Story Structures - Plot Theory: Brandon Sanderson's Writing Lecture #3 (2025)

[@Mkeyvillarreal]

Thanks to you my novel, Permadeath, got published! And my audiobook got narrated by Michael Kramer!

[@KelsonGeorge-jw4rn]

That’s awesome!

[@EvaSaysASMR]

Congrats!!!

[@counterspellband]

The goat!!!

[@YggdrasilReviews]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!🎉🎈🎊

[@MrBodies07]

Congrats man

[@LynetteTheRogue]

'Every story will have plot holes because every story must fit in a shorter space than real life so they must cut corners' is the best writing advice I've heard this year

[@spacelevator]

I read a series as a kid that often detailed the food that the characters were eating, but it never mentioned them needing to go to the bathroom. I was glad that it didn’t, but it did make me think about the choices the author was making, and it was the first time I really analysed writing while reading it. I guess the copious food descriptions ended up being a gorilla in the phone booth for me.

[@_Albuz_]

I've followed closely the first two lectures and avidly been waiting for the third one. I guess I'm following the whole course! Even though I'm a doctor from the other side of the world 🇮🇹 , I can get lectured about my hobbies by Brandon Sanderson. What a time to be alive!! Thank you so much for this!

[@zaczus]

My thoughts exactly ❤️ Greetings from Poland 🇵🇱

[@sauravharsh]

Appreciate Brandon and the University for allowing us access to such great lectures, worth our every minute!

[@normative]

An analogy I find useful from music history: What defines most of the great classical & romantic composers is how they’re partly working within and partly defying or innovating on a set of familiar forms and structures. You expect a return to the tonic, instead I change keys entirely. The effect still depends on the structure: I expect X, instead Y. When you get to the 20th century & Schoenberg, even the minimal structure of tonality is abandoned, and you get music that is celebrated by other composers & music theorists, but so alien & lacking in familiar landmarks that most ordinary people find it quite difficult to listen to with enjoyment. You absolutely want some writers pushing on that frontier for a tiny avant garde audience, but there’s an upper limit to how far you can ditch structure & remain accessible to a broad readership. Most writers want enough departure from structure to feel fresh & original, but not so much it’s literary Schoenberg.

[@MoonMaidMokona]

Completely agree. I do think it's also important to mention though, that those niche avantgardists often end up inspiring greater trends that end up affecting the mainstream perception of what "familiar structure" is. You see it in all art forms, where weird arthouse films and indie games and fringe musicians might not themselves be palatable enough to become household names, but they end up inspiring and influencing first the indies that do break into the mainstream, and then those "mainstream indies" affect the rest of the cultural landscape.

[@EmmaSelby89]

I think that is a great explanation of what they (probably) meant by "pushing on that frontier" - it's like how studying space isn't just nice "for the sake of knowledge" but also actually leads to tangible benefits across multiple non-space-related areas.

[@MrBodies07]

I would love to shake Brandon's hand at some point and thank him for the many, many, many hours I've spent watching and rewatching his lectures over the years and for how they've enriched my life.

[@Kendojin]

1:10:10 One of the best lessons I got from Sanderson is that it's better to be doing it than learning it. I get stuck in "I need to learn about this" mode, when ACTUALLY I need to be building habits by doing it I started writing for 20 mins every weekday for a few weeks now, and it's been AWESOME. I share this for anyone like me. It's worth it to find a routine. Something as frequent as daily or every other day is pretty great. Once a week was just too few for me... But maybe perfect for you. It takes a lot of experimenting and being honest with yourself. AND gracious with yourself The word count thing wasn't working for me... Often when I do 20 mins, it turns into much longer. I think 1.5 hours But I don't get burnt out if all I have is 20 mins in me. As busy as I am (married and many responsibilities in different parts of my life), I can always carve out 30 mins. 10 mins of rest if I need it, followed by 20 mins of sitting in the chair

[@holijay5502]

Yeah, doing allows you to actually problem solve and learn from failure. I retain when I fail, I forget when I just read the wisdom not earned.

[@Kendojin]

@holijay5502 that's why it's a trap for me. I'm a sponge for these things, and I retain all kinds of stuff that people tell me 😅 My brain is like "cool, now I know it" ACTUALLY BRAIN. You don't KNOW it. You HEARD it. Stop lying to yourself **newspaper smack**

[@EmmaSelby89]

Love this, thanks! 😊

[@5Gburn]

I'd say 95%-plus of learning writing is, in fact, sitting down and doing the thing itself.

