Recent entries

Brandon Sanderson

Legion 3

Legion 2 is out! Are you tired of me mentioning that yet? I'm sure that someday there will be a third adventure for Stephen and his aspects, but I don't have an outline or plan yet.

Brandon Sanderson

Silence Divine (this will be renamed sometime)

I did readings from this on my last tour (you can probably find them on YouTube; it was the Words of Radiance tour). I only have a few pages done, playing with the primary concept. (Diseases grant magical talents for as long as you have the disease—you lose the power when you get over it.) This one has probably been downgraded from full novel to novella, as I feel that something more Emperor's Soul-esque will do a better job with the themes I want to explore.

Brandon Sanderson

Dark One

This is a series I've talked about for a long, long time about a boy who discovers he's the "Dark One." Basically, it's the classic epic fantasy story told from the eyes of the dude destined to try to destroy the world instead of save it. I've made good progress on the setting, which is going to be awesome. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the teen series I do once the Reckoners and The Rithmatist are both done.

As a note for fans, this is a Cosmere story.

Brandon Sanderson

Nightblood (Warbreaker sequel)

This is still on the back burner, but it is coming. Probably after the Elantris sequels. I'll squeeze it in someplace. I'm very excited about it, but now (while I'm juggling multiple teen series) is not the time.

Brandon Sanderson

Elantris sequels

The Emperor’s Soul is now two years old, so it is probably time to get back to Sel and do some more there. We should be releasing a trade paperback of Elantris in the next year or two, with revised (and new) maps and a better Ars Arcanum. (Read: an Ars Arcanum.)

The full sequels will need to be finished before I can do the contemporary (1980s tech) Mistborn novels because of behind-the-scenes Cosmere bits, so I will do my best to find a place to squeeze these in. At the very least, I will write them following the end of Stormlight 5. So, these are distant, but not too distant.

Brandon Sanderson

Next Projects

I've now begun Calamity, last of the Reckoners series. My goal will be to rough-draft it over the next three months. I have a tour between now and then (for Firefight) and a trip to Taiwan as well, so who knows if I'll make that deadline. We'll see.

Once that is done, I will dive into Stormlight 3. I'm still waffling on whether this will be Szeth's book, Eshonai's book, or Dalinar's book. The original outline calls for book 3 to have Szeth's flashbacks, but I am feeling that another character might match the events better.

I did some exploratory scenes for it this summer, though these may or may not end up in the actual book. I have been tweaking the outline, and am starting to feel very good about it. Writing the book should consume the entire rest of 2015, with a 2016 release. I do plan the Stormlight books to be an every-other-year thing.

Follow along starting next spring as I write the book and post updates on my website. I'll even try to do some screen capturing with Camtasia as I write, for those who are interested in watching for them.

That wraps up current and finished projects. 2014 was partially about me getting my feet underneath me after finishing The Wheel of Time and going right into Stormlight 2. I've caught my breath now, and feel good moving forward.

And, speaking of moving forward, it’s time for a State of the Sanderson tradition—we're going to play "What about the sequel to this book I love, Brandon!"

Here comes the big list.

Brandon Sanderson

What I spent 2014 doing

January–March 2014: Firefight

Though I had hoped to have Firefight (The Reckoners 2) done long before January, the touring last year made that impossible. It snuck over into 2014, which is why you’re getting the book in January 2015 instead of the originally scheduled fall of this year. In March, I also did the Words of Radiance tour, which really cut into my writing time.

April 2014: Legion: Skin Deep

In April, once all the chaos was done, I took the time to finish up Legion: Skin Deep (sequel to Legion from a few years back), which I’d been working on during plane flights the year before. If you haven’t checked these two novellas out, you might want to consider it! They’re very fun, though the second book is not yet out in the UK and associated territories such as Australia and New Zealand. (Note that in those territories, Legion 1 and The Emperor’s Soul were released together in a very handsome paperback.)

We will eventually have regular hardcover copies of Legion 2 available. That will probably come sometime in the first half of next year. Our contract with Subterranean Press, who produced the very attractive limited edition hardcovers of Legion 2, says that we’ll wait until their edition sells out before we release a competing one.

May 2014: The Aztlanian (Rithmatist 2)

Next, I dove into research for a sequel to The Rithmatist. This is going to be a tough book to write, as it takes place in a fantastical version of Central and South America, and deals with things from Aztec (Mexica) mythology. (In The Rithmatist, a lot of the geography is shifted around in bizarre ways.)

