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    Shadows of Self Lansing signing ()
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    Questioner

    Say you have a Feruchemist who pours Identity into a metalmind. Then subsequently loses that mind, and then is later Awakened? Would that mind retain the personality of--

    *Everyone laughs, Scottish man says "it's 11 o'clock at night, give the man a break!"*

    Brandon Sanderson

    Okay, so they store Identity—which I haven't told you what it does--

    Questioner

    Yep. We don't know.

    Brandon Sanderson

    And then you Awaken it, and then you want to know if it has the personality of the person?

    Questioner

    Yeah, or if it's able to communicate in any way.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Um, if-- how much Awakened is it? Is it Nightblood-level Awakened? Or is it just regular Awakened?

    Questioner

    Sure let's say Nightblood-level.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Nightblood-level. So it's-- so the Investiture has been granted sapience. And it's got Investiture from somebody else stuffed in it. I can foresee a scenario where that has an influence, but it's not going to be the personality of the person who stuffed it in. I can see some circumstances where they can-- where the Investiture of the object can make use of that in some way, but...

    Oh boy, that was a weird one.

    Shadows of Self Lansing signing ()
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    Questioner

    The Soonie dog, this mentions. You definitely need to make one of those: whatever you want to make us pay for it, we'll buy it. No problem.

    Brandon Sanderson

    So what I've got is that we make a Soonie pup as one of those stuffed animals that you can turn inside out, and when you turn it inside out it's a mistwraith, *people all around who heard flip out * and then you twist it back.

    Shadows of Self Lansing signing ()
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    Questioner

    Will we ever see Spook again?

    Brandon Sanderson

    You are unlikely... Okay how about-- Spook's touch is all over the books everywhere. So if you watch in the new ones, things he has done have had lasting ramifications. So you-- you will probably hear from him again, but it might be in the form of journals and things like that.

    Shadows of Self Lansing signing ()
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    Questioner

    Have you read any fanfiction based on any of your novels?

    Brandon Sanderson

    You know I've stayed away from it, though I approve of fanfiction. There are some legal ramifications of reading something and then it being too similar to what you're writing, and then the worry that the fan's gonna... anyway. So I just stay away from reading it.

    Shadows of Self Lansing signing ()
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    Questioner

    [In Shadows of Self] there’s the new metal, I guess. I was wondering-- So if someone were to bring a metal from a different planet, say steel from Roshar, would it still be recognizable as steel on that world?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It would still be, yup. It would be.

    Questioner

    Because there was mention of it being "of Harmony" right, and that was the difference?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The thing you gotta remember is that the metals on Mistborn are keys and not the actual source of the power. If they were the source of the power, it wouldn’t work.

    Shadows of Self Lansing signing ()
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    Questioner

    The thing about women eating sweeter foods and how sharp the gender divide was and-- I just found that worldbuilding really interesting, so how do you get inspired by that?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So I noticed that a lot of cultures have these really stark gender disparities, and I think in America we don't—like even around the world they still have a lot of them—in America we kind of-- I'm glad we don't because I think it is actual progress to not [have these disparities]. But at the same time that's a really big part of so many different cultures that I wanted to play with that idea.

    And I loved in The Wheel of Time how Robert Jordan had the magic work differently [...] and so I was looking for a long time for something I can do that plays with the idea of gender roles, and that's kind of what rose out of it. It actually came from when I was working on the history and the moment when the men kind of seized control of the Shardblades. You know about this?

    Questioner

    Yeah, I read about it online.

    Brandon Sanderson

    So that moment I'm like "alright, there's a divergence there. How do they strictly define the gender roles to maintain control of the power of these weapons?" And I think that's-- and I just kind of built from there.

    Questioner

    It's really interesting though that women in a way are actually the creative minds-- they're actually not necessarily suppressed, but they're repressed in a different area.

    Brandon Sanderson

    It is, right. It's this weird repression where you can't do what you want, but they're actually in many ways the most powerful ones in society, but they're constrained by it.

    Questioner

    Yeah, they're the ones that are creative because men don't even read because they're not supposed to. I guess that's what's really interesting to me.

    Brandon Sanderson

    It was sooo much fun to figure some of these things out because it plays with expectations a little bit, but also plays into them in really interesting ways.

    Shadows of Self Lansing signing ()
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    Blaze1616

    Fabrials and AonDor. In Elantris you mention there’s Tia plates that let people teleport around the city. Could an Elantrian essentially make portable fabrials using a similar method as the Aon Tia plates?

