September is always a busy month for me, and this year is no exception. Today I’m doing a super fast and fun YouTube post. I got the idea from a guest post I did last week for Comparative Geeks. For those of you that don’t know, YouTube is positively bursting with great stuff for writers.
I want to alert everyone’s attention to a fantastic and lightly tapped resource. There is a set of videos generated from author panels that took place in July at the 2015 Comic-Con in San Diego, CA. If you’re like me and didn’t get the chance to attend, watching these videos is the next best thing.
They brought together some top veteran authors for these panels. Names like Lev Grossman, Ernest Cline and Naomi Novik. Plus some of the hottest newer names in publishing like Pierce Brown, Jason M. Hough and Victoria Aveyard. This is just a sample of what you can find in these informative videos.
One panel near and dear to my heart was Modern Fairytales with Reneé Ahdieh, Naomi Novik, Laura Bickle, Tonya Hurley and Julie Kagawa. This one is all about how classic myth, legends and stories are re-imaged in fresh and innovative ways to entertain a new audience.
Or check out Science Fiction and Sex with Marisa Acocella Marchetto, Gini Koch, Camilla D’Errico, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Nick Cole, Wesley Chu and Gwendolyn Womack. This one is also about strong female protagonists, something science fiction novels have been needing more of for a long time.
I also enjoyed No Cape Required: Modern Day Superheroes with Pierce Brown, James Dashner, Marie Lu, Lexie Dunn, Noelle Stevenson, Robert Venditti and Sarah Kuhn. As we continue to embrace the standard superhero form, it turns out the public is willing to love some updated variations.
These talented authors took the time out of their lives to appear in these panels and there is much to be learned. These are only my top picks; there are many more videos in this series. Although I highly recommended you watch them all, I’m giving a bonus shout out to The Buffy Effect: Teen Heroines Past and Present panel.
If watching writers talk about writing is not your thing, you should at least watch Sci-Fi authors Vs. Fantasy authors Family Feud. It’s quite amusing.
If you have a favorite YouTube writing show, please let everyone know in the comments.
I had to refollow because, somehow, I lost all the blogs I was following when I switched Windows. Either that or it was my email change. I’m not sure what caused it, but I’m here now. Yay!
I’ve never used YouTube for anything other than research purposes. I also had no idea they posted conference panels. Now I’ll definitely check out the crime-y ones. Thanks, Robin!
Hi Sue,
Nice to have you back. Moving anything on computers is never easy. Losing your blogroll seems like a pretty common issue after a major change in hosting, email user names and etc. It sounds like a huge pain! : (
Good luck putting everything back in order.
The channel I linked to in this post is the one from Penguin Random House. I’m wiling to bet they have some crime information posted.
This is brilliant.
Thanks, Sarah. Glad you enjoyed the links. Did you love how goofy they got in the Superhero panel? James Dashner starts to look a bit like a deer stuck in the headlights in parts of it. I don’t think he was ready for Pierce Brown’s bouncing off the walls exuberance. Pierce is my new hero, that guy is having a blast with his new author fame.
Great post and great idea. I hadn’t thought about looking in YouTube for information for writers. 🙂
@dino0726 from
FictionZeal – Impartial, Straightforward Fiction Book Reviews
YouTube is just packed with stuff for writers, classes, tips and tutorials. Lots of garbage too. You have to look for the high quality videos from trusted sources. : )
I’ve been meaning to check out the SDCC Family Feud video all summer long! *lol* Thank you for the reminder, Robin. 🙂
Hi Sara, You’ll like it. Turns out Brandon Sanderson has a dry, but great sense of humor. And Ernest Cline is wicked smart.
Thanks! I’m going to check some of these out!!
Hi Holly,
I think you will enjoy them. There is some remarkable insight into publishing. Many of these writers really paid their dues to get where they are. First book deals that fell apart years after a sale. And even getting canned from their publishers after lackluster book sales. Some even switched genres and pen names before hitting on what they do best. Great stuff in these videos.