Welcome to the ninth lecture of my BYU 2020 creative writing class focused on writing science fiction and fantasy. Today's class is the Q&A on characters.
Пікірлер: 691
@calzone79612 жыл бұрын
I'm gonna give a shoutout to the girl playing terraria, thanks for paying for this class so I can enjoy Sanderson's lectures
@DavidKnote-239 ай бұрын
I love that
@TokenCast8 ай бұрын
Bless you
@MaximilianonMars6 ай бұрын
Great game, but not the best time to play it
@therealPman219Ай бұрын
she's worldbuilding.
@mac_without_cheese610218 күн бұрын
i will say, i played sdv thru a class session once and paid the most attention and retained the most info i had at all that year. i hope the same worked for her lmao
@annalisemartin50553 жыл бұрын
Gotta give props to those students who are paying for this lecture and therefor paying for my college level education too.
@lordextinction8322 Жыл бұрын
Now I kinda feel bad that we're watching this for free. *My wallet* I don't!
@TheOpossumtx Жыл бұрын
Obxx@@xxnxxxxxx poo
@josephevers9312 Жыл бұрын
@@lordextinction8322 Don't worry they're also receiving about 4 more years worth of courses curated into a focused study to refine the education
@Ironworthstriking Жыл бұрын
@@josephevers9312 they’re also writing stories and receiving feedback from peers and professors.
@jonathondoran76497 ай бұрын
They are also receiving college credit.
@sofiaamm4 жыл бұрын
if i was even a third as invested in my online classes as i am in these lectures...
@65Drums4 жыл бұрын
I don't even write and I keep watching these for some reason. They are so interesting
@tovekauppi16164 жыл бұрын
65 Drums same, I tried to write a bit when I was younger but it’s been years since I tried to write anything. But I know that Brandon Sanderson is really interesting and he says good things.
@cjs42473 жыл бұрын
@@65Drums Watching someone knowledgeable talk about something they're passionate about is usually pretty enjoyable regardless of the topic!
@jnew60663 жыл бұрын
LOLLLLL
@johnkorns23493 жыл бұрын
Good teachers........
@calebvejvoda56263 жыл бұрын
Time stamps 1. Establish empathy (save the cat) 5:18 2. Establish rooting interest (motivations; why can’t they have it) 8:05 3. Showing progress 10:29 4. Sliding scales (likability, proactivity, competence) 12:26 5. The journey (stories work by a sense of progress or awesomeness overload)(start by showing a difference between what the character wants and what they need) 24:19 6. Flaws, limitations, and handicaps 26:40 7. Quirks 34:58 8. Flaws, limitations, and handicaps defined 38:20 Q&A Multiple character viewpoints 40:45 Goals and motivations 44:56
@cactustree5053 жыл бұрын
@Caleb Vejvoda Thanks!
@amehak19223 жыл бұрын
Very helpful
@CalebWimble3 жыл бұрын
Replies like this should always be the top-voted one.
@gavasiarobinssson51083 жыл бұрын
Thank you sir
@zigguratigaming26493 жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@thejoydecision7243 жыл бұрын
I wanna say thanks to the on-site students. Asking good questions and bringing a cool vibe.
@xarmanhsh29812 жыл бұрын
I AM SO JELLY
@memcgiffin2 жыл бұрын
@@xarmanhsh2981 wha…?
@andrewwagner73632 жыл бұрын
@@memcgiffin jealous of the students that are there
@greatcoldemptiness4 ай бұрын
Nah its cringe when they overlaugh at everything. I hated that about university
@SirenQueenWrites29 күн бұрын
@@greatcoldemptiness have you considered that maybe..... they're genuinely enjoying this? Imagine being so dead inside that other people's joy is an inconvenience to you.
@bustersbrain3 жыл бұрын
I am a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson even though I have not yet read any of his books.
@vinnieandhispizza62992 жыл бұрын
That was me before I read Mistborn.
@itzfreyy5322 жыл бұрын
@@vinnieandhispizza6299 why? is mistborn bad ? Am gonna buy that book cuz it has very great reviews but is it bad ?
@freddyyamunaque91932 жыл бұрын
@@itzfreyy532 Mistborn is a great book, the only issue is that is from the BrandoSando beginnings and is not of his best characters. But is way better than 80% of the YA books out there. So yes, buy it, something tells me that you will like that book.
@setroid82352 жыл бұрын
@@itzfreyy532 To truthfully make the claim Buster's Brain made, you can't have read any of his books. Thus when you read any of his books, you can't truthfully make that claim. If you read Mistborn as Vinnie and his Pizza did then you will cease to "have not read any of his books". :P
@starmorpheus2 жыл бұрын
@@setroid8235 Yeah I think that's what he meant haha.