    Brandon Sanderson

    *hesitantly* Yes, that is within the possibility of what it can do. The problem is the further you get from Elantris, the weaker the magic, so they’re going to be really limited in distance. But yes, totally could. And you could probably get them working through most of that region.

    Firefight San Francisco signing ()
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    Questioner

    In Stormlight, how the hell does society work with one object standing for both the currency, the magic system, and light and power--

    Brandon Sanderson

    How does it work in Roshar with one thing spanning-- for the economy, the magic system, and... lighting up everything. They would ask, "How  you could possibly have three different things?" because it makes no sense to them. It totally functions, I think. The big distinction is you can't use Stormlight for lighting if-- Like that's something for rich people. You'll see poor people using candles and whatnot, because hanging out your spheres is not a smart idea in some other places. There are spheres that are a low light level that are worth about a candle or so, so if you put a candle out someone could just swipe that, it's worth the same amount. There's really no difference between putting out a candle and that. If you're going to put out a lantern you can put spheres in it and lock it up.

    Firefight San Francisco signing ()
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    Questioner

    I wanna know about Alloy of Law, if there was an actor who was going to play Wayne, who would you--

    Brandon Sanderson

    Oh who would I cast to play Wayne in Alloy of Law? I have no idea. I don't cast characters. I pay a lot of attention to directors but I feel like the best actors are the ones that always surprise you. Like if you were to tell me Matthew McConaughey was doing what he did these last couple of years, if you would have said that ten years ago, I would have laughed at you right, because the best actors can do so many different things. So I don't know, I have no idea who I'd cast. The only actors I've ever really cast in my books, if you guys have read... Legion, about a guy who's schizophrenic but not really, he sees hallucinations but they help him solve crimes; I cast all the hallucinations as actors, so if you pay close attention you can tell who each of these hallucinations are because a lot of them are famous actors. Except for Kalyani who's a friend of mine.

    Firefight San Francisco signing ()
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    Questioner

    I was wondering if you had an inspiration for Cody.

    Brandon Sanderson

    For Cody, yes I did actually. I was at a convention in the South and I had someone, a guy, use y’all for "me", and I'm like, "Y'all for one person?" and he's like "Yeah, that's how you use it" for one person. *laughter* Really? And he just tried to convince me that this is true. So I went to wikipedia and they said there are some delusional people who use it that way. So I'm like, I'm totally building a character around this person who, you know, I couldn't tell the whole time if he was pulling my leg because I was not from the South, or if indeed that was his little regional dialect, that y'all is one person and all y'all was two, which is what he tried to convince me-- it is true? You say it's true?

    Bystander

    It's from Kentucky.

    Brandon Sanderson

    See I have gotten-- I have gotten more emails about from Southerners who say "You've committed the great sin for a non-Southerner by using it that way, and it's an abomination, and it's not true". And I'm like, wow I must have done something right. 'Cause they hate that. I'm getting it from the people from Atlanta, they're like "this is not-- this is not correct". You know, Charleston, where they're all like the hoity-toity Southerners. So anyway, yeah that's where Cody came from. That idea.

    Firefight San Francisco signing ()
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    Questioner

    What are you reading right now?

    Brandon Sanderson

    What am I reading right now? So I most recently finished The Martian by Andy Weir, which is big thumbs up, it is fantastic. By the way, he has a potty mouth so kids, be aware, but fantastic book. After that I read Naomi Novik’s new book, which comes out in June--I get them early! It's called Uprooted and I liked that a lot too. Those are both very solid. Otherwise I am reading-- let's see, I've got a couple. Oh, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, read that, really liked that. So those are my three, I read them all in December.

    Right now I'm reading Raising Steam, Terry Pratchett, one of my favorite writers, and I'm also reading Peter Orullian's second book. He's a fantasy novelist who would really like me to give him a cover quote, so I'm reading his book to see if I can give it a cover quote or not. He's a Tor author that writes epic fantasy.

    Firefight San Francisco signing ()
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    Questioner

    Last month you posted a picture of your Dropbox right and there is that one folder that we read about. Is there anything you can tell us about that yet?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So I posted a picture of my Dropbox and I just happened to have crossed out one of the folders. What can I say about that-- you'll know eventually. There's not a whole lot i can say about it because its mere existence is a spoiler to people who haven't read certain other books. And so that's the reason why I crossed it out.

