughts or words without quotation marks, blending the character's voice with the narrator's.
• Said Bookisms: Overly descriptive verbs used in dialogue tags (e.g., "he exclaimed," "she retorted").
• Internal Logic: The consistency and coherence of the rules and logic within a fictional world.
• External Logic: The degree to which a fictional world aligns with real-world logic and science.
• Foreshadowing: A literary device where a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story.
• McGuffin: An object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself.
• Iceberg Theory of Worldbuilding: The idea that only a small portion of the worldbuilding is visible to the reader, with a vast amount implied but not explicitly stated. The lecture argues that, in practice, writers often create a detailed surface with hints of depth, rather than a fully developed substructure.
• MICE Quotient: An organizational theory for storytelling, where M stands for Milieu, I for Inquiry, C for Character, and E for Event. It helps determine story structure, conflict types, and length.
• Milieu Story: Begins when a character enters a place and ends when they exit. Conflicts involve navigating the environment.
• Inquiry Story: Driven by a question; begins with a mystery and ends with its resolution.
• Character Story: Focuses on internal change; begins with a character's dissatisfaction or identity shift and ends with a new understanding of self.
• Event Story: Driven by external threats; begins with a disruption of the status quo and ends with a new status quo.
• Nesting: A structure where different MICE threads are enclosed within each other, like nested boxes or code.
• Try-Fail Cycle: A narrative structure where a character attempts to achieve a goal, fails, and tries again, often with escalating stakes.
• Yes, but/No, and: A method for creating conflict and consequences in a story. "Yes, but" means progress with a new problem; "No, and" means failure with worsening conditions.

Lecture Notes: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy - Character, Part 2

Introduction

(00:00:00) This lecture focuses on character development, specifically exploring how to use dialogue, description, beats, and introspection to create compelling characters.

Dialogue

(00:00:42) Dialogue is a powerful tool for conveying information, developing characters, and advancing the plot.

Avoiding Monologues

(00:01:20) Dialogue should feel like a natural conversation, not a series of monologues.

• Problem:
  • Large blocks of uninterrupted speech from one character, followed by minimal response from another. This can feel stilted and unnatural.
  • "Big dialogue chunk, then another character says, 'Ah!' and then big dialogue chunk, and the character says, 'Hmm.' You will find yourself doing this naturally, and this reads pretty poorly."
• Solution:
  • Break up dialogue into smaller chunks, with interruptions, questions, and reactions from other characters. Create a back-and-forth exchange.
  • "More effective is generally when you have it look like a conversation. Bum, bum, buh, person starts to launch into, em dash, gets interrupted by other character who says, 'Wait, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.'"

Expressing Character Through Dialogue

(00:03:50) Use dialogue to reveal a character's likeability, proactivity, motivation, flaws, and competence.

• Likeability:
  • Increase: Use humor, kindness, empathy. Show the character being liked by others.
    • "Humor. They're funny. They're making a wisecrack. Absolutely."
  • Decrease: Make them whiny, argumentative, inconsiderate, or cruel.
    • "Whiney...Argumentative without it actually serving a purpose. Not paying attention. Making fun of the character in a way that's not funny, that's just cutting them down."
• Proactivity:
  • Show them taking initiative, offering solutions, and being enthusiastic.
    • "They talk a lot. They're really excited about this idea...They offer."
• Motivation:
  • Have characters express their desires, goals, and reasons for acting.
    • "'But, oh, my son.'..That is expressing the character's motivation."
• Flaws:
  • Reveal weaknesses, mistakes, or negative traits through their words and choices.
    • "You could make your character stubborn, where they are constantly repeating the same thing...Have them say something really stupid."
• Competence:
  • Increase: Show them having knowledge, offering insightful observations, and making informed decisions.
    • "If they know a lot about the issue and things other people don't know and put things together no one else has put together."
  • Decrease: Have them make mistakes, ask obvious questions, or demonstrate a lack of understanding.
    • "They're talking like they think they know a lot about something, but obviously they don't... 'I didn't know that.'"

Varying Character Voices

(00:08:39) Create distinct voices for each character based on their background, personality, and motivations.

• Beyond Cliches:
  • Avoid simplistic tricks like removing contractions for intelligent characters.
  • "You should still have this character use slang and this character's diction reflect the academy, but the way that they argue, the way that they see the world--"
• Diction and Argument Style:
  • Reflect a character's education, social class, and personality in their word choice and how they argue.
• Metaphors and Imagery:
  • Use metaphors and imagery that are consistent with the character's background and experiences.
  • "And this character always stutters and pauses and has lots of ellipses. And wow, I can follow them all because of the diction, and of course, they're arguing for different things from different directions."
• Practice Exercise:
  • Write a scene with three characters arguing, without using dialogue tags, and see if readers can distinguish them.
  • "If you can write a scene where three or four different characters are having an argument, and we can track who is who with no dialog tags, then you're starting to get there."

Dialect

(00:10:36) Use dialect sparingly and strategically.

• Less is More:
  • Avoid overusing dialect or tag words, as they can become distracting.
  • "But you don't need nearly as many as you think you need."
• Contextual Clues:
  • Provide enough context for readers to understand the meaning, even if the dialect is heavy.

Dialogue Tags and Beats

(00:19:34) Use dialogue tags and beats purposefully to control pacing and create specific effects.

