by

Striking the Motherlode

flightfoxcom

image from flightfox.com

Well, I have a gift for you today. NO, it’s not a book. Phew!

A friend of mine shared a link with me, and when I opened it, I gasped. My knees turned to syrup, and I wiped tears of delight from my eyes. I’d struck writing gold.

Brandon Sanderson, the highly successful author of Mistborn and The Way of Kings fame, teaches a master’s level class at BYU for fantasy and science-fiction writers. The class is so popular that only a small number of interested students actually get to enroll. In response to the flood of despair, the entire series of winter lectures were videotaped and are available on YouTube at zero cost.

image from thebooksmuggler.com

image from thebooksmuggler.com

You don’t write sci-fi or fantasy, you say.

I will assert, while skipping in circles with excitement, that the ideas he presents are 99% applicable to all fiction writing. He covers a broad range of choices and approaches, and rarely lays down any hard fast rules. Writers will fill up their brains with ideas while being told to discover what works for them.

(Just to warn you, he does hate passive sentences and has an odd aversion to the word “replied”).

Now, this is a ton of material that includes not only invaluable lessons on writing, but also on how to pitch, sell, and market a book. He’s tidily listed the lessons by content so it’s possible to pick and choose what you’re interested in learning about. The complete listing, with links to each lecture is here: Brandon Sanderson Writing Seminar.

Enjoy!

91 thoughts on “Striking the Motherlode”

  1. Marje @ Kyrosmagica says:
    August 14, 2015 at 6:39 am

    Reblogged this on kyrosmagica and commented:
    Reblog of Brando Sanderson’s writing Youtube Seminars from D.Wallace Peach of myths of the mirror. These will keep you out of mischief for a very long time!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Marje @ Kyrosmagica says:
    August 14, 2015 at 6:34 am

    Wow this is amazing, he’s a great writer thanks for sharing, looks like a reblog to me..

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Patrick Jones says:
    August 11, 2015 at 8:10 pm

    Reblogged this on The Linden Chronicles: The Wolf's Moon by Patrick Jones and commented:
    Excellent information from D. Wallace Peach!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. jenanita01 says:
    August 10, 2015 at 8:15 am

    Reblogged this on Anita & Jaye Dawes.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. K'lee L. says:
    August 5, 2015 at 1:19 am

    I can’t say thank you enough for this gift! I’m just seeing this post so I’ll be heading to class soon. Wow!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Sheron says:
    August 4, 2015 at 1:20 am

    I watched all of them and really enjoyed them. Thanks for spreading the word.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Julie Holmes, author says:
    July 29, 2015 at 11:39 am

    Thanks for sharing! I’ll definitely have to check out the clips (after work, of course!).

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Carl D'Agostino says:
    July 27, 2015 at 10:04 pm

    Really helpful for a lot of people.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Michelle Rene Goodhew says:
    July 27, 2015 at 6:19 pm

    You are a Rock Star! Thanks a ton for sharing this 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Erik says:
    July 27, 2015 at 5:51 pm

    I really have found the best of “social” through your posts and reader comments, Diana. Feels like people just being real about their passion – exactly as simple and wonderful as it should be.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Belinda Crane says:
    July 27, 2015 at 7:13 am

    Thank you for sharing this D 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  12. ellytreehugger AKA elly stornebrink says:
    July 27, 2015 at 5:04 am

    Cool! Thanks so much for the information as I am considering writing anywhere from one to three books, hopefully the latter! 😉 ❤

    Liked by 2 people

  13. Mira Prabhu says:
    July 26, 2015 at 7:27 am

    Reblogged, thanks so much!

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Mira Prabhu says:
    July 26, 2015 at 7:21 am

    Reblogged this on mira prabhu and commented:
    I picked up a fantasy novel but never read it until very recently, when i really needed an escape after a death in the family…then I simply could not put it down. A world so lovingly created…a harsh and elitist world operated by masters running a slave population…the author is Brandon Sanderson, the highly successful author of Mistborn (he novel I refer to) and The Way of Kings fame…check out his tips on writing by scrolling down for a link…and don’t forget to read this great post along the way too! Thank you Chris Graham!

    Liked by 2 people

  15. patriciaruthsusan says:
    July 26, 2015 at 1:08 am

    Reblogged this on Musings on Life & Experience and commented:
    Great information and completely free. Thanks Diana.

    Liked by 2 people

  16. wendyannedarling says:
    July 25, 2015 at 6:02 am

    Reblogged this on Wendy Anne Darling and commented:
    I can barely believe the wealth of resources that D. Wallace Peach has found here! A veritable cornucopia of lectures from Brandon Sanderson, all free on YouTube! Although he’s a fantasy and sci-fi guy, these lectures are 99% applicable to all fiction writing. How often do you get a chance to experience so much knowledge for free?