Dealing with another group’s culture in this way is rife with opportunities for stuffing my foot in my mouth, and so I wanted to be very careful and respectful. This meant spending time devoted exclusively to doing extensive research. I didn’t actually get any writing on the book done, though I read some very excellent history books.

(As an aside, if anyone out there is an expert in the Aztec/Mexica culture—particularly if you yourself are a Native American—I’d love to have your help on this book.)

At the end of the month, I decided I needed to do way more research than a month afforded, so I put the book off for now. I still intend to write it, but I need more time to do it right.

June 2014: Alcatraz

Having spent a month with no writing, I wanted to jump into something fun and quick to refresh me before moving on to my next book. So, I dug out my outline for the Alcatraz series and at long last did a rough draft of the fifth book. These are fast, fast books to write—as I improvise them—but they are very slow to edit.

I finished the book, and am pleased with it, but I have no firm date yet for when I’ll be publishing it. Tor is rereleasing the series starting next year with new covers and extensive interior art. I believe these launch starting about a year from now. (If you want them before then, your best bet for getting them is the UK omnibus of the first four.)

I’ll want to release the fifth one once the series has been rereleased, so maybe summer 2016. If you’ve never read these, they are very different from my other work. They’re bizarre and sarcastic comedies that are self-referential and offer commentary on fantasy as a genre along the way. Those who love them absolutely love them. Those who don’t tend to find them insulting. That dichotomy alone is part of what endears them to me.

July–December 2014: Mistborn

The last half of the year was dedicated to Shadows of Self, the new Mistborn novel. And I have a confession to make.

I also wrote the sequel.

Now, before you start wagging your finger at me for being a robot, there was a really good reason I did what I did. You see, I was having real trouble getting back into Shadows of Self. I had written the first third of it in 2012 between revisions of A Memory of Light. (I was feeling Wheel of Time overload.) However, it can be very hard for me to get back into a book or series after a long time away from it. (This is another issue with the Rithmatist sequel.)

So, jumping into Shadows of Self was slow going, and I found it much easier to go write the sequel to refresh myself on the world and characters. That done, I was able to move back to Shadows of Self and finish it up.

So a week or two back, I turned in two new Wax and Wayne Mistborn novels. They’re titled Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning, and Tor decided to publish them in quick succession: the first in October 2015, the second in January 2016. So, if you have read the original trilogy but haven’t tried The Alloy of Law yet, you might want to give it a look! From the beginning, I’ve planned Mistborn to be a continuum series, showing off Allomancy in different time periods. I think you’ll find the Wax and Wayne books to be fun, quick reads—and they introduce some very, very big things coming in the Mistborn world.

There will be one more Wax and Wayne (early 1900s-era) Mistborn book. Back after I finished The Alloy of Law, I sat down and plotted out a trilogy with the same characters. The Alloy of Law was more of a happy, improvised accident. The follow-up trilogy is meant to be more intentional. So in the end, we’ll have four total. (The final one is tentatively called The Lost Metal.) From there, I might jump to the second “big” trilogy, which is 1980s tech. Or I might dally a little more in something 1940s-era instead. We’ll see.

Amusingly, doing these two Mistborn books together totaled only about half as much writing as a Stormlight book. Perhaps you can see why it takes even me quite a long time to finish Stormlight novels. (And it’s why you might want to lay off Pat Rothfuss a little. I believe The Wise Man’s Fear was even longer than Words of Radiance.)

Tor did their announcement about these books earlier today. You may now commence wisecracks about me secretly writing extra novels when nobody is looking.

Brandon Sanderson

Conclusion

Well, don't say I didn't warn you that the list was big.

It's been quite the year. Lots of travel, lots of meeting people and signing books. My tenth year doing this. I've spent the last decade kind of looking at myself as one of the new kids in the fantasy market, but I suppose it's time to admit that I've become—albeit not a member of the old guard—one of the genre's more established names.

As always, you make this possible. Here's looking to another excellent year. Merry Christmas, and a Happy Koloss Head-Munching Day, to you all.