• Said Bookisms:
  • Generally, favor "said" and "asked" as they are less distracting.
  • "Said and asked should be, rule of thumb, 90% of your attributions. The reason this is a rule of thumb is that said and asked are invisible to the reader, and it doesn't draw focus away from the dialogue."
  • Use other verbs sparingly for emphasis.
• Adverbs:
  • Use adverbs sparingly, and try to show rather than tell.
  • "If you have to replace shouted with someone actually emphasizing a word and being very angry, then you will write your dialogues more strongly than if you could just say, 'He said angrily, furrowing his brow.'"
• Beats:
  • Use actions or descriptions within dialogue to add variety, pacing, and characterization.
    • "You can imagine, on the page, how different it's going to be if you read a scene that looks like this. Short dialogue, short dialogue, short dialogue, short dialogue joke, short dialogue. Now change that just in your mind to beat right here."
  • Fewer beats create a faster pace; more beats slow it down and emphasize introspection.

Punctuation Marks

(00:36:35) Use punctuation to guide the reader and clarify meaning.

• Comma: Separates clauses and ideas, controls reading flow.
• Em Dash: Indicates a parenthetical thought or an abrupt break in the sentence.
• Semicolon: Connects two closely related independent clauses.
• Colon: Introduces a list or a definition.
• Italics, Caps, Small Caps: Used for emphasis or to indicate a specific type of communication (e.g., telepathy, internal thoughts).

Description

(00:41:18) Use description to establish setting, ground the reader, and reveal character.

Establishing Shots

(00:48:39) Provide an overview of the setting at the beginning of a scene.

• Purpose:
  • To orient the reader to the location and create a visual image.
  • "You will often see writers start scenes with an establishing shot, which is description."
• Caution:
  • Be mindful of viewpoint; avoid starting with a character's name if the scene is not from their perspective.
  • "If you're in third limited, be careful about how you start a scene, because the first name that a reader sees is the one that they are going to assume you're in that person's head."

Anchoring Descriptions

(00:50:16) Use brief descriptions throughout a scene to keep the reader grounded.

• Purpose:
  • To prevent "white room syndrome" and maintain a sense of place.
  • "You use this sometimes as beats, which we're kind of moving into here, and sometimes just as pull back for a second, give us another sentence of description."
• Multiple Senses:
  • Engage multiple senses, not just sight, to create a richer experience.
  • "Remember description has to it more than one sense. There are five senses, depending on who you talk to. You're going to over-rely on sight."

Characterizing Through Description

(00:41:59) Use descriptions to reveal a character's personality, motivations, and perspective.

• Example:
  • Two characters with different goals (getting A's vs. getting married) will describe a classroom differently.
  • "Just try to imagine two different characters describing this classroom, one whose main goal is to get A's on every class, and it's working for them, how are they going to describe their classroom, and another whose main goal is to get married."

Beats and Action

(00:52:43) Use beats (small actions) and action sequences to create pacing, tension, and character development.

Action Sequences as Mini Arcs

(00:53:35) Structure action sequences with a clear beginning, middle, and end, including:

• Character Motivation: What does the character want to achieve?
• Plan: How does the character intend to achieve their goal?
• Progress: How does the action unfold, with steps toward or away from the goal?
• Payoff: The outcome of the action, success or failure.
• "You can do in action scenes little mini versions of each of these things. The character's like-- if it's-- how about this? There's a great scene where, in The Emperor's New Groove, there's a short action sequence where Kronk cuts a rope and drops a chandelier on Izma."

Writing Fight Scenes

(00:58:15) Tips for writing engaging and believable fight scenes.

• Back and Forth: Show small victories and changes in status quo.
• Injuries and Fatigue: Depict the physical toll of the fight on the characters.
• Knowledge of Fighting Techniques:
  • If unfamiliar with fighting techniques, use general terms or focus on the character's experience.
  • "You can use it like dialect. This character's using dialect, but we're going to make sure there are summaries periodically so that you know what's happening as the reader, even if you don't know all of these things."
  • Research and consult experts if possible.
  • "You have the advantage that you can get-- you can learn a bunch about a topic very quickly and get yourself up to, I'm making up these numbers, you can get 50% of the way to an expert on something with a minimal amount of research."

Introspection (Navel Gazing)

(01:06:07) Use introspection carefully and purposefully to reveal character and advance the story.

• Breaking it Up:
  • Avoid large blocks of introspection; intersperse with dialogue, description, and action.
  • "Try to break it up. Try to use the other things."
• Purposeful Introspection:
  • Ensure that introspection reveals character motivations, flaws, or internal conflicts.
  • "Make sure that the naval gazing is causing your reader to strengthen their motivation or change their motivation."
• Framing with Direct Thoughts:
  • Use italicized thoughts as subject sentences or concluding sentences to frame sections of introspection.
  • "I prefer thoughts right here in italics to launch us into it, and maybe a summarizing thought right here to keep us focused in the character's scene, and then a thought right at the end to summarize what the character's come-- the decision they've made."

Character Arcs

(01:07:16) Most character arcs involve a reassessment of goals and a shift from inactive to active regarding their flaw.

• Want vs. Need:
  • Characters often have to reconcile what they want with what they truly need.
  • "A lot of times your character arc, you're going to have a moment where the character's internal conflict aligns in some way with the external conflict."
• Inactive to Active:
  • Characters often transition from passively accepting their flaw to actively working to change it.
• Relapse:
  • A character may temporarily regress or backslide into their flaw, creating a moment of crisis.
• Intersection of Internal and External Conflict:
  • A key moment where the character's internal struggle aligns with the external plot.

Revision

(01:13:17) The process of making changes to a piece of writing to improve it.

