Sanderson 2012.9 - Worldbuilding & Magic
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- Опубликовано: 28 апр 2016
- Brandon Sanderson’s 2012 Semester at BYU: Creative Writing, Lecture 9
This video is a mirror of the materials posted by user writeaboutdragons. I’ve linked together the parts of the lecture into a single video, and provided some notes with timestamps below. Enjoy!
*Notes*
0:12 / Questions
- Who chooses excerpts for books
- Advice on how to process feedback from friends
- Comments on humor
- How do you outline a multi-book project
11:16 / Setting as a character
- Character and plot need to be the core of your story
- - You should still have a fantastic setting
- Treat your setting like a cast of characters
- - Each setting should have the same main things
- - - Personality, a backstory, quirks, strengths/flaws
17:00 / Geography and maps
- Key levels: World, Nations, Local setting
- - If you want to be a professional writer, building this should be a few months at most
- Coast lines are irregular
21:39 / Rivers
- Rivers flow away from mountains and towards oceans
- Rivers combine, they don’t split
- They flow as directly to the coast as possible
- Lakes feed out from only one place
26:55 / Mountains
- Come from tectonics or volcanos, so consider thinking about your plates
- Tall mountains are new, short mountains are old
29:30 / Deserts
- “Rain shadow” mountains block rain to one side only
- Seem to occur at the 30-deg latitudes
- Remember to transition between regions
34:02 / Maps in general
- Maps are optional
- Publisher probably wont prioritize making a map; you can have your own made and provide
- Don’t send a map with your manuscript
- 1 page of line art can go for ~$500
- You should make a map for yourself if your characters move around so you can keep track of distances (even if you don’t include it)
- - Note: horses don’t move much faster than people for long distances
41:00 / Notes on cities
- 10 farmers needed for every 1 city dweller
- 25K is a big medieval-stage city
- - Food/water deliver and waste removal govern size of cities
- Second city is 1/2 size of first city, third is 1/3, fourth is 1/4th
- Ports/harbors need to be defensible
48:05 / Cultures
- Ask a few “what if” questions about government, or religion, etc
- - Gender roles (not just reversed)
- - Race relations
- - - Brandon says to Google “racefail” to learn about pitfalls with doing this badly, here is one result annsomerville.net/a-themed-sum...
- - Language, offenses, economics, technology, warfare, family
- Pick maybe ~3 topics, and give them a few quirks each
1:00:12 / Magic systems: Sanderson’s first law
- Magic is a sliding scale between “wonder” and being a “plot device”
- Don’t try to solve plot problem with your magic unless you’ve let the reader understand the rules of magic
- - This really comes down to foreshadowing to avoid the deus ex machina
- Hard vs Soft magic: Hard means clearly defined rules, soft means not clearly defined
- - Example: Wolverine has very specific super powers that we all know = HARD system
- Advanced technology in sci-fi can be handled by the same rules as magic
1:16:05 / Sanderson’s second law
- Limitations are more interesting than abilities
- - Pick good limits to your magic, and a good cost for using your magic
- These are usually the core of good conflicts with your magic system
1:20:44 / Sanderson’s third law
- Everything should be interconnected
- When you add magic to the mix, consider the ramifications on your cultures and world
I haven’t been in school in over a decade. That bell gave me so much anxiety
I've watched multiple years worth of Brandon's creative writing lectures and every time he tells the story about the book that flopped because all of the cool stuff was at the end I really want to know what the book was. I'd be willing to give it a read.
Plot twist: The Final Empire was actually meant to be Mistborn book 2 and the original book was about Alendi.
Same
"Don't save the coolest parts of your story for Book 2" - Brandon S. I could NOT AGREE MORE. I hate it when I read a book and people tell me well you have to read the second one...COME ON!!!! This book needs to stand on its own.
In depth!!! This video is a testimonial that classroom training surpasses all other forms of learning--- by leaps and bounds. And RUclips adds another dimension--- convenience----upload once and play n number of times!