Brandon Sanderson

December 2015

Brandon Sanderson

Projected Novel Release Schedule

There's a good chance I won't hold to this, but just so you know, here's how I view my upcoming novel release schedule (not including any novellas or short stories that may or may not appear during moments when I need to do something new):

January 2016: Wax and Wayne 3

February 2016: Reckoners 3 (final book)

June 2016: Alcatraz 5

Sometime 2017: Stormlight 3

Sometime 2017: Rithmatist 2

Spring 2018: New YA project 1

Fall 2018: Wax and Wayne 4 (final book)

Sometime 2019: Stormlight 4

Sometime 2019: New YA project 2

Sometime 2020: Elantris 2

Sometime 2020 New YA project 3 (final book)

Sometime 2021: Stormlight 5 (ending of first arc)

Sometime 2022: Elantris 3 (final book)

Brandon Sanderson

Projects in Development

Aether of Night

Another of the books I wrote around the time of Elantris, and another one that's not half bad—but still in need of a solid revision.

I'll likely do something with it someday. In the meantime, if you want to read it, you can send us an email to ask for a copy. (Consider it a thank you for getting this far in this huge post.) I'd ask that you'd consider signing up for my mailing list when you do email me, as that's how I get the word out on when I'm doing signings and when I have cool new things to release. But that's not required in order to get the book.

Brandon Sanderson

Projects in Development

Soulburner

This is an outline I developed last year during a lull—a kind of space-opera-fantasy-hybrid like Dune or Star Wars. The setting is awesome, one of my favorites. Very distinctive.

I don't have a story for it yet though. I'm just putting it on here so that you know that wacky things are still bouncing around in my head, looking for a way out. It's not something I'm going to release anytime soon, but if I ever do, you can point here and say, "Hey, I saw this first!"

Status: No Projected Start Date

Brandon Sanderson

Projects in Development

Silence Divine

This story (which is the one about a world where catching a disease grants you magical talents) is another perennial State of the Sanderson participant.

I did some work on a short story in this world a while back, and liked it, but didn't have time to finish. (This is the thing I did readings from during the Words of Radiance tour, I believe.) It's set in the cosmere, and I have plans to someday write this—but I'm not sure when I'll do it. Could be a long way off still.

Status: On Hiatus

Brandon Sanderson

Projects in Development

Dragonsteel/Liar of Partinel

This is Hoid's origin story, a prequel to the entire Cosmere. The time is not right. It's going to happen eventually, but I feel that I shouldn't dig into this until Stormlight is completely done. (All ten books.) So don't hold your breath on this one.

Status: Loooong way off

Brandon Sanderson

Projects in Development

Death by Pizza

I had a nice breakthrough on this book recently, making the main character far more interesting. (For those who don't know, this is about a necromancer who owns a pizza joint.) However, this remains a very out-of-left-field project for me, and something I did mostly for fun. (I have a nearly complete draft of the entire book.)

I don't anticipate doing this anytime soon, though I did briefly consider it as an alternative to the new YA series listed above. It's still just too strange for me to want to do right now. Perhaps eventually.

Status: On Hiatus

Brandon Sanderson

Projects in Development

Dark One

A perennial favorite on the State of the Sanderson is this YA series about a boy who discovers he's the Dark One, a figure from prophecy fated to destroy the world. My outlines are looking okay for this one, but it doesn't feel like the right time to do it. I pitched it to my editors at Random House along with the new YA series above, and we all agreed the other project was a better follow-up to the Reckoners.

Dark One is bound to get done someday. That day isn't now.

d No Projected Start Date

Brandon Sanderson

Projects in Development

Adamant

Some of you have heard readings from, or seen excerpts of, this epic science fiction series that I've been working on. I finished one novella in the world, and am pleased with it, but I have no immediate plans for writing the rest. Perhaps I'll feel different once Stormlight is done and I'm satisfied with it. (It's always possible I'll need a break between projects where I can do something very different.) We shall see. I have no plans to release this in 2016.

Status: On Hiatus

Brandon Sanderson

Projects in Development

These are projects you might have heard of, but for which no solid evidence of them ever being released is out there. On occasion I might do readings from them, and I might tinker with them—but I don't have much specific to tell you about release dates.

New YA Series

I am developing a new YA series to be released after the Reckoners with the same publisher. I can't say much about it right now, though we will probably do some announcements regarding it during the Calamity tour. If all goes well, the first book of this trilogy will be the third shorter novel I write between Stormlight 3 and 4.