• Sanderson's Revision Process:
  • 1.0: First draft, focusing on plot arcs and character beats.
  • Revision Guide: A list of issues to address, from major plot problems to minor details.
  • 2.0: Major revisions based on self-assessment and revision guide.
  • Alpha Readers: Feedback from industry professionals or trusted colleagues.
  • 3.0: Revisions based on alpha reader feedback.
  • Beta Readers: Feedback from target audience readers.
  • 4.0: Revisions based on beta reader feedback.
  • 5.0: Polish draft, focusing on prose, eliminating errors, and improving readability.

Conclusion

(01:23:38) The lecture concludes with a reminder of the importance of character development and the various tools available to writers. The next session will focus on Character, Part 2, delving deeper into these concepts.

Lecture #12

Definitions

• Publisher: A person or company that prepares and issues books, journals, music, or other works for sale. In the context of this lecture, it refers to the entity that oversees the entire process of publishing a book, from acquisition to marketing and distribution.
• Imprint: A specific brand or division within a larger publishing house. Each imprint may have its own editorial focus, style, and target audience.
• Big Five Publishers: The five largest publishing houses in the English-language market: Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan.
• Editorial Director: A senior-level editor who oversees the editorial department of a publishing house or imprint, responsible for managing editors and guiding the overall editorial vision.
• Editor: A person who is in charge of and determines the final content of a text, particularly a book. In publishing, editors work with authors to refine and improve their manuscripts.
• Acquisitions Editor: An editor whose primary responsibility is to find and acquire new manuscripts for the publisher. They often read through submissions, negotiate contracts with authors, and manage the early stages of the publishing process.
• Slush Pile: The unsolicited manuscripts sent to a publisher or agent, often read by junior staff or interns to identify potential acquisitions.
• Midlist Author: An author whose books consistently sell a moderate number of copies, making a profit but not becoming bestsellers. Midlist authors often have a dedicated but relatively small fan base.
• Advance: A sum of money paid to an author by a publisher prior to the publication of a book. It is an advance against future royalties, meaning the author must earn back the advance through book sales before receiving additional royalty payments.
• Query Letter: A one-page letter sent to literary agents or publishers to pitch a book and introduce the author.
• Agent: A person who acts on behalf of an author to sell their work to publishers, negotiate contracts, and manage other business aspects of the author's career.
• Vanity Press: A publishing company that charges authors fees to publish their books, often with little or no editorial, marketing, or distribution support.
• Indie Publishing: Independently publishing a book, often through self-publishing platforms, without the involvement of a traditional publisher.
• Hybrid Author: An author who publishes both through traditional publishers and through independent or self-publishing channels.
• Print on Demand: A publishing method where books are printed individually as they are ordered, rather than being printed in large quantities upfront.
• P&L (Profit and Loss Sheet): A financial statement that summarizes the revenues, costs, and expenses incurred during a specific period, used by publishers to estimate the potential profitability of a book.
• Bidding War: A situation where multiple publishers are interested in acquiring the same book, leading to competitive bidding and potentially higher advances for the author.
• Royalty: A percentage of the revenue from book sales that is paid to the author.
• Sales Force: The team responsible for selling books to retailers, distributors, and other buyers.
• Publicity: Efforts to promote a book and generate public interest, such as arranging author interviews, book tours, and media appearances.
• Marketing: The process of promoting and selling a book, including advertising, social media campaigns, and other strategies to reach potential readers.

Lecture Notes: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy - Traditional Publishing

Introduction

(00:00:00) This lecture focuses on traditional publishing, explaining the process of how a book is created, the roles of different people involved, and how to navigate the publishing industry as an author.

• Format:
  • Firehose lecture: A lot of information delivered quickly.
  • "This is going to be a bit of a firehose lecture I apologize for that I'm going to throw a lot of information at you but the good thing is it's up on YouTube so you can watch it again later if if some of this is too much for you."
  • Explanation of the book creation process.
  • Discussion of agents, marketing, and submitting to publishers.
  • "We'll be talking about agents we'll be talking about marketing yourself to publishers and that sort of thing."

The Publisher and Its Structure

(00:05:30) Explanation of the different roles within a publishing house and how they contribute to the publication of a book.

• Publisher:
  • Oversees the business side of publishing.
  • "At tour a publisher is primarily a business person and they have several people underneath them that you probably should know about."
• Imprint:
  • A smaller division within a larger publishing house (e.g., Tor Books within Macmillan).
  • "In a big company like McMillan which is one of my publishers there is an imprint called tor books which was founded by Tom Doherty back in the late 70s early 80s"
• Editorial Director:
  • Middle management in charge of editors.
  • "An editorial directors job is to oversee the editors to make sure that they are doing their jobs basically middle management in charge of editors."
• Editor:
  • Acquires books, works with authors to improve manuscripts, and acts as a project manager for each book.
  • "An editor's job is to work with an author in ways we'll explain later to take the book to make it better to perfect it and kind of be basically a project manager sorry barely read that editors kind of like a project manager their job is to oversee each project which is a book."
• Acquisitions Editor:
  • Reads through submissions (slush pile) and identifies promising manuscripts.
  • "And an acquisitions editor is somebody who reads through what we call the slush pile slush pile is all of the submissions that have been sent in to the publisher the people who want their books to be published and the acquisitions editor reads to them and finds books that they want to publish."
• Note: These roles may be combined or have different titles depending on the publishing house.

The Big Five Publishers

(00:06:10) Overview of the major players in the publishing industry.

• The five largest publishing houses: Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan.
• Most imprints are owned by one of the Big Five.
• Scholastic is a notable exception, being a large publisher not owned by the Big Five.

Direct Submission vs. Agents

(00:12:23) Discussion of the two main paths for submitting a manuscript to a publisher: directly or through a literary agent.

