2020 Creative Writing Lectures at BYU

Lecture #1 Introduction

Come to Jesus Moment

What is the thing that, even if you failed, you’d still do no matter what?

• Sanderson had written 12 novels, but none had sold.
• People were worried, would ask him how he’s going to make money, discouraging him from pursuing this career as a writer.
• So, the key question here is “how do you know to keep going when people are telling you to stop”
  • “What is my success look like? What am I willing to accept?”
    • “If I died in my 100s with 150 unpublished manuscripts, was I okay with this?”
    • And the answer was yes, maybe slowed down rate, get a real job, but he’d keep on writing
    • When he answered this, it took a big weight off of his shoulders
    • Inspo for anti-creator here, the mindset shift turns into - you win by publishing, not by going full time. Each piece that you put out into the world is a win, regardless of how it’s accepted
      • “Writing is good for you.”

42min