    Questioner

    We can assume it's cosmere?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I can't say either way. It's mere existence is a spoiler. You will find out eventually, but it is definitely a little side project that I may or may not actually ever finish.

    Calamity release party ()
    #9577 Copy

    Questioner

    So I heard that, like, in *inaudible* you have people with mental health issues. Like Kaladin had depression. And I was just curious if you're going to do something like with Renarin.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Renarin has anxiety. Amongst other things. He kind of got the grab bag of mental disorders. Poor hand. But yeah. I might dig into anxiety a little bit more. Do you know someone with anxiety?

    Questioner

    *inaudible*

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, if you watch Renarin he's got his little fidget box and things like that.

    Calamity release party ()
    #9579 Copy

    Questioner

    So Lessie's kandra, but in the original Mistborn series kandra can't bleed. So how was it that *inaudible* <bleed>?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I think they can bleed. In fact I think Vin has a conversation about it, because otherwise you could just prick the fingers of everybody in order to find a kandra who was imitating somebody.

    Questioner

    Because when Ten-- well, it's TenSoon but she thinks it's OreSeur-- gets shot and hurt, it talks about how there's no blood.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Oh, they can stop the bleeding if they want. 

    Questioner

    Okay.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I mean they have absolute control of their muscles and things. But if you look in Well of Ascension they talk about, "Well, we could just prick everyone's finger and find the kandra," but that doesn't work. They can bleed if they want to. They can cut it off.

    Questioner

    Okay, so when I went through and re-did my reading of the series before Shadows of Self came out I just probably missed that.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I'm-- I'm pretty sure I put that in. If I didn't it's in the annotations, because otherwise there's a really easy way to find a hiding kandra. 

    Calamity release party ()
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    Shadow Guardian

    If Calamity were a Shard in the Cosmere, what intent would he be?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Oh boy... Oh boy. Have you read this book?

    Shadow Guardian

    I have not read Calamity yet?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I don't want to spoil it. Um... *pause* Yeah, I don't really want to spoil it. But it's kind of-- it's like "Vindictiveness" would probably be a good match. This-- Or "Judgement". Maybe Judgement. Calamity's got this impression that people will destroy themselves if he lets them. Does that make sense?

    Shadow Guardian

    Yeah.

    Brandon Sanderson

    So it's not either one of those, but it's something close to that.

    Shadows of Self Lansing signing ()
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    Questioner

    I wanted to know if Forged metals had Allomantic properties.

    Brandon Sanderson

    If Forged metals had Allomantic properties. So what I’ve kind of been ruling on this is if you Forge a metal from one metal to another you can probably start burning it Allomantically but it--  Once you did it would disrupt the Spiritual nature of the metal and it would change back immediately.

    Shadows of Self Lansing signing ()
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    Questioner

    Where does the concept for the broadsheets come from?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So I get together with my team: which is Ben McSweeney who does a lot of the artwork, Isaac who does all the symbols and maps, my editorial assistant, and myself. And then we brainstorm as many cool things as we can, and then Isaac lays it out, Ben does all the art, and then together we all just write different *inaudible* for the articles so it feels like a newspaper that a lot of different people are writing.

    Questioner

    That's awesome. Thank you very much this is very cool.

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's how we do it.

    Isaac wrote the Allomancer Jak pieces in the next one so you should read that one. It's really fun, it's his debut of fiction.

    Warbreaker Annotations ()
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    Brandon Sanderson

    The Priests Give an Account of the Murder

    This should set off red flags, since you saw what happened that night. Vasher didn't kill the man who was tied up, nor did he flee out the way he had come. He went into the tunnels.

    Someone else was there that night. I hope that readers can put that together from the discussion; if not, however, the next Lightsong chapter lends some explanations to the occurrence.

    Warbreaker Annotations ()
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    Brandon Sanderson

     A lot of alpha readers, upon reaching this chapter, said things like, "I was really waiting for something like this to happen," or "This is just what Lightsong needed." They're referring to him beginning to investigate the death. (A lot of these comments come from the next Lightsong scene too, after we're certain this little plot structure isn't going away.)

    They're noticing something that I noticed too—that Lightsong needed something to drive him, something to keep him proactive. Something that wasn't just a political game. I like this sequence a lot, and it's an example of something that developed during the writing process rather than being planned out ahead of time. I just felt I needed something else, a way to have Lightsong be involved, but which would also give me a chance to start delving into his past.

