The Best Youtube Channels for Writers
Youtube is a social media platform popular all over the world, and for good reason. You can watch videos that teach you how to build a house or divide by 20 or launch your career as a model. You can catch up on all the latest news. Or you could pretend to be busy while you watch epic fail compilation after epic fail compilation. The possibilities are endless.
Youtube happens to be a great resource for writers as well.
I discovered this years after discovering the site itself (back in 2012 when it was fairly new). Of course, most of the channels I'll be telling you about now weren't around. But there were still a few I subscribed to. Someone would sit in front of a camera and talk about what they loved to talk about--novels. I went in knowing absolutely nothing, and watching those videos helped me improve almost as well as trial and error did. Today I'm still finding more great Youtube channels to learn from, because there's always more to learn. I'm sharing the best of them with you in this blog post.
You may have already found a few channels you like, but I hope you check out some of the channels below. Especially the 4th and 7th listed!
Ellen Brock
Ellen Brock is a freelance editor and novel enthusiast happy to share her insights online. She has a way of taking things that are hard to understand and explaining them in a simple and straight-forward way. Over the years she's recorded many videos, each tackling a different problem typically faced by writers.
Film Courage
Although meant for screenwriters, this channel can be super helpful for authors. They mostly discuss what makes a scene exciting, or what makes a protagonist compelling.
The Creative Penn
These guys like having lengthy, in depth discussions and lessons on topics that deserve lengthy, in depth discussions and lessons. You may feel tempted skip through their content sometimes, which is understandable. But after watching a few of their videos from beginning to end, you'll feel like an expert.
K.M Weiland
Possibly the best writing channel I've come across. I could hardly survive without K.M Weiland's Youtube videos, blog posts, and daily tweets. She's been posting video after video since the good ol' days, preferring to keep things short and straight to the point. Subscribing to her channel changed everything for me.
Jenna Moreci
Another long-running channel with lots of content. Jenna Moreci might be the most popular Youtuber on this list, actually. She likes to blend a little sarcasm into her lessons, which is usually hilarious as long as you don't mind some cussing.
bookishpixie
Bookishpixie usually looks at a novel from the readers' perspective. Her videos go beyond the writing process and into publishing, editing, and cover design. She's both a reader and a writer, so she really knows what she's doing. To make the information she shares even more accessible, she condenses things into lists of 5 or 10. It's a helpful, balanced channel to answer any questions you may have as a beginner.
Mandi Lynn
Here is the channel that helped me the most when I was just starting out. Mandi Lynn, herself--at least back then--was a teenage writer taking her subscribers with her on her journey to getting published. She was a huge role model for me because she never, ever gave up, no matter how impossible things seemed. She has a series of videos called 'YA ink' where she shares what she's learned about writing and being a writer.
M. KIRIN
M. KIRIN is a guy that posts for his audience. He often takes questions from subscribers and answers them as best he can, which is pretty well. Check him out; he's fabulous.
Vivien Reis
Similar to Ellen Brock in several ways, Vivien Reis tackles a different issue every video. She's also a professional novelist as well as a novel enthusiast, and sometimes shares her personal journey with subscribers. She's fun and straight to the point, making sure that none of her videos end up feeling the same.
Wolfshot Publishing
Wolfshot Publishing's channel is one that I've just recently discovered. This is another great place to turn to if you're looking for an outside perspective. The host is upbeat and easy to learn from, taking the mundane parts of being a full-time storyteller and turning them into one big adventure. He focuses on writing tips, and his personal experiences with author resources.
