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N.K. Jemisin Teaches Fantasy and Science Fiction Writing

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Where to Watch N.K. Jemisin Teaches Fantasy and Science Fiction Writing

16 Episodes

  • Meet Your Instructor: N. K. Jemisin
    E1
    Meet Your Instructor: N. K. JemisinN. K. Jemisin—Nora Keita Jemisin—is the three-time Hugo Award–winning author of The Broken Earth Trilogy. She opens by talking about genres of science fiction and fantasy, her personal journey, and what you’ll learn in her class.
  • Elements of Worldbuilding
    E2
    Elements of WorldbuildingNora shares her methodology and framework for building a rich and believable world.
  • Macro-worldbuilding Exercise: Build Your World
    E3
    Macro-worldbuilding Exercise: Build Your WorldTo build your world, start by creating the physical environment where your culture and story will take place, from the planetary level to a specific location. Then add the “Element X” that will affect everything.
  • Micro-worldbuilding: Conceiving the Culture and People
    E4
    Micro-worldbuilding: Conceiving the Culture and PeopleNora continues to break down worldbuilding by discussing how to create a new, believable, and engrossing structure of humanity.
  • Micro-worldbuilding: Power Dynamics and Cultural Appropriation
    E5
    Micro-worldbuilding: Power Dynamics and Cultural AppropriationLearn how to create a believable structure by thinking about who has the power in your society, how different people adopt specific roles, and how to avoid inappropriate cultural appropriation.
  • Worldbuilding: Inventing Science and Magic
    E6
    Worldbuilding: Inventing Science and MagicNora challenges the definitions of science fiction and fantasy and gives you the tools to create plausible, otherworldly science and magic.
  • Worldbuilding: Research
    E7
    Worldbuilding: ResearchLearn how to live life as a writer, absorbing and interpreting the world for your audience. Nora also shares how to incorporate research.
  • Immersing Your Reader: Choosing a POV
    E8
    Immersing Your Reader: Choosing a POVNora teaches you about her immersion pyramid and how to choose a point of view to allow your reader to learn your world.
  • The Psychology of Characters
    E9
    The Psychology of CharactersNora draws on her education in psychology to help you rethink your ideas about people and human behavior.
  • Forget the Rugged Individual Archetype
    E10
    Forget the Rugged Individual ArchetypeFind out how to give yourself freedom in the kind of stories you tell and create characters that reflect the world you live in.
  • The Hierarchy of Characterization: Demographics, Outer Life, and Inner Life
    E11
    The Hierarchy of Characterization: Demographics, Outer Life, and Inner LifeAdapting Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Nora teaches you how to create a believable character.
  • The Hierarchy of Characterization: The Character Arc
    E12
    The Hierarchy of Characterization: The Character ArcNora continues the discussion of character development by adapting the classic story arc structure to create externally driven and internally driven character arcs.
  • How to Publish Your Book: Seeking Publication
    E13
    How to Publish Your Book: Seeking PublicationNora gives you an overview of the publishing process, dispels common myths, and gives you best practices for finding an agent and a publisher.
  • How to Find a Literary Agent
    E14
    How to Find a Literary AgentGet a deep dive into the agent-author relationship, how to find and pitch to the right agent, and how they will help you find a publisher.
  • Surviving the Literary Marketplace
    E15
    Surviving the Literary MarketplaceNora reveals why you should continue to write after getting published and shares some of her best tips for handling rejection.
  • Writing While Marginalized
    E16
    Writing While Marginalized Nora opens up about the difficulties she encounters—and overcomes—as a Black woman who writes science fiction and fantasy.

 

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