Brandon’s assistant Karen here. It’s that time again—time to send in your applications for Brandon’s Winter 2018 English 318R class. We’re going to do things a bit differently this year, so I’ll go over the changes before I go into the details of how to apply.

Because the number of submissions is becoming unwieldy, this year we’re only going to consider the first 65 applications. That means that you cannot wait until 11:59 p.m. on the due date before you hit send. If you are serious about taking this class, you’ll get the application in early.

In theory, applicants should have a novel or two, or at least the first few chapters of a novel, already sitting around. You ought to spend a couple hours proofreading and giving it a once-over edit. Then take about 30 minutes on the application and essay question and hit send. So there should be little need for anyone to take two months to get it ready.

You can submit applications from October 23 until December 20. You’ll need to send me the first chapter of your novel and the application form found here. Follow the directions on that form exactly including filenames and subject line. Remember that you need to be a BYU student—but you can also sign up as a Continuing Education student or Evening Classes student. If you just want to take this one class, register as a student here.

As usual, the English 318R class is limited to the 15 people chosen from among applicants. Everyone is also encouraged to sign up for Brandon’s English 321R section, which is the lecture-only portion of Brandon’s class. Students who have taken the 321R portion in previous years will get some priority for 318R in future years.

For bonus reading, some hints on how to get accepted can be found here, and you might find my wrap-up blog post from last year interesting as well.

Karen

Hi all, Karen here.

I’ve just finished reading and evaluating the applications for Brandon’s English 318R class at BYU. For those of you who don’t know, Brandon teaches a creative writing class each winter semester. The lecture portion of the class (English 321R) is open to as many students as can fit into the auditorium, and many of the lectures have been posted online for those who can’t attend in Provo.

The main thing students are graded on is whether they complete 30,000 words of the beginning of a novel during the semester, submitting chapters each week. Brandon encourages students in his lecture class to form writing groups to read and comment on their classmates’ work. The students who are accepted into the 318R workshop class are divided into three groups, and Brandon rotates among them each week, reading the submissions and giving feedback. Because of time constraints, he can only give this personal attention to fifteen students each year.

In order to spend his time and energy where it will do the most good, Brandon has asked me to decide which of the applicants is in the best place in their authorial development to get high-level feedback on their writing craft. It doesn’t help anybody if he has to say things like, “I really couldn’t understand what was going on in this chapter,” or, “Your grammar needs so much work that it overshadows your plot.”

You may think that I’m exaggerating here, but I’m honestly not. Each year, most of the submissions we receive are from enthusiastic applicants whose writing shows that it needs a great deal of work before it will be at a level where Brandon’s individual attention will be helpful. We also get some pretty fabulous submissions each year, and I’m always excited to find them. I have even been known to ask for more of the novel just because I want to read more of it. Some of the students who pass through this class are so well prepared that they go on to publish within just a few years.

Here’s a quick rundown of how the application process works. First I read each submission and write a quick summary and my first impression of the skill level of the writer. Each story gets a grade of yes, maybe, or no. Then I read the applications, and take into account what year each applicant is in school, whether they’ve taken the lecture portion before, and how many novels they have finished. After that, I narrow it down to the fifteen finalists, and send out the good (and bad) news. If you want more details on this process and hints for getting accepted, see the FAQ page.

Most of the submissions arrive in the last few days before the late December deadline, so I do almost all of the reading between Christmas and New Year’s. With all of the regular holiday stresses, I’m often rather grumpy this time of year. Reading fiction that needs so much work makes me even grumpier, so I try to smash the whole process into a couple of very grumpy days (I am exaggerating a bit here; it’s not really that bad). When I worked at BYU’s Leading Edge magazine with Brandon and my (then future) husband Peter among others, we called this sort of reading “wading through the slush pile,” and I think it’s an appropriate activity for some of the darkest, coldest days of the waning year. (Regarding those submissions that arrive well ahead of the deadline, I’m able to review those in a more relaxed and less stressful setting.)

The hardest part of the process is not actually the reading of submissions. Even the ones I dislike for one reason or another have some redeeming qualities—an interesting plot, relatable characters, imaginative settings, and so on. The hardest part is reading the applications’ short essays knowing I’m going to have to reject most of the authors. Almost all of them say something like, “I love writing, and want to devote my life to it. I owe so much to the authors who have inspired me that I want to give back to the community by writing great fiction.” I’m seldom reminded as strongly that my friends and I are living the dream of a career in the publishing world than when I see how many writers out there are still dreaming.

That’s why in every rejection letter I send, I include the hope that those writers will continue writing, continue learning to improve, and continue sharing their work. And in fact, each year I receive and accept applications from students who have applied and been rejected in the past, but have a much better submission the second or third time around.

I’ll end with a few statistics you may find interesting:

• We had 72 submissions this year (though two of those were late, and were rejected without being read).
• There were 39 women and 31 men (I guessed from the names, so this might not be quite accurate).
• After my first impressions, among the submissions there were 9 automatic passes, 40 automatic rejections, and 21 maybes.
• By far, most of the submissions (45) were from seniors, plus 13 Continuing Ed students, 2 law school students, 3 grad students, 10 juniors, 7 sophomores, and 1 freshman.
• Applicants reported a total of 139 finished novels, with the most prolific author clocking in at a whopping 16.

