Not All Writing Tips are Created Equal...

Click this link to start your 30-day free trial of Brilliant.org (the first 200 people to do this will get 20% off a premium subscription!!!) brilliant.org/Local/
PATREON:
patreon.com/Local187?...
KO-FI:
ko-fi.com/localscriptman
STORY CONSULTING:
docs.google.com/document/d/1B...
^No dates open means I'm BOOKED
Q: It says you're booked for the next 5 years. Is there something wrong with your calendar?
A: Use your head. Why would I schedule a meeting that far in advance?
CONTENTS:
00:00 - write what you (actually) know
3:32 - on writing for the audience
5:10 - Brilliant.org (sponsored segment)
6:14 - subjectivity
9:33 - ooo self burn those are rare
11:50 - wow he really padded this one out
EARTHQUAKE WE'RE HAVING AN EARTHQUAKE

[@seanmurphy7011]

Not all writing advice channels are created equal. That's not true. Most of them are garbage. Like this one.

[@viper_exe_]

tell me what you're smoking so I can avoid it at all costs

[@KK_Draws_Stuff]

Those who cant, critique those who can 🤡

[@MR.Eeeeeeeeeees]

Pin of shame 😞

[@seanmurphy7011]

@@KK_Draws_Stuff I'd like to point out that this channel also does not.

[@paddyq3235]

@@seanmurphy7011 lmfao you're not joking????

[@ChloeAriT]

I think one other thing a lot of people forget about 'write what you know' is that you can like. learn stuff. if you wanna write about something you're not yet familiar with, you can just go out and learn about it. not everything has to come from your past personal experience, the realm of 'what you know' can always be expanded.

[@localscriptman]

too real

[@Stigmaphobia777]

My brain is wider than the sky.

[@ChloeAriT]

@@Stigmaphobia777 oh you're a real one

[@aspitube2515]

Yeah, some people travel to other countries too

[@UraniumCoffee]

hello catten and yes very true, I think people can leverage the things they're already good at or understand to get a foot in the door of another thing

[@topshelfmike]

You talk like a good teacher who acts like they don't care but secretly does. Thank you, I appreciate it.

[@splatgege298]

Local seems to know his audience very well, at least from my perspective. It makes his advice really memorable and easy to apply because I just innately understand.

[@topshelfmike]

@@splatgege298 Agreed. I think it's because he was also a student of the writing game; he knows how to say it and be forward, so we can disgust what's saying.

[@mauz791]

This man mirrors Gregory House

[@taylorallred6208]

When I think about "write what you know", I think about Hayao Miyazaki and how much he hated the fact that people were making anime based on other anime and not based on what they saw in the real world. I think it's tough to try and write stories when you have only ever consumed other stories and not lived your own life.

[@RelativelyBest]

There's a bit in the extra materials for Spirited Away that stands out in my memory: Miyazaki is describing the character Haku in his dragon form and says something like: "Then he jumps up and clings to the wall. You know how a lizard moves when sticking to a wall? Like that." Everyone in the room look puzzled, and Miyazaki goes: "Really? Did none of you grow up on the countryside?"

[@thesunthrone]

It's not even necessary to live an extremely interesting life to be a good author - so long as you are naturally curious. Kentaro Miura created Berserk while living an otherwise extremely nose-to-grindstone life, but he was very into the history of medieval Europe and you can see it in the work. All the various fairytale creatures and monstrous creations all stem from an appreciation of European art and imagination of the dark and dangerous world all around them, and that brings with it a deep sense of authenticity. But this isn't to say his contemporaries didn't produce derivative genre work, either. Of course they did. It's just that those derivative, overly referential and empty works of that time have been mostly forgotten, known about only to those truly dedicated to catalogue the history of the medium. Same fate awaits all the interchangeable "what if video game but real life" fantasy that really is just a symptom of young authors having grown up on nothing but games and having little interests outside them. They will be forgotten in a decade or two, while the works that tried to portray more depth will remain in public memory because they have something interesting to say.

[@cactuz116]

This is real asf. In these recent years that i havent rly been going out or socialising much ive seen a subtle detriment to my general creativity

[@tvsonicserbia5140]

But to be fair, and I think Miyazaki would agree on this, Hideaki Anno dedicated most of his life to his love of animation, tokusatsu, giant robots and channeled that passion into his works Evangelion, Shin Godzilla, and in general he is THE prototypical otaku, and yet out of all younger creators he mentored it seems Miyazaki respects Anno's work the most.

[@landmindssoul4636]

True.

[@Pigness7]

writing teacher: "listen to what the people around you say, build your dialogue on how real people interact." me listening to my uncle rant about gay frogs and goblins in the white house: "Hm yes interesting..."

[@localscriptman]

Huge goblin fan right here

[@Pigness7]

@@localscriptman I LOVE goblins

[@ovahlord1451]

Does he know about the Gnome conspiracy

[@localscriptman]

@@ovahlord1451 pardon

[@Wyrm3]

@@Pigness7 I'm glad to see fellow goblin fans. One day we shall change the bad name they have been given.

