Sanderson 2013.3 - Writing Great Characters

Brandon Sanderson’s 2013 Semester at BYU: Creative Writing, Lecture 3
This video is a mirror of the materials posted by user writeaboutdragons. I’ve provided some notes with timestamps below, and occasional color correction. Enjoy!
*Notes*
0:12 / What makes a great character
- Most important aspects of a story is the character
- Thinking of character as a role instead of a person is problematic
- Make them have passions and motivations beyond the main plot
- Biggest attractors: proactive, competent, and sympathetic
- Great characters have some kind of flaw / limitation
11:32 / Humanizing character
- Give them quirks
- Consider questions about the character to come up with backstory
- Be forthcoming with small details, and skip the big details
22:28 / Problems for new writers
- MC tends to be the most bland
24:09 / Superman vs the Everyman
- Superman: wish fulfillment for the reader
- Everyman: relatable by the reader
33:14 / Flaws
- Character flaws: the character’s fault, they may need to overcome; these build the growth arc
- Physical limitations: not the character’s fault, but internal to them, they may need to overcome
- Handicaps: external forces on the character, they may not need to overcome
- Adding flaws creates conflict
46:04 / Plot is about a sense of progression
- Overcoming flaws can give incremental sense of progression
- If you over do the flaws, the character might turn off readers
49:50 / Proactive characters
- Often stories begin with the plot hitting the character, who then reacts; reactivity is not as good as proactivity
- You can show character proactive towards a hobby before the plot begins
- Try-fail cycle: even if character is failing, have them try things and be active
- Villain problem when the villain is more proactive than the main character, and therefore more interesting
56:00 / Stories are artificial
- It is all contrived, your job is just to sell it well
- Deus Ex Wrench / Idiot plotting: Author artificially adds problems to lengthen story; don’t do this.
- - Convince reader that flaws are real so problems make sense
1:02:44 / Sanderson’s second law of magic
- Limitations are more interesting than powers
- Limitations and flaws are different; systems should have both
- - These things will create the points of conflict, which is where good storytelling takes place
1:08:33 / Sanderson’s third law of magic
- Everything is interconnected: how does your magic change the world?
- Out-think your readers by a few levels. How does your magic change government, military, ecology, religion, etc?

[@dandeleon23]

" the protagonist is going to be like you, so they're going to be bland" Damn. What a roast

[@shosty575]

Ya

[@pRahvi0]

It's funny 'cause it's true.

[@owenedward144]

Wasn't supposed to be a roast though.

[@hyrumblanchard9938]

RIP to that homie at the start who didn't get called on...

[@blackmountain1983]

25:51 I think the invincible character was more popular in the earlier 20th century possibly because of world war I and world war II. Perhaps people had been scarred by war and had seen the worst sides of humanity enjoyed the idea of a hero no evil could defeat. I think it's safe to say war was on everyone's mind around this time period.

[@fiachoconnor]

Very insightful. Great point

[@fleurafricaine5740]

“Blade Runner … anyone seen that film?” I love it. Anyone?

[@duhg599]

I just want to point out the person in the blue shirt in the bottom right of the screen who’s signing Brandon’s whole lecture. That person is awesome, because anyone who goes to the trouble of learning ASL for the purpose of helping others is awesome.

[@miroslavzderic3192]

Doesn't cutting corners make a character "rounder". Bad jokes aside, great talk

[@TheAndroidNextDoor]

Well this just helped me loads. I've been writing a character who keeps feeling a bit flat to me despite the fact that he's goal oriented and very proactive about doing things. I've noticed that I use a lot of religious metaphors when writing him and well now I found his quirk. He studies old religions in his spare time.

[@rockbottom2786]

2 years later how u doin?

[@brotundwasser4554]

Yeah, how u doin'?

[@amehak1922]

I'd love to be friends with someone like that.

[@ginge641]

My Sazed sense is tingling.

[@stevenfleming5400]

@@ginge641 same. Based is a great character though.

[@leigh2781]

That dude at the start with his hand up and just being ignored cracked me up a little

[@eliasharris9349]

You know that feeling where you think you did good, and then you see a professional explain how to do it, and the only thing you can think is "Aw crap,"? That happened when I listened to this lecture. I'm writing a book, and I'm noticing more and more problems while I watch these.

[@zmunk]

Heh, yeah, welcome to the club. Your writing will be stronger for it, though.

[@eliasharris9349]

@@zmunk I know. I got a lot of restructuring to do, though.

[@JacobGrim]

Things often go bad before they get good. It sucks, but you just have to push through it if you want to finish it to your satisfaction.