    Warbreaker Annotations ()
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    Brandon Sanderson

    Blushweaver and Lightsong Visit Mercystar

    Just like the last scene showed off what a lot of the standard gods are like, Mercystar is supposed to hint at what a lot of the goddesses are like. I think that there would be a good number of them who would turn out just like this—given anything they want, told how important they are, and blessed with a beautiful and perfect body no matter what they eat or how they act. Imagine what that must do to a person.

    Warbreaker Annotations ()
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    Brandon Sanderson

    Chapter Twenty-Three

    Lightsong Visits Blushweaver While She's Enjoying a Gardener's Art

    One of the things I wanted to do with this book was come up with different kinds of art that the gods could enjoy—things that we wouldn't normally look at as traditional "art" but which in this world have been developed to the point that they're just that.

    I liked the concept of a gardener whose art came from the movement and arrangement of pots of flowers and plants into patterns on the fly, like—as Lightsong says—the leader of a musician leading an orchestra. He directs, gesturing and pointing, and dozens of servants rush about, holding different pots. Then they set them down and retreat, leaving them for a few moments. Then it repeats, different servants rushing in with other pots and laying them in other patterns. A little like synchronized swimming, but with plants.

    Warbreaker Annotations ()
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    Brandon Sanderson

    Tonk Fah Wants to Be the Mean One

    Tonk Fah is a sociopath. He doesn't feel an emotional connection to other people, nor does he feel their pain when he hurts them. He tortures and kills animals when it strikes his fancy. There's a dead parrot in the basement of the safe house, which is why Denth keeps Vivenna from going down there. There aren't any bodies of Idrian soldiers down there currently, though Denth has had a few of them killed already. The fact that he has people watching their house, plus Vivenna's mention of her father's soldiers checking Lemex's house first, are tiny clues. They do indeed go there first, and Denth has his people there watching. That's how he catches the Idrian soldiers.

    By this point in the story, he's killed about three people who have come looking for Vivenna. The death count will eventually reach several dozen.

    Warbreaker Annotations ()
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    Brandon Sanderson

    Denth's Speed

    Yes, Denth is inhumanly fast. He's a Returned, after all, and has all of the physical enhancements that come with that. Even when he's chosen not to manifest most of them, he's still got an edge, just like Vasher does.

    How do they hide that they're Returned? Well, it comes down to mastery of their ability to change their appearance. They can't shape-shift entirely; they can just alter some things about their appearance. They can change their weight, their hair color, and things like that at will. Vasher doesn't do this often, but Denth has been known to use it as a disguise. The problem, after you do this once and someone realizes it, your nature becomes very suspect.

    They have learned to suppress their divine Breath. This allows them to hide, but they must be careful never to give away all of their Breath. Denth has been a Drab before—he's not completely lying—but never for longer than a few days. And his divine Breath is always there, suppressed. So he doesn't know what it's like to be a true Drab, which is why in this chapter he says he doesn't think it changes you that much. He's never felt it.

    Warbreaker Annotations ()
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    Brandon Sanderson

    Vivenna at the Safe House

    Vivenna is right about what happens to a person when they lose their Breath. It is a part of your soul, and without one, you are more prone to depression, you get sick much more easily, and you're generally more irritable.

    I included this mention here because I'm betting that most people who read the book side with Denth and assume he's right when he talks about these things. But don't be too judgmental about the Idrians—yes, they're biased, but the Hallandren are too in a lot of ways. It's not as simple as one side always being right and the other wrong. In this case, the Idrian teachings are correct, and most Hallandren are looking for justifications when they say that giving up one's Breath isn't all that damaging to them.

    Warbreaker Annotations ()
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    Brandon Sanderson

    Chapter Twenty-Two - Part Two

    Clod the Lifeless

    Yes, Clod is Arsteel, in case you were wondering. After Vasher killed him, Denth's team decided to have him made into a Lifeless. Partially because Denth was curious if it was possible, and partially because Arsteel was such a capable warrior that they knew he'd make for an excellently skilled Lifeless. It isn't as good as having Arsteel himself, of course, but Clod is probably the greatest Lifeless swordfighter in existence right now in the entire world.

    Another tidbit that never comes up is that Jewels was in love with Arsteel, which is the primary reason she joined Denth's team in the first place. Arsteel joined it because he wanted to try to redeem Denth; he felt that a reconciliation between Denth and Vasher was possible, and as a peacemaker, he thought he might be able to make it happen. As for why Vasher killed him . . . well, I'm afraid that's another story that will have to wait for the sequel.