[@miikaaeeel]

The example story became a lot cooler when you made it about aliens, feel like there's a writing hack there

[@localscriptman]

You might be onto something

[@jettpeterson8968]

Big bloingus take

[@iranam1004]

Just a pinch of fantasy

[@ulaznar]

[something] = average [something] in space = YEAH, THIS IS THE BEST

[@harvocel]

There's something so calming about seeing him unpackage writing while doing uncanny mspaint speedpaints in the background

[@viper_exe_]

visual asmr, especially with that calm voice

[@viper_exe_]

it's like watching Bob Ross while he breaks down the fundamentals of quantum physics in a way a newborn infant could understand.

[@paddyq3235]

I appreciate you pointing out your own failures as a writer, and encouraging writers to step out of their comfort zone as a writer. I have a habit of getting caught up in a cool magic system or world bulding idea and working the story around that so your way of thinking has really challenged me to use those as embelishments to the story not the purpose for writing one, if that makes any sense. Also I like the new name and the meme at the end.

[@localscriptman]

Thank you, and yeah that meme got a cackle out of me. My roommates and I do the pose incessantly now

[@franciscocollazo7164]

Me and my friend used to just make worlds to test out magic and battle systems, much like how you said, but now I’m using the techniques from this channel to hopefully make interesting stories within said world and new ones(mostly new ones though we’re feeling to constrained by past magic systems)

[@RelativelyBest]

"This is not necessarily bad advice. The problem is that people say it in classrooms full of eleven year-olds who lack the capacity to apply it in a way that's not dogmatic." Hell, that's my philosophy on _all_ writing advice, in general. Regarding "show, don't tell", I think it makes a fair bit of sense when you're writing for a primarily visual medium, such as movies, comic books and video games. But if you're writing literature, like a novel, it's a lot less helpful because the entire story is just words. Meaning, you have to use words to relate all relevant information, even relatively unimportant or dull information that does not warrant deeper consideration or attention. If you're writing a book, you're going to have to make judgement calls on what is important or useful enough to deserve showing and what you are better left just telling the reader about, because a big part of your craft is directing the attention of your readers to the stuff they're supposed to care about. I like pointing this out because a lot of would-be writers will look up and try to follow any writing advice without even considering if it was even intended for their choice of medium, much less whatever type of story they're writing.

[@jimjimson6208]

I agree completely, this is something I quickly realised after I started writing my novel. If you took the time to show everything the story take forever to get anywhere haha

[@theresnothinghere1745]

I would note that "show, don't tell" isn't advicing you to not directly talk about things. You can exposit and directly inform the audience however you want. The advice is not rooted in how to inform the audience. Its rooted in how to make something believable to them. You can tell the viewer "this character is selfish" any way you want but that doesn't mean the audience will believe you, just that they'll keep it in mind. You need to show the character being selfish so that the audience believes that statement otherwise they won't. Because no matter how much you as the writer try to inform the audience, they won't interpret things the same way. So you need to appeal to their perspective and 'show' the character being selfish so they believe it too.

[@bitesized4503]

Honestly, research is one of the most engaging parts of planning or writing something. It sparks way more inspiration in me learning something new for my script instead of just using what I know and not thinking any deeper about it

[@localscriptman]

That’s definitely how some peoples’ brains work, and I envy them because I’m terrible at learning in that way

[@Elija503]

⁠@@localscriptman can we suggest video ideas?

[@localscriptman]

@@Elija503 oh yes

[@xavierthomas5835]

I've found a lot of times, I can gain eaves of inspiration from study. However, I've also found I can be too easily influenced by good ideas. Like, maybe I can rewrite my whole story, influenced. It becomes less about telling the story the best way and more about getting everything I want to depict in one go. Instead of just cutting my losses and pasting them somewhere else.

[@DarthBiomech]

My immediate red flag about "write about what you know" advice was the thought that writer of the one of most engaging and popular adventure movie wasn't an archeologist, and all writers of the most popular scifi stories have probably never even seen a real space rocket upclose personally, let alone been in space.

[@zionleach3001]

Yeah plenty of those that have said that are VERY hypocritical. Like "be original, but you can't write a story about a culture that isn't yours. Even if you did research, and did everything not to be offensive."

[@geschnitztekiste4111]

I guess it means write about themes and feelings you've expereinced or thought about heavily before, idon't think the setting has anything to do with it

[@Mayo-ow5lb]

I don't even like writing at all but your videos are so entertaining I could literally listen to you talk about the quimical relation between an atom of magnesium and a lemming and still wouldn't get bored.

[@localscriptman]

Very high praise thank you

[@TribequestFieldspoon]

@@localscriptman i hate you but i listened to your entire 3 hour q and a because youre so entertaining

[@reverie02]

@@TribequestFieldspoon why do you hate him?

[@TribequestFieldspoon]

@@reverie02 sarcasm. He’s great. One of my favorite KZbinrs rn

[@YUSUFFAWWAZBINFADHLULLAHMoe]

@@TribequestFieldspoon well, that sarcasm was really hard to detect

[@steadyrow]

The best advice I've been given so far is that writing is 70% research.

[@niftyskates85]

Yes I kinda forgot that and gonna try and read more. I always equate that to practicing drawing from life reference instead of pure imagination. Both are good but you need to practice both.

[@hansuri401]

The first time I wrote a script, research was one of the first things I did.

