Bryan Young's Blog, page 6

Writing Beginnings and Getting Through Act 2

In this week's video, I talk about where to start stories and how to get through your second act in the outline. I also talk about using the Hero's Journey as a menu, rather than a checklist.

I also talked a little bit about my new short story Patreon, which I'll be talking more about in a future post. In the mean time you can check that out here and vote on the first kind of story I'll be writing.

--

As a reminder: You can join my short story Patreon here. 
The Aeronaut and Escape...

Curious Writers

Origins Game Fair came and went over the weekend and I had a lot of fun. I met a lot of fans and got to hang out with one of my favorite groups of writers. I also got to teach a lot of fun classes about writing, which are always as illuminating to me as I hope they are for the audience.

One thing that struck me as I was there, though, is that all of the writers I know are incredibly curious and inquisitive. They ask a lot of questions about how things work and why. It makes more sense every ye...

Origins!

This week I will be heading to Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio. Every year it's a chance for me to hang out with fellow writer friends, as well as Star Wars nerds from Club Jade. But I also get an opportunity to teach some classes in writing and do some gaming as well. The crowd there always has great questions and I learn as much from them as I hope they learn from me.

Working a convention is something writers, I think, need to be more accustomed to in this day and age. It's a great place...

Rules of Magic and Writing the Opposite Sex

In this new video, I talk about the rules for writing fantasy based Magic systems and tricks to write the opposite sex.

In this, I mentioned Brandon Sanderson's writing class that is online. Below is part 2 of that class. You can skip part 1, it's really just housekeeping for the class. There are a dozen parts to it, they're great to watch as both new information and the occasional refresher.


--

As a reminder: The Aeronaut and Escape Vector are still out and still need your p...

A New Star Wars Project!

I am proud to announce that I have a new book coming out at the end of the month. I was asked to write 20+ new essays for The Best of Star Wars Insider Volume 2.

This series collects some of the best work that has appeared in the pages of Star Wars Insider and I was asked to come aboard for this volume to add new context and my own experience to introduce each piece. It was a lot of fun to work on, even though the deadline was incredibly tight.

This is one of those top secret projects I worked...

Revisions and Deadlines

I took to Facebook to answer questions about my revision process and deadlines. I do these every Friday around noon MST if you'd like to catch them live. You can do that by liking my Facebook author page. 

--

As a reminder: The Aeronaut and Escape Vector are still out and still need your purchases and reviews. If nothing else, they can use you telling people about them. If you want signed copies, visit the shop here on this page.
Also! here's the full list of "...

Asking Questions

There are times when I'm writing, at just about any stage of the process, from outlining to revision, where I will find myself in a tough place. I won't quite know what's wrong, but I do know that moving forward with any sense of momentum is difficult.

I've found a pretty fast and simple way to get me out of these situations: by asking questions.

It's really as simple as that.

I don't ask these questions out loud or anything, or even in front of other people, unless I'm bringing in a collaborato...

Writing Vlog #5 - Art vs. Commerce and Revisions

I talked this week about the fine line between being true to your art and being commercial. I also talk a bit about revisions and my process for them...

If you have any questions for next time, don't hesitate to leave them here, I'll get to them on the next live stream! If you want to watch live, I typically do these on Friday afternoons around noon MST or so on my Facebook page. 

--

As a reminder: The Aeronaut and Escape Vector are still out and still need your pur...

When to Start Revising

I'm in the process of revising my epic fantasy novel that I wrote late last year and though I'd tackle a topic that comes up often when I'm revising.

I get asked pretty frequently, "When should I start revising my manuscript?"

And I have an answer that works for me personally, but it might not be the best answer for everyone, even though I think it's good advice.

For me, the answer to that question is easy: I don't start revising a manuscript until I finish another one. There are a few reasons I...

Writing Vlog #4 - Preparation and Pacing

I talk about how much work in pre-planning gets done before embarking on a novel and how to properly pace a novel. If you have more questions for next week's broadcast, feel free to leave them in the comments!

You can watch these live on Facebook on my author page on Friday's around noon MST.

Also, I'd like people to note that I'm not being pretentious with my glasses, I got them yesterday and am still adjusting to them.

--

As a reminder: The Aeronaut and Escape Vector are sti...