[@Kendojin]

@5Gburn absolutely! I'm in writing discords and new writers are always asking what to do... Some of them ask hundreds of questions. I usually end up telling them what I settled on: There's a school for writing you can attend for free. It's whatever writing project you have. Sit down and do it, and tell yourself "School is in session" 🤣

[@Axel_Karell]

Brandon mentioned that we'll see certain ways his lectures have changed since the last series and having watched the previous one like three times. This lecture is the most radically different so far. Spending only the last couple of minutes on the thing that took up the majority of the equivalent previous lecture is fascinating and I really felt like i got something new out of this one. I've heard most of theses structures before but having them all in one place really helps me sort them in my head.

[@Rvbeus]

Regular blue collar finish carpenter here, who loves audio books while working. Just want to say these are really interesting to listen to while working. So thanks Mr Brandon

[@jacobrobinson5606]

Hi from finnland

[@heitoroliveira5166]

This lecture made me realize what actually was the plot structure of my first atempt to writte a novel. Honestly, this is being so helpful. I'm not just learning stuff. This actually is reinforcing and explaining to how my own approach to storytelling and analysing media works and it has a name

[@simmonslucas]

Bro's in the front row learning from one our current GOAT writers and is playing MTG... I love games too, but dang brother....

[@kimmeystorey4577]

It's pretty ridiculous because it's super hard to get into his class

[@jessicahoffpauir290]

wait who hahah

[@dimitrijekulak3347]

Sanderson is the current GOAT. He is average at best. Let's not overrate people for no reason

[@ultimaxkom8728]

What does average (let alone "at best") means to you? And what qualify the average writers (again, what even is average writers?) to be above him?

[@lauravsthepage]

Ngl I would probably be playing something too during this particular lecture 🤣 I understand why its important but anyone who has been learning anything about stories knows these off by heart. There are moments of interesting insight because its Brandon but it hardly requires 100% attention, and quietly distracting yourself for a while in a non-intrusive way is better than disrupting the class for everyone.

[@bigappa9359]

I'm a new writer. I'm relieved to hear him talk about how to approach the concepts as a new writer. I won't spoil anything, but to any new writers, I hope it gives you similar relief. Brandon has just broken a wrong idea I've held for a long time wide open. I'm forever grateful!!

[@vezolf4313]

Yea, but be carefull about him. He was good when he write mistborn. Nowadays? Nah

[@alexcoffey8804]

You know that "aha" moment where you think you've got a good idea for a story? This video just gave me one.

[@DFAnton]

While I can appreciate that it's a really cool opportunity to have Brandon Sanderson in the room with you answering questions, I wish some of the students could keep them relevant to the lecture. :/

[@jessicahoffpauir290]

I agree but I guess it's their right lol. It'd be nice to hear some questions that go deeper into what he is talking about not just how they can use what he is talking about in their stories.

[@antihousewife]

I hear “try fail” cycle and immediately think of The Martian. Definitely getting me thinking!

[@elliel4736]

I was waiting for someone to say this! And it was very intentionally written that way, and as a serialized story, where he just kept thinking of every possible thing that could go wrong.

[@nicoalcover502]

I loved the "yes, but" and "no, and" part. It resembles so much to the four outcomes in any ttrpg: Yes, and Yes, but No, but No, and

[@chriswahl1337]

I started watching your lectures years ago to learn more about writing/narrative, to apply it to the video game/s I was working on. Now my friends know of you, as a famous author. Very cool. 😎

[@cubicinfinity2]

Hey! I'm planning to apply this to games too.

[@drillerdev4624]

​@@cubicinfinity2the 'yes and' and 'no but' is indirectly the best explanation about resolving partial successes in ttrpgs

[@PhoenixCrown]

Brando Sando is the man! So good at giving tools and not prescriptions. Shows incredible skill and understanding of the art of writing and at the same time humility--especially for one of the most successful fantasy authors of all time. Thanks Brandon!