I always need to have something new to be working on, if only in the back of my mind, to help prevent burnout. I'm excited about this series right now, and actively working on the outline. But I won't be digging into writing it until next summer or fall, depending on when Stormlight Three is done. So I don't expect a release for a while yet.

Status: Outlining

Brandon Sanderson

Tertiary Book Projects

Cosmere Short Fiction Collection

For a while I've been thinking that I need to collect all the various pieces of Cosmere short fiction and put them into a single collection, for those who don't like hunting around for them.

This might be the year to do that. If Stormlight doesn't make it into 2016, we might be able to get a collection (with a Stormlight novella) out by the end of the year instead. Something to tide you over, at least, until book three comes out.

If we do this, my goal will be to have it include every piece of short fiction from every source up until now and bind it together in a handsome hardcover that will look nice on the shelf next to your other books.

This will give you multiple options for the short fiction, if you want to collect it. We will continue to do our little two-novella collections (like the Perfect State and Shadows for Silence double that we just released.) So if you'd prefer to collect those in the smaller size, I anticipate everything eventually being released in that format too. However, if you'd like one thick tome, every ten years or so you should see a bigger collection.

More on this as it develops. Right now I'm toying with the title Arcanum Unbound, and would love to include a star chart of all the cosmere worlds in it.

Brandon Sanderson

Tertiary Book Projects

Legion

I owe people another (and final) Legion novella, and I plan to do this as well. Novellas aren't as big a commitment as novels, obviously—that's part of why I do them. But I don't know when I'll squeeze this in, with all the things I'm doing right now. It could happen literally at any time—but I don't expect it in 2017, to be honest.

Status: On Short Hiatus

Brandon Sanderson

Tertiary Book Projects

Warbreaker

While some characters from Nalthis have made appearances in other books, I still don't have a specific timeframe for when I'll go back and write the second Warbreaker book. (Titled Nightblood for the time being.)

I know a lot of people really want this book, and I intend to do it, but I have to find time for the Elantris sequels first. So you're unlikely to see it until Elantris is finished. (Sorry.)

Status: On Hiatus

Brandon Sanderson

Secondary Book Projects

White Sand

For those who don't know, this is a book I wrote around the same time as Elantris—but which I didn't ever sell. Once I was published, I considered releasing it, but felt it needed a solid revision before I could do so.

Well, that revision was delayed time and time again, until the point where I decided I probably would need to just rewrite the book from scratch if I ever did release it. An interesting opportunity came along a few years later, however, and that changed my perspective. You see, the comic book company Dynamite Entertainment had come asking if I had anything, perhaps an unpublished novel, that would make a good graphic novel.

This seemed the perfect opportunity to make use of White Sand. I didn't have time to do revisions, but another writer could take my words and adapt them (really, what the book needed was a trim anyway) into a graphic edition. We said yes, and started into the process.

I've said before, Dynamite has been excellent to work with. Rik Hoskin, the person hired to do the adaptation, is a fantastic writer—and he really managed to preserve the core of my story, using my own dialogue and descriptions, while cutting out all the chaff. The artist Julius Gopez, the colorist Ross Campbell, the letterer Marshall Dillon, and the editor Rich Young have all done a fabulous great job.

The novel is big (no surprise), so it's going to be released as three graphic novels. The first of these is almost ready, and we're expecting a release sometime next year.

Brandon Sanderson

Secondary Book Projects

Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians

Here's another one we've been able to clear off my list. With Tor republishing the first four books of this series throughout the spring next year (starting in February), I am at last able to get the fifth book (and the final one Alcatraz will write) out to you fans.

The new art for these editions has me very excited. For once I think we have covers that indicate to readers the tone of the books. Book Five should be out in the summer, though I believe Tor is scheduling it for August instead of June. It is written, and I'm doing final edits on it right now. (In the evenings after I feel I've hit my wordcount goal for Stormlight.)

If you haven't read these books, give them a browse once they come out again in the spring. They're very fun, but very different from my other books. They're insane, fourth-wall-breaking comedies, so they're certainly not for everyone. They have been an excellent way for me to blow off steam and refresh myself between longer, more ponderous books.

Status: Book Five Completed!

Brandon Sanderson

Secondary Book Projects

The Rithmatist

Book two of The Rithmatist (called The Aztlanian) is another thing on my schedule that I need to get to soon. If you didn't read last year's update on the book, I tried writing this—and found I didn't have a strong enough grasp on the historical period and culture to do it justice. So I stopped and did a bunch of research, but by the time I finished, I needed to be back to work on my main projects.

