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    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
    #5751 Copy

    Tetau

    As far as I aware, Skyward is your first attempt to write techno fantasy. Will this new experience be useful for Mistborn 3 and 4, which is supposed to be a sci fi?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I think it will help a little--but not a ton, as the real challenge to Mistborn Eras three and four is going to be making good on the promises of the earlier trilogies, and using them well. They will need to be more "hard" SF than Skyward, except with made-up science.

    Skyward, I could create what I needed from the technology specifically to fit this story. (For the most part.)

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    ASIC_SP

    Was it intentional to introduce Musicspren as the first spren in TWoK?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It was intentional in that I knew I needed some spren very early in the book, to establish the world--and that was the scene I was working with to do that. It isn't supposed to be hugely meaningful that those spren are first, though they are more relevant to later parts of the story than some of the earlier ones.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    Stormstoyou

    I was wondering about origins and meaning of Dalinar's name. It's a shame we know name meanings of minor characters like Oroden, but don't know about our main character. How you came out with Dalinar's name and what does it means in-world?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Dalinar is actually a chicken-egg thing. I had his name way before I had the linguistics of Roshar, and it was always just the RIGHT name for me. I built a lot of the naming conventions around the fact that I liked the name.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    Stormstoyou

    So, Skyward is gonna be a trilogy. Each book will contain it's own stand alone story or it's a one big story splitted into three books?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Each of the books stand pretty well on their own, though the final one (this will probably be four books, not three) is a lot more reliant on the previous ones.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    IBNobody

    The [Skyward] Audiobook narrator is Suzy Jackson. How did you end up finding her?

    Brandon Sanderson

    We asked the audio publisher for several samples of readers they thought would be good, and then we listened to them, asked for follow-up and finally chose. Sometimes, we don't like any of the options, and ask for more--but this time, we didn't need to go through that.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    Phantine

    Stormlight has a lot of parallelism with Mistborn, but with protagonists who are now on the other side of the slave revolt. In particular, there's a very strong through line going from Kelsier to Miles to Moash, with characters attempting to overthrown a corrupt system being treated differently by the narrative in each case.

    How much of this inversion is intentional? I know Warbreaker had a lot of deliberate parallels to Mistborn.

    Brandon Sanderson

    This is pretty intentional. I like to approach things from different sides, and I knew Stormlight was about the establishment, while Mistborn about the revolutionary. I like to try to show both sides of things like this, when I can.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    KillerSlipper

    What was your biggest challenge when writing Skyward? And possibly as a follow on - are there any new challenges or surprises that come to you as a writer even after all these years of doing it ?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The biggest challenge to Skyward was getting the actual fighter-pilot stuff right, followed closely by the fact that I didn't really have a safety net for this book. Having already pulled a book from the publisher, and having a very small time to get this one written, I felt I really needed to nail it on first try--and I did, fortunately.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    zorro_pickanalytics

    Did you know from the start Skyward would be a good fit for an existing world or was it something you realized after starting to develop the story?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It was once I started developing the story. I often am working on the elements of stories separately before I combine them into one whole--and so it wasn't until I sat down to do the outline, officially taking several pieces of various story ideas and combining them--that I knew for certain that this was a good fit.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    TupaczHologram

    How emotional do you get when you write the sadder parts of your books? I sobbed like a baby at the end of Hero of Ages, and I wonder what it’s like to conceive something like that.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I'm generally more emotional about the books when planning the first ideas of them--when I'm listening to the right music and planning the way the story will play out. When I actually get there in the writing, I'm more focused on sticking the landing, so to speak, than being emotional myself.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    TupaczHologram

    Who’s your favorite character? As in who would be your favorite if you were reading the novels like the rest of us?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The first is kind of hard to answer, because my favorite tends to be whoever I'm writing at this exact moment--and I'm not sure I could separate myself from being the writer enough to pick my favorites if I weren't writing.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    Stromeng

    In Oathbringer Cultivation calls Dalinar Son of Honor and Son of Odium. Why? Does he Connected to both Shards and technically can be a Vessel for Odium.

    Also, why Cultivation says it'd be good for her to have a part of Dalinar inside of her? Is it important?

    Brandon Sanderson

    This is partially RAFO territory, but let's just say that Cultivation takes the long view on someone--and to her, Dalinar represents both the the best and worst of both Honor and Odium.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    Argent

    Skyward: With Apocalypse Guard sharing a universe with Reckoners, and Snapshot (originally) being in there too, it looks like you are playing around with the idea of developing a sci-fi shared universe similar to the cosmere, if smaller in scope. Are these non-cosmere shared universes random one-offs that just happen to work together, or do we have something bigger to look forward to in the (distant) future?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I'm not actively trying to create anything else like the cosmere. More, there are ideas I really like that I've tested out in novellas that I want to expand upon.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    Portugal_Stronk

    What is the status of that Arcanum Unbounded Nalthis essay you said you'd like to do one day? Is that still the plan? And, speaking of Nalthis, will we ever see a map of it? I think Warbreaker does a good job of showing the relative locations of places, but us map nerds would really like one, even if just a sketch.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I actually sat down to write it the other day, after someone reminded me on Reddit about it. But I quickly got distracted by something else. Soooo... Yeah, it WILL happen, I just have to squeeze it in.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    SomeLameName7173

    [Skyward] looks like it will be a very fun book. How much of the book will actually be released before publishing? and how long is the book

    Brandon Sanderson

    Book is 110k words long. And...right now I can't remember how much I talked them into releasing. Somewhere between a third and half, I believe.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    vanahian

    And for a friend of mine and her sanity... The Shalladin thing will be something or is all in her head? Stop her pain please :D.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Shallan has made her choice. I wouldn't expect that to change.

    vanahian

    And thanks for the answer in 11. My friend is crying but now she can go ahead with her life :)

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah...I do feel bad about that. If it's any comfort, tell her I think she'll eventually be very pleased it went this way. It might take a few more books, though.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    vanahian

    Silverlight and Wandersail novellas...When?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Silverlight and Wandersail novellas. Silverlight...not soon. Wandersail, potentially while I'm working on Stormlight 4.