The mini lecture on maps is probably my favorite of all of these.
"Humor gets less and less funny the more you study it." Yup.
A good thing to keep in mind when writing humor, I learned from Neil Gaiman, so this is not my advice, is to put the funny bit at the end. Let the surprise of it be the punchline to the sentence, or scene or story. For example, he described a character of his as being very large, like a sumo, and his adversary as a very thin tall man. He said, something like, (paraphrasing badly, mind you), 'the sumo character was larger than 4 of the skinny characters combined, each carrying a suitcase full of lard'. This works better than saying that they were carrying lard-filled suitcases, because the funny bit here is the idea of carrying lard, not the suitcases or the men, themselves.
33:40 caves also form in volcanic basalt. Quite often, actually. Specifically in Central Oregon, where I grew up, there are dozens of basalt caves, which I had great fun exploring.
Aren't those technically grottos?
Solo Dark is correct. For instance, Lava tunnels form caves. Cave is a general term applying to any natural underground chamber. Caves can also form in sandstone. Guy speaking up in the video was wrong. They can be eroded out of sandstone stratum by wind or water.
I appreciate Brandon's lectures on writing. So good. HOWEVER I can't believe he eats while he's lecturing. So peculiar.
I get him, I’m a amateur kickboxer and I literally never stop eating even when doing my main job lol.
@@rake2916 😆
I think that his statements about magic systems being interconnected with the lore of the universe is something that is often overlooked. It's always jarring when a mage can cast a MOAB on a small scale, but isn't being fielded as a breach operator, or used as an artillery cannon. However, the opposite is undersold. When the universe DOES flow together, you actually ignore it because it makes complete sense.
I wonder what it would be like to have Oda teach a world building class....
It would be very hard to understand for an English speaker.
Eichiro Oda? That would be fun.
I feel like it’d be a very long class.
58:26 magic systems
A lake can have more than one outlet if the inflow is greater than the outflow a single outlet can provide.
As a reader, I prefer that punchlines be split between page turns. If I can eyeball the push line, it ruins the effect. Humor relies on rhythm, so quite structuring the printing of the text can be a valuable tool for making humor work.
_this is a good one. thanks for upload! Brandon is the kind of man who really doesn't learn, but remembers always instead. depth and breadth. at once straight and curved. how is that possible? brandon sanderson. I have spoken of you._
I love how Brandon is always eating 🍽
Excellent lecture. I wish that I could’ve been there in person so I could throw that bag of candy out the window. The chewing. Aghhh.
30:55
30° on earth for the same reason that the Great red spot upon Jupiter is 30° (north and south of the equator), as well as spots on other planets including Neptune. To be sure, this is on account of the geometrical structure informing the planets intelligence. You must picture the star tetrahedron. See the work of drone below Melchizedek for the details. And, for Plato the level of geometry was even deeper, or closer to the source, then was the mathematical realm. The only thing deeper than the geometrical metaphysical under structure of the universe was the pure being itself. Being ... Capital B._
Hey does anyone know what book he’s talking about at 9:00?
me have world built for abute 6 years because i got grounded from skyrim one day lol
18:16
Alexander the Great named a ton of cities after himself.
I'm pretty sure Brandon got geology and geography mixed up - geology is the study of rocks and geography is the study of the world/map stuff.
Nah, he's talking about geology, not geography.
This is probably the first time I've seen him eat
That sounds weird
Also what university on this planet has bells? Weird.
Romans did the pony express
Generally, humor is a shocking thing, often a hurtful thing to someone. In the example below of the sumo, it is the fact that we're poking fun at the size of the large man. Sometimes it's more vicious, sometimes more innocent, but I think it all stems from some form of critical inspection, even if it's just subconscious. Study comedians and try to find out what the joke is saying, and who it is affecting or describing, and is it flattering to that person or group, or critical of them? Why does it work, and how can you take the working bit and make it work in your story?