[@kimamper4776]

After I watch this I realize how my whole book is a total crap hahaha.

[@echol8087]

Per Hemingway: "The first draft of anything is shit." Although sometimes my characters, my world, even some parts of my story, are bland the first time around. The second rewrite usually fixes most of that. I honestly don't "find" my characters until middle, to later in the novel, when I finally start hearing their voice and what exactly they would do in certain circumstances. During the second rewrite, I tend to do a minor retool of all my characters in the first half of the book to reflect their base characteristics I found in my second half. Flaws, passions, etc. Hemingway rewrote the first part of Farewell to Arms like 50 times until he got it right. I believe the best thing to remember is that you don't have to get it right the first time. That's what rewrites are for.

[@PlatipuseKing]

Mad appreciation for posting this AND adding very helpful and descriptive timestamps. Absolute legend

[@GnarledStaff]

On the "unwilling to bend on their conviction" idea; paragon characters can be interesting when they refuse to bend on a conviction- when it is wrong. Taken to the extreme this is how we get "knight templars"; which tend to be villains. But if you can avoid the trap of making the character look too obviously stupid you get a story about a person learning how to accept other's viewpoints. But this can also be a minor character flaw that hinders the characters ability to work in a team setting as they do their own thing... TV tropes might have a few relevant pages but Overly Sarcastic Productions did a good video on this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJ7CgZxshNWBgbc

[@guitarlover1204]

i think it could be useful to think about the Proactive vs Reactive dilema as the difference between a character who just reacts at something, and a character who does something about it.

[@Cipher_Paul]

I think when the author save the hero when he shouldn't have been saved is also called "plot armor" on the internet; and maybe also "tHe PoWeR oF fRiEnDsHiP" xD

[@umutyigit4918]

Anime intensifies. lol

[@bonbonpony]

Hey, don't underestimate the power of friendship ;> Friendship is a type of Magic too ;) And can give you superpowers :> (Well, at least it does in my world :q )

[@mattkhourie4037]

That made me immediately think of the Hello Future Me channel lol

[@Cipher_Paul]

@@mattkhourie4037 oh yeah, I watch this channel too

[@chamow2787]

I have plot armour irl, fight me

[@chugg159]

Character dossier is a key phrase that I needed in my life.

[@Jasonwolf1495]

My magic system has a big focus on the major differences between the abilities. One has a set of powers around life and death and spirits while his teacher had powers built around plants. One of the major internal conflicts comes through the main character trying to learn about his powers while his own idea of these powers is a completely different set.

[@DataSicEvolved]

Thank you so much for posting these.

[@emcgwrites]

Such a generous resource. I recently read the final empire. The style is so clean and out-of-the-way that it makes the bigger mechanics easier to spot for budding writers. Sanderson is an absolute gem. Legend.

[@yoshistover5881]

XDD He says bounty hunter, and I get the mental image of Boba Fet. Then he turns around and says you're probably getting a mental image of either, a masked character from Star Wars, or a gruff bounty hunter that hunts down the protagonist. How did he know? lol

[@AlbinosaurusR3X]

The Nazgul from Lord of the Rings fit this trope too, but the traits that make them interesting are their sensitivity to the ring, their weaknesses, and that they are the long dead kings of man who gave in to their greed for power.

[@twns1076]

Yoshi Stover Because Star Wars is everything in life.

[@kestrelraptorial689]

when I hear "bounty hunter", I usually get the mental image of Cassus Fett, Jango Fett, Boba Fett, or even Wobbu Fett.

[@JMG-ie5ul]

Spike is best Bounty hunter ( cowboy bebop) if you're anime guy

[@wiseauserious8750]

This is invaluable, thanks

[@howardkoor2796]

Some of my favorite films: Midnight Cowboy, Good Will Hunting, Erin Brockovich, Rain Man.

[@StartAStudio]

Superb.. thanks for posting... the perfect accompaniment to a relaxed hours cooking..

[@Jasonwolf1495]

The best versions of superman are ones where he has flaws usually involving him having to handle his strength. That he's literally too strong in power and will. He has to hold back all the time because he doesn't want to kill everyone around him. As well he's so certain he's right that he's able to fall into terrible things. Also sidenote I just noticed the signing in the right corner, and I loved being able to follow along to that. I learned ASL as my second language.

[@bonbonpony]

I misread it as "singing" and I was like "WTF did I miss something?" :D

[@emily_loves_httyd]

OH!! I love Hiccup's character. Those were my favourite movies as a kid.