    Jewels is still in love with him. And yes, she still sleeps with him on occasion. And yes, she's a little bit unhinged emotionally and mentally because of his death.

    Warbreaker Annotations ()
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    Brandon Sanderson

    Only Potential Heirs of Idris Have Royal Locks

    This is true. It's not a matter of genetics, but lineage. That's a subtle distinction. Only the children of the person who ends up inheriting will have the Royal Locks. (Though there are a couple of notable exceptions to this, they won't show up in this book, as it will take another novel to explain why and how the Royal Locks really work. If I ever write a sequel, that should be in it.)

    This factoid about the Royal Locks should be one of several hints about the lineage of the Idrian crown. There is something odd about their heritage.

    Warbreaker Annotations ()
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    Brandon Sanderson

    Chapter Twenty-Two - Part One

    Lightsong Plays Tarachin With Three Other Gods

    This is the newest scene in the book, added in the last revision before the novel went to copyedit. I added it for two reasons. My editor wanted to see another chapter between the previous Lightsong chapter and the next one. He felt that the god made up his mind to help Blushweaver too easily, and wanted to spend more time with Lightsong mulling over the decision.

    I reacted quickly to the suggestion, as I'd been wanting to show Lightsong interacting with some of the other gods. It's sometimes too easy for me to build my books around a small core cast and rarely involve any others, and I have to force myself to include more characters to round things out. This book had a distinct lack of scenes with "ordinary" gods. We got to see a lot of the exceptions, but never the run-of-the-mill divinities who make up the ranks.

    I wanted to show how they schemed and how they acted. Putting Lightsong with three of them here helps the book quite a bit, I think. It makes the world feel more real and helps his character by providing contrast.

    The game is something I developed in order to make this scene work. I wanted a divine game—one that wouldn't require too much effort, would require a lot of preparation and extravagance, but would still qualify as a sport. So, we have a game where the gods can sit on a balcony attended by a fleet of servants and scribes tallying their throws.

    When my editor read the scene, he loved it instantly. He called to tell me it was one of his favorites in the book, partially because of some particularly good Lightsong quips. He says that he fully expects some Sanderson book readers to develop the rules for the game someday, then play it at a con.

    [Editor's note: Also compare the game of Stones in the deleted Mad Prince Eton scenes from Elantris. Warning: Contains spoilers, so do not read this if you have not read Elantris.]

    Warbreaker Annotations ()
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    Brandon Sanderson

    The contact Vasher mentions in this scene is Bluefingers. The little scribe is working very hard to push the court toward war, and he thinks that if Vasher sneaks into the hidden tunnels, he might do something dangerous like kill a few guards. More than that, Bluefingers is hoping that by giving away that tidbit of information, he might be able to get Vasher to trust him, and therefore get the chance to manipulate him toward fomenting the war.

    At this point, Vasher has contacted Bluefingers pretending that he's interested in the politics of the court and the war. Bluefingers inaccurately assumes—from intelligence he's gathered, from what Denth has said, and from some faint awareness of who Vasher might be—that Vasher wants to drive Hallandren back to war with Idris. At the very least, Bluefingers assumes that Vasher will want to kill and destroy, since death and destruction have often been his wake.

    And so, Bluefingers sells to Vasher a little tidbit that he assumes is innocent (the presence of the tunnels). This gives Vasher an unexpected edge. He now knows that it's possible to get to the Lifeless garrison, and into the court itself, through ways nobody knows about. That makes him suspect that something greater might be going on, perhaps a coup of some sort.

    I apologize for only showing little pieces of this in the book. But, to be honest, I don't think it's that interesting—mostly because everybody is so wrong about what they're assuming. And the assumptions are rational enough that I think it would be confusing in the book. Vasher is wrong about the coup, and Bluefingers is wrong about Vasher's motives. Denth only cares about getting a chance to punish Vasher for the death of his sister.

    Warbreaker Annotations ()
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    Brandon Sanderson

    Vasher Fights the Guards, Then Creates a Lifeless Squirrel

    I wanted to show the creation of a Lifeless somewhere in this book, as I think the process is interesting. The draining of color happens in a slightly different way than in regular Awakening, though it's similar. In this case, the creature draws color from its own body in order to come to life.

    The better your imagining of the Command when you make it (not the orders you give it, but the one when you give it the Breath), the more intelligent and capable of following orders the Lifeless is. Later in the book, for instance, people are surprised at how good this little squirrel is at doing what it is told.