4 Helpful YouTube Channels For Fiction Writers.
From writing advice to video essays.
Feeling a little doubtful about your writing skills but don’t have the time or the money to fork out for a full writing course? Need to find a little help with how to write that one scene that just evades you? Maybe the muse has left you and you need other writers to help you get the wheels turning again?
Ah~ the wonders of the internet, and the free videos that come with it!
The overwhelming growth these days has highlighted so many amazing creators over the past decade. But everyone falls victim to a YouTube rabbit hole, and sometimes, great creators get lost in the ocean of content we are often bombarded with. The algorithm spams your feed with stuff that, while entertaining, aren’t always the most productive content to engage with. This is especially annoying when you are determined to get your writing projects done.
I’ve taken the pain out of wading through the algorithm for you to bring these amazing channels to light (not that I need to, their videos speak for themselves!)
1. Hello Future Me (Tim Hickson)
If you don’t know Tim Hickson, maybe you’ve come across his warm and welcoming Kiwi accent somewhere in the WriterTube spheres or on charity streams and writer podcasts. HelloFutureMe is a wonderfully nerdy New Zealander who has helped many writers fine-tune their writing and worldbuilding through heavily researched and beautifully structured video analyses. His range of content stretches from How to Train Your Dragon and Skyrim theories, tips on how to write fight scenes, deep dives into genres like dystopian and cyberpunk sci fi, and recently into mind-blowing historical documentaries. Tim is well-read, witty and a great writing companion across multiple facets of the craft. If that’s not enough to convince you, he has also published his research and guides into two (soon to be three) volumes of comprehensive writing guides!
2. Jenna Moreci
The Cyborg Queen herself, Jenna is a hilarious and straightforward self-published author of the bestselling dark romantic fantasy The Savior’s Champion and it’s companion novel The Savior’s Sister. What’s more, she has also published a writing guide from planning your novel to the printing stage! In her videos, she applies everything she has learnt during her publication journey to help other aspiring writers from outlining, understanding tropes, and how to have a successful book launch. Her gentle cynicism leaves you laughing and keeps you motivated.
3. Schnee
A comic artist that’s passionate about storytelling, Schnee has a whole slew of videos analysing obscure and clever techniques from fiction that not everyone notices the first go round. Plenty of his videos are deep-dives into more visual mediums of storytelling, TV shows and movies, however that doesn’t take away from the value of each insight he builds it into. His video essays take a look at some of the smallest details woven into popular stories and explain them in ways that elevate them as a whole. If you want to find a way to sprinkle in a bit of symbolism, build interesting characters, and write impactful scenes to drive it all home, he has an excellent eye that you can trust to find some interesting way to take your writing to the next level.
4. The Tale Foundry
A little out of the box, Tale Foundry is hosted by a mascot: StoryBot, a delightful little robot fascinated by art and storytelling. His soothing narration paired with the adorable animation style explores different genres, tropes, writing techniques, and philosophies behind each. Even if you just want something to play in the background, you can find great ambient music to world-build and write to. He also has extended versions and other well-constructed video essays available on Nebula.com, like the series ‘Worldsmiths’, diving into different renowned writers, their methods and their style. Watching through this channel you get that sense of wonder as the little bots act out each idea he presents. Get inspired and get deep with this amazing little channel.
With these great channels, you are sure to find something that will get the muse going and write!
-M