No Bullshit Writing Lessons from Authors Like Sanderson

[Anonymous No.16348838]

Are there any good no-bullshit writing courses out there that strip everything down to the meat and bones of how to write to sell shitloads of copies? Brandon Sanderson's courses are good about that; he talks about proactive heroes, concrete language, giving your story a system of progression, etc: the kind of stuff that will result in more readers enjoying, sharing and buying your work. However, Sanderson's lessons seem pretty limited and tend to cover the same topics repeatedly.

I'm looking for someone who breaks this down methodically and by the numbers. Someone who sits down and really tries to break successful fantasy (or any) writing down to its least common denominator--and someone who is probably right about their conclusions.

I'm mostly looking to blow past the "HERE'S ONE COOL WRITING TIP BURIED IN A 10-MINUTE VIDEO" stuff

[Anonymous No.16348916]

If anyone had a formula for a best-seller, they likely wouldn't share it, they'd just use it to get rich.

Be wary of bullshit peddlers. They exist in every profession and their sole skill is being able to market themselves as experts or people that "know the secret to being successful". Easiest way to filter these dudes out is by checking their bio and seeing if they're actually successful beyond selling a book or class about being successful, or the worst type but least noticeable, they're involved in academia and research, better at creating hypothesis about what makes people successful than actually winning the game they're studying.

[Anonymous No.16348932]

>>16348838
Why don't you read a book instead?

[Anonymous No.16348947]

>>16348916
For sure. There's no winning formula, but there are a couple of general guidelines you can extract from looking at what is or isn't successful in the field. I like Sanderson's videos because he flat-out tells people that all of his tips are just the cream on the crop, and that the only way you can possibly get good at writing is to just do it for years and years on your own time because you enjoy it.

However, I'd like to listen to someone who does attempt to break this stuff down on a fundamental level and offer some level of insight. A free blog would be just as good.

[Anonymous No.16348955]

>>16348947
cream on top*

[Anonymous No.16348965]

Funny how all the greats never took a "creative writing" class. This is something that appeals to midwits and charlatans. The fact that Sanderson teaches one is pottery. The blind leading the blind.

[Anonymous No.16348987]

>>16348965
"The greats" are great because they wrote good stories in an era when thought-provoking literature was widely recognized as part of a booming medium, right? I'm asking about writing commercially successful stories in 2020. There's a difference.

[Anonymous No.16349000]

>>16348987
>commercially successful stories in 2020.
Not /lit/.

[Anonymous No.16349013]

>>16349000
"/lit/ is for the discussion of literature, specifically books (fiction & non-fiction), short stories, poetry, creative writing, etc."

Seems like it's working off the "literature=a body of written works" definition.

[Anonymous No.16349064]

>>16349000
No, but scamming people out of money is. That's what OP is trying to do

[« Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ » !!oI3er5KKetj No.16349071]

>>16348838
Is there a cape to match that turtleneck?

[Anonymous No.16349090]

>>16348965
The authors weren't thumbing their ass. They all did something mechanical to become better at their stuff

[Anonymous No.16349858]

>>16348987
>There's a difference.
No

[Anonymous No.16350893]

>>16349090
You've either got it or you don't. You clearly do not.

[Anonymous No.16350971]

>>16348838
have about a 120 IQ max, it used to be 130 but that's really pushing it nowadays. the good news of 120 IQ writing is every single thought, character, and plot you have is the same ones your audience have

[Anonymous No.16351008]

>>16348987
>"The greats" are great because they wrote good stories in an era when thought-provoking literature was widely recognized as part of a booming medium, right?
and they still did it without instruction as did almost all if the lesser writers. Compared to something like playing an instrument, kf you speak a language you are already at the point where you don't need a teacher anymore. Now how you get better is listening to a lot of music, practicing and maybe learning about music theory. Go read and write as much as you can and if you really want theoretical insight, read some literary theory.