Therefore, I've slotted this in after Stormlight 3 as well. Hopefully it won't get pushed back again. Usually I try to do about equal in pages to a Stormlight book between Stormlight books. That gives me room for three smaller books. Right now plans are for these three books to be The Lost Metal (Wax and Wayne 4), The Atzlanian, and a new project. (See below.)

Status: Delayed, but maybe coming soon

Brandon Sanderson

Secondary Book Projects

Elantris

I do still intend Elantris sequels. (And the enthusiasm for the leatherbound edition proves that people are still interested in the world.) Right now, I have them scheduled to be slotted in once Wax and Wayne is done. We'll take a break from Scadrial at that point, go back to Sel and do some Elantris books, then hop back to the 1980s era Mistborn series.

This slots an Elantris sequel into the spot between Stormlight books 4 & 5. It is coming, just more slowly than I'd once hoped.

Status: Delayed, but coming before too long

Brandon Sanderson

Main Book Projects

Mistborn

And speaking of Mistborn, how is Scadrial doing? My current plan is still to have the Mistborn books stretch throughout my career, establishing stories in different eras of time with different sets of characters.

The original pitch was for three trilogies. The Wax and Wayne books expanded this to four series. (You can imagine Wax and Wayne as series 1.5, if you want.) This means there will still be a contemporary trilogy, and a science fiction trilogy, in the future.

I have one more book to do in the Wax and Wayne series, and I'm planning to write it sometime between Stormlight books three and four. Until then, Wax and Wayne three—The Bands of Mourning—comes out in January!

Status: Era 1.5 book three done; book four coming soonish

Brandon Sanderson

Main Book Projects

The Reckoners

The last book of the trilogy is complete, revised, and turned in. It's coming out in February, and is—indeed—the ending.

I have not closed the door on doing more in the world, but it will not be for a while. If I do return, it will be like a Mistborn return, where the focus of the books shifts in some way and I create a new series. I like leaving endings as endings, even if the world and some of the characters do progress.

I'm extremely pleased with the last book. I look forward to having you all read it, and I am grateful to you all for supporting this series. There were voices that told me something outside the Cosmere would never sell as well as something inside—but this series is neck-and-neck in popularity with Stormlight and Mistborn. It's a relief, and very gratifying, to see that people are willing to follow me on different kinds of journeys.

Status: Completed!

Brandon Sanderson

Main Book Projects

The Stormlight Archive

Stormlight is going very well. I'm working on Book Three, which I'm calling Oathbringer. (That is likely at this point to be the final title.) This is my main project, and I won't be writing any new prose on other stories until it is done. You can follow the progress bars!

Release dates for this book are still in flux. Even if I finish it early next year, it could be a year or more until you see the book. The amount of editing, continuity, and art that these books require creates a need for a long lead time. I've told people that Fall 2016 is the earliest they'd see it, but my team has been warning me that's not realistic. We'll see, but for now you should assume on a 2017 release.

What does this mean for my once optimistic "one Stormlight book every eighteen months" goal? The more I work on these books, the more uncertain I am about that. The outline for Oathbringer, for example, took about a year for me to nail down. Considering how many moving pieces there are in these books, it's tough to judge how long they will take to write. And while there are books I can force through if some things aren't right, I can't afford to do that on this series.

I'll continue to write Stormlight books at as quick a pace as is reasonable. I consider this my main project for the next decade or two, and am dedicated to it. But each book, as I've said before, is plotted as four books in one. So even if I release them once every three years, you're getting four "books" in three years.

We'll see. I'll try to pick up the pace. In the meantime, I'll try to get some short stories in the world out for you. (More on this later.)

Status: Book Three in Progress

Brandon Sanderson

Big List of Things I'm Working On

Now, let's get to it. Each year around this time, I take stock of my many projects. You can read last year's post here, to compare and see how things have been progressing. (And to see how well I did in my plans for 2015.)

Thank you in advance for continuing to give me the freedom I feel I need to jump between different worlds. While I know it's frustrating sometimes that I'm not working on your world, the greater plans I have for all this require me to approach things in a certain way. Both for my health as a writer, and to bring about some large-scale awesomeness.