[@DrAwesome43]

I would love to see Brandon Sanderson do a full-spoiler case study on A Song of Ice and Fire. The TV show is finished, and people didnt like the ending. The books are not finished, and the author seems to be completely stuck... What are the Promises and Progresses in the series? Why was the show ending bad? What Payoffs need to happen to make a good ending for the books? Why is GRRM having a hard time continuing the series?

[@IndigoIndustrial]

I gave up ASoIaF after the first book and didn't bother with the TV series. I dodge two birds with that stone, if you know what I mean.

[@Liberaven]

There are great content creators who have covered this better than Sanderson would. Not because Sanderson isn't an expert on this stuff that could have amazing insight, but because I do not think he would be interested in devoting the time to such a deep dive, in the way that some very talented superfans of ASOIAF have.

[@Drekromancer]

@@Liberaven Could you drop the video titles?

[@lauravsthepage]

I think he mentioned before he had not even finished reading any ASOIAF books because he is not a grimdark guy. I do not think the issue with GRRM is in the promises or progress of his books, but because he himself has folded under the external pressure to write a book that would satisfy the rabid unhappy fans who at this point he probably has no love or respect for. Brandon mentioned the idea in a previous lecture of writing a big series like Stormlight (or in this case, ASoIaF) being like throwing a football that he has to catch 15 years later… GRRM was trying to catch that football but after years of having rocks pelted at him by “fans” he has decided he is tired of chasing it. He gave away his ending to the creators of the TV show and it was a dumpster fire. Hard to inspire yourself to continue down that road after that, especially when you have other more enjoyable options for work and all the money a guy could want.

[@GnarledStaff]

@@lauravsthepage that is definitely one take on it. All I know about his ending is that he said he wrote himself into a corner when he killed off a character.

[@ijimedia]

backwards hat guy late to class two weeks in a row lol

[@lordofgraphite]

His hockey training clashes slightly

[@Ruylopez778]

The beginning of a redemption arc

[@drillerdev4624]

​@@Ruylopez778he's the jock that's secretly a closet nerd and has to sacrifice his sports career in order to help the cute-wait-til-she-removes-her-glasses class president who majors in politics with her rally to prevent big oil from freaking the hell out of that reservoir and pollute the town's natural springs

[@isaac10231]

​@@Ruylopez778his hero's journey is to be on time

[@Ruylopez778]

@Bro is gonna go full circle.

[@zephbaxterauthor]

🔥 Story Structures - Plot Theory🔥 00:01 - Intro and overview. 03:09 - Conflict makes a story. 05:02 - Purpose of obstacles. 06:42 - Dan Harmon's Story Circle. 07:26 - Hero’s Journey strengths & flaws. 14:03 - Dangers of rigid structures. 19:01 - Circular storytelling & progress. 25:48 - Layering multiple story arcs. 29:01 - Tropes: Using vs. avoiding. 30:44 - Yes, but / No, and method. 36:54 - Try-Fail Cycle & Points on a Map. 42:00 - Obstacles as learning tools. 44:46 - Plot holes & avoiding distractions. 54:54 - Three-Act Structure & pacing. 57:54 - Major dramatic question. 01:03:23 - Midpoint twists & escalation. 01:06:54 - Adapting books into film. 01:13:24 - Borrowing structures from other genres.

[@joseda3rd354]

It’s really a testament to Brandon’s talent for immersing you in his stories because magneto but worse never occurred to me

[@philipshippy6262]

This series is amazing. The 2020 lectures, especially the ideas on plot and outlining, inspired me to start outlining a novel I hope to write later this year. It's crazy that this stuff is free. Excited to see what new tools I find this time around!

[@Soco_oh]

This is what democratizing writing actually means, thankyou, and thankyou to anyone reading this who is learning as well.

[@bgomiko]

1:04:24 *Grandpa from the princess bride voice* "where where we? ah yes, in the pits of despair."

[@barbellboa]

I love watching these lectures. If for no other reason to see the depth of knowledge and passion Brandon has for this stuff! And I really just came - like he said - to be a better GM. Also... He is confident The Doors of Stone will get done... My that was the most hope I have gleamed from a single sentence in a long time

[@YggdrasilReviews]

I think one of the things I love about this updated lecture series is the notes. They really help break these concepts down and help keep them fresh.

[@twixxmiles]

I cannot even express how thankful I am for these lectures.

