😂 Pay for overpriced course -> become poor -> write about being poor and miserable -> become successful writer …or an English teacher

Neil Gaiman has written many television scripts and a couple movies, so it kinda makes sense for him to reference Robert McKee’s Story. But I’m glad to know I’m not missing much from not taking the Masterclass.

ive never watched any (im not made of money) but i've always sorta gotten the vibe that those masterclasses are less about learning and more about the parasociality of "look at this guy whos work you love! wouldn't it be fun to hear them talk about the thing?"

Took a screenshot of all your recs - as much as I love a class, I do love a book I can find second hand and write notes in!

‘Do we have a Smoke & Mirrors here?’ Neil darling, this whole streaming service you’re on is smoke and mirrors

Holy cow. That joke about acting was so funny.

One might want to check out Brandon Sanderson's lectures on Writing fantasy and science fiction, for free on youtube.

Here's some input from an even newer viewer: I love the waffle. It's what makes video essays great and it's all there for a reason

Cooking IS witchcraft! Spot on...

I have that exact same cement owl figure.

I think a few of your points feel like legitimate criticisms, for example, "write more short stories" is common and maybe redundant advice; maybe the editing portion is reductive. But I think you could have easily included a bit of additional context and lacking that context makes some your points questionable. Throughout you repeat that Neil Gaiman "chose" to include this and that in the Masterclass. I think this somewhat misunderstands how the Masterclass works. Neil Gaiman is quite prolific on tumblr (he answers writing advice questions there all the time) and openly stated that Masterclass recorded 3 days of content with him and were going to distill it into 6 hours. I think it's fairly safe to assume multiple people worked on the project. That also means that the limited time spent on editing, or the fact he didn't talk about the struggles of being a writer, could have been edited out to make the whole thing more cohesive. Comparing a book to a Masterclass also seems questionable because you're assuming someone is only going to take Gaiman's Masterclass, not other ones. I just don't think that's a very justified complaint. You point out that you aren't interested in their other classes, so you just... don't seem like the right target audience, especially since you note that you liked Gaiman's book on writing more at the end of the video. In essence, it seems like the main problem here is that you just aren't the audience for a Masterclass. Anyways, I hope you don't take this critique too harshly, it looks like you're just starting out on this channel and you have a lot of potential so I subbedd. I hope my comment helps ya out in the algorithm as well!

Thank you for the list of recommendations!!

A subscription to MasterClass for a circumcision, blimey.

I want to thank you for making this video. I really thought, until now, that I had missed something by not taking these Masterclass(es) on writing, but it seems like that's not the case. It's sad that the quality is found wanting though. :(

Hey, I must to ask whats the owl thingy you are playing with? I must need it. Thanks! And from comics side scott mccloud - understanding comics is another great resource to have

This is great! SO High Quality!

I recomment George Saunders's A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. as a writer ressource

Don’t tease me with the stoner review

I’d so much rather take a class that actually involves interaction with the teacher and isn’t just prerecorded

Shoutout to Tanith Lee's _Red as Blood, or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer._

Tbf Gaiman has that same talking-to-a-child tone in his other (free) podcast appearances like on the show hosted by David Tennant. It’d never bothered me, in fact I actually like it, but what can seem contemplative and soothing in a free podcast may come across as condescending and irritating in a course you paid a lot to.

You know, you took a while to get to the content yourself... However you didn't slow mo and you were actually pretty amusing so I will let you off. I also appreciate the review. I like the man's work but I'm not paying that much for the advice. I will get that book on editing however. That looks interesting.

plss do a video on piranesi

what did the owl do to get turned into a mug? did he want to leave to become an accountant? someone needs to get to the bottom of this mystery

I love this video lmao he’s done interviews you can find on UKposts with better advice than this masterclass lol

Feel free to ignore this but some constructive criticism from a new viewer: there's far too much waffling, it's like there's three introduction sections before you even get to the point of the title

I don't read, I just watched this because the guy in the chair is kinda cute.

Oooo explain why you don't like the stage show please?

6:35 The babysitter part was...an experience.

you sound a lot like that owl guy

Brandon Sanderson has a class taped and is currently on UKposts I feel like that's better value for money

7:21 doesn’t Stephen king also have a master class?

I really take issue with people drinking non-existent coffee from mugs.

The Graveyard book put me off Neil Gaiman and reading novels in general for life lol the ending to that piece of bullshit is so terrible. The man can write prose but his stories suck when he can't just string together vignettes and avoid having to make an overall thematic point. Teenager has his only social contact's memory erased then gets kicked out into post Blair Britain with no survival skills to die on the street I mean WTF is he thinking is he too busy in his American mansion to have walked around this country in the last twenty years I mean come on.

So I guess I'm lucky, then, that I don't even like his writing😆

Lol, imagine getting into literature thru STARDUST. hahaha