I'm going to go down the list of projects I'm working on, starting with what I consider my "main" projects. These are getting the focus of my time right now. From there, I'll move on to things that I'm still toying with doing sometime soon.

Then it gets a little more speculative.

Enjoy!

Brandon Sanderson

My Year

2015 was a bit slower than last year was, as I spent a lot of time editing.

January–May: Calamity

The bulk of my writing time this year was spent on Calamity, which I'd been putting off last year in order to write the two new Mistborn novels. Looking back at my records, I finished the last chapters in early May.

This was interrupted, on occasion, for revisions of various books—and for the Firefight tour, along with a trip to Sharjah in the UAE. Busy times. So busy, in fact, that it's taken me all the rest of the year to give full feedback to the writers who took my class. I managed to grade their papers in May, somehow, but promised them each a personalized look at their final story submissions, which I'm only now finishing up.

June–August: Stormlight Three

I did squeeze in some writing time for Stormlight in here, though not a whole ton of it got done. I had to stop for revisions, touring, and travel through most of September and October.

September–October: Revisions and a Secret Project

Traveling so much made it difficult to do Stormlight 3 writing, which requires a lot of time investment. So between revisions, I managed to finish a project I've been working on for about a decade now. (Yes, a decade.) You'll see this soon. It's a novella.

November–December: Stormlight Three Again

I plan to keep on this one until I finish it, as I'll talk about below. However, if you want to read a little about my writing time in November, you can read this other blog post.

Brandon Sanderson

Conclusion

Next year will be a little quiet, following this year's releases. (Which included Secret History, The Bands of Mourning, Calamity, White Sand, Alcatraz, and Edgedancer/Arcanum Unbounded.) Right now it's just Snapshot and Oathbringer. (Which might give you a glimpse into how much work a Stormlight book is. The new one is longer than all of the above stories combined, and then some.)

As always, thanks for reading.

Brandon Sanderson

December 19th, 2016

Brandon Sanderson

Projected Release Schedule

I'm going to keep this to three years this time, as my projections in the past have tended to go skiwampus (technical term) after about one year of projecting.

I intend Rithmatist 2 and Alcatraz 6 to slip in here somewhere, but I don't know where. (I was hoping to do one of them this year, but Stormlight three went even longer than projected.)

February 2017: Snapshot

November 2017: Stormlight 3

Spring 2018: Apocalypse Guard 1

Fall 2018: Wax and Wayne 4 (final book)

Sometime 2019: Apocalypse Guard 2

Sometime 2019: Undecided. (There will likely be a second novel this year. It's possible that I'm still working on Stormlight 4 though, and will have a lean year as a result.)

Sometime 2020: Stormlight 4

Sometime 2020: Apocalypse Guard 3 (final book)

Brandon Sanderson

Tertiary Projects

Silverlight

We're almost far enough in the cosmere where I can set a story in Silverlight. It would be a novella, rather than a full novel. I don't expect it in 2017, but you all know enough tidbits about Silverlight that I can at least put it on the list now.

Status: Very early planning stages.

Brandon Sanderson

Tertiary Projects

Untitled Threnody Story

There's a novel in the Threnody system I've been planning for many, many years. Might as well move it onto this list. I'd originally planned it as the arrival of people in hell after fleeing the Evil that destroyed their homeland across the sea, but I'm toying with flipping this around, sending an expedition back to the destroyed continent.

Either way, a Threnody novel has been part of the cosmere since before I got published, so I'm confident we'll see more from it eventually. If you're confused by all this, might I mention again the value in grabbing a copy of Arcanum Unbounded?

Status: Very early planning stages.

Brandon Sanderson

Tertiary Projects

The Reckoners

DONE!

There's a chance of a standalone Mizzy book sometime in the future, which is why I put it here and don't just leave it off entirely. But even if I do that, it won't be for a while.

Status: On hiatus.

Brandon Sanderson

Tertiary Projects

Aether of Night

No progress. (Though you can still get a copy of the draft I wrote back in college, around the time I wrote Elantris. Also, requisite request that you sign up for my mailing list. I give some free fiction away on the newsletter every time I send it, and the chapters I set aside as Patreon rewards usually do make their way on here eventually, though many months later.)

Status: On hiatus (but still part of the Cosmere sequence, with seeds of the story already in other books).

Brandon Sanderson

Tertiary Projects

Soulburner

No progress here either. (This was a bad year for side projects, as I warned you.)