[@steadyrow]

@@niftyskates85 research is very broad though. It can be reading, traveling, free writing, asking yourself questions, brainstorming, socializing, watching movies, etc.

[@niftyskates85]

@@steadyrow Its life experience. Like learning to draw your draw from life. Im just writing in my room all day with my journal dissecting life. I don't go out much. Reading encapsulated a chunk tho

[@katthatsmilesback]

The most significant problem I’ve run into learning how to “become a better writer” is sifting through the mountains of subjective advice that are so easily mistaken as objective. I’ve confused the two myself and watched others do the same, endless times. In my experience, even advice that’s supposed to be dependable, like “show don't tell” is subjective because there are contexts where it may not apply. Someone who’d fit that trained novice phenomenon might struggle here because they only have the “rule,” not anything else. Ironically, I think it’s the main reason people struggle with Math, even where there is an objective “right.” I used to tutor, and the core of learning anything, I’ve found is not comprehending what’s right or wrong alone, but how and why you're getting there. Teaching is just as much about helping someone learn to apply the information themselves as it is about giving them the information. Most of the time, with writing advice (especially online) it's just flung at you with no explanation. It's the same reason why getting formulas thrown at you in a Math class feels stifling. Circling back to my point about “dependable” advice like “Show don't tell,” figuring out the how and why of writing is especially important because there are fewer objective truths that apply to every story or author. You need that information to use those toolbox tools you're gaining effectively. I’m primarily not a screenwriter, I write short stories or books. But, even within that sphere whether or not you need to spend ten minutes describing a prologue tree in visceral detail depends on how relevant that is to you as a writer and your story. If you're not the writer it's relevant or important to, sometimes it's okay to just say there’s a tree, and move on. You can save that detail for things that are important to highlight in that way. Or, tailor it to work at varying levels within your writing. If you don't know that, though, you’ll end up stuck, and so would your ideal pacing. Show don't tell isn't just describing things. It’s those dialogue filters from your dialogue video. It's subtext. It’s the theme. It encompasses so much that it would be like your math teachers putting the entirety of where algebra can be applied to via homework in front of you with the words “the letters are the variables-you need to find them!” Question? F I N D. T H E. V A R I A B L E S. Anyways...I’m not an “everything is subjective; there are no rules!” kind of person. I think there are constructive and objective ways to improve, but that’s to an extent-within a bracket. I have a huge appreciation for you acknowledging your own struggles, too. Recognizing and outwardly declaring your system still leaves you with ailments writing-wise speaks for this video, along with the rest of your channel as something special! You’re helpful as you are self-aware, and I think that combination has helped and will help a lot of people, myself included. So, thanks!

[@JK-qp1jo]

Really glad to see another fellow human feels the same way I do on the "show don't tell" rule. 💪

[@thesunthrone]

Yeah this is why I like this channel so much. I've gone through so much writing advice content over the years that I've drawn a simple rule to weed out what works and what doesn't - does the person giving advice properly contextualizes it? And I don't mean give examples of good/bad, or examples of their favorite book or show. I mean picking up a technique, saying "okay, this is what this technique achieves" and explaining the aim of it. That way, even if I disagree with the technique, I understand well the thought behind it and can deliberately choose to employ it or not. So much of writing advice is just "do this because figure of authority said so" and not bothering to dig into -why- the figure of authority said it. Like yeah, Stephen King said that thing about adverbs bad, so we just do that, right? No, wrong, you explain what is achieved by limiting the amount of adverbs - how it grounds the action, how it makes the descriptions more concrete and doesn't make the reader guess. You don't just put a big red cross over them, put an F- next to them and say job well done, because there may well be a time when you want to go wild on adverbs to achieve the exact opposite effect to what King talks about. Same goes for "show don't tell", which really is a topic opener on pacing and presentation. In written fiction, it performs the role of the camera, of the author zooming in or out on a particular scene. If I go very hard on "show", it means I choose to place the camera close to the character, try to really connect with this one person. If I go harder on "tell", I am zooming out, I am giving a broad view on an area or situation, or people at large - even if it is put in the mouth of a character and in dialogue brackets. Understanding how this dictates pacing and presentation also informs you better on when to use one and when the other, because neither is inherently better or worse than the other. Writing a story and getting a big, thick "show don't tell" written on your first page by an editor doesn't mean you now need to do what they say and get embedded into the person's head. Rather, it signals that the scope of the writing is too broad, too large (for this particular editor). Too much of telling, and it's the film equivalent of CCTV footage. Even if you circle around one guy in that footage and make us follow through this guy across the cameras, it's not exactly engaging in a conventional sense. And likewise, if you show EVERYTHING, you can go full American Psycho and read pages upon pages of ludicrously detailed descriptions of things through Patrick Bateman's eyes, and even if the purpose of that is to show that hey, this Patrick Bateman guy is some kind of sociopath alien that projects his sense of worth entirely through objects, it still might fail to connect with the reader. And this touches another crucial point. Different people like and want different things. Writing advice by writers is different from advice by editors, and is different from advice by literature enjoyers or film buffs. They all seek different things, and an author has to understand that and filter the feedback accordingly. An editor has gone through so much slush in their work that they prefer precise, workmanlike, simple prose. They just want their job be easier, so they'll tell you to cut things in half, or remove filler, or avoid too abstract language - and there is merit to this, because you might well create shorter, but stronger, focused work. But it might also suffer from being too bland, having nothing at all about it that connects with a reader. Does it matter that the plot is really interesting and the characters developed if the way it is delivered is extremely bland and workmanlike? It's been mentioned on this channel before - a lot of writing advice channels are actually just pop fiction reading channels, applying what they learned in their literature class rather than any actual writing acumen. As a result, their videos are much in the same vein - a report you'd give in a class, without any actual desire to break things down or understand why they work, and what happens if you don't go along with this conventional advice. It's good for a class credit, but it does little to nothing to someone actually serious.