@KingAdeft2 жыл бұрын
I've taken a lot of writing classes at this point. I took James Patterson's writing class. I took a creative writing class as well as some other generall writing classes from this adult school thing. I've also listened to other lectures and done extensive research on writing a novel. Nothing has been nearly as useful as these free videos. Nothing. I wish I would have watched these before I wrote my first book. In other classes, I feel like I'm being talked down to, and I feel like the teacher is hiding things. They teach the most general and obvious things (to me). Brandon on the other hand...it's almost like every idea is revelation. Some of his points are things I kind of understand, but then the way he explains boosts my understanding of it a ton. These videos are so incredibly practical. Also, the other students' questions are actual questions I have myself. Thank you so much Brandon for teaching this class, especially in such a fun and engaging way.
@BarefootDani Жыл бұрын
I agree! and also highly recommend Brandon's (and other very cool authors!!) podcast named writing excuses. so many great writing tips!
@tatyanaivanshov11 ай бұрын
i like the way he organizes concepts. usually i know everything he's talking about but he frames them in such a refreshing way that suddenly its not as muddled or confusing, or even overwhelming. Sometimes there will be terms that he separates and gives distinctive definitions of, and other times he will just give things a slightly different meaning which helps a lot with getting out of my head.
@RedtsunamiTed4 жыл бұрын
Start low end high. Start high end low. My screenwriting teacher said every single scene should either go low to high or high to low. And if it doesn't do that then you better have a damn good reason for the scene. I like to pause movies and see exactly where the low-high, high-low happens. It's kind of neat! Of course he also said that if you're writing a comedy there better be a joke/gag every minute. That class was exhausting. Comedy is so freaking hard to write y'all.
@2sthimo4493 жыл бұрын
What specifically are you referring to with high and low?
@maybecole3 жыл бұрын
@@2sthimo449 I'm interpreting that as low action to high action, and high-action to low action. No scene that is just in the middle the whole way. Stagnation is bad, essentially.
@nopatterns58372 жыл бұрын
@@2sthimo449 The escalation and and de-escalation of tension aka conflict in a scene. Whether that's action or dialogue.
@alethearia2 жыл бұрын
In film language we see this as emotional intensity in a scene and it's shown in the shot order. So You come in with a wider shot, get a mid shot and establish the mood. You move in as things get more intense or closer to the emotions, and then back out as we disengage. It's really cool to see the same things happen in books.
@AshtonTheMelon Жыл бұрын
@@2sthimo449 A practical example of High to Low may be a fight scene that either culminates with an emotional moment by the end or, in a physical sense, wears the protagonist down. The hallway fight scene from Daredevil season 1 is the first thing that comes to my mind. We see Matt start this encounter guns (or rather fists) blazing. At first, he is taking on multiple assailants with high intensity, but as the scene progresses everyone is worn out. Matt, the bad guys, even the audience, all feel the fleeting struggle that everyone is going through in this brutal Scooby-Doo-esque situation. The scene has lots of meaning for the plot of the show and Matt's character, but keeping discussion around the ideas of High to Low, my immediate take away is it shows Matt's dedication and headstrong nature. The very thing he says is emblematic of a Murdock; like his father was someone who wouldn't stay down. That can be uplifting of an idea. But by the time the scene is over, we also get to see the foil that spirit leaves on him. We go from those idealistic heroics to a man beat to a pulp surrounded by bodies. There are probably far better takes of the concept out there, but this is what comes to me.
@orngjce2233 жыл бұрын
So, here's the trick I have, as a 95+% discovery writer: If the characters aren't going where I want them to go, I open a new separate text document, sit down with them (sometimes framed as a dream where I use some sort of mentor figure as a mouthpiece if they aren't going to talk to *me* me), and just straight-up ask them why they're doing this, where they want to go instead, and then see if we can brainstorm together about where this goes next. I then file this conversation away in my cutting-room floor file (the same place I put the "darlings" that I have to cut from the story). I've practiced this so much that I now have these conversations with my characters inside my head while in the shower, or while walking the dog, or whatever. But a text file works really well if they won't talk to me that way.
@calvinsbeard74233 жыл бұрын
That would actually make a really interesting story in its own right. Giving your characters a Mt. Sinai moment where you, the author, reveal yourself to them as their creator and interact with them? I'd totally read that!
@jakehopkins69893 жыл бұрын
@@calvinsbeard7423 Yes, it would be an interesting format.
@Newfiecat2 жыл бұрын
As a hardcore plotter, this right here is why discovery writers are fascinating to me. Wish I could do this sort of thing! Alas, my brain just doesn't function that way...
@mattiOTX Жыл бұрын
This is actually a pretty good idea I think I'll use. Thanks for this. When I write a lot of my conversation between characters is pretty organic but that's probably because of my own background in psychology and I've put together rather complex people so I just let them chat in my head while I listen and adjust things to get a few different paths they can take.
