The Top 13 YouTube Channels for Writers

YouTube has changed.

Gone are the days of 360p, harsh audio, and that special breed of early internet insanity.

Now, it’s an endless sea of binge-able content.

Fortunately, I did the digging for you. YouTube has a flourishing community of writers – for novels, for screenplays, for all kinds of writing.

These are the 13 most useful, delightful, and inspiring writing channels on YouTube

1. Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson is possibly the most popular fantasy author alive. He teaches full-length lectures at BYU, and all of 2020’s lectures are on his YouTube channel.

Brandon focuses his lessons on structure, world-building, plot, and character. He also shares his unique insight into how the publishing industry works.

You can also find his older lectures here.

 

2. Hello Future Me

Well-paced, well-researched, and created with the right amount of passion and “goofiness” that makes this channel entertaining.

Tim’s latest videos on this channel have been amazing.

Hello Future Me pulls examples from real, popular texts to support his explanations, and show you how modern writing masters turn words into beautiful, addicting stories.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXTnl1FVFBw

3. Nerdwriter1

Nerdwriter1 is a fantastic binge-watching experience, for any artist. Each of these video essays tells a story… about storytelling. 

He dissects everything from movies, songs, paintings… and even politics. I love this channel because he focuses on the effect that art has on the reader.

 

4. iWriterly

Meg Latorre of iWriterly has industry-focused advice for writers who want to become published, successful authors. 

Once a literary agent, now an author, Meg brings a unique blend of industry-centric knowledge and writing advice to her videos. She even has a playlist where she dives into the actual editing mechanics of writing.

 

5. Lessons from the Screenplay

Though Lessons is geared towards screenwriters, I couldn’t leave them off this list.

Their videos are high-quality and packed with advice that will allow you to engage your audience and evoke powerful emotions through storytelling.

 

6. ShaelinWrites

Shaelin is one of my favorite actual writers on this list. She puts out a ton of content that is critical for new writers, and for writers trying to improve on the fundamentals (i.e. all writers). 

Her advice focuses on almost every aspect of writing:

• Prose, structure, and style tips
• Fighting to become a published author
• How to improve your own writing process

 

7. Tyler Mowery

Tyler uses films to show you how to write better characters with more meaningful conflicts. His video essays are well constructed, and the editing is top-notch. 

Note: you do not have to be a screenwriter to watch these. Tyler’s videos are eminently useful for any kind of fiction writer.

 

8. Terrible Writing Advice

“Tired of finding excellent and thought-provoking writing advice on the internet?” 

A quote that perfectly summarizes this beautifully weird, irony-filled channel.

Terrible Writing Advice will help you spot bad writing in both your own – and professional authors’ work… so you can do better.

 

9. Just Write

Some of the best, most concise explanations of story structure I’ve ever heard.

Just Write extracts lessons from pop-culture’s favorite stories, and turns them into lessons for any kind of writer.

 

10. Trope Anatomy

Calm, thought-out critiques of story. In several videos, Trope Anatomy dissects the gap between film and textual narratives.

While he doesn’t post often, it looks like he’s doing more in 2020. And they’re just so good to watch.

 

11. Abbie Emmons

Abbie Emmons is more hands-on than most others on this list. For example, in one series she details her entire writing process while showing you how to build your own. 

I think her best advice focuses on story beats and plot structure.

 

12. Jenna Moreci

Solid, consistent, and ridiculously upbeat. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jenna start a video with less than 100% enthusiasm. 

Her writing advice is geared towards newer writers looking for bite-sized improvements, like this video on First Chapters:

 

13. The Closer Look

The Closer Look puts out wonderfully binge-worthy content for writers, with an emphasis on films and video games. 

The Closer Look is equal parts “passionate rant” and “analytical discussion” on what makes specific stories so effective… or what makes them fail dramatically.

 

The Best Writers on YouTube

YouTube is brimming with writing content. Almost every question is answered in one of these channels:

• Want to become a better writer?
• Want to understand how to read books more analytically?
• Want to start your career as an author?

It’s all here, in these 13 YouTube channels – the perfect list for aspiring authors and writers. 

Thanks for reading! What did you think? Did I miss any of your favorite YouTube channels?

Let me know in the comments below… 🙂

– P. S. Hoffman