[@jackagonz]

I just wanted to say that no particular person told me I have to write what I know but I came close to the more narrow-minded version you brought up. So to have this video break it down so clearly is removing a writing block for me. Thank you my local script man

[@lemonlordminecraft]

The fact that Local and Lucas are so phonemically similar is at least a little amusing to me, thank you for this update

[@MR.Eeeeeeeeeees]

I wanted to write a story for a game but then I realized I can't code dip diddly squat. So instead I'm trying to write a screenplay with the basic building blocks. It definitely sucks, but it might get there. Thanks for teaching me indirectly you're awesome.

[@Bouncy_Seal]

If you still want to make a game (whether now or in the future), have you tried GDevelop? You don't need to learn a programming language to use it, and if your game isn't too technically demanding (and is ideally 2D) it should be sufficient. Also it's open source so that's cool too.

[@xensakura595]

you can be a narrative designer, although it's a bit more difficult to break into the game industry as a narrative designer.

[@MR.Eeeeeeeeeees]

@@Bouncy_Seal oh awesome, I'll have to check it out.

[@debrachambers1304]

Maybe do a choose your own adventure type thing

[@Epicwindow3]

theres always renpy and visual novels

[@thomasi.4981]

I want to add my voice in saying that this channel is panning out to be absolutely amazing. Everything about it. Please continue.

[@localscriptman]

Thank you!

[@thomasi.4981]

My thought a short moment later was "awww no Discord link there should be a Discord" but then I remembered some people have it behind Patreon and realised my money would be well-placed. Joined!

[@premium_chicken_nuggy]

Reservoir Dogs is RIDICULOUSLY slept on as a teaching tool and as a movie overall. It naturally gives the audience a cast of fun characters that each have their own perspective of the shit they're going through. It has the feel of a short story, while being able to give us meaningful padding scenes that flesh out the characters more (i.e. Mr. Orange). Definitely a must watch for anybody who wants to see all of Local's lessons in motion.

[@danielnoel727]

The emotional rollercoaster of trying to pause the video to read the text. Truly the most revelatory message ever put in a video. Everyone should take the time to pause the video. You will not be disappointed.

[@Mirin_the_Witch]

On top of that, I've actually learned a neat thing about youtube. More people should know.

[@ethanwashington6789]

im not sure local knows that you can just set videos to 0.25 speed to pause on frames easier lol

[@HeroDestrin]

"Write what you know" is interesting because I've never lived in a fantasy world, but I still want to write fantasy... so I interpret it in a way that Stephen King does: he'll write scenarios and plots that aren't necessarily something he knows, but he'll put characters and themes in there that relate to his life. Most of his characters are writers; so is he. Many of his characters are alcoholics; he used to be as well. This is also reflected in this themes about the corruption of people's minds. It's a very interesting approach that I like to use.

[@aspitube2515]

The fact that you’ve never really been an internet guy is probably what makes your videos so fresh and outstanding.

[@EphemeraEssays]

These videos are so *dense* with great advice and philosophy, and delivered so damn well. Thank you!

[@localscriptman]

Thank you for your support!

[@alexanderlyons4807]

what's even funnier about the "tOo MuCh PoLiTiCs" in the prequels "criticism" is that when complied across ALL 3 movies, the senate scenes take up a combined 15-ish minutes, only about 5 in each of these, over 2 hour long, movies.

[@RoyalFusilier]

Yep. And that the originals had at least a few important politics scenes; the one with the Imperial officers sitting around on the Death Star is particularly remembered for choking people up. *And* that the absence in sequels of anyone sitting around to talk about things like the New Republic or the First Order lead to it being way harder to follow what literally is even happening or why. "Hang on, if the good guys won in the last movie, why are they the beleaguered Resistance now...?" Because the meta need for 'heroic rebellion stuff again like ANH' overwhelmed the in-universe logic that it should be more like the start of the prequels when the Republic is trying to keep a fragile peace or something.

[@YEY0806]

It's scarily evident how much fandoms are engrossed into the mindset of "I didn't like this writing decision, therefore bad and stupid." Of course, it is nuanced, as fans can rightly criticise writers who write plotholes or particularly dumb decisions that are inaccurate with character identities, plotpoints, or canon. But still, it's very annoying how fans will shit on a story for not doing what they like while ignoring the facts and evidence that the writers presented to prove it is the RIGHT way to tell the story

[@rightycat]

Tip for everyone who tried pausing at that exact frame with text in 3:05: the . and , keys can be used to advance or return a frame at a time, so you can pause first and search the frame with those keys.

[@unknownscape5469]

I slowed down the playback speed, then I clicked pause and play until I got it right. This was all after I got the fact that he says topic around the time it appears.