[@ivanljujic4128]

Brandy Sandman, at it again! -I should really start writing already instead of watching these lectures-

[@ArkenStorm7]

I love that Sanderson's wife made him watch "What's up, Doc?" and I also love that I knew the movie from "They're in a room with mobsters shooting at them" even before he mentioned the rocks hahaha Another great lecture, thanks!

[@tyramasters-heinrichs921]

Thank you, Mr. Brandon Sanderson, and University for putting this out into the world! Still writing in Manitoba, Canada.

[@morgan_sperry_writes]

Writing my debut novel this year! So excited for these updated lectures 🎉

[@megalopath]

And despite seeing both, my brain went full Babylon 5 when you said "I was there" instead of LoTR. xD Understanding is a three edged sword. ;)

[@ArthurKain]

Since watching your lecture series I've been reinvigorated to make time for my current work in progress every day! You've helped remove a lot of stress from my mind about writing my stories.

[@mikeshaffer4912]

Wow do I wish I could sit in on one of your classes live.. Thanks for these, Brandon. For those of us who aren't locals. :)

[@bigappa9359]

🗣WHERE'S MY HALO HOMIES?! 😂😂 Wow, I love these videos!!

[@thebilboy6893]

A man of the people! So grateful this is available for us to view free.

[@caripete3]

This was great! I hung on every word! Thank you so much for recording your fantastic lectures!

[@thunder2408]

A new one! As someone who has more experience writing short stories than novels (but who wants to try my hand at the latter), I struggle with coming up with solid plots so this has helped greatly! Tysm and thanks for being a great communicator

[@rocketproductions1441]

I've been a long time fan BranSan! I'm blown away by all the parallels to song writing I've been making as you describe the complexities of writing books! Articulating these frameworks are very profound and im sure it can't be easy, but I wanted to take the time to thank you for spending so much time and energy teaching us all! The arts are very nebulous, your insight is an anchor moving forward and I feel very confident in my direction. I pray to the Almighty that I can teach as well as you one day, my dude!

[@jonathanm6764]

So excited to listen about writing!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@IzayahTownley]

Perfect timing for this lecture to come out. Just finished a novella and now starting work on a sci-fi short story collection. Much better quality than previous recorded lectures though the information is just as useful.

[@rmsgrey]

A couple of thoughts insplired by this lecture: - A piece of advice I've echoed about writing is to always have an idea where you're heading. You don't have to stick to it, but having that destination in mind is important. To use a metaphor: if you want to take a road trip, you could just get in your car and start driving around randomly, and you might even end up somewhere interesting, but chances are you'll just drive around in circles for a few hours. If you set off with a destination in mind, you could well end up getting lost along the way, or find a roadsign for the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota and divert to that, but you'll almost always end up going somewhere at least as interesting as your original destination. - There's a model of mastery I quite like for its symmetry, which states that you go through four stages; unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence, and unconscious competence. In other words, you start off not even knowing what you're doing wrong (or possibly even that you're doing anything wrong), then you start to understand where you are going wrong, and what you need to improve (which is a huge step up from thinking you're already good), then you start being able to do it right but still having to think about it. Finally, you reach the stage where you do things properly without even having to think about it. And, of course, once you reach that stage, you're ready to repeat the entire cycle at the next level up...

[@rajithfernando6200]

Thanks for making these lectures available for a guy like me, an island dweller who has no other access nor the ability to pay for such, given the overbearing life. But I'm determined, this would lead me to paradise. Love from Sri Lanka 🇱🇰

[@Char10tti3]

I actually didn't realise this would be a whole lecture series 😮 Back around 2016 or so I started watching the older ones from a playlist. Is this a yearly thing? Wow

[@darkchocolate-crazy]

The lecture notes are fantastic. Very well organized and great for quick reference. Thank you so much for posting!

[@PaulCharlesAllen]

Again, Thank you so much for uploading these lectures, Brandon. I’m still in the middle of watching the 2020 version, but will go back and forth. This is awesome!

[@-wolfstrike-]

Currently reading through Tress of the Emerald Sea, and it's so fun to hear these lectures and actually see and realise how all this is getting used in your own books. It feels very much like an example book around the lessons you teach, getting too read 2 different stories at once, which is great. :)

[@cibermo8343]

My favorite day of the week because of this.