Humor is hard, I think, because of this. We want to be seen as nice people, so saying things that might come off as offensive to someone is distasteful to us, so we play at being funny without ever really exploring why funny things are funny at all. At who's expense is the joke being told? No one's? It's probably not very funny. Is it edging the line of offensive? You might be on the right track. You don't have to be mean, but don't shy away from being critical.
Just my thoughts, I could be wrong. I am, after all, a moron.
Brandon Sanderson is a gem in the world, but hearing him explain “male privilege” is cringy as hell. I’m hoping his views have changed since 2012.
I admire this author but I feel like I knew all of what he teaches already. And I knew what would work and what wouldn't. I would never pay for a creative writing class.
Matriarchy is overdone? Hm, examples anyone?
Amazonians every time they're shown. There is an episode in Star Trek that did it. Episode in futurama. The last man, Brian k. Vaughan. The cleft, doris lessing is pretty interesting. There are at least 170+ more books you can find online. Probably as much film/TV. I can list more if you like.
@@mandingodangodude Dune.
also, 170+ is quite a specific number. any source for that?
@@billyalarie929 not really. Back when I posted this I just looked through list after list and counted up to 170, then got bored counting 😊 figured those examples were good enough.
The more interesting thing about things like "Male Privilege" and "White Privilege" in reality, is that it doesn't really exist in reality either.
"Male Privilege" for example, is touted as if it's a thing that really exists. But the truth is that it's only perceived to exist by some who conform to the idealogy that touts it.
The example about defaulting words to male. "Male Privilege" is one way to view it, because from one perspective, if it defaults to male, then that's a display of "Male Privilege". But it's also an example of "Female Privilege" from another perspective, because by having words default to male, that means it's giving female versions of words uniqueness, giving females in general a special/unique place.
Nevermind how much of society, even back then, was sculpted to protect women. And it society always advances to the benefit of women overall.
And yet the concept of "Male Privilege" exists and people take it seriously. Despite everyone in western society universally accepting that, between a husband and a wife, the wife is always right, about everything. Even if she's wrong, she's right.
It's a really interesting lesson on how a character's perspective/viewpoint/ideology can drastically change how some aspect of the world is presented.
gender roles and racism the only things why i dislike reading brandon sandersons books dont need to be stuffed with lib bs in books lol
The Mistborn trilogy has none of this. Nothing analogous to modern society anyway. Unique, fleshed out worlds will always have racism and sexism, because that's realistic.
Seriously, There are studies that show some exist... to SMALL degrees (when you are dressed at least business casual), but he makes it sound like this massive thing. I do not want to be preached at.
@@Araunah1337 Please elaborate. I've read the Mistborn series up to Alloy of Law and read The Way of Kings.
@@fulviolorenzo2438 Examples from Mistborn trilogy of Way of Kings?
So not having racism = lib bs. Ooookay then.
ohh no ...brandon sanderson dont be an sjw pleese....
Acknowledging the existence of certain privileges doesn't make him an SJW. Those degenerates have a tendency to exaggerate real things until they have no meaning.
Take, for example, the idea of a safe space. The term used to describe a place where someone in genuine danger, whether it be physical or mental, could be comfortable and safe. Now, it's a label given to anywhere an SJW can go to avoid dissenting views. An echo chamber.
He's a prude Mormon that is now hostage to his girly audience 🤣
@@ginge641 True. Though the idea of white and male privilege are widely debated except among those with sjw type beliefs.
The way he states them like a fact, points to sjw like beliefs.
Though I think he was pointing it out merely as an example for his point. Don't think he's full sjw, just left leaning at most, but I can see how that conclusion could be drawn.
@@mandingodangodude He's said before that he's left leaning with a lot of right leaning family, and that one of the things that really bugs him is how the media portrays people like his family using stereotypes and strawmen. He's no SJW.
@@ginge641 Good to know. Yeah I figured he wasn't like I said before I figured he was maybe left of center or center. Either way I love listening to the guy, he's a wealth of information.
Brandon even bored a class of liberals with liberal nonsense...