• Direct Submission:
  • Author submits the manuscript directly to a publisher.
  • Becoming increasingly less common.
  • "Over the years publishing has moved less direct and more agented this has been a continual trend that began decades ago and is still a continuing trend that more and more publishers are saying on their submission guidelines that they do not take on agented submissions."
• Agented Submission:
  • Author hires a literary agent to represent their work to publishers.
  • The more common path in modern publishing.
  • "This is how most books I would say these days are sold traditionally is that an author picks up an agent the agent then takes it to all the editors in town pitches the book to them picks and gets offers back goes back to the author and says here's our offers what do you want to do in these sorts of things."
• Pros of Agents:
  • Industry Knowledge: Agents have established relationships with editors and know the market.
    • "Agents are people who let's say in Hollywood agents have this kind of reputation where you know maybe this whole slimy meanness reputation and things in New York book agents generally have a very good reputation."
  • Negotiation: Agents negotiate contracts and advances on behalf of the author.
  • Editorial Support: Some agents provide editorial feedback and help authors revise their manuscripts.
  • Overseas Sales: Agents often handle foreign rights and translations.
  • "One of their jobs will be to sell these books overseas and even before my first book came out Joshua had three deals for me overseas before the book was published and this is just a thing that agents tend to be very good at."
• Cons of Agents:
  • Commission: Agents take a 15% commission on the author's earnings.
    • "Number one is they take 15% they take 15% of the two off the top of every contract in fact the way that most of the business is done the the publisher sends money to the agent who takes 15% out and sends the rest to you."
  • Editorial Control: Some agents may push for revisions that the author disagrees with.
  • "Some people say just submit the book don't go editorial you're gonna have to decide for yourself if you go traditionally traditionally published how much editorial you want from an agent and how much you're willing to take from an agent."
  • Conflict of Interest: In some cases, an agent's financial incentives may not align with the author's best interests.
  • "Sometimes there's this conflict of interest with agents and good agents will acknowledge this and we'll kind of have a blanket our job is to get the best deal for our author regardless of how much time it takes as long as the author wants to keep pushing because otherwise we run into conflict of interest levels."

The Submission Process (Direct)

(00:23:07) Step-by-step guide on how to submit a manuscript directly to a publisher.

1. Complete Novel: Finish and polish your manuscript.
   • "You would take a full and completed novel you're not selling on proposal in fiction nonfiction you can often sell in proposal."
2. Query Letter: Write a one-page query letter that includes a brief synopsis, author bio, and a hook.
   • "A query is a one-page synopsis of your book usually the format follows this sort of you know paragraph about the book little paragraph about yourself."
3. Submission: Send the query letter to editors at publishing houses, following their specific submission guidelines.
4. Sample Chapters: If an editor is interested, they will request sample chapters.
5. Full Manuscript: If the sample chapters are well-received, the editor may request the full manuscript.
6. Offer: If the editor likes the full manuscript, they may make an offer to publish the book.

Finding an Agent

(00:28:33) The process of finding a literary agent is similar to submitting directly to publishers.

• Query Letter: Write a query letter tailored to each agent, highlighting relevant experience and why you think the agent would be a good fit.
• Submission: Submit the query letter to agents, following their individual submission guidelines.
• Sample Chapters: If an agent is interested, they will request sample chapters.
• Full Manuscript: If the sample chapters are well-received, the agent may request the full manuscript.
• Offer: If the agent likes the full manuscript, they may offer representation.

The Role of Conferences and Conventions

(00:30:21) Attending conferences and conventions can be a way to network with editors and agents.

• Conventions: Fan-run events, often with some industry presence (e.g., World Fantasy Convention, Worldcon).
• Conferences: Professionally focused events with workshops, panels, and opportunities to meet editors and agents (e.g., Writers for Young Readers).
• Networking: Conferences and conventions provide opportunities to meet editors, agents, and other writers.
• Pitch Sessions: Some conferences offer formal pitch sessions where authors can pitch their books directly to editors or agents.

The Publishing Process After Acquisition

(00:56:38) The steps involved in publishing a book after it has been acquired by a publisher.

1. Offer and Negotiation: The publisher makes an offer, including an advance against royalties. The agent (if applicable) negotiates the terms of the contract.
   • "The publisher makes an offer and this is usually of an advance an advance from a publisher is money up front that is a loan against the money that book is going to earn for you over time."
2. Contract: The author and publisher sign a contract outlining the terms of publication, including rights, royalties, and responsibilities.
3. Editorial Work: The author works with an editor to revise and refine the manuscript.
   • "You work with the editor you give you you try the things they suggest some of the things they suggest you really like some you don't you come to a kind of consensus at the end of the book is now ready."
4. Cover Design: The art director creates a cover for the book, often with limited input from the author.
   • "The art directors job is to come up with a cover that will get the right audience to pick up your book not to be detail accurate to what's in the book keep that in mind."
5. Sales and Marketing: The publisher's sales force pitches the book to bookstores and other retailers. The marketing team develops a plan to promote the book.
   • "The sales force takes it around and sells it to all the on the markets all the bookstores and says you should buy that carry this number of copies it's a really important cool book that we're releasing they come up with negotiations and deals and things like that about releasing the book into the stores."
6. Publicity: The publisher arranges for publicity opportunities, such as author interviews and book tours.
7. Publication: The book is released to the public.

Indie Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing

(01:16:30) A brief overview of the differences between independent and traditional publishing, with a promise to cover indie publishing in more detail next week.