@SummerDale33 Жыл бұрын
@@calvinsbeard7423 You might like: kzbin.info/aero/PLj4N-R1RQxAuAQ4qBpaUbGLb1ZWpWySAz My favorite part (I don't remember which season it's in) is when the character says she finally understands what's going on and the author says, "Well I don't! None of this was in the outline!"
@roceb50094 жыл бұрын
1:00:00 speaking as a PhD candidate in at an R1 institution, a protip on writing dialog for academics (in a modern, empiricist tradition): academics tend to hedge *a lot* more than normal people. if you have your "academic" character basically ever use the word "every" or "all", that's a red flag, unless they follow it up immediately with something to qualify that statement's scope. Chidi Anagonye is a caricature, but he's one that cuts deep.
@imperium35564 жыл бұрын
Can confirm! Especially in the sciences, you're often advised not to state anything definitely because in general you can't be sure whether further experiments will disprove your current understanding. The situations where you *can* be totally sure are actually pretty rare, even in basic stuff they teach to first-year undergraduates.
@thac0twenty3773 жыл бұрын
at a certain point in education you realize there are few absolutes. Even a 0.0001 percent chance of error disallows those types of statements
@invisiblog3 жыл бұрын
I wish I could like this comment twice
@bahhesaid3 жыл бұрын
Incredibly true! Also - coming from political science - wanting to define exactly what we are talking about in a discussion. I find myself doing this way too often...
@isaac102313 жыл бұрын
Only exception to that rule might be mathematics by its very nature.
@imjaylon83752 жыл бұрын
This guys needs to go teach hollywood writers. They need the help.
@KingAdeft2 жыл бұрын
Lolll
@arksine4 жыл бұрын
37:00 I’m going to give an example of using quirks that become so much better when connected, from the famous manga One Piece. Character: A retired general in a fishing village Quirk: Has a pinwheel on his cap Motivation: while this seems random quirk at first, a flashback establishes that when heroine was a baby, she was scared of the general’s ferocious face, so she would cry anytime he got close to play with her. But she starts laughing when the general experimentally snaps on a pinwheel on his hat. Ever since, he has always kept the pinwheel on, because he could make that girl laugh and he could get close to her without being scary. Years pass, bringing struggles and loneliness to the girl, all through which he keeps the pinwheel on his head to be a source of her laughter. And finally, when the girl makes trustworthy friends and goes on an adventure around the world with them, the general takes off the pinwheel because the girl now has a reason to laugh happily other than his pinwheel.
@nagisadies79673 жыл бұрын
Reineeeeeer!
@suf1an6582 жыл бұрын
Is that the guy from Arlong park
@arksine2 жыл бұрын
@@suf1an658 aye
@drishti8822 Жыл бұрын
Man these manga writers have some other level of creativity
@MMAFIGHTER137 Жыл бұрын
Nami (the herione) also gets a pinwheel tattoo on her arm before leaving with her friends showing just how deep on an impact it had on her.
@bilalkhares93373 жыл бұрын
'Repeated for the internet audience' thanks Brandon! :)
@EDDIELANE3 жыл бұрын
Hodor was a one-note character who really paid off in the end.
@scramblebluejay15593 жыл бұрын
Hey we got a third syllable out of him eventually
@marciasantos87483 жыл бұрын
B. B. B. Oooooobooooooobooobb hbo. J,voohooiuzuz
@dustyherrin273 жыл бұрын
Honestly in the books he is way less riveting of a character
@danielgonzalez-pf5el3 жыл бұрын
He is more of a plot tool for Bran than an actual character.
@gwenminor92443 жыл бұрын
I just wonder how tf other countries translated that twist
@shines92904 жыл бұрын
"What do you want for lunch, Michael?" "I want my soooooooooon!" I spit out my tea. hahahaaaaaaa My husband and I couldn't stand that character. He basically only had one line for a season- "They took my son!"
@popkhorne53723 жыл бұрын
"But he is BOOORING !" Lmao
@francorodriguez34993 жыл бұрын
From what series is the character
@penkaur3 жыл бұрын
Me too hahahaha
@sterlingmuse58083 жыл бұрын
@@francorodriguez3499 Lost
@eraz0rhead3 жыл бұрын
A big problem with Michael is that it's really hard to give someone a different motivation when you've kidnapped their son. If someone kidnaps your son, you bet it's going to overshadow everything else going on in your life (apart from, maybe basic survival). So the lesson here? Avoid motivations that overshadow everything else unless you're going to make progress immediately.
@aqsajameel.2930 Жыл бұрын
1. Establishing Empathy -Show that the character is like us. that they are relatable . -Show that they are nice. -Let them Save the Cat. -Show people liking them. 2. Establishing rooting interest -Show that what the character wants is interesting to us -Show us their Motivation. -Characters who want things are naturally more interesting to us than characters who don't. -What do they want? -Why can't they have it? -Establish personal connection to the plot -Suddenly it's personal. 3. Progress -How are the characters going to change? -A flaw that they have. -Character Journey. -Mystery or Question -Willl they be able to become the thing that we know they can become. -What is going to change.
