In my never-humble opinion, traditional college education, especially for those interested in a career in story telling, is a massive, terrible, absolutely ungodly waste of time, money, and effort. We live in an age where information has never been more readily available and easy to access. Seriously, don't feed bloated institutions bent on indoctrination and extortion when freelance education for creative writers is accessible, affordable, and often supports other artists.
I embarked on a freelance study of story in all its forms directly out of high school, and have learned immensely at my own pace without any debt or stress. Story is not rocket-science or brain surgery, and the notion that you need a degree to do something so intrinsic to your nature as a human being is absurd.
For anyone with a bit of motivation, dedication, and focus, a freelance study in creative writing will lend you a more thorough, non-traditional, progressive insight into the craft that will prepare you for a career in creative writing without the sheer torture and unbelievable costs of narrow-minded college institutions. In this post, I will begin sharing my favorite books, youtube channels, films, and resources for immersing yourself in the rapidly-evolving world of story.
__________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Materials I Find Helpful
__________________________________________________________________________________
Before you start your freelance study, these super basic materials and study tips will ensure you actually absorb and intake the books, videos, and courses you view.
NOTEBOOK/JOURNAL: Pick out a notebook or journal you enjoy using and find accessible to take a myriad of notes, annotations, and thoughts will you study. If you read, highlight in the book and write in your journal what stands out to you as revolutionary. Start a new page for each chapter or video you begin. Science has shown that handwriting notes while studying increases your grasp on new concepts immensely. It may seem a little tedious as first, but seriously! Get a good pen and some fun highlighters and go for it. Even if your scribbles end up hardly legible, just the act of engaging with intention with whatever you are studying that day will imprint the concepts in your mind.
REVIEW: Review whatever you learned your prior session before beginning a new topic, video, of chapter. Remember, you are your own teacher, and you must be intentional and disciplined in order to make your study work.
HIGHLIGHTERS, DOODLES, AND TUNES: While studying, use whatever techniques help you focus best! Modernity has greatly shortened attention spans, so find good study music, highlight everything with wild colors, or doodle relentlessly. Whatever helps your brain settle and hone in on the concepts you're studying, go for it!!
Blogs: Your New Best friends
A great place to start is checking out other writer's blogs. Take notes (seriously, this will change your life) as you read along and play whatever music settles your brain as you read along. My favorite blogs are:
HELPING WRITERS BECOME AUTHORS (KM WEILAND). KM Weiland's excellent, long-running blog is home to hundreds of detailed, thought-provoking posts on writing that are easy to understand and never overwhelming. Her blog pairs well with her series of books on writing. She even has a wonderful collection of posts analyzing almost every Marvel movie released to date! Her fun, inventive posts are a GREAT place to start your freelance study.
WRITERS HELPING WRITERS Writers Helping Writers is another great, cohesive blog full of excellent insights for beginning writers and veterans alike.
NowNovel NowNovel has hundreds of excellent posts on the basic fundamentals of creative writing, as well as optional courses to take. This is a great place to start and the blog is structured in a friendly manner that isn't quite as overwhelming as many courses tend to be.
YouTube: The Power of Visual Learning
In-depth, engaging, unique, and individually beautiful, these YouTube creators will change how you view the craft of story. Though most are centered around movies, shows, and video games, the principles of story they touch on are of immense value to story tellers of every medium, including the written arts.
THE CLOSER LOOK: The Closer Look's Henry is a funny, down to earth, insightful Brit whose take on storytelling is revolutionary. If anyone deserves to teach college course on storytelling, it's this guy. Check out his videos on *Tonal Consistency & The Last of Us pt.2, Knives Out & How To Do a Plot Twist, & The Terrible Problem With Skyrim's Magic (And Why Death Stranding's Is Genius)
LESSONS FROM THE SCREENPLAY: Lessons From The Screenplay is one of the most insightful, thorough, and downright profound film channels on all of YouTube. His understanding and love for story is downright inspiring and will walk you through the layers of theme, plot, and character with a sense of humility and respect for the art discussed. Check out his videos on *Nightcrawler & Empathy Regarding an Antihero, The Dark Knight and the Ultimate Antagonist, Tarantino's *Inglorious Basterds.
DANIEL GREENE: Daniel Greene is an excellent BookTuber who deftly analyzes the fantasy genre. His thoughts and insights into the genre and its many, many works are super helpful for those looking to gain insight into trending topics and fantasy books written both correctly and incorrectly. Studying his surprisingly humorous channel will help you gain an understanding of how readers interact with written works, as well as the unique ability to learn from other writer's triumphs and mistakes through Greene's progressive lens as a reader, creator, and lover of story.
THE BEAUTY OF: The Beauty Of is a gorgeous channel that offers a reprieve from traditional study and invites you for 4-10 minutes at a time to rest in the beauty of story through a thoughtful, cinematic lens. I suggest opening your freelance study with a video from this channel at least once a week to refresh your brain's appreciation for how truly special story is. This channel is especially good for those looking to develop a better eye for cinematography. The beauty of... the Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Dunkirk, LaLa Land, and The Mandalorian are especially wonderful.
LIKE STORIES OF OLD: Like Stories of Old is a fundamentally beautiful, sweeping look at story and its relation to humanity. Full of quiet, introspective, philosophical content, I highly recommend this channel are your first stop in pursuit of a better understanding of story and humanity in general. Check out Like Stories of Old's video on Humanity, as well as his contemplations on Blade Runner 2049 *, Death Stranding,* and The Last of Us pt.2 *
JUST WRITE: Just Write is another excellent channel full of down-to-earth examinations of storytelling. His dissections on film are especially good, and he is never afraid to be controversial. Some of my favorite videos from this channel are The Hunger Games: Revolutions Are Hard To Write & The Last Jedi and the 7 Basic Questions of Narrative Drama
*Warning: Some of the recommendations above are intended for an adult audience and may contain instances of mature content. Personal discretion is advised.
__________________________________________________________________________________