• Indie Publishing:
  • Authors have more control over the publishing process but also bear more responsibility and upfront costs.
  • "Indie publishing you're in control and you may pay for an editor you may pay for a for a cover in fact you should do both of those things and that is legit that's what you should be doing."
  • Potentially higher royalties but may require more marketing effort.
• Traditional Publishing:
  • Publishers handle most aspects of the publishing process but take a larger share of the profits.
  • Provides access to established distribution networks and marketing resources.

Additional Tips and Insights

• The Importance of Persistence: The publishing industry is highly competitive, and rejection is common. Don't give up easily.
• The Value of Revision: Revision is a crucial part of the writing process. Be open to feedback and willing to make changes to improve your work.
• The Role of Luck: While skill and hard work are essential, luck also plays a role in publishing success.
• The Changing Landscape of Publishing: The industry is constantly evolving, so it's important to stay informed about current trends and practices.
• Focus on What You Enjoy: Ultimately, write the kind of stories you are passionate about and that you believe in.

The lecture concludes with a reminder that next week's session will cover indie publishing and contracts, followed by another Q&A session.

Lecture #13 (final section)

Definitions

• Indie Publishing: Independently publishing a book, often through self-publishing platforms, without the involvement of a traditional publisher.
• Vanity Publishing: A publishing model where authors pay to have their books published, often with little or no editorial, marketing, or distribution support.
• Traditional Publishing: Publishing a book through an established publishing house that handles editing, marketing, distribution, and other aspects of the publishing process.
• Big Five Publishers: The five largest publishing houses in the English-language market: Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan.
• Imprint: A specific brand or division within a larger publishing house (e.g., Tor Books within Macmillan).
• Publisher: The head of a publishing house or imprint, responsible for the business side of operations.
• Editorial Director: A senior-level editor who oversees the editorial department, managing editors and guiding the overall editorial vision.
• Editor: Acquires books, works with authors on revisions, and manages the publication process for individual titles.
• Acquisitions Editor: An editor whose primary responsibility is to find and acquire new manuscripts.
• Slush Pile: Unsolicited manuscripts sent to a publisher or agent.
• Midlist Author: An author whose books consistently sell a moderate number of copies, making a profit but not becoming bestsellers.
• Advance: A sum of money paid to an author by a publisher prior to publication, which is an advance against future royalties.
• Query Letter: A one-page letter sent to literary agents or publishers to pitch a book and introduce the author.
• Agent: A person who represents an author, selling their work to publishers, negotiating contracts, and managing other business aspects.
• Royalty: A percentage of the revenue from book sales that is paid to the author.
• Net: The amount of money a publisher receives after deductions (e.g., retailer discounts, returns).
• Print on Demand: A publishing method where books are printed individually as they are ordered.
• Hybrid Author: An author who publishes both traditionally and independently.
• Platform Writer: An author who uses an existing platform (e.g., blog, social media following) to market their books.
• Co-op: Cooperative advertising where publishers and booksellers share the cost of promoting a book.
• Most Favored Nations Clause: A contractual clause that guarantees an author the same favorable terms as any other author signed by the publisher.
• Back Channeling: A form of conversation where a listener provides feedback to show they understand.

Lecture Notes: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy - Indie Publishing

Introduction

(00:00:00) This lecture focuses on indie publishing, comparing it to traditional publishing, and discussing strategies for success in the indie market.

• Format:
  • Firehose lecture: A lot of information delivered quickly.
  • "This will be another fire hose session I apologize for that but it is going to happen uh we will slow down next week for our last week where we will I will do q a on publishing questions from you so hold your questions."
• Collaboration:
  • Notes and insights from Jennifer Peale and Becky Monson, two indie-published romance novelists, are incorporated.
  • "I want to thank in particular Jennifer Peale and Becky Monson um these two are the students I have this year who are professional romance novelists who took the class because they wanted to try something new and learn some fantasy and science fiction uh they're both indie published and they have been an enormous research source for preparing this lecture."

A Brief History of Indie Publishing

(00:01:42) The lecture provides a simplified overview of the evolution of indie publishing.

• Early Indie Publishing:
  • Difficult and often associated with vanity publishing.
  • Limited success without established distribution channels.
  • "Back in the day if you wanted to be independently published it was really hard some people still did it and were successful uh famously the Christmas box was an independent book back in the day Aragon was a uh an indie book back before the um the big change ever happened in about 2010."
• Vanity Publishing:
  • Authors pay a press to publish their books, often receiving little support and ending up with unsold copies.
  • "Vanity publishing would be you go to a press you pay a bunch of money you are your book is published but you get five thousand copies which you store in your garage and occasionally give away or maybe sell."
• The Digital Revolution (2010):
  • The rise of e-books and platforms like Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) transformed the landscape.
  • "Something happened in 2010 um the digital revolution finally hit books."
  • Indie authors gained more control and access to readers.
• Impact on Traditional Publishing:
  • E-book and audiobook sales grew significantly, while print sales stabilized.
  • "My royalty statements went from a handful of ebook copies being sold the air just tiny numbers you know earnings and they're like your ebook earnings this uh this quarter were 53 dollars to suddenly 20 to 30 percent of my business moving uh digital in one year."
  • Midlist authors were particularly affected, with many shifting to indie publishing.
  • "Midlist book is a book that makes money for the publisher pays for itself but doesn't make so much that it's really funding anything else these are successful books by career authors who have a dedicated fan base but not a huge one these people were very important to publishing for many many many years because them an aggregate would be as much money to the publisher as their few headliners of which they'd only have a couple and so keep maintaining a really strong mid list was a very important part of the business however some things have happened one is in the publishing and indie publishing has began to bite in out that mid list quite a bit take big chunks out of it because generally if you're a mid list author it is more profitable for you to independently publish than it is to publish with a publisher."
  • Publishers became more focused on "hits" and bestsellers.