@aariuswins4 ай бұрын
You’re a champion thank you
@BlacklitStar4 жыл бұрын
Brandon thanks for more exposition on how to do everything involving the writing process. Have a blessed one with your family and stay safe.
@UdyKumra4 жыл бұрын
Last time I was this early, Kelsier and Mare were robbing a house.
@MrHitsugaya4 жыл бұрын
Last time I was this early there were murderous penguins
@frylxvii56744 жыл бұрын
Last time I was this early, Adonalsium was whole.
@lilyme34 жыл бұрын
TOO EARLY. I mean.... yes. Yes you are too early.
@ginge6414 жыл бұрын
Dude, that hurt.
@jennaurban9199 Жыл бұрын
So I'm halfway through, and I just realized something. The 539,592 views is probably not anywhere near that number of people, just a lot of rewatches. Because that is exactly what I am going to do. There's so much to learn from this brilliant lecture.
@whakabuti4 жыл бұрын
Notes for my personal use regarding the first 40 mins which is a little confusing, in case you would like to use them :) If I have made a mistake do let me know. YOUR CHARACTER WILL HAVE AT LEAST ONE OF THE THREE 1) Establish Empathy - They people like us, who other characters like or dislike 2) Establish a Rooted Interest for them in story - What is your character's motivation? Why can't they have what they are motivated to achieve? What is their personal connection to the plot? 3) Establishing progress - What is the flaw they have or the journey they must undertake? What question/mystery keeps readers hooked to your character (i.e. what milestones will signal to the reader that there is progress, e.g. will spiderman become a hero)? The Scales of Character Your characters will fall somewhere on these three interconnected scales (proactivity and competence can go hand in hand for example) 1) Likeability (How much empathy you establish for the character in your story) 2) Proactivity (Motivation and what they do to achieve what motivates them) * 3) Competence (Where are they on the progress scale of what they want to do/can become? This isn't always swordplay, it could be their ability to talk/become assertive and grow in their interaction with others) * difference between motivation and goal is story ends when goal is met, whereas motivation goes on. (e.g. Your character is motivated to win the tournament (goal). Why? Because his father never believed they were competent enough to make it (motivation) ) Movement on any of these scales will create a sense of motion for the story as a whole. *WILL NOT TALK ABOUT THE ICONIC HERO, COS NONE OF MY CHARACTERS ARE BUT IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO FIND ABOUT THEM PLEASE SEE **15:45* FLAWS,LIMITATIONS,HANDICAPS A lot of times when characters have problems its because you haven't foreshadowed their motivation at the beginning of the story. This could affect their actions and dialogue. For Example, you may artificially include an argument in dialogue that would appear wooden to your reader because you included the argument for creating tension, rather than letting your character's motivation drive the dialogue. Realistic characters have many motivations. You may want to be a novelist, but your family may want you to become a doctor, while your parish priest might want you to become a clergyman. QUIRKS/FLAWS/HANDICAPS ARE NOT PERSONALITY If you can connect either of the above with the aforementioned establishment and scale they will appear less like a replacement for personality. For example if you have a character who is a stamp collector, it could be a minor quirk, but they could be proactive in their collecting stamps when they can't be proactive in other areas, What is their motivation for collecting these stamps? It could be because they cannot travel to these locations as they have a physical or economical (in my case lol a sad South Asian passport) handicap, they prefer to collect stamps to substitute their travel. Ta Da all combined and believable and empathetic. Then if you could connect it to their journey/plot it seems very digestible to the reader even though award winning actor Nicholas Cage is present. When building your character think about the above and how they create empathy/motivation/competence and how the conflict could arise from this. 50:20 - How do you make a non-viewpoint character interesting/motivated when your main cast doesn't know what they're thinking? DO NOT MAKE THEM A VIEWPOINT FOR THE SAKE OF IT. What you could do is - suggest to the reader, that your character's inability to understand a non-viewpoint character will be a plot-point as that character has their own motivation/interest.
@BrettEnnis4 жыл бұрын
appreciate you!
@Moonshinefoxx4 жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@sharabowker4834 жыл бұрын
Woot! Thanks :) I'm definitely going to use this.
@camaraalsbrooks4623 жыл бұрын
Awww! Thts so nice of u!! Thx!!!
@dacrewordsmith3 жыл бұрын
Thanks, your notes were succinct and clear. Very helpful to read and watch at the same time.
@solk14974 жыл бұрын
Can confirm, Nick Cage whisked me away to Morocco three years ago.