[@LOREIRIN]

Thank you so much! I've been watching a lot of these, and it's so helpful! Thanks for the timestamps too!

[@michaelmano7261]

I never knew that Quentin Tarantino was my favourite fantasy writer.

[@darrengrenfell9225]

Brandon Sanderson is excellent

[@bonbonpony]

32:10 This is the simplest and most awesome way I've seen to explain what a character arc is :D 38:11 Fluttershy enters the chat :J 01:11:11 Bueheh tell it to Skyrim's developers ;D

[@jennyralgrievous6192]

Okay but why is everyone facing away from the board??

[@CrazyFanaticMan]

yeah its so fucking strange XD I dont like it

[@deathpresent101]

Probably looking at a power point.

[@MrBlancify]

Probably because they often have discussion groups or projects like in school so it's more advantagous to be seated in small groups facing eachother.

[@henbane2247]

One person is doing sign language

[@Artfacility]

Because nobody can read his writing anyways

[@howardkoor2796]

Very insightful

[@Its_MLLOS]

Awesome lecture

[@howardkoor2796]

Master Class

[@GnarledStaff]

The best Urban fantasy series I've read does deal directly with the effects of magick on society. Things like Patricia Briggs series where the magickal underworld slowly shows its face to mundanes is much more interesting- especially when a character has to deal with how much does this mundane character know conundrum- how much can I tell them before they get drawn in and killed for knowing too much? These ramifications are just as interesting in an urban fantasy as in a sci-fi setting. I guess my point is that in many urban fantasy settings the world as we know it either undergoes a transition or has already transitioned to a different world. It is also really fun to read about how these secret underground magickal societies may have [possibly] effected different political movements in ancient and less ancient history.

[@applepear2172]

Rich Evans giving some killer advice 🔥

[@versailleaaron3475]

Thank you so much

[@saurabh.shringarpure]

16:54 Wow. I got a deja vu from Oathbringer here.

[@DafineDesign]

At 1:05:00 - Another example: Using the magic causes you to lose a memory (Never ending Story 2) , I always thought this was a great inhibiting idea!

[@bonbonpony]

Yeah, it's fun until you forget that using magic causes memory loss :)

[@tonoornottono]

@@bonbonpony that’s awesome. once you’ve forgotten that, you go all-out. just start casting. by the end of it you’ve forgotten everything and you’re a being of pure magic.

[@johnfabela1169]

I can't see anything on the board. I tried sitting closer to the monitor.

[@joshhall7033]

We are not worthy of these lectures. Thank you!

[@kantnoc2010]

What they said about Superman being flawed made sense why they made Hancock so flawed.

[@jeromyperez5532]

Man BYU seems dope af.

[@tylerdulak9030]

One Punch Man is the new superman but done better. The fact that he's so strong, yet oblivious. Saitama just wants to find an opponent that can be a challenge. His loyalty and respect to the lower class heroes because it's hard to meet the C class quotas. He's top tier character writing for being a superman.

[@ThomasTiernan]

Don't dump on Dirk Pitt. The perfect escape stories. Read "Treasure" or "Cyclops" and you'll have an incredible time.

[@marsstrider3705]

5:30 Have you ever read a story where the villain is more interesting than the hero? Yes, it is both Thor movies where Loki is far cooler and more interesting and fun than Thor.

[@iamcleaver6854]

Scipii :)))))

[@gaozhi2007]

Littlefinger in Game of Thrones.

[@iamcleaver6854]

Littlefinger is very proactive. Even more proactive than Tyrion had ever been.

[@taotechong]

This is basically every Marvel movie that isn't mainly about Tony Stark. Avengers included.

[@StarlasAiko]

Batman and Superman comics are only cool because of the villains, the heroes suck

[@alisuroor8962]

The heart remains young regardless of age The spirit remains more vibrant and active the more optimism increases Meditation is the language of the mature mind. ALI SUROOR

[@MrMcSnuffyFluffy]

I love so much that he's a bad speller.

[@tompike6045]

Not sure I'd call Vladimir's ceramic unicorn collection a weird quirk. At least not to his helmeted face.

[@eliasharris9349]

I looked up what "Protag" means, and it means something completely different.

[@caesarjulius6058]

1:00:00 mark - he starts talking about a character getting his crossbow to fight dragons. I thought this was just a an example he made up but then it sounds like he's talking about a movie that exists? If so, which movie?

[@two-facedvlogs5849]

I literally have 2 of his books.

[@Poisonedblade]

I have 5. I'm a better fan. So there.