[@CalciumEcho1000]

Artists and writers both share one key trait, is that they will always believe creativity in their work is the finest value there is. However when writing an extremely convincing story there should be some relatable ties attached to each other.

[@mydude5017]

Very grateful for this channel's existence. Sometimes video essays contain one or two "nuggets" of real and employable knowledge within 40 minutes. Your videos consistently give out BRICKS of knowledge in under half the time. I feel like I'm mainlining writing. Really good stuff, man!

[@Sponderer]

11:37 "Think outside of your own box." "Certainty is the enemy of progress." Reminds me of a couple quotes from Mick Gordon during a talk at GDC about composing the soundtrack for Doom 2016. "Change the process, change the outcome." and "Confidence comes from doing the same thing over and over again. It takes courage to change that."

[@dougnarrbert3164]

The whole section of 7:37 felt very reassuring to me, oddly enough. A while back I wasn't really able to see that distinction and it threw me through a loop, and eventually I came to the same conclusion but to see someone intelligently explain the difference was a very nice thing to see

[@mostfrozenburrito]

This is the only channel that has actually taught me anything about writing. It’s finally getting into my skull. Thank you so much for doing this

[@evilbritishguy3581]

Sometime ago, I watched a video called 'A Man Goes to the Store to Buy Some Milk'. I decided to study the iterative way this short-story was told. Following this, I designed a series of 'Key Questions' from my findings: Goal: What does this character want? Obstacles: What is stopping this character from getting what they want? Stakes: What will happen if this character doesn't get what they want? Choices: What will this character do in order to get what they want? Complications: What unforeseen consequences will follow this character's actions? Change: What lesson will this character learn from the consequences of their actions? I would argue these questions could be considered the bare minimum you would need to know about the main character being written. Any additional info regarding your main character i.e. the info you might find on any of those other character sheets could just contribute to their characterisation. I also decided to design my own set of 'Key Questions' because other pieces of writing advice that were offering a guide to story telling e.g. Dan Harmon's Story Circle, Joseph Cambell's the Hero's Journey or Blake Synder's Beat Sheet from Save the Cat, either kept seeming much too restrictive or didn't quite clarify the direction I should go. That being said, what are your thoughts?

[@amanofnoreputation2164]

It's interesting to consider what might happen if you write what you _don't_ know. People rarely think about this because too easy to assume that the answer will be "wrong" -- but writing isn't a science. You don't get points for accuracy unless that's specific to the project. Writing what you don't know has the effect of revealing what you do know and often leads to idiosyncratic perspectives. For example, it's quite likely that H.P Lovecraft's _The Color Out of Space_ is the product of Lovecraft not understanding what the electromagnetic spectrum is and his paranoid mind assumed that frequencies outside the visual band must be, "mysterious colors unlike any seen on Earth!" Needless to say, the story of a clump of putty from outer space that makes people rot and disintegrate by draining the color out of it's surroundings is at least as interesting as how electromagnetic waves actually work. You're going to have a perspective on a topic that a specialist isn't going to have _because_ you don't have their knowledge and whatever bits and pieces you learn through research will be colored by what you're more familiar with, producing something potentially quite novel and novelty pays way bigger dividends in far more situations than accuracy. Adaptation is a good example of how new ideas are generated when information changes hands: The scene in the _War of The Worlds_ musical adaptation where the HMS Thunderchild battles the Martian fighting machines is completely different and far more embellished than the scene was in H.G Well's original novel. The original scene wasn't a battle at all. The Thunderchild was a torpedo ram that turned two fighting machines into nautical roadkill by complete accident is the chaos of the population's desperate flight from London. In the musical, this standoff is framed as mankind's final hope at resisting the Martians. The Thunderchild is a battleship that heroically intersperses itself between the Martians and the fleeing civilian steamer ships. It succeeds in gunning down multiple fighting machines with people along the shore cheering it on before the Martians tragically focus fire her hull into oblivion. One gets the impression that what made sense to Wells typically lacked the kind of emotional impact popular media is looking for, which is why his works were rarely received any adaptations Wells would have considered faithful to his novels. The musical goes into the grisly details of how the Martians harvested human beings for the nutrients in their blood, but skips over the use of "black smog" to flush out would-be attacks and survivors from building, woods, and other cover altogether; the latter being too dispassionate and generally sensible. (Although it was highly prescient and seemed to predict the use of chemical warfare in the early twentieth century.) Each writer clearly has areas of expertise the other lacks or is disinterested in. Did James Cameron really know how to create an extraterrestrial setting as richly detailed as Pandora. No -- that's why he hired so many experts to pool together the information on his behalf. But event then, he needed to curate that expertise to fit the aims of his project and to that end he had to think like a writer, not a botanist, an anthropologist, etc. You don't need to know quantum physics to write a story drawing upon the double slit experiment, Bell non-locality, or entanglement as inspiration. Many works have done this for better and worse but the attempt succeeds on it's merits as writing, not science.