Status: On hiatus.

Brandon Sanderson

Tertiary Projects

Silence Divine

Still on hiatus, but still…getting sick and gaining magic powers? (No pun discovered.)

Status: A fan recorded a short reading from this at a signing for Words of Radiance. The reading is at the end.

Brandon Sanderson

Tertiary Projects

Death By Pizza

Still on hiatus, but not dead. (No pun intended.)

Status: See above.

Brandon Sanderson

Tertiary Projects

Dark One

Ah, the eternal Dark One update. If you've been reading State of the Sanderson posts for a while now, you might be looking forward to this one (still) making no progress.

My anti-Harry Potter story told from the viewpoint of a boy who discovers he is prophesied to be the Dark One…has made no progress this year. I've had a ton of trouble writing this one. I did set aside three different versions of the first chapter of this, each of which have a very different tone from one another, to be Patreon Random Hat Rewards for January, February, and March. If you want to read "The Eyes" and these three chapters, you could sign up for those months only.

Be warned, though, the Patreon is primarily intended for people who want to support Writing Excuses. The rewards are mostly afterthoughts as a thank you, rather than true incentives to coax you into spending money. The tidbits you'll get probably aren't going to be worth the $10 you give for them. (For example, each of the ones I've mentioned are a few thousand words at most.)

The real reward is supposed to be Writing Excuses going ad-free, so don't sign up just to get the fiction.

Status: Nope.

Brandon Sanderson

Tertiary Projects

Dragonsteel

This story (the story of the shattering of Adonalsium, as told by Hoid) is next-to-last in my sequence of cosmere novels (though it's first chronologically). So don't expect it until Stormlight 10 is done.

Status: A long way off. Though it might still beat that one book by that other author.

Brandon Sanderson

Tertiary Projects

Adamant

My epic science fiction space opera super-series is getting closer to finding a home. I can talk a little more about it, as I spin up my mind on the outlines.

I've envisioned Adamant as a sequence of novellas, released episodically through the year, one every other month. Ideally, I write four of them, then find co-authors for the other two to give them a slightly different feel, like you'd see on a television show à la Doctor Who or Star Trek.

If I did this though, I'd want to have all four of my parts done first as the backbone of the "season" of books. The last thing I need is another unfinished series looming over me.

I've only written one "episode" so far, but had a kind of breakthrough on how to work out some of the visuals and worldbuilding for the series. So it's inching closer to the front burner. You might see a progress bar for it pop up this year.

Status: Novella 2 could happen at any time.

Brandon Sanderson

Tertiary Projects

Legion

The new Marvel television show is unrelated, but it being out killed our chances of a television show based on these books. I do want to do a third story, but might save it for another short story collection (with all of the non-cosmere works like this, Perfect State, etc.)

I really wanted Legion to be a television show, even before I started writing the first story. So we might rebrand them, calling them simply Leeds, and try another run through Hollywood with the new titles. If so, another novella would certainly help us get attention there. We'll see.

Status: Probably not this year, but still on my radar.

Brandon Sanderson

Tertiary Projects

Warbreaker

No real motion on this one, folks. I'm sorry. We'll get a second book some time, but don't hold your breath. The cosmere has a long outline.

Status: No Evil to Be Slain Today

Brandon Sanderson

Secondary Projects

White Sand

The graphic novel incorporating the first third of the book was a huge success, so we're going full-steam on the second part. And, of course, Khriss (one of the main characters) is the in-world author of many essays in Arcanum Unbounded. So Taldain is still peeking up here and there, reminding everyone it's part of the cosmere.

I don't have control over when the second part of the graphic novel comes out. That all depends on the artist's schedule—but I have assurances from the publisher that it won't take too terribly long. We'll post when we know for sure about release dates.

Status: Second volume actively being worked on.

Brandon Sanderson

Secondary Projects

Elantris

The plan is to alternate Stormlight Books with Elantris sequels after I finish Wax and Wayne. Likely I'll go into Stormlight 4 sometime in 2018, but there's a chance I do Elantris 2 first. It won't be written this year—that plate is full of the books mentioned above—but we're growing ever closer and closer to getting back to Sel.

Status: Not this year. Small chance of being written in 2018.

Brandon Sanderson

Secondary Projects

Alcatraz

My big reveal for Alcatraz promised one more book in this series, though you shouldn't read that blog post until you read the first five books.