[@Shirgho]

What you say to that bro

[@rockbottom2786]

@@Shirgho i think i have more then that. get rekt nerds. I AM THE MASTER NERD

[@TunezCottage]

@@rockbottom2786 I have every one of his books, suck it nerds.

[@techgeek3366]

"literally"... boom tish!

[@jadencrawford2772]

I'm curious what he would think of Sorcery in The Second Apocalypse.

[@collinwillsey354]

Navani Kholin-reluctant engineer.

[@DarthAlphaTheGreat]

Superman Reading dropped...until Rebirth, where Superman now have a son.

[@DarthAlphaTheGreat]

Shows DC writers knows how to write good characters..mostly :) While Batman now is boring...

[@antanowrites]

hey what about gandalf!

[@a.bagasm.7253]

SHOUT OUT to the woman who do the sign language on the far bottom right

[@starnavigator73]

When the bounty hunter finds a new stamp: "Anther stamp to add to my collection." * cackle, cough * Also, when the bounty hunter finds a new stamp: "I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in sticky."

[@BlielPol]

Man, Rich Evans has really let himself go since this lecture.

[@porkerpete7722]

And he grew hair!

[@YellowhatDick]

I've written a boat load of books, but can't seem to stop the characters from talking about the show charmed; help?

[@Bitter_Beauty_Music]

Write your characters in a setting before that show came out.

[@howardkoor2796]

I look for character growth

[@mammothsunited9670]

Sanderson stay writing on the board like we can read that shit 😂

[@TheMusicscotty]

Bad guys are so much easier to write than good guys. Because they have a psychology. There's a reason they are the way they are. Thanks has a reason he wants to do the snap. Generic other villains and one off villains don't stick in your mind because they just want to hurt you. One piece of advice I was given was write your villain first. Then your protagonist has to have or gain the tools to defeat them.

[@glitchygear9453]

That is interesting advice, but I typically do the opposite - create a protagonist, and then create a villain which will give their struggles meaning

[@WailOfDoom]

@@glitchygear9453 What if youre both right and there isnt a correct way to go about it? Or even, write both at the same time? A la two sides of a same coin?

[@glitchygear9453]

@@WailOfDoom ... Thats what I was trying to imply, that either way works fine. You could even start with a minor side character.

[@iudfr]

hmmm.... wonder what he has to say about the new star wars movies; currently TFA, TLJ, and rogue one

[@Poisonedblade]

The characters in those movies have no arcs! Rey doesn't know what she is doing and struggles at nothing. Finn and Rose go on a pointless quest. Kylo is all over the damn place. Luke wants to die. Admiral Holdo won't tell anyone her plan. Poe, once a hero, learns to run away. It's crap!

[@youknowwho9741]

All that is real is but a perspective

[@TwistedScarlett60]

Why are the types of people that go to writing lectures also the type of people that have to keep interrupting the lecturer to subtly brag for validation. Everyone here is for Brandon, not you!

[@KageNoTenshi]

Wasn’t Sherlock an addict in the original?

[@marikothecheetah9342]

He was a prick. Megalomaniac, very antisocial and probably did some drugs, too. He was often contrasted with Mycroft, his brother. Oh, and of course, he was a misogynist.

[@KageNoTenshi]

@@marikothecheetah9342 I am fairly certain he was actually addicted to coke or something in the original or whatever drug it was at the time of the novel being written

[@marikothecheetah9342]

@@KageNoTenshi Honestly, I don't remember but you may be right.

[@marikothecheetah9342]

@Vijay Reads I will need to reread the books :)

[@jfalconredskins]

I like these videos and have been watching several of them. Great advice, covers almost all aspects of creative writing, however all the references to fantasy and superhero novels/films gets annoying. Are these the only books he knows about?

[@zmunk]

I suppose he just prefers to talk about the genre he knows best, and his best sellers are all in the epic fantasy genre

[@gaozhi2007]

He mentioned Blade Runner and Saving Private Ryan. It's easier to reference film because they are cultural touchstones.

[@weismanwriter9426]

It was a class for Epic Fantasy/Sci Fi Writers...lol

[@WART374]

Annoying".......

[@kaiju_k5042]

It's what he writes, what do you want, Regency Romance comparisons? lol.

[@dcle944]

Relatable? Snape would say "You find me relatable?"

[@gmmay70]

Hey students, ask questions. Don't make statements to the professor or the rest of the class. They're not there to hear you.