Why Choose Indie Publishing?

(00:12:10) Jennifer Peale and Becky Monson's insights on the advantages of indie publishing.

• Flexibility:
  • More control over publishing timelines, book length, and series length.
  • Ability to target the market quickly and adapt to trends.
  • "Independently publishing if you are indie published one of the things you can do is you can target the market much faster and better you also are flexible in how you publish um you're flexible in determining um you know how long your series is how long your book is you are your soul you are in charge of all of this."
• Control:
  • Full control over cover design, back cover copy, pricing, and promotions.
  • "You decide what goes on the cover review book you decide what goes on the back summary of your book you decide the pricing of your book you decide when something is up for sale you decide when it's not up for sale you decide what promotions you want to be part of."
• Money:
  • Authors keep a larger percentage of the revenue (around 70% on many platforms).
  • "When you are self-publishing you keep the lion's share of the money."
• Accessibility:
  • Indie publishing can provide opportunities to achieve things that are also possible in traditional publishing, such as getting into bookstores, securing movie deals, and gaining recognition.

Strategies for Success in Indie Publishing

(00:22:10) Tips and advice for authors considering the indie route.

• Platform Writer vs. Rapid Release:
  • Platform Writer: Building an audience through a blog, social media, or other platform before publishing. (Example: Larry Correia)
    • "A platform writer which i think is mostly my term for it others might call it something else is somebody who has a really great platform that draws a lot of attention and they use that as publicity to market their novels."
  • Rapid Release: Publishing multiple books in quick succession to gain visibility and build momentum. (Example: Bella Forrest)
    • "They say that your next book is usually the best piece of marketing you can make for your previous book this stands in traditional publishing as well it is a good rule of thumb that generally making sure your next book is coming out in a timely way is more valuable to you as a marketing tool than anything else."
• Community Involvement:
  • Join online groups and forums for indie authors (e.g., 20 Books to 50k).
  • Attend conferences that cater to indie authors.
• Treat it Like a Business:
  • Invest time and money in professional editing, cover design, and marketing.
  • "You must run it like a business you must be willing to put in hours and invest money we'll talk about that in a minute uh you must write a killer book or more than one before you release rapid release can be your friend it gives you more ways to market."
• Quality Matters:
  • Don't compromise on quality; ensure your book looks and reads professionally.
  • "Do everything you to make sure it doesn't look like an indie book uh this is their their next point this is really important this is the one where most people um mess up you need a really good cover and you have to pay for a good cover."
• Amazon Exclusivity vs. Going Wide:
  • Amazon Exclusivity (Kindle Unlimited): Offers a better deal and inclusion in the Kindle Unlimited program but limits distribution to Amazon.
    • "If you are willing to sign up for Amazon exclusively you get a better deal um generally um they put you on Kindle Unlimited which is the kind of subscription service on Amazon where people subscribe to it pay a monthly uh fee and then they Amazon pays you based on the number of words they're read."
  • Going Wide: Distributing to multiple platforms (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, etc.) for broader reach but potentially lower royalties on Amazon.
    • "Going wide means you're putting it not just on Amazon but on all the different platforms uh which can give you a wider net but a slightly worse deal and not quite as good of marketing uh from Amazon."

Costs of Indie Publishing

(00:25:17) Breakdown of typical expenses for indie authors.

• Editing:
  • Copy Edit: $0.007 - $0.009 per word
    • "For a copy edit I'll explain these in a second you are looking at point zero zero seven through point zero zero nine cents a word."
  • Content Edit: $0.012 - $0.0125 per word
    • "Content editing you are looking for uh looking at around uh 1.2 cents to 1.25 oh sorry um 0.0125 uh dollars um a word."
  • Proofreading: $0.003 per word
    • "And proofreading is around point zero zero three uh a word."
• Cover Design:
  • $500 - $2,000+ (depending on quality and artist)
• Layout (for Print):
  • May be necessary for print books to ensure proper formatting.

Advertising and Marketing

(00:53:34) Strategies for promoting an indie-published book.

• Social Media:
  • Maintain a presence on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (though effectiveness varies).
  • "They mentioned by the way that Facebook and Instagram works for them and Twitter doesn't work much for them anymore uh I know other people have been very successful with Twitter but uh you're gonna have to you know pick some social media platforms and do a good job with them."
• Website:
  • Have a professional website to showcase your books and provide information to readers.
  • "Have a professional website yes have a website that looks professional and if you're not going to update it often make it look nice without you know a date saying when things were posted."
• Blog Tours:
  • Participate in blog tours to reach new readers through guest posts and promotions on other blogs.
  • "They suggest bloggers and blog tours um I have no realistic understanding of how valuable these are a lot of people do them where they all share posts on different people's blogs this is a very common practice."
• Paid Advertisements:
  • Consider paid advertising on platforms like Amazon, Facebook, and BookBub. (Note: Amazon advertising has become increasingly important but also expensive.)
  • "Paid advertisements we talked about those author cross promotion uh basically um doing events with other authors particularly when you're new I have found to be very effective."
• Author Cross-Promotion:
  • Collaborate with other authors for joint events, promotions, and marketing efforts.
• Email List:
  • Build an email list to connect directly with readers and promote new releases. (Considered a highly effective marketing tool.)
  • "Build an email list uh let me emphasize this one um email lists tend to be your best uh marketing tool as long as your email list is a good one that you're not spamming people with it."
• Conventions and Book Signings:
  • Attend conventions and do book signings to connect with readers and build a fanbase. (Note: These are more about building long-term connections than immediate sales.)
  • "Conventions and book signings to connect with readers and build a fanbase. (Note: These are more about building long-term connections than immediate sales.)"