    I have a lot of studying to do. Thanks so very much, Ms. Peach!

    Liked by 2 people

  17. sonshinegreene says:
    July 25, 2015 at 5:24 am

    Reblogged this on Riley Amos Westbook and commented:
    A good resource for any author!

    Liked by 2 people

  18. sonshinegreene says:
    July 25, 2015 at 5:22 am

    Gold mine!

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Suzanne Joshi says:
    July 25, 2015 at 4:32 am

    What a treasure you’ve found, Diana. This is the kind of resource I’m always looking for. Thank you so much for sharing. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Damyanti says:
    July 25, 2015 at 4:03 am

    Thankyou for sharing this resource– will hop across and read it!

    Liked by 2 people

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      July 25, 2015 at 1:05 pm

      You are welcome, Damyanti. One of the great things about it is that it’s all in small segments, so you can catch a few minutes of it here and there without having to commit big chunks of time. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  21. ~Michelle Cook says:
    July 24, 2015 at 10:13 pm

    Is it best to start with the 2012 lectures or does it seem to matter? Thanks for sharing this. Looks like loads of good information.

    Liked by 2 people

  22. purpleslobinrecovery says:
    July 24, 2015 at 10:10 pm

    No wonder you were skipping with joy! That’s seriously excellent news! If it’s free, it’s for me!

    Liked by 2 people

  23. vanbytheriver says:
    July 24, 2015 at 9:18 pm

    Wow…that’s quite a resource ! ☺ Van Thanks for sharing.

    Liked by 3 people

  24. Mary J. McCoy-Dressel says:
    July 24, 2015 at 8:43 pm

    Thanks so much for sharing this valuable information.

    Liked by 3 people

  25. Dawn D says:
    July 24, 2015 at 8:36 pm

    Hey, thanks! That’s going to be very useful to me!

    Liked by 3 people

  26. blondieaka says:
    July 24, 2015 at 8:09 pm

    Wow ..thank you, anyway must go on my way to U-tube 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  27. kdrose1 says:
    July 24, 2015 at 7:52 pm

    Wow is this awesome. Thank you so much for sharing!

    Liked by 3 people

  28. Sacha Black says:
    July 24, 2015 at 6:04 pm

    Amazing find thanks for sharing 😊💖

    Liked by 3 people

  29. Nurse Kelly says:
    July 24, 2015 at 5:13 pm

    Thank you so much for sharing this, Diana. Will definitely check it out!

    Liked by 3 people

  30. BarbarianWriter says:
    July 24, 2015 at 4:41 pm

    I a still fascinated by the amount of support going on, one Author to another. I’m amazed that a best-selling Writer has been generous enough to make help available to we who cannot afford higher education, too.
    Thanks for posting so others can benefit from this awesomeness!

    #WriteOn!
    — John

    Liked by 3 people

  31. philipparees says:
    July 24, 2015 at 4:35 pm

    Very generous on all fronts! Thank you. Nice quick sessions to absorb.

    Liked by 2 people

  32. orangepondconnects says:
    July 24, 2015 at 4:21 pm

    Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing.

    Liked by 4 people

  33. Carrie Rubin says:
    July 24, 2015 at 4:14 pm

    Thanks so much for the link. I’ll definitely check it out. How generous of him to put it out there for free.

    Liked by 3 people

  34. The Story Reading Ape says:
    July 24, 2015 at 4:04 pm

    Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog and commented:
    You will LOVE this FREE course 😃

    Liked by 4 people

  35. Nicholas C. Rossis says:
    July 24, 2015 at 4:04 pm

    That’s awesome! Plus, I *do* write sci-fi and fantasy, so… 😀

    Liked by 4 people

    • D. Wallace Peach says:
      July 24, 2015 at 4:11 pm

      This was really good, Nicholas. I went through most of it, picked up new ideas, and sharped my skills. Each video is short, so it’s not a huge time commitment to brush up here and there.

      Liked by 1 person

  36. Smorgasbord - Variety is the Spice of Life. says:
    July 24, 2015 at 3:58 pm

    Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
    As D. Wallace Peach says.. a gift.. free masterclasses via YouTube by Brandon Sanderson #fantasy and #sciencefiction. Thanks Diana

    Liked by 3 people

  37. Lidy says:
    July 24, 2015 at 3:54 pm

    Thanks for sharing this 😄

    Liked by 3 people

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