[@bonbonpony]

Speak for yourself, please. Their remarks might also be interesting and they often are right, or expand on what the lecturer said. He doesn't have monopoly for knowledge or teaching. I really hate how much people are idolizing their teachers or authorities - they're not gods, they're one of us. We can learn from each other. Students may not know everything yet (and neither does the teacher), otherwise they wouldn't be in that class, but it doesn't mean that they can't speak when they do.

[@TFrills]

@@bonbonpony I agree. I had a few professors like that in college and it always pissed me off. I always got a lot out of asking questions. The best teachers were always really nice about it, even if they said they would talk about it later in the lecture. I think he's just grumpy for some reason. Also, he may possibly be shooting down questions simply to streamline the lecture for the youtube audience, which could be forgivable, but he should explain that. He comes off as kind of arrogant, to be honest.

[@seashell8913]

I have never found a villain more interesting than the hero. Maybe it says something about the types of people writing stories these days.

[@scarlet8078]

Wait until you start writing. It's much easier to make an interesting villain and to keep them interesting, bc usually a villain's motivations are clear and he/she is single-minded in pursuing goals. Like, in fantasy/ sci-fi many villains want to take over their world. That's a pretty easy thing to root for, whereas the hero is like a passive dude sitting around waiting for the villain to do something bad that the hero can stop the villain.

[@EponineReads]

there is something missing from his lectures. It is not teaching me how to write. It's so muddy. The question,mine, is how do I get out of my head?

[@CP-ll6qg]

This class seems to be for people who are already writing books to help them make better stories You might have more luck searching up writing composition classes to help you express what's in your head better.

[@playermartin286]

Eponine Reads breathe into your Balls that’s how you get out of your head

[@willyjimmy8881]

Use a screwdriver

[@Peachu_n_Goma_Home]

Start writing down whatever comes to your head, do bullet form, chart, sees the bigger picture and think about how they can all come together. I think you need to read "how to turn ideas into story", sounds like you have ideas in your head but they dont flow as a scene, like event happens without start and end. If you have a start, middle, end, thats call a scene. Write down that scene, thats how you start writing. A book is a string of scenes one leading to another. The lectures are more for those who already understands/practising writing scenes. He teaches how to make them all come together (structures, characters) to form a good book.

[@bonbonpony]

You can also start from drawing comic books. They usually have simpler writing, but still have a lot of structure that is present in written stories. Those comic books don't have to be very detailed (if you're not good at drawing), they could as well be just stick figures (professionals call them "storyboards" :J ). But this way you will learn how to structure your stories.

[@a.bagasm.7253]

Its gonna alot criticsm ,I TAKE I

[@TFrills]

I feel bad for the people asking questions. He is kind of rude about it.

[@KhromTX]

He's better about it in his newer lectures.

[@a.bagasm.7253]

@@KhromTX yeah newer class supose

[@Vickynger]

i felt personally offended when he said harry is the most bland in the golden trio. like???

[@princessthyemis]

YEAH1!!!

[@saundramonette4137]

Most people agree with that tho...

[@twns1076]

Victoria Luther Its true though

[@Peachu_n_Goma_Home]

Actually he is. Have you read the books?

[@brittanydiamond6772]

Gonna back up the OP on this, Harry is one of most underrated characters in his own series. It's depressing, he's SUCH a good main character.

[@EponineReads]

He's got to pick a book so everybody is on the same wavelength. His examples are all over the place.

[@fredrikfjeld1575]

If he picks one example, only a few people will be on the same wavelength, since everyone will not have read or seen the same things. Picking multiple books lets more people understand what he means through examples. If you want as many people as possible to get your examples, use a lot of sources.

[@kyotaiken]

Read more.

[@bonbonpony]

@@kyotaiken I do, but no matter how much time one would spend on reading, there's no way one could possibly read EVERY SINGLE FUCKING BOOK, so there will _always_ be books that someone might not know. It's better to pick examples that are well-known, and make sure that everyone know it before using it as an example.

[@jesus_islord_john1465]

Thank you for sharing. This is has been very helpful. P.S. God loves the world so much that he gave his only begotten son, Jesus Christ. Anyone, who believes in him, shall not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

[@Sarboi7]

Preach it 🙌

[@justinleemiller]

All characters have value because all humans have value. This talk should be called How to shape plots for dudes who write hero stories.

[@cinnamonbun2251]

This lecture is not about how to write a character that has value. It's about writing good characters in novels, specifically epic fantasy/sci-fi because that's what the whole class is about. So I guess you're kinda right?

[@kyotaiken]

Set a better example for your students, don't glamorize your inept spelling limitations.

[@gwell66v2AnimeReviews]

You should critique and advise people without being outright hostile. A good message will get lost if it's delivered like that.