[@Himanshulohumi]

watching these lecture from India love your lecture and books sir.

[@thedisobedientdaughter]

I'm so very grateful for your passion and willingness to share it with us. Much love from Missouri. 💛

[@jeremiahjohnson4572]

In defense of Tolkien, his complaint, as I understand it, is that everyone mistakes application for allegory. Allegory requires the author to intentionally weave a hidden meaning into their story. Usually the message is a political or moral one. Tolkien rejected all attempts to pidgeon hole his works into an allegory. His experiences and perspectives are without a doubt the well spring of his work, but I appreciate that LOTR doesn't have any set intentioned "meaning". Tolkien invites us to find our own meaning in the things he found meaningful. I think LOTR's continued global success is a testament to the commonality of human experience.

[@edwardsanko6396]

Thank you for posting your lectures to KZbin. Today's data (Tropes and not getting overwhelmed on the tools.) was extremely helpful and motivational.

[@giannadigiacomo7540]

IM SO THANKFUL TO YOU YOU HAVE NO CLUE

[@Levi_Zacharias]

My favourite "No structure" story is The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Pat Rothfuss. Just, nothing else like it.

[@iolair1973]

I just ride the beautiful prose through that book.

[@bipolarminddroppings]

After trying to follow a structure for my first novel, but writing the actual chapters basically by discovery writing, I found my own process that works for me. I'm sure it's got a name, but I basically put my characters into situations and then see what they do, rather than try to plan what they'll do and then write it.

[@duckrutt]

It's called being a DM. You enjoy it and/or you go crazy.

[@EZDre11]

I can’t believe he mentioned LSV in a filmed course! Probably for first for the MTG legend. The lesson he mentioned is so good too.

[@The_Worldbuilding_Shrimp]

I just screeched 'yay!!!' when I saw the video

[@JBDebtFree]

Thanks for sharing these classes. Really great.

[@noahwilhelm9201]

This lecture came out at a perfect time, I’m struggling to figure out an outline for a story I’m going to start writing. Thanks Brandon!

[@DanFlorio]

I grew up with Star Wars, it was the first movie I saw by myself in a theater. When Phantom Menace came out I was finishing a year of college studying abroad in Wales. It didn't open there until a week or so afterward. The first day I was back in the US my friend dropped me off to see the movie. He too was a huge Star Wars fan, and has seen the movie, but wouldn't even give me his opinion of it until after I saw it. He picks me up after the movie and asks, "So, what did you think?" I replied, "I've never been so disappointed in my life." He said, "Good. We can still be friends." Some people hated it from day one.

[@workingforgear]

I’m not writer, I never plan to write a book, but I love to listen to his lectures!

[@dancorrigan7430]

My favorite author referencing one of my favorite screenwriters (Dan Harmon)? Hell yeah

[@jonathankey6444]

Stories are just philosophical wardrobes. What would life be like if I thought this way? The easiest way to move your audience into a mental framework is to move your character into that mental framework as well. That’s why the character has to self-actualize. They must become who they already are deep down so the audience can feel most immersed in this newly rooted and strengthened philosophy. Edit: This is why I find the four corners characterization so useful. Who is the kindest version of one with a philosophy, who is the meanest version, then two more character for kind and mean versions of an opposing philosophy, then have your protagonist switch teams.

[@RoyalFusilier]

Yep. Like he said, Lion King is Hamlet. As Local Lucas Man observed, Hermione has the same personality complex as Thanos. Legend of the Galactic Heroes is Romance of the Three Kingdons IN SPACE. If you've got the emotional and philosophical core of the story down, you've got everything. If you haven't got that, then no matter what else is there, you have nothing.

[@DanielPerez-dm6ug]

I use 3 act structure with three mini arcs in the second act. Works for me.

[@ashlok6241]

"That's it, man. Game over, man. Game over!" -Aliens Great midpoint.

[@RoyalFusilier]

The invasion in Dune is also a great example of a midpoint disaster that shakes everything up and raises the stakes.

[@jacobdumars4515]

Yeah!!! Luke is in the Hero's Journey!!! Everyone in the comments section... give home a hand!!!👏👏

[@Epicurean306]

In Star Wars there is not only multiple layered Hero’s Journey cycles for Luke, but also Anakin follows the Hero’s Journey too. Lucas really does love that structure.