The Changing Landscape of Indie Publishing

(00:31:40) Discussion of how the indie publishing market has evolved and the challenges authors face.

• Amazon's Dominance:
  • Amazon controls a significant portion of the e-book market (around 80%).
  • "Amazon controls a significant portion of the e-book market (around 80%)."
• Pay-to-Play Model:
  • Amazon's advertising platform has become increasingly important for visibility, requiring authors to invest in ads to reach readers.
  • "Amazon charging authors uh to advertise their books on Amazon has become a major source of income for Amazon and in the beginnings of the indie book revolution it was all all of Amazon's recommendations were based solely on what did people who read this book also like."
• Competition:
  • The indie market is becoming more crowded, making it harder for new authors to stand out.
• Scams:
  • Be wary of companies or individuals who promise to help with indie publishing but charge excessive fees or offer little value.
  • "There are a lot of scams out there for trying to prey upon indie authors there are a ton of these and one of the best things you can do is remember that um be very skeptical of anyone asking you for money."

Traditional Publishing Contracts and Royalties

(00:35:46) Explanation of how contracts and royalties work in traditional publishing.

• Advance:
  • An upfront payment against future royalties.
  • "An advance from a publisher is money up front that is a loan against the money that book is going to earn for you over time."
  • Typical advances for first-time authors range from $5,000 to $20,000, often split into installments.
  • "Usually advances for first-time authors are around 10k they range between 5 and 20 okay but last time I saw one of the polls that said what did you get on your first book it was around 10k."
• Royalties:
  • A percentage of the book's revenue paid to the author.
  • Print Royalties: Typically based on the cover price.
    • Hardcover: 10-15%
    • Trade Paperback: ~10%
    • Mass Market Paperback: 6-8%
  • E-book and Audiobook Royalties: Typically based on net receipts (what the publisher receives after retailer discounts).
    • E-book: 25% of net
    • Audiobook: 25-40% of net
• Negotiation:
  • Agents negotiate contract terms, including the advance and royalty rates.
  • Authors may have limited negotiating power, especially for their first book.
• Earning Out:
  • An author must earn back their advance through royalties before receiving additional royalty payments.
  • "Earning out is where your royalties match the amount they gave you up front and then you start earning more money."

The Role of Literary Agents

(00:12:23) Discussion of the pros and cons of working with a literary agent.

• Pros:
  • Industry Knowledge: Agents have established relationships with editors and know the market.
  • Negotiation: Agents negotiate contracts and advances on behalf of the author.
  • Editorial Support: Some agents provide editorial feedback.
  • Overseas Sales: Agents often handle foreign rights and translations.
• Cons:
  • Commission: Agents take a 15% commission on the author's earnings.
  • Editorial Control: Some agents may push for revisions that the author disagrees with.
  • Conflict of Interest: In some cases, an agent's financial incentives may not align with the author's best interests.

Conclusion

(01:16:30) The lecture concludes by encouraging writers to consider both traditional and indie publishing options and to do thorough research to make informed decisions.

• Hybrid Approach:
  • Consider a hybrid approach, pursuing both traditional and indie publishing for different projects.
  • "If I were me trying to break in right now I would try going hybrid meaning I would write some books and I would then decide are these best traditional or these best indie."
• Research and Networking:
  • Talk to other authors, both traditionally and independently published, to learn from their experiences.
  • Attend conferences and join online communities to stay informed about industry trends.
• Focus on Writing:
  • Ultimately, the most important thing is to write the best book you can and to keep writing.

The lecture emphasizes the importance of understanding the publishing landscape, both traditional and indie, and making informed choices based on one's individual goals, resources, and preferences.

Attn Story Hackers: How these notes were created

I saw the post from @alex Lutz referring to Brandon Sanderson's 2020 lecture series at BYU. I'd never run across this, so it was a great new resource for me. Thanks Alex!

I also saw that the series is 13-14 hours total, and I know I'm flawed, inattentive, lazy, and slothful (like all adherents of the Oxford comma cult), so it seemed like a good opportunity to try out some LLM tools to see if I could get a set of lecture notes detailed enough that I could just read those and get most of the pertinent information.

My first thought was to use my local n8n server and copy a reference plan for getting transcripts from YouTube and analyzing them. However, I have not had a great experience with n8n in the past and this time was no different. I originally installed it to use as a quick no-code way to create small private applications for my farm team, but it's been a little fussy from the start. Once I caught myself yelling at the computer, I decided to switch gears and be a little more manual. The n8n solution should have allowed me to feed in the YouTube URLs and get a Discord message with the notes, pretty minimal effort on my part if it had worked.

My next and really only choice for the LLM/interface was through my Google AI Studio account. I wanted to use one of the very large context window models and I particularly like the Gemini experimental 1206 release, which isn't clearly labeled as such but is apparently an updated Flash 2.0 model, released in early December 2024. I've had good luck with it for coding architecture tasks in the past, so I thought it might be good at this kind of relatively formal writing. This model's input context window length through the AI Studio interface is a pretty impressive two million tokens, enough to handle a lot of instructions and an hour long transcript.