@g3ldrith Жыл бұрын
Im watching these after nearly 40 years of trying to write my novel (which is itself based on a short story I wrote) and sitting here nodding my head like a bloody idiot while staring at a blank screen on the laptop. I have the entire series of books in my head but its getting it from there to the pc that is the issue. All that Brandon says here is amazing and I wish I had him around for these tips years ago. What I dont think anyone can teach is how to get it out. I'm nearly 61 now and fear my amazing (in my head) characters will never see the light of day.
@kendawgthemasterdude Жыл бұрын
You just have to start writing and not stop, it’s that simple. If it’s garbage, go back and revise it
@teej2376 Жыл бұрын
Hey, I read this at work yesterday and made a reminder to come back and reply, so I hope you read this eventually. I really feel you, I could say the exact same words you did except for the numbers. I'm 20 years younger than you--just turned 41. Been thinking about and reworking my story for 20+ years, and this year was the year I finally started getting it out. These lectures are a big part of why, and I'm ecstatic about it. Probably the biggest hurdle for me was to just do it. Just knowing the writing will suck at first--but you fix sucky writing, you can't edit a blank page. A blank page will always be just that. So I hope you'll find things that work for you and help you get there. For me, I even had anxiety about brainstorming on notebook paper, but I finally got over that with the help of digital writing tablets like OneNote. For some reason it matters to me to put stuff down on paper but I don't feel like I'm "wasting" paper or ink just writing every thought down on a tablet. Sounds dumb, and it is, but try to figure out your hurdles/blocks and overcome them. I've made peace with the fact that my story may never be published or even good in my eyes, but I can't live without trying. The story's in me, and it's made to get out, even if I only write it for myself. Praying you'll do the same. I know what it feels like, brother (or sister). Best of luck to us!
@laughingseagull0008 ай бұрын
I order you to write one sentence right now.
@SL2797Ай бұрын
"Hit your characters HARD in their flaws, if you want the story to encourage them to change." GOLD
@RivkahSong Жыл бұрын
I love (and am incredibly grateful) that Brandon added these lectures to his channel for free. This is so much more helpful than the Masterclasses a lot of other authors have done for actual money. Although I can't help but be annoyed at the lady with the messy bun and the dude right beside her in the bottom right playing freaking video games together on their laptops while in a class thousands of others would kill for the chance to sit in on physically. The camera didn't zoom out enough to see them in the audience until about 15 minutes in but once it does you can see them playing some game involving shooting guns and a blue inventory screen/hotbar against each other for THE ENTIRE CLASS! Talk about disrespectful...
@danielquest86442 жыл бұрын
Goodness, I don’t write, and don’t plan on writing….. but still this is pure gold! I never had a class this good in university! Wow and well done Brandon!
@AntKneeLeafEllipse2 жыл бұрын
Regarding the three sliding scales, it's cool to have just read the first 6 Dune books watching this. Dune Messiah in particular is like watching an iconic character slide down the like-ability scale.
@PhoenixCrown4 жыл бұрын
Wow, just wow your advice around character voice and conveying character and setting between the lines. "Thank you for such great content," he added politely and professionally.
@MichellsAdventures2 жыл бұрын
I am floored that all of this is available for free. Thank you so much!
@emberise66132 жыл бұрын
Been watching my way through all of these and loving them. They actually make me feel better about my writing rather than like I'm a fraud. Thank you! Also, the Gorilla in the phonebooth thing just reminds me of every time people have a conversation when one of them is driving in a film or TV show. I can never pay any attention to the conversation because I spend all of it going 'look at the road, you're going to crash. You're going to crash the car! LOOK AT THE ROAD!' I wish they wouldn't do that.
@XxxXMylordXxxX4 жыл бұрын
The girl in the row closet to us on the right is playing Terraria during the class. lol @1:06:00
@elessar69504 жыл бұрын
Lmao. Nice catch.
@elmonkey44 жыл бұрын
Lol I think the dude to her left was too
@foulwin97194 жыл бұрын
Maybe it was going to college later life but the idea of me or my parents paying tens of thousands of dollars for me to pay games in class is just so absurd I don't know how to process it.
@TheKnightFerrin4 жыл бұрын
I can't imagine going to a class taught by someone of the caliber that Brandon is, and ignoring the teaching. It's actually sad as there are many other people that would like to be in the class, but weren't able due to no slots being left.
@tool93864 жыл бұрын
Come out of the closet Tom Cruise.
@captillon39633 ай бұрын
I just love it when I have a burning question and then one of the students asks that very question.
@reagame87004 жыл бұрын
AT LONG LAST! CLASSSSSS!!!!
@MagnetMagicGirl4 жыл бұрын
ReaGame Thats what I thought! I dropped everything to come see this video!
@JS-vf5gn Жыл бұрын
I graduated university with 2:1 BA in English Literature and Creative Writing; and I’ve learnt more from Brandon than my previous university syllabus.
@JayPee30103 жыл бұрын
Why can't I get credits for doing a class this way?