I will probably do Rithmatist 2 before Alcatraz Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians. But I can't say for certain. This is where that part about books being art, and not science, comes into play. I can't say exactly what my inclinations will be on these books, as I need some freedom built into my schedule. We'll see what happens.

Status: Soooon also, but a little less soooon.

Brandon Sanderson

Secondary Projects

The Rithmatist

A sequel to The Rithmatist is looking likely this year, depending on some factors (such as how long Stormlight revisions take.) This is the single most requested book I hear about, though that's probably because people know that Stormlight is coming along very well already.

Some people do wonder why I'd do like The Apocalypse Guard before The Atzlanian (Rithmatist 2). It comes down to having two publishers. Stormlight, Rithmatist, and Wax and Wayne are all books for Tor. I need to give Delacorte some love too, and they've waited patiently all year for me to finish Stormlight. So they get the next major writing time slot.

I hear you, Rithmatist fans. We'll get something to you before too much longer. My son Joel (who has a character in the book named for him) is getting old enough to read The Rithmatist, and so I intend to read it with him together, and then jump into the second book sometime soon.

Status: Soooooon.

Brandon Sanderson

Main Projects

The Apocalypse Guard

This is my next YA book series, in the same universe as the Reckoners. The simple pitch is: Emma is the intern/coffee girl for the Apocalypse Guard, a group of scientists, engineers, and superhumans specialized in saving planets from extinction-level events.

When the Apocalypse Guard headquarters gets attacked by a shadowy and unexpected force, Emma gets stuck on a doomed planet they were planning to save. She has to either find a way off, or find a way to put the Apocalypse Guard's plans into motion—and do so with no training, no powers, and no support.

This will be my next writing project, between Oathbringer revisions and Wax and Wayne 4. Like the Reckoners, it's right on the borderline between YA and Adult—and might be published in my adult line of novels in some countries.

I intend the series to follow in the footsteps of the Reckoners—having the feel of a science fiction/superhero action film. Sometimes as a reader (and as a writer), I want something a little less "steak dinner" and a little more "hamburger and fries," if that makes any sense.

Stormlight is my steak dinner, and while I originally thought of Wax and Wayne as hamburger and fries, by books two and three they became steak dinners too. (Just a 6oz fillet instead of a 12oz T-bone.)

Okay, that metaphor is getting a little out of control. I might need to go out for steak for my dinner. Let's just say that the Reckoners managed to hit that sweet spot of fun action, interesting worldbuilding, and quick plots I was looking for—so I'm eager to do something similar. The Apocalypse Guard is the next step; look for the progress bar to start on it sometime early in 2017.

Status: Outlining almost finished; will be my next project.

Brandon Sanderson

Main Projects

Mistborn

The Lost Metal, Wax and Wayne Four, will be my next non-YA novel project. I still intend to write it so that it can come out in 2018. You should see a progress bar for it pop up sometime in the fall of 2017.

This will be the last Wax and Wayne book. Because of fan outcry, we're just going to call the Wax and Wayne books "Era Two" of Mistborn from here out, and I'm sorry for the "Era 1.5 fiasco" of last year. That would have worked if I'd started calling it that from the get-go, but it's too late now.

Once Era Two is done, we'll let Mistborn lie fallow for a few years while I move on to Elantris/Warbreaker sequels. (See below.)

Status: Book Seven (W&W 4) being outlined.

Brandon Sanderson

Main Projects

The Stormlight Archive

Book Three is done! Edgedancer is out!

I'll be spending about four months of 2017 doing revisions on Oathbringer, then will have a tour in the fall. (Might manage to get to the UK on that one too.) Things are looking good for Stormlight and Roshar, and not just because we are working on a film. I'm excited for you to read the next installment.

I'm officially adding "Oathbringer (Stormlight 3) third draft" to the progress bar, now that I'm almost done with the second draft. (Most of which was completed during writing the first draft, as I explained above.)

Book Four will probably not be released until 2020—I'll start managing those expectations now, rather than trying to promise 2019 like I thought I might be able to do, once upon a time.

As I always promise, I'll see if I can speed that up. But if you take the year it took to outline Book Three and add eighteen months to actually write it, we're already at 2.5 years—not counting other projects I want to do.

Status: Book Three in revisions, out in 2017.