[@thesunthrone]

Exactly! Writing fiction is not so much about being realistic as being authentic. My engineer buddies laugh out loud whenever a setting like Warhammer 40k tries to give accurate measurements to the armor thickness of tanks, and how goofy it is even compared to WW2 tanks - but then they continue on getting absorbed and engaged in the utter insanity of that setting and just don't care that so much of it doesn't make strict sense. It's about the overall spectacle, the authenticity of the horror of being out of your depth when facing the alien and outer-dimensional foes - and that comes across perfectly. And Thunderchild from the musical is so memorable exactly because that dramatization. That track moves me every time I listen to it, it's incredible.

[@dryemiddi8788]

I've never seen writing advice be told in such a casual stroke of brilliance that's so easy to understand, whereas most advice from long time industry professionals can easily slip into a preach full of jargon that's difficult to wrap my brain around.

[@passportsbrown]

The most important thing in writing is to actually do it. Even if you don’t know ‘how,’ the worst thing you can do to hone your skills is to not write. Every other writing advice channel makes me feel content and ready to do anything else but yours actually gives me motivation to move forward on my story. Thank you!

[@WhyNot-qw6vu]

“And it looks like I wrote a short story again” been there done that

[@Eduard0Moreira]

It took me 4 attempts to pause on that specific frame. It was worth it.

[@oxfordcommaisthegreatest]

Man, you have a really unique perspective that you don't see a lot in youtube writing advice vids and stuff. It's cool. Keep doing what you're doing thumbs up emoji

[@Brainstrain]

The reason those sent it seems in Star Wars were boring is because they didn’t impact even the world around them. Coruscant during a galactic war war looks exactly the same in every picture. The audience was bored because much of the movies was idiots being tricked by a multi face guy while a bunch of psychics in robes weren’t able to notice anything. The plot required stupidity, the audience pointed out where they were bored. That’s the standard of critique though, people “ know what they feel but suggested fixes are often wrong.

[@laplace3945]

I keep rewatching this and it keeps giving me more. It's insane.

[@hannahr2824]

I heard an author a few years ago make the same “write what you know” argument years ago and it literally changed my writing, especially as a speculative fiction writer. It was absolutely some of the best writing advice I had ever heard, and I’m so glad to see it here. Employing this philosophy also makes your work fundamentally more satisfying on, like, a thematic and emotional level. I had always struggled to find emotional cores for my story, but “writing what I new” made the emotions of a story more impactful, and by extension made all the “personality” (worldbuilding, plot, spaceships, whatever) more enjoyable.

[@Edyremoh]

I hunted down the frame at 3:06 and was rewarded with the uncomfortable feeling of being caressed red handed.

[@oofer754]

I love this man purely for 3:05 Also it's hilarious but not unexpected that it's also 'most replayed'

[@misufilms]

you're legit my favorite channel cause you're the only channel that covers these topics in such a fun way with memes and you're the only one that cuts out all the bull and is just speaking fax

[@kaleidico]

3:05 I only went back once so this is a victory in my eyes.

[@donidewit]

Actually, it wasn't too bad to get to that specific frame; there are shortcuts to move 1 frame back and forth. Love you too!

[@ALtheBoi]

Please let the record show that I was here before Local was replaced by LocalScriptMan, thank you very much

[@depressedttv]

your view of story craft being much more objective is an incredibly helpful tool lucas, especially for me cuz i was very on a "what scene i want" basis or just trying to make a really good skeleton but i had no idea how to get meat on em. if it wasnt for your objective view i wouldn't be nearly as far as i am rn with the idea im working on- also- i like playing wall ball with a human being, so that helps as well.

[@Calebgoblin]

I see this channel going places. The attitude, the garnish of dank, it's all terrifiq

[@localscriptman]

“Garnish of dank” what a lovely phrase, thank you

[@onemoreminute0543]

This is by far one of the best and most frank writing channels I've come across

[@doovstoover9703]

A few years ago i Kickstarter'd a small print run for a book I'd written under an alias, and having to film a video for it introducing myself with a name that wasn't my own was honestly one of the most jarringly uncomfortable experiences of my life. So yeah, i feel you Mr Local sir

[@localscriptman]

Yeah it’s just not for everyone, some people say it genuinely feels better. But personally that type of thing is just stressful for me

[@ironfossil9963]

Holy sh... I just finished a first draft of a novel that was basically a metaphor for a tough time I had balancing my passions and my personal relationships. So many times I've thought "this is dumb. What am I doing?" I don't know if it's any good yet (shipping off to beta readers after my initial edits) but this video brought me a lot of relief. Thank you.

[@isaackaumeyer6847]

It only took my one try to pause on that exact frame. I have ascended.

[@J4Blue]

I'm glad somebody finally put into words Meta Critique vs In universe Critique. In all forms of art there are ways to do things that work and ways to do things that are just different approaches. (Also Little did they know, if you use the comma and period keys you can move through a youtube video frame by frame. How's that for skill issue?)

[@bigyikeschief]

As far as writing critique channels go this is easily my new favorite. Only you and mauler do breakdowns of any real substance that I’ve found. So glad you’re starting to blow up!

[@thigikna]

"The war on telling" is my new favorite phrase

[@Ronubis]

I’ve been watching all your videos as of late. Even though your tips aren’t for books exactly, I’ve used them to help me write/clean up the one I’m currently writing. You’re doing great work

[@zerolelouch22]

The reason not all tips are created equal is because of one simple fact: everyone is on a different journey. Context allows a tip to have value (or not)

[@jonathansalvador5037]

Another problem with “write what you know” is that extrapolated to its most literal extreme, you’ve got artists only making art about art which… actually kind of explains a lot.