@johnx1404 жыл бұрын
these lectures are SO GOOOD
@theechothief55943 жыл бұрын
Thanks so much for making these public, Brandon. I can't tell you how valuable this is to me.
@astrozork32172 жыл бұрын
@1:04:00 shows a point where Sanderson gets really passionate about a question and just spewes a ton of what seems like GOLD info. I think right there he just summarizes the entire lecture into author gold nuggets. Just an observation. I really liked it and made notes of a ton of it.
@astrozork32172 жыл бұрын
of course! Watch the entire thing, but after that, re-watch this part a few times. I follow other's passion, and you can see the passion in his description here, and it really paints a good synopsis of the entire lesson.
@shmowen2 жыл бұрын
Love these lectures. Just happened to look at the students around 1:06:10 and noticed two of them playing Terraria 😂
@ihavepermissiontospamracia7794 Жыл бұрын
Lmaooo
@bazzfromthebackground3696 Жыл бұрын
We found the non-fiction writers.
@lowercase_ash3 жыл бұрын
I really like Angela from the Inheritance cycle. (I got her name right, right?) She's on-screen very little compared to other characters but is super fun to read about. Every interaction she has is fun to read because of her interesting personality. She's awesome!
@CaptainArthanos3 жыл бұрын
I *think* Paolini based her on his sister, so perhaps he had an easier time writing banter between characters *probably* most closely analogous to his real life!
@avivastudios23112 жыл бұрын
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Greatest writing teacher of all time. I like how he explains what makes characters work. Likability, Proactivity and Competence. Never heard of that before - that's really interesting.
@metro65674 жыл бұрын
Wooo, finally! I've been looking forward to the lectures on characters for weeks.
@gjjpabkriner27144 жыл бұрын
Me too.
@jonas450124 күн бұрын
He definetly had success making me think about "Sandersons Law" whenever I am writing something.
@waylanddavick94593 жыл бұрын
"You're wrong. I've stabbed three people like you and they all died. You're wrong." That is an interesting character. Lol.
@Snehu3 жыл бұрын
Sounds a bit like one of Kaladin's dialogue.
@Isaiah_McIntosh2 жыл бұрын
@@Snehu I was pretty sure that's vin particularly in well of ascension.
@Sagezilla082 жыл бұрын
@@Snehu Yes it does
@Snehu2 жыл бұрын
@@Isaiah_McIntosh Yeah youre right its hers xD i was dumb i commented that before reading mistborn trilogy
@JoshKnoxChinnery4 жыл бұрын
This is seriously valuable information for every fiction writer to learn. I recommend taking notes.
@improvementTime10.3.173 жыл бұрын
27:00 how to make char motivation feel “ proper” to reader 40:20 42:00 how to not write chars that feel like roles rather than indiv real chars Make each char believe they are the protag in their own story or viewpoint and write accordingly Rather than written as the “goofy sidekick” or the “love interest” 47:28 how to make chars do what I want them to
@texmexchex4 жыл бұрын
Yay!!! I've been waiting for this. Loving the lectures, thank you for giving these out. An absolute gift 🙏🏾
@paenowl45302 жыл бұрын
I am absolutely loving these lessons, so much knowledge is being received on my end. Thank the student who asked the last question on how to write a character unclear of their motivations👌it answered quite a lot with regards to my current wip
@brimerwelpippy49722 ай бұрын
Any other One Piece fans here thinking that Luffy subverts a ton of these tips entirely and yet remains one of the best shonen protagonists ? Oda is truly a master. We all know Luffy's goal but 20 years later and his exact motivation for that goal is still the subject of much conversation and wonder. Great lecture!!
@bayardmartins8 күн бұрын
I dont think so. He hits all of them.
@Uberdude66664 жыл бұрын
"Lot of fantasy and sci-fi writers comes from a world building-perspective." So true! My project -literally- started with me imagining a bad ass-looking suit of armor.
@KarstenOkk3 жыл бұрын
If you wanted to write stories without worldbuilding you wouldn't be writing sci-fi/fantasy.
@DG-xx1it4 жыл бұрын
I was looking forward to the next episode of the course. I am a big fan of your books. I have read all of them. Thank you very much.
@Snarflelocker2 жыл бұрын
what a time when I can watch this for free whenever I want. thanks for the lessons, sir.
@gastronaut692 жыл бұрын
Wow, I love this guy. I just discovered him, and literally has helped me so much already to understand pieces of my process I didn’t quite have gripped. Masterful.
@Mythtongue4 ай бұрын
Been watching 1 lecture a week. 9th week of serious study. I love that these are available!
@limraedor2 жыл бұрын
Great classes, and all of them here online for free! It is wonderful.
@chriscushing63292 жыл бұрын
Truly opening my mind. Going to improve everything I will write. Thank you.