Congratulations to the students who were accepted, and good luck in the future to those who didn’t make it in this year.

I teach a Creative Writing class at my Alma Mater, Brigham Young University each year. It’s always winter semester, one evening per week. It should generally be Thursday at 5:10pm but not necessarily. The class name is English 318R/321R

My class is split into two sections

1. Workshop class: ENGL 318R Sec 002 (15 seats, by application only)
In this class, in addition to the lectures, you will be split into writing groups and will critique writing samples from the students in the class. I will also read and critique your writing. Because of the time commitment for me, I have to limit this group to 15 people. You must complete the application to have a chance at getting into this section.

2. Lecture class: ENGL 321R Sec 002 (65 seats)
In order to allow more students to take the class, there is a section for students who will only attend the lectures. Many students in this section form their own writing groups to critique each other’s writing, but I will not be able to read and critique for these students.

Students who want to attend the lectures only should sign up for 321R Sec 002 when registration opens. That is also the class for students who want to audit.

Students who want to attend the lectures and complete the full workshop class should see the information on how to apply here.

Applications are due by mid-December, so you will be notified whether you were accepted after that date. If you need an ENGL 318 credit this semester you should, in addition to applying, sign up for English 321R and be prepared to drop that class if your application is accepted.

Many people ask me if there’s a trick to getting accepted into this class. I’ve asked my assistant Karen to judge the applications, so she’s going to answer that question.

Karen here. There are a few tricks to getting accepted, but mostly they’re just common sense. Because I have deadlines to meet in December (working on Oathbringer), I am going to be especially strict about the following requirements:

1. Fill out the application and follow the directions EXACTLY. That means that you should submit it before the cutoff date, and name your files exactly as requested in the application. If you don’t, I will reject your application without looking at it.

2. The writing sample should be the first chapter of your novel, and fit the wordcounts listed (2,000 words minimum, 10,000 words maximum). If it’s two short, I won’t be able to get a good sense of your writing skill. If it’s too long, I will just stop in the middle and reject your application for not following the rules. It’s best if you find a good stopping point within the wordcount limits.

Your first chapter is the hook of your novel. It may be the only thing that an editor or reader looks at. Make it something that will make me want more at the end of it.

After reading each writing sample, I’ll write myself a one sentence summary and give it a Good, Maybe, or No score.

3. I won’t look at the short answer questions before judging the writing samples. I generally end up with more than 15 ‘Good’ stories, and that’s when I take the short answers into account. A senior who has taken the lecture class before, has written three complete novels and listens to Writing Excuses is more likely to get accepted than a freshman who has not completed any novels or attended the lecture.

4. The essay will either confirm my previous impressions, or turn me off entirely. It’s all well and good to say that you feel your calling in life is to be an author, and that you’re committed to making a career of it, but if you haven’t put in the work of actually sitting down and completing a novel or two, then you’re not ready to get the full benefit of the workshop portion of this class.

5. Remember that if you are not accepted into the class, it does not mean that I’m rejecting you as a person or as an author. I only have 15 slots. There have been authors who applied one year, got rejected, but took the lecture class anyway, then applied the next year and were accepted because they had a few more pluses on their application, and more experience writing. I hope that you will take the lecture class no matter what your application status is, and that if your schedule permits, you apply again another year.

Good luck and good writing!

First some updates on Words of Radiance, which comes out in less than two weeks. It’s almost here! Tor.com has posted what it was like to be a beta reader (note: I’m not currently looking for additional beta readers) and spoiler-free reactions to the book, and they’re mailing out daily context-free snippets. You can see all the sample chapters and Tor.com’s other coverage here.

For those of you wanting to go to the midnight release at the BYU Bookstore, they wanted me to make sure you know that books ordered through byubookstore.com will not be charged to your credit card until sometime between February 28th and March 4th. Please preorder here so they can make sure they have enough books; if you wait until the last few days to place your order, it will be too late for the bookstore to order more. Note: If you got an email from the BYU Bookstore saying the book was out of stock and backordered, don’t worry. Those emails were auto-generated; it only means that as of February 10th the books had not yet shipped from Tor’s warehouse to the bookstore. The books will be there at the release.

They have ordered a ton of copies, but it’s always possible they could underestimate and some readers could go home empty-handed. At the midnight release of A Memory of Light they were able to get a book to everyone only after a dozen people who had reserved more than one copy agreed to put off picking up their second copy until the next shipment came in. So if you plan to attend the midnight release and have the ability to preorder, please preorder!

Now that Weller Book Works has sold out of their signing-by-mail (I’m signing those books in two days and they’ll start shipping on Monday), I will also sign and number books for people who order from the BYU Bookstore but can’t attend the signing and want to have the book shipped. However, please be aware that everyone who comes to the release gets priority, and if they run out of books at the release, copies for shipping will have to be signed at least a week later and won’t get a number. Also many of the other stores on my tour will happily ship you a signed copy if you call them up and request it, but of course they won’t be able to ship until the day after I sign in the store. Another option is The Signed Page.