To get the transcripts, I probably could have used AI Studio to directly ingest the videos, but because I was still in my troubleshooting mindset from n8n, I used a free online transcript generator. There are quite a few out there, so I don't know if your choice matters, but I used https://notegpt.io/youtube-transcript-generator. Again, this is probably not the best way to do it, but it wasn't much additional work for me, just wait for a few seconds for the transcript and then paste the whole thing into AI Studio.

AI Studio allows you to set custom instructions for the prompt. I started out with some instructions I copied from Daniel Miessler's project, Fabric (https://github.com/danielmiessler/fabric/). Mr Miessler has some pretty cool ideas about how to employ LLMs in your daily life; I recommend checking out his other projects if you have any interest. Fabric is intended as a command line tool to call AI applications that leverage LLMs on text files, using an extensive series of specialized prompts, but you can also go into the "patterns" subdirectory on that github repo page and just directly read the prompts. I tried out a couple and decided that, while none of the really fit the bill (they're more geared towards very brief summaries, even with long input content), this https://github.com/danielmiessler/fabric/blob/main/patterns/summarize_lecture/system.md was the closest.

I used that prompt as a framework and did a little googling to find some kind of guide for a more extensive and detailed note-taking process. I ended up with these as my references:
https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/effective-note-taking-in-class/
https://www.oxfordlearning.com/5-effective-note-taking-methods/
https://www.student.unsw.edu.au/note-taking-skills
https://lsc.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Cornell-NoteTaking-System.pdf

After I made my final prompt (with a little testing on slight variations), I was able to set the prompt as the system instruction in AI Studio and feed it the transcripts one by one, then copy and paste those into my gist. Gemini took about 2-3 minutes to generate each transcript.

Here is the final prompt I decided on:

IDENTITY and PURPOSE

As an organized, high-skill expert lecturer, your role is to extract information from a lecture transcript and provide a detailed set of lecture notes using bullet points and lists of definitions for each subject. You will also include timestamps to indicate where in the video these notes are from.

Before starting, think step-by-step about how you would do this. You will generally follow the outlining method of note-taking, with some modifications, as detailed in the STEPS section below. Here is a summary of the process. First, you will read the entire transcript. Next, you will create an outline listing each major topic, each subtopic for every major topic, and each key point for every subtopic. If the subtopics are further broken down into sub-subtopics, extend the notes' structure as necessary. Then go back over the outline and add one telegraphic sentence to summarize each major topic, one or two telegraphic sentence(s) for each subtopic or sub-subtopic etc., and one to three telegraphic sentence(s) for each key point. Use only as many sentences as you need to capture all of the important information.

HOW TO TELL WHAT IS IMPORTANT

Distinguish between main points, elaboration, examples, waffle or filler, and new points by listening for:

• introductory remarks. Lectures often begin with a useful overview of the key ideas or themes of a topic. This helps you grasp the big picture.
• verbal signposts that indicate something important is about to be said. Lecturers often signal key information with phrases like: “There are four main aspects”, “This is important…” or “To sum up”.
• repetition. Important points will often be repeated, especially in introductions and conclusions.
• final remarks. Most lectures conclude with a summary, a restatement of the main ideas and an indication of how the topic connects with upcoming material.

STEPS

1. Fully consume the transcript as if you're watching or listening to the content.
2. Think deeply about the major topics learned, and what was the most relevant supporting information in the content for each topic.
3. Pay close attention to the structure, especially when it includes bullet points, lists, definitions, and headers. Ensure you divide the content in the most effective way.
4. Note each major topic as a headline. Include a timestamp of where it first occurs in the transcript. The timestamp should come from the nearest timestamp at or earlier in the transcript where the topic is first discussed in detail.
5. Under each major topic, make notes of each of the subtopics that supports it, and sub-subtopics if needed. Include timestamps. Organize this properly with markdown.
6. Under each subtopic, note all key points or information supporting that subtopic. Do not add timestamps to the key points.
7. For each key point in the notes, add up to three telegraphic sentences explaining that point and memorializing the key information, based on the lecture transcript and the notes only, without making guesses. Also include a direct quote from the lecture that best explains or defines the key point.
8. For each subtopic in the notes, add one or two telegraphic sentences defining and explaining the subtopic, based on the lecture transcript and the notes only, without making guesses.
9. For each major topic in the notes, add one telegraphic sentence defining the topic, based on the lecture transcript and the notes only, without making guesses.
10. Review and edit the notes for accuracy. If you had not seen the transcript, and only read the notes, could you find every important piece of information in the lecture, including the timestamps for topics and subtopics? If not, identify the area or areas in the notes that lack the relevant information and update that section of the notes to include it.
11. Repeat the review and edit step 10 until you don't find any missing information from the notes compared to the lecture transcript.
12. Ensure the notes are formatted according to the OUTPUT INSTRUCTIONS below. If they are not, reformat them and then go back to step 10.
13. Review the lecture transcript and the notes. This time, look for any words or phrases that were explicitly defined during the lecture, or for which it may be helpful to include a definition. At the top of the notes, add a "Definition" section with each term and definition listed.

OUTPUT INSTRUCTIONS

You only output Markdown.

In the markdown, use formatting like bold, highlight, headlines as # ## ### , blockquote as > , code block in necessary as {block_code}, lists as * , etc. Make the output maximally readable in plain text.

Create the output using the formatting above.

Do not start items with the same opening words.

Use middle ground/semi-formal speech for your output context.

To ensure the summary is easily searchable in the future, keep the structure clear and straightforward.

Ensure you follow ALL these instructions when creating your output.

Ensure all output timestamps are sequential and fall within the length of the content, e.g., if the total length of the video is 24 minutes. (00:00:00 - 00:24:00), then no output can be 01:01:25, or anything over 00:25:00 or over!