@Moonshinefoxx4 жыл бұрын
How do you make characters people care about...Love this. I think this is crucial to writing a good story. Can’t tell you how many books I’ve put down because characters weren’t relatable or undeveloped. So glad there’s a Part 2! Gold
@astronautis1674 Жыл бұрын
Branderson the Manderson, I watched one of these and now I'm on the second one, just now realizing I will have to treat this as a uni course and get my notebook out and scribble. These are a treasure! Thank you!
@siegfried86443 жыл бұрын
"Gorilla in the phonebooth" is such a fun analogy😂
@blairnixon5155 Жыл бұрын
Now I have to read his books. It's the least I can do for the hours of free advice he has given me
@ImmortalLemon3 жыл бұрын
How I come up with a story: I think of a really weird event that just shakes a big portion of the world. Then I think of what effects that would have on general people. Then I have roles for fixing this problem that need to be filled. Then I think of a trait, or a quality, or a theme. And build my characters around that theme to fit the job they need to fill in the story to fix the big weird thing
@tame-hunter19 күн бұрын
Literally me
@steelfeathers38274 жыл бұрын
Thanks for posting these videos! This is what I wish I had gone to college for.
@DavidKnote-239 ай бұрын
Good job on your class Brandon. I watched a few of your viseoa a long time ago, and got back into it. Im a piblished author as well. A famous author once said that as soon as you're paid for your work, you're a professional author, so I am now, and proud of it.
@ComandaKronikk3 жыл бұрын
I wish I put half as much effort into my actual uni degree as I do this class.
@qinop4 жыл бұрын
I didn't realize these were so new that I have to wait for the next week's!
@boringstorythings78554 жыл бұрын
Character is my one area I worry the most about. Really excited for this class 😁
@user-gf8hl5sw5k Жыл бұрын
This is probably the best lecture from the series
@kickbackkid88668 ай бұрын
This man is a genius in every sense of the word. Brandon Sanderson is a master of writing and storytelling. Just wow.
@rhysgriffiths96753 жыл бұрын
These lectures are amazing, thank you!
@Wondarcouk2 жыл бұрын
This is brilliant! I feel like writing a story just to try applying these ideas. Thank you you for sharing. 🙂
@in_the_wake4 жыл бұрын
Nothing to do at work, and I'm specifically working ON my characters right now? This must be a sign from the Cosmere...
@Joe-mz6ez4 жыл бұрын
Ever wonder what shard did we get? 😂
@AmeliaOak4 жыл бұрын
Sanderson really does follow the idea of recognizing a character by the way they speak. I realized who someone was by using just the words “I think” as a big clue when I read Mistborn...
@cjs42472 жыл бұрын
Sazed!
@AmeliaOak2 жыл бұрын
@@cjs4247 absolutely!
@urigatt68154 жыл бұрын
Eagerly waiting for Lecture #10!!!!
@mc00ao68 Жыл бұрын
This has been so useful. Can't wait to use it. Thanks.
@Shabazza843 жыл бұрын
7:20 That's a good one. I recently saw a very average movie where suddenly, one of the baddies (a guy) was protecting another (female) baddie from some falling rubble. That instantly made me like that bad guy, even when he didn't even have a major role and I was like: "I see. So they are not just some sociopaths..."
@Phoenixqueen772 жыл бұрын
this reminded me of the way A:TLA humanizes the Fire Nation guards and soldiers; they're on the wrong side, sure, but they're not necessarily evil, and it's showcased through a very small amount of dialogue and actions
@aqsajameel.2930 Жыл бұрын
All characters exist on a sliding scale with three toggles. Likeability - how much empathy is established for the character. Proactivity - the character's motivation and what they are doing to achive their goals. Competence- how good they are at it. A character moving on even any one of these scales creates a sense of progress. An Iconic Hero Does not move on the scales Ex. James Bond and Sherlock Holmes If someone is high on the proactivity scale you establish a really stellar motivation.
@benjaminaltube8731 Жыл бұрын
Very important to make villains relatable so they aren't just a moustache twirling villain. That's very boring after a while. A good villain should be to the protagonist "in some other circumstances, we could've been friends"
@ABFrank.4 жыл бұрын
Thanks for posting this. I keep making notes on the lecture then stopping to make notes for my book!
@makingthestorybetter11 ай бұрын
This deserves more views. I can't believe this is free
@carlajenkins19903 жыл бұрын
It is going to be really important to understand later in the story. Exhibit A: the reason the ending in Casablanca works. Rick listens to a story from a girl from Bulgaria about why she is having the affair with Claude Rains. She now regrets the affair, and she doesn't want her husband to find out she cheated to get an exit visa. So, Rick signals the guy operating the roulette wheel that the fix is in. Rick tells the husband to bet everything on 22. Remember? That one little incident is the reason he tells Elsa that she is getting on that plane and she is not going with him. Rick loves Elsa, and he wants the best for her, and it is NOT him. "Because you will regret it."
