Found 7 entries in 0.042 seconds.
WeiryWriter
Are you planning on using what you learned from writing Renarin and Steris to improve the characterization of Adien when you write Elantris 2?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. Adien is one of my-- regrets is probably the wrong term. But I talked earlier about coming to terms with the fact that as you grow as a writer, there are certain things that you will have done less well then you can do them now. I consider Steris and Renarin my-- Again, apology's the wrong term. I tried very hard when I wrote Elantris. I was not the writer I am today, and I did not have access to the helpful readers who could point me-- you know, by writing Adien a little pop culture-y, the pop culture version of someone with autism, I was able to be told by people, "you know, this is kind of a stereotype." What Adien is does exist, but very rarely, and if you wanna have a more complete picture of it, you should read this resource or talk to this person. That's one of those areas that, here I thought I was being all forward thinking. And I did something that perpetuated a stereotype at the same time. That's not something I think you need to be embarrassed of, as a writer, as long as you're willing to listen and do better.
Paleo
So, I have a question about the history of Roshar, because we learn a lot in the visions that they visit, from thousands of years ago. But we still do not know what year zero in the Vorin calendar is. Can you share with us what event they are counting their years from?
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, I'm going to RAFO that, but not because-- because I don't want to get it wrong. It's in the notes. That's a "Karen, am I remembering right, is this what it is or did I change it three times?"
We actually had-- so my company had the twentieth anniversary of Elantris party today and part of it was trivia, which I didn't participate in because it would have been unfair, but there's at least one question where I answered wrong--I didn't participate on one of the teams, but I was answering for myself--because I had changed it and I'm like "oh, right, I changed his name." Serene's cousin was "Maben" in my head, but I changed it to something like *tries to remember and pronounce Adien* I changed it to an actual Aon-focused name, but his name is "Maben" in my head and it has been and I'm like "oh!" I remember that I changed Galladon's name, because I've used him a bunch since, but I didn't remember I'd changed his name. I change things and my mind still is on the way it was for five drafts, not the way it was for one draft. I get myself in trouble sometimes. I've mostly stopped saying "silvereye".
Paleo
Have you caught yourself writing "silvereye" in Ghostbloods yet?
Brandon Sanderson
No, that one I've basically fixed, but I caught a new one today; Maben is no longer Maben and he hasn't been for twenty years, but in my head he's Maben and I'm like "I'm going to write Maben's book someday" and he's not even named that.
Brandon Sanderson
Adien's Secret
I almost cut this entire twist from the book. I've never been happy with how it worked out, and I think there are–as I've mentioned–still a few too many surprises and twists at the end of the book. (Though, I have fixed it somewhat. It used to be that virtually EVERYONE had a secret past or personality trait that came out in these last four chapters.) Anyway, I don't like the Adien twist–it lacks power since we don't really care about him, and his character–the autistic–isn't terribly original anyway.
I've left the Adien twist in for a single reason. However, it's a bit of a spoiler, so I'll put it invisible for those of you who haven't read the ending yet. You can come back and read this later.
Anyway, Adien is my planned hero for book two. I like the concept of a healed autistic being the hero of the next book. And, since he's so good with numbers, he would be incredibly powerful at AonDor. I think he'd be a compelling character to look at, so I left him in this book in case I wanted to use him in the next one.
Adien has been an Elantrian for some time. That's why Kiin's family knows so much about Elantrians. Read back to the earlier chapters, and you'll see a scene or two where Sarene wonders why they know so much about Elantris and its occupants. They hid Adien's transformation with makeup, and his autism kept him out of social circles anyway, so no one really paid much attention to the fact that he was never around.
Kingsdaughter613
(paraphrased)
Is it possible Adien has Childhood Disintegrative Disease, not autism?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
You may have just saved me. I’m writing that down. Yeeesss. You may have just solved a problem.
Brandon Sanderson
Chapter Sixty-Two - Part Two
Raoden's Teleportation
I had to work very hard to make this one work. I think it turned out, but it is a little bit of a stretch. Hopefully, readers will go with me on this one because of the climactic feeling of the near-ending.
Regardless, I do think I gave Raoden all the pieces he needed here. Adien always existed in the book for this one moment–to give Raoden the length measurement he needed to go try to save Sarene. I've established that seons have perfect senses of direction, and I've talked about how to use Aon Tia. More importantly, I think I've established that this is something that Raoden would do. He gets just a shade foolhardy when Sarene is concerned. (It's all her fault.)
There is another important element to this teleportation. I thought it important to involve deity in the climax of what has been such an overtly religious book. You may not believe in God, and it is never my intention to belittle your choices. However, the format of this book has been one that dealt with religion and the way that people interact with their faith. And so, I took this last moment of the book, and gave Raoden an opportunity to call upon the aid of providence.
Raoden arrives safely, despite the odds against his having gotten the distance, direction, and other factors right. You are free to simply think of this as luck, if you wish.
Brandon Sanderson
Speaking of sequels, here's what I'M planning. A book that takes place ten years after the events of ELANTRIS. It would occur in the capitol city of Fjorden, and would star Kiin's children as viewpoint characters along with a Seon viewpoint character. The plot of the book: Wyrn has declared that Jaddeth, the Derethi God, is going to finally return. (A new interpretation of the scriptures says that he'll return when everyone east of the mountains converts, so they don't have to worry about Teod and Arelon.) Kiin's family, ambassadors to the Fjordell state, has to deal with the chaos of this announcement, and investigate the truth behind the Dakhor magic. Thoughts?
Brandon Sanderson
As a side note, I'm planning this seon here to make an appearance in the sequel (if I write one.) She would be Adien's own seon, as he would probably be the hero of the sequel. (Along with his brother and sister.) For those of you who think I didn't deal enough with the seons in this book—the sequel would have strong focus on them. In fact, I'm tempted to make this seon a viewpoint character. However, that would bump me up to four characters, which wouldn't let me use the chapter triad system.
