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

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

Lecture #9

Definitions

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

Lecture Notes: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy - Character

Introduction

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

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

Three Pillars of Character Engagement

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

1. Establish Empathy

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

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

2. Establish Rooting Interest

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

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

3. Establish Progress

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

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

Sliding Scales of Characterization

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

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

Flaws, Limitations, and Handicaps

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

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

Character Voice and Avoiding Stilted Dialogue

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

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

Additional Q&A

Question 1: How do you handle multiple viewpoints?

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

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

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

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

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

Question 3: Why use motivations instead of goals?

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

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

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

Lecture #10

Definitions

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

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

Introduction

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

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

Dialogue

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

Avoiding Monologues

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

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

Expressing Character Through Dialogue

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

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

Varying Character Voices

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

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

Dialect

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

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

Dialogue Tags and Beats

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

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

Punctuation Marks

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

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

Description

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

Establishing Shots

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

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

Anchoring Descriptions

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

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

Characterizing Through Description

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

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

Beats and Action

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

Action Sequences as Mini Arcs

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

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

Writing Fight Scenes

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

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

Introspection (Navel Gazing)

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

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

Character Arcs

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

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

Revision

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

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

Conclusion

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

Lecture #11

Definitions

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

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

Introduction

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

Dialogue

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

Avoiding Monologues

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

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

Expressing Character Through Dialogue

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

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

Varying Character Voices

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

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

Dialect

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

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

Dialogue Tags and Beats

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

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

Punctuation Marks

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

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

Description

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

Establishing Shots

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

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

Anchoring Descriptions

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

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

Characterizing Through Description

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

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

Beats and Action

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

Action Sequences as Mini Arcs

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

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

Writing Fight Scenes

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

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

Introspection (Navel Gazing)

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

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

Character Arcs

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

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

Revision

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

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

Conclusion

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

Lecture #12

Definitions

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

Lecture Notes: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy - Traditional Publishing

Introduction

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

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

The Publisher and Its Structure

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

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

The Big Five Publishers

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

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

Direct Submission vs. Agents

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

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

The Submission Process (Direct)

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

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

Finding an Agent

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

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

The Role of Conferences and Conventions

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

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

The Publishing Process After Acquisition

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

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

Indie Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing

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

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

Additional Tips and Insights

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

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

Lecture #13 (final section)

Definitions

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

Lecture Notes: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy - Indie Publishing

Introduction

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

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

A Brief History of Indie Publishing

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

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

Why Choose Indie Publishing?

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

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

Strategies for Success in Indie Publishing

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

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

Costs of Indie Publishing

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

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

Advertising and Marketing

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

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

The Changing Landscape of Indie Publishing

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

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

Traditional Publishing Contracts and Royalties

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

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

The Role of Literary Agents

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

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

Conclusion

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

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

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

Attn Story Hackers: How these notes were created

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here is the final prompt I decided on:

IDENTITY and PURPOSE

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

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

HOW TO TELL WHAT IS IMPORTANT

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

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

STEPS

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

OUTPUT INSTRUCTIONS

You only output Markdown.

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

Create the output using the formatting above.

Do not start items with the same opening words.

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

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

Ensure you follow ALL these instructions when creating your output.

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