@Liatriss3 жыл бұрын
Sawyer was my favorite lost character. Followed by the Jin-Soo and Sun-Hwa.
@nikzori3 жыл бұрын
Speaking of depression in characters, NHK Ni Youkoso (a short novel that has an anime adaptation) has three main characters and all of them have mental problems of some sort. But they are very, very proactive throughout the whole story, because they always try to solve whatever problems they have, just not by directly confronting these problems. It does a very good job of having progress that even seems positive, but it wraps that progress into events that make you question the very nature of mental health problems and elevates that melancholy on a higher level. It's a great anime title that oscillates well between comedy and tragedy and doesn't just waste your time with cliches, but it has a heavy "anime industry ruins people" theme used here and there. I think novel is even better, but I may be very biased, because I've read it soon after re-watching the anime. It also has some "darker" elements that weren't shown in anime, like psychedelic drugs.
@DistortionAccent4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for sharing these, very interesting!
@leopardscanfly2 жыл бұрын
Shout out to the girl playing Terraria, you a real one
@humairsabir10 ай бұрын
so grateful for this! Thanks Brandon!
@absolutedesi589910 ай бұрын
I am so invested by his videos that I died and came back.
@reelscreenwriting89404 жыл бұрын
Thank you Mr. Sanderson
@serajsherif15984 жыл бұрын
Brandon you are the Best!!!
@aplatypusguy274 жыл бұрын
Woooooo it's class time!!!! Partyyyyyyyy!
@MrManlify2 жыл бұрын
Another example of a quirk making a character proactive. Po from Kung-fu Panda. His quirk was he was a fat panda, but Shi-fu was able to use food as a driving vehicle to make him a Master fighter after he was willing to understand Po and see his potential rather than compare him to Tigress.
@razkable2 жыл бұрын
If you have a kind character quirk use that to fuel them drive them...it's not a weakness in a fight to be kind...
@RolandByrd3 жыл бұрын
Hi Brandon, Will you please put the link to your sample outline in the description so we can access it? Thank you so much for posting these publicly!
@Mythicalbeasty11 ай бұрын
This makes me feel so much better because I’ve been telling myself this about I just need to keep writing through the first draft then come back to fix the first chapter 2
@astralwildlife55754 жыл бұрын
Thanks so much for this, it's the most helpful and fun lecture I've ever watched on character development. Is there a part two or lecture 10 coming soon? Can't wait!
@howardkoor93658 ай бұрын
He has to be the best teacher! He’s amazing
@henrikc33 жыл бұрын
I get so excited every time Brandon starts the class! So enthusiastic, and I am so eager to learn! Where was this course when I was in uni? But, I am glad I found it now :)
@ConvincingPeople3 жыл бұрын
Characterless fiction is possible to some extent, but it almost definitionally needs to be short and have an unconventional plot which forefronts elements of setting and mood in such a way as to create a kind of character arc through those elements. The elements of place and, indirectly, the author become the protagonist. Thomas Ligotti's much-lauded horror novella "The Red Tower", which essentially stretches out the sort of conceit he had cut his teeth on years earlier writing vignettes where characters as such are largely sidelined or absent ("The Spectral Estate", etc.), does precisely this quite excellently… but then he *does* bring a narrator at the end, almost as a twist, which gives structure to the narrative, but beyond that character's relationship with the actual subject of the story, we don't learn much at all about them. This kind of plays into Ligotti's philosophy of the horrific as being about expressing personal experiences and worldviews, of being an intimate form of emotional communication between author and reader, rather than about the mechanics of storytelling and intense "objective" verisimilitude, although I suppose that's easy for him to say given the quality of his work from the get-go. :P
@CaptainArthanos3 жыл бұрын
Do you have any idea which author he was talking about at roughly 2:19 then? I am sooooo curious to read their work even though he spoke like it's not very good
@xoreign Жыл бұрын
@@CaptainArthanos I have a very strong hunch it's Dune. The politics and themes are interesting, but let's be real, if you only read the book series once and were asked "where does this quote come from" it would be hard to tell.
@hishammor84904 жыл бұрын
I love that reference to My Immortal at 1:04:27
@odoloid3 жыл бұрын
The fanfic? The song?
@hishammor84903 жыл бұрын
@@odoloid The fanfic.
@DadBodSwagGod3 жыл бұрын
He nearly touched on a really interesting point during the motivation Star Wars comparison If you ask yourself WHY Han wants to save his friends and realize you need to show him being convinced, that helps your story But if ask WHY Leia wants to save the galaxy and the answer is obvious from the get go, you want to AVOID showing her being convinced of that. Because that would only hurt the story Or you can change your Leia-convincing plot to be about making her vehemently hate the empire whether or not taking it down affects the galaxy one way or another
@edulopesp7 ай бұрын
I'm so grateful for the people who gave him feedback about female characters