[@JoanieDoeShadow]

This was the first piece of "writing advice" I ever got. It came from my oldest brother when I told him I was going to be a writer and I had a pen name just like Mark Twain. My 8 year old brain interpreted the advice as a challenge, as if my 19 year old brother didn't think I could write because he didn't think I knew anything. So right then I determined to find out about everything I wanted to write about because I wasn't going to shakle my imagination. 11 year olds have more brains than you give them credit for.

[@localscriptman]

I didn’t

[@hannahburnsworth6168]

i just found this channel last night, and i’ve been binging all the writing videos ever since. i’m very excited to have found writing advice that truly resonates (and is simultaneously fun to watch). i look forward to watching this channel grow

[@mirlanaokeefe3462]

I really appreciate your videos. As a film student I was bombarded with my professors' ways of writing and directing-- but watching your videos has helped me go outside of my own box and try writing differently. It's helped me a lot to understand what I was doing wrong to get "stuck" and I use some of your methods to overcome a writer's block. Thank you! Please continue making these videos, I think you have such a simple yet wise approach. It's no bs.

[@artemis3120]

3:05 "lmao I can't believe you went back and paused on this exact frame. How many tries did it take? [6 tries] Was your heart beating in anticipation as you repeatedly moved the playhead? Were you pissing your pants in anticipation of what my message might be? "love you though, really. "Go easy on yourself." Doing my service to the community ❤

[@Cosmoandtherobins]

Heyo, I wanted to voice that I think you've made heaps of progress in your vid essays since last year. Your consistency and hard work shows. I've seen some people say you come off one of the good teachers from school or uni, and I think that's a glowing compliment that you earned. Inquiry- watching through your videos I find you value story above what stories can accomplish. My perception is that you value stories above their components like characters(when a mid story can occasionally create a meaningful character), above their impacts on the real life, and above the themes, the perspectives they leave us with. I'd be curious to learn more about your relationship with these matters, and I hope to see it covered more in future vids. peace.

[@flare4488]

Excited for you next video. I found your videos to imporve my writing overall, but I mostly write for D&D and I think your advise in regards to themes and constructing characters to give different perspectives on these themes has been super helpful to keeping the tone consistent for my game. It has made it much easier to differentiate my characters and make sure each one is giving a unique interaction to the players.

[@AKAHimself]

Most writers: *tries to create likable characters. Flannery O'Connor: we don't do that here.

[@isaacgonzalez368]

the only writing channel i’ve clicked with to this degree. amazing stuff

[@moki4895]

Oh finally more Local videos, perfect thing to eat and chill too

[@fell9654]

I like the name change, Local was a bit too plain for a non plain channel

[@clame3065]

SERIOUSLY appreciative of this channel man. I've had all this in the back of my mind but no real way to apply it or put it into practice, so this has helped me to start writing again!! I thought you said something about a team behind these videos, so to either you or your team, you're doing some amazing work

[@carmengutierrez2405]

I'am just so proud I found this before it blew up, I can feel you going places, man

[@judahmoar2533]

Stoked to see this channel grow so much. You make great and insightful content

[@tulikas9862]

You're giving me hope both for youtube video essayists and for future writers. Seriously, it's so fucking diluted with garbage right now. Found this channel yesterday and have already watched almost half your stuff.

[@matthewchristensen5192]

This is by and large my favorite writing channel I've ever found. I feel like it bridges the gap between merely skillful writing and truly great writing.

[@iintervallumyt]

Nice video! I really do like your thoughts on subjectivity vs objectivity, since it coorelates to my thoughts on character discourse within fandom. to put it bluntly a lot of people cant seem to understand a difference between "this character is genuinely problematic with what they represent" and "waaah they did a thing i didnt like they are poorly written since i can't grasp subtely". I'm rambling but yeah, it was interesting to see your approach and your own self-critique as well! p.s. side note your voice just weirdly reminds me of adam scott hahah i really dont know why but i feel like you could suddenly start going on about calzones lol

[@iintervallumyt]

oh also! "write what you know" can be severely damaging in the form of characters from different backgrounds and walks of life too. It sucks to see peoples critique of say an LGBT+ story begin and end with "well a cishet person wrote it so it obviously can't be as good as a gEnUiNe experience" which as a bi person i've just thought of as baffling lol. So many ways to write different characters and themes exisit no matter who the writer is, all that matters is that they put care and effort into understanding what they do not know. I apprecite you calling out(more like just musing though lol) on its effectiveness!

[@kierstenwilliams2388]

I’ve spent days stumped in my writing because I want to explore a theme/topic that I can personally relate to without my story sounding like self-insert fan fiction. The way you broke it down in the first three minutes of this video gave me understanding of how to reframe my topic to write a story about a theme I find important, without writing an autobiography. Thanks king.