[@dylanshah645]

Awesome lecture, subs for the classroom questions would be useful! Mic pics them up but it's sometimes hard to hear :)

[@RoyalFusilier]

30:00 I think some of this philosophy emerges from the way fiction is tagged on various sites like Fanfiction Dot Net and Archive of Our Own. One of the benefits of that system is sure, people who don't like your tags will be repelled, but people who do will seek it out specifically. Handy since nobody can act like something got sprung on them out of nowhere or they were misled. It does reduce some of the discovery for readers, like sometimes people want things and they don't know it and vice versa. Overall though, I grew up creatively in that milieu growing up, and it'll be interesting to see more and more creative stuff influenced directly from fanfiction.

[@pyredynasty]

Thinking back to the time my final project in my folklore class was on the monomyth.

[@nathanliteroy9835]

If you want more sourced and more flexible alternative to Hero's Journey, look up Propp's "Morphology of the Folktale" written a couple decades earlier. It's much more flexible, has tons of optional steps, taken from Eastern Slavic fairy tales, doesn't require virgin births

[@BR0STRADAMUS]

The Hero's Journey is just a framework for storytelling. There is no requirement for a virgin birth in the Hero's Journey framework. You're thinking of his allusion to the "monomyth" or Hero With a Thousand Faces

[@nathanliteroy9835]

@@BR0STRADAMUS Yeah, that

[@metacob]

An interesting thing about the story circle - When writing "Community", Dan Harmon made it a rule to give a little "story circle story" to each major character in every single episode. I think a nice side-effect was that this basically forces you to get really close to an ensemble cast in just a few episodes, which isn't exactly easy. If you want to feel really close to each character at the end of a season you could also focus on them one episode at the time (like in "Lost"), but that doesn't work so well in a sitcom. I think "Community" achieves this by strictly having a satisfying story for every character.

[@theyoungwitcher3762]

These are crazy, thank you so much

[@angelicafernandezcastro1882]

What in the *heavens* , I just binge watched the other two lectures like, half an hour ago

[@Bigandrewm]

Speaking of characters that have similarities: I'm re-reading through Raymond Feist's Magician series for the first time in a while, and I didn't realize how similar the characters of Brandon's Dalinar and Raymond's Tomas are. They're definitely not the same and end up growing in different directions, but the similarities definitely are there. I really enjoy both characters for themselves.

[@jmoarpierson]

I love Brandon needing to confirm every class when they end 😂 See everyone, he’s human too

[@JParkerAdair]

Wayside Stories! Yes! I am also writing a middle grade book, any hope is that someone says it reminds them of Wayside Stories. 😊

[@Shinmsl]

Probably because I am not religious (and also Phantom Menace was indeed my first Star Wars experience) but for the longest time I had it in my head a completely unique interpretation of the scene when Anakin's mom talks about his "conception": "There's no father" to me registered as " his father abandoned me and I don't want to talk about it😅 And for some reason I even filled in the blanks with my own head-canon immediately like "Oh, maybe the boy's father was a Jedi/Sith that came and went in this planet, maybe he just left or he died, anyway the writer is just telling us *it doesn't matter who his father is* 😅 it wasn't after many years someone online told me they specifically disliked Phantom Menace because of "the divine conception of Anakin"; and was like " the divine -what-now??"😅

[@dawn_gently]

i can`t believe this is how i learn about the devine conception of anakin

[@Der_Thrombozyt]

Even though these points will probably only resurface in my roleplaying campaign, I appreciate this master class from a master author nontheless.

[@hariman7727]

Tropeyness hits when someone is oversaturated by certain tropes. Tropes are tools, just like the writing formulas and plot structures. It's finding what entertains and reinforces the stories. There's some tropes that 100% break my enjoyment of a work. Just, BOOM, 100% done with it. There's other tropes I love, or don't mind, and heck; even the ones I hate I'll sometimes enjoy if they're done REALLY well. One exception: ANY form of modern politics put into a work that isn't set in the real world or a close analogue (and even often in those urban fantasy/etc works) WILL kick most audience members out of the story. Also: People confuse the FLAWS (sometimes legitimate, sometimes not) pointed out by Cinemasins as Plot Holes because the comedy bits are taken too seriously.

[@MrAlanCristhian]

14:14 this is important to remember.