My assistant Peter has put up Twitter posts archives for January and the first half of February.

I’ve added a Writing Advice section to the website. My writing advice show Writing Excuses is of course mentioned; by the way the most recent episodes are on Artificial Intelligence (with Nancy Fulda), Highjacking the Knowledge You Already Have (with Mette Ivie Harrison), the Experience of Time, and Last Pass Revisions (with Eric James Stone).

The newest additions to my Writing Advice page are the lectures from my 2014 creative writing class, which you can also see below or on my YouTube channel.

For those who aren’t aware, I teach a course entitled “How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy” at Brigham Young University. The course is focused on the nuts and bolts of having a writing career. Characterization, worldbuilding, plotting, and publication. In previous years, a graduate student recorded my lectures as a personal project, and posted them online.

I want this course to be available to as many people as possible. This year, that became easier than it has ever been, and many of you who live locally have signed up until the class is once again at seating capacity. If you don’t live locally, then know that I intend to get the class filmed this year and release it online (details yet to be arranged).

Why BYU?

I get asked this question more than I expected that I would, so I’ll address it here. People are curious why I don’t:

A: Teach the class on my own, like David Farland does, or

B: Teach the class at a state university, rather than a place like BYU, which has a more difficult enrollment policy.

Addressing the first, I think the resources (such as Dave’s courses) that already exist in this realm are very good, and see no need to go that direction myself. Dave’s aforementioned classes are excellent, and I’d refer you to him. Clarion has an excellent reputation, and my friends who have attended have spoken very highly of their time. Orson Scott Card’s literary boot camps likewise have excellent reccomendations from people I trust. Mary Robinette Kowal also hosts writing retreats, like the one this summer focusing on Writing the Other. I would point you those directions.

I like having my class where it is. I took this class in 2000, when it was taught by Dave, and feel that it offers an excellent resource in a much-needed setting. BYU does have its quirks (even aggravations), but I owe this school, and its community, payback. In 2001 and 2002, I applied to some dozen or so creative writing programs around the country, submitting Elantris as my writing sample. Of them, only one—BYU—agreed to let me in. (Even going so far as to name me their #2 applicant to that department for the year, and waiving all fees.)

I like BYU. My time there was wonderful. I support it and the LDS church, which administers it. It is possible that, in the future sometime, some situation will require me to go elsewhere. For now, however, we’re doing it here. That’s why I want you to know about the following.

My course is part of Evening Classes, which means it is much easier to take than a regular BYU class. The mission statement of BYU evening classes is to offer courses for continuing education and improvement to the entire community, without the need for people to have to apply formally to BYU.

I believe I started this class in 2004, making this year number ten. We’ve made some changes this year. The most relevant one to you is that we added a special “Lecture Only” version that students could sign up for. It gives you one credit hour, and basically involves coming each week, listening to the lectures, and getting an A. (The only requirement is that you sign your name each week saying you attended, and write a short paragraph on what you thought of the lecture. And if you were wanting to get into the main class, but didn’t make it this year, having taken the lecture-only course gives you a leg up on getting into the class next year.)

You should be aware, though, that even this lecture-only class has proven very popular and has essentially filled the big classroom they gave me. I wasn’t expecting that and was going to give you all the info on why you should apply to Evening Classes and come down tonight, but instead I’m going to recommend that you keep this in mind for next year. All of you in the community who want to take the class next year can do so (space allowing!) for a small fee. (Ranging between $257 and $680, depending on your student status.) That means you can sign up and attend the lecture portion from 5:10 to 6:25, once a week, for minimal cost—and do so even if you have a full-time job.

This year the university has given me a very large classroom to fit all of the extra students who want to take the class, and I’m filling every seat with an enrolled class member. If you’d like to be one of those students next year, please keep this in mind for when registration opens in the fall of 2014. I’ll try to do another blog post then to remind you. I’d like to thank all the students who have enrolled and shown the university how important a class this is to the community.

Many of you know that I teach a creative writing class at Brigham Young University once per year. As an undergraduate I took this class from David Farland when he was teaching it, and it was invaluable to me as a budding writer. When Dave moved on, I took over the class as I feel that it’s important to give back to the community and foster the next generation of great fantasy/science fiction writers.

As you can imagine, it’s a popular class that has become very difficult for students to register for—it often fills up on the first day of registration, and often only graduate students (who get to register earlier than undergraduates) would make it into the class. So this year we’re trying something different. The class is being broken into two parts—one class just for the lectures, and another class for the workshopping portion. The lecture class is open enrollment (both classes are only for registered daytime or evening students of Brigham Young University), and the workshopping class is by application only.

Well, the application deadline is Monday December 23rd, and I’m mentioning it here in the blog because at this point not all that many applications have actually been submitted. My assistant Peter is wondering if everyone is waiting until the last minute, or if many prospective students think the competition will be too fierce.

Whatever the case may be, here’s your reminder, all BYU students who like writing fantasy and science fiction: the application deadline is Monday.