[@ezequielgerstelbodoha9492]

3:05 I used points and commas, now you're blessed by the algorythm, well played

[@JK-qp1jo]

wow, I'm really glad I found this channel. It's refreshing. I always talk about this with my writer buddy. I feel like there are people who genuinely give good advice for improvement but it requires actual work, or there's the other group who all say the same thing and it overshadows the good advice. I don't like only being fed positive "just keep at it" tips, I need actual help and substance that makes me improve. Makes me upset at all the hate channels like this, that actually help or give some different perspective, get. 👍

[@feathercompressor]

Watching this channel has reinvigorated my writing soul. I'm going to finish my screenplay. And it's going to be good. And Local helped.

[@flying_ace_]

this channel has been slowly but surely rewiring my entire brain. for the better. ive been here awhile but never commented and im doing so now as proof that ive been here since the beginning since i foresee you blowing up soon

[@localscriptman]

Hey thanks for your support, glad I could be of service

[@nightwatch3889]

That was the best sponsor transition I've ever seen

[@StickNik]

More excellent than I could've expected due to the build upon previous videos. Looking forward to the world building man.

[@Stolasupremecy]

I found you in one video and i relly like your vudeos. You have a perfect mix of " writing is an art and there isnt one way to do it" and "wtf are you doing" theres so many things you say that should be obvious and its amazing you are def the one im going to for writing shit now. Everyone else I watch dont really give such amazing advice and if they do its not presented with the same complexities and adds on. Its also very broad without being to broad which is great.

[@valmuepoppy]

it in fact took me 4 tries. i have no regrets. i shall take it easy

[@omegapanda9980]

Great stuff man; I adore how you break down the nuances of writing and story with such high articulation and depth. ❤

[@minifam1197]

I love this channel. I have watched every video in the past 2 days. You’re way of talking is just so witty and I am addicted

[@Reddytea]

oh I've had this kind of critiques "your character is not likable" well the other characters in world don't like him and he doesn't even really likes himself either. If I had to deal with someone like him in real life he'd get on my nerves really quickly. "yeah but he's not relatable and really manipulative and he's the main character." well because he's the best vehicle to get across what's happening in the story, and he's entertaining, that's why he's main not because he's a nice person and you're supposed to imagine yourself as him.

[@Flauser]

Growing up, I was never really very interested in physically writing (especially at school lmao holy shit) but I was always fascinated with storytelling. I'm finally at a spot now where I'm making this story with a bud of mine, planning on making a graphic novel and maybe even a game or two circling the story since I've always wanted to do something like that. For a while we were just going off intuition, the little bits we knew about writing from the reader's perspective, but watching your videos and taking notes has really helped streamline the process, helped tidy up parts that weren't quite where we wanted them. I know some of your videos are more directed towards screenplays rather than books, but I believe there's still a good amount of overlap, especially within the context of a graphic novel. Thanks for teaching people like me about this stuff, and being open about your own mistakes and experiences. Writing always felt like this elitist hobby to me so it's reasurring to see these kinda videos explaining it more casually.

[@TheTrueReiniat]

One if my favourite bits of writing trivia/advice is that Ray Bradbury was writing a novella before he decided to compile Martian Chronicles and his character eventually escaped justice and fled to Mexico and he had to stop because he didn't know what to write next since he hadn't been in Mexico himself, so he didn't rewrite his character's escape he just shelved the whole thing :0

[@localscriptman]

I love The Martian Chronicles

[@moeenhassan6600]

The fact that i was actually zoned out in the beginning of the video and he snapped his fingers is insane

[@juiuice]

3:05 ERM, youtube has a feature where you used the " , " and " . " and manually check the frames 🤓 ):

[@kellermakesmedia]

It took me about three minutes to get to that frame plus an extra five to sulk and figure out something to comment. Thank you.

[@cinematicgoodness7325]

This video was great but lemme correct something: The High Evolutionary wasn't saved in a deleted scene. It's very faint, but you can see his body being carried out in the actual film. So it's not some kind of retcon James Gunn made to please the audience. It's in the final film.

[@MeddlingMageMTG]

quickly become my favourite writing channel, like its perfectly enginered in a test tube to slot into my brain

[@sanjivinsmoke2719]

hello. localscript you really have educated me on so many things. I started writing a while ago and the tips really helped me structure my stories. Writting is fun when you can pretty much have possibilities of anything space , realism , fiction etc. thanks man i will learn what i can from your videos. For me writing has become a hobby

[@williamerickson520]

I have also had misgivings about this piece of advice. I think it comes down to interpretation. Most people seem to think it means sticking to your everyday life but I would argue that this includes dreams, fears,etc. Plus, we can learn things buy researching them and talking to people who know about them. I think it stems from a lack of imagination on the part of the teachers.

[@j.sargenthill9773]

your little epilogue is a good example of the kind of thinking that makes seeing story this way easier. you already have a personal engagement with yourself and your motivations and feelings the way that a writer needs to engage with characters. you sort of step back and look at how this moment of thought came to be in order to responsibly take the next step in your thoughts, which is a great practice I think for creating genuine human reactions on paper.

[@HishamA.N_Comicbroe]

Love these writing tips dude! Please keep them up

[@controverse_av]

Yay, more writing tips to think of! Thank you, your videos are always so helpful.

[@Armadill0h]

Very happy to see Barry as the backdrop footage

[@kingtitus3409]

I'm really thankful for your videos, I was a really REALLY shitty writer but your videos have helped me get better. So thank you.