[@Thukad]

When are we getting the video of Brandon and Dan Harmon together to talk about stories and writing?

[@mvo9856]

I think it's notable to point out that Dan Harmon is a comedy TV writer so Dan Harmon's Story Circle is specifically optimized for a serialized show where: A) The episodes aren't necessarily always watched in order, so the fact that characters always come back to where they started is very convenient for a comedy TV writer. B) The show is written by multiple different writers on a team, so having a standardized episode structure is helpful for making the show's format cohesive. C) Episodes have to be written fairly quickly, so having a formula is very convenient. D) The plot of each episode isn't nearly as important as making the episode funny. With all that in mind, The Story Circle is great but I think it definitely is strongest for a serialized narrative. Might be good for someone writing a narrative fiction podcast.

[@CaerEsthar]

Still can’t believe these lectures are free

[@curcurcurvvv2511]

Hello, internet groupmates. How are your stories going? I'm just on the outlining part now. Actually, I haven't ever finished a story before, but this time I'm going to. Not for publication, just to have some fun in the process and see if I'm capable of finishing it.

[@KelsonGeorge-jw4rn]

My story is going good. I’m one-third of the way through the rough draft! My resolution this year is to finally finish my novel; it’s been fun so far. I’m doing it for fun too, probably won’t publish it.

[@vezolf4313]

I work on dark fantasy story. Love it. Few years and it woukd be ready. Thats something i wish i could buy and read ☺️

[@definitelyjin-gitaxias4071]

love you doing this, G

[@csd8204]

Interesting thoughts.

[@squamish4244]

"Gorillas in the phone booth." I love it!

[@anthonywritesfantasy]

So good! Q for Brandon- do you ever teach the Jim Butcher Scene/Sequel system? That one blew my mind.

[@binaryburnout3d]

1:04:22 Game over man, game over.

[@LynetteTheRogue]

"Weren't you in WWI?" 😂😂 Brandon is hilarious as a professor

[@Squall17x]

Safest way to avoid plot holes is to make your story character driven. People are illogical, and so their counter-intuitive actions can be made to make more sense than a mcguffin that just happens to be conveniently close and accessible

[@matthiaspeene5631]

I think the hero's journey is useful for its archetypes. It's not a recipe but ingredients you can add to the dish.

[@firesickle]

Thank you for this.

[@crylorenzo]

I'd be curious what Brandon's view on Kishotenketsu is. I know it's more Eastern storytelling, but I'm sure with his expertise in writing he's come across it and discussed it with others before.

[@do.ry.me-Ch]

Man, I love free educations!

[@SterileSauce]

Can anybody here answer me a question? Can you apply “Yes, But, No, And” to the motivations of antagonists or is it just escalation to the story itself? Like minor antagonists want to capture and use the protagonist for villainy, so they do (Yes) , but they need the protagonist in a sticky situation, (But) they have to free him for his assistance (And) and now he’s in charge because he holds the power that they need. It feels like this circumstance is giving too much author made assistance to the protagonist and isn’t really challenging them so much as it’s challenging the antagonists, but I didn’t know if giving that kind of “mini arc” to the antagonists made them any more interesting, instead of them just acting as a wall for the protagonist to overcome who themselves only face futile defeat to. Maybe I’m overthinking it too much, but the whole “Yes, But, No, And” just feels like an over complication to just “plot should happen and be interesting” and I end up hyper analyzing it

[@Kendojin]

On the topic of tropes, I always heard tropes are bad. Then I find what Sanderson is talking about where people actually seek them out and have favorites... Even in fantasy and sci-fi. Booktok and YT have definitely made tropes ok. "Hi guys, I'm so and so! In this video, we're going to go over 5 of my favorite fantasy tropes, and which books I think did them best!" I mean, at that point, how far are we from talking about genre? I think where tropes are bad is when they're flat. Like a one-note character or a trope that happens all the time but is unrealistic... And tbh? The shortcut is find out what tropes you like, and just weave them into your stories. Just own it! You'll appeal to the readers who like the kinds of stories you like.

[@JoeKawano]

Talking about getting a seat at the last minute from his two young adult male friends,who then become subordinate to Brandon's authority, just as two male young adults show up to get a seat at the last minute...in order to be subordinate to his authority. Synchronicity. 11:20