    NotOJebus

    A Wandersail novella! I guess that means there may be more truth to that story than first thought!

    Brandon Sanderson

    Well...it would be about current characters, not the story that may or may not have happened in the past.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    vanahian

    After finishing Skyward trilogy, do you have in mind to write more about this universe?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I have no current plans for more Skyward, but you know me. I always know where a story would go in the future--and sometimes I find places to put them. (This story, for example, is a continuation of something from years ago.)

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    LoneWarmonger

    If you take Bondsmith Honorblade, will you be able repeat Dalinar's Perpendicularity trick, or it is something special only Dalinar can do for a different reason?

    When Dalinar repairs temple does he use Bondsmith power or...something else? If first, which Surge does he use?

    Brandon Sanderson

    RAFO!

    LoneWarmonger

    I expected to get RAFO...But is Oathbringer a Bondsmith book or Skybreaker book? I know it was supposed to be Szeth/Skybreaker, but changed to Dalinar/Bondsmith. And still we learnt more about Skybreakers than Dalinar and his strange abilities. Will book 5 have more of Dalinar?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Books 5 will have a lot of Dalinar. Once it is out, you'll be able to see why it could have been a Bondsmith book--but I think it's better this way, with Book 3 being the Bondsmith book.

    LoneWarmonger

    Thank you, Mr Sanderson, I'm pleased with the choice, but I guess, I just wanted to learn more about Dalinar's powers in his book, he's my favorite character. Even after HIS book, his abilities are a mystery. But I'm exited to hear I'll get more in the future. Please, don't keep Dalinar on the background, he's the best.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Note that book four may see less of him, as he steps back a little (like each of the characters will for a book or two here and there) but book five has him as a focus again.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
    #5783 Copy

    Will_Try_N_Sell_Junk

    What's the biggest change you've made between drafts that would surprise readers?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Hm. Well, the biggest ones would probably all be Stormlight, since the first proper draft of that (in 2002) was far from the second version I did in 2009. Seven years of thinking about where the story went wrong led to some huge changes. (For example, in the 2002 version, Dalinar kills Elhokar.)

    NightWillReign

    in the 2002 version, Dalinar kills Elhokar

    WTF WAT

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah. Adolin dies as well... And there are no spren. And Kaladin gets Shardplate/Blade in the prologue and trains to be a knight, though not a Knight Radiant, as that term is one I developed later...

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    WeiryWriter

    One of the projects I'm most excited for from you Brandon is Adamant (the Silence of the Lambs in Space story--It's in second-place 'cause The Aztlanian). You once mentioned that you were considering trying to slide it in the cosmere, but were unsure because it would require removing a Shakespeare reference of which you were fond. Have you considered adding it to this fledgling Skywardverse? (Thereby cementing your claim to fame as the "crossover universes" guy)

    Brandon Sanderson

    I doubt I'll put Adamant into the Skyward universe if only because I'm so enamored with how it turned out when I did...what I did to it. (You'll see eventually.) It really is a lot of fun set up the way it is now.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    WeiryWriter

    At one point in time you were planning for Skyward to be in the cosmere, which is no longer the case. If you were to pick a Shard, or Shards, that would fit Skyward what would they be? (Not necessarily the Shard that would have been featured in-cosmere, but a hypothetical Shard that fits the book/world in its current state.)

    Brandon Sanderson

    Skyward was more "The travels of Spensa, space pilot" than a true story back when it was in the cosmere. But as the story is right now, I'd say Autonomy would find it very interesting.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    TinyOxKing

    So when I was reading Warbreaker, the more I listened to Vasher the more he reminded me of Mormon (loves kids, warrior who hated war, a scholar, & etc) was this a coincidence or done on purpose?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Coincidence. I find that an interesting connection, though.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    Oversleep

    Okay, maybe also Alcatraz one since I just finished Dark Talent few hours ago (it's excellent, by the way): Why did they need Dif in the first place? I mean, Alcatraz still knows more about Hushlands than any person from Free Kingdoms would, even a person who went deep undercover for a long time. What did they need a specialist in Hushlands for? That part didn't make sense for me.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Alcatraz knows what it is like to live in a small town in the US. Would you pick him as a guide to show you around DC or NYC, a place he'd never been? He's a thirteen year old kid. But I'll say, at the same time, Dif was working hard behind the scenes to get himself involved.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    Oversleep

    Any grander plans for this setting beside this trilogy of Skyward?

    Any plans for that other work the Skyward is connected to?

    Is there any connecting stuff we should be on look out for?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Let me get this trilogy (which will actually probably be four books) done, and then I'll worry about that.

    No other plans for the work this is based on right now.

    As for connecting stuff, it will become very obvious once I start using some technical terminology. I said elsewhere in the thread that chapter 17 will make it very clear for those watching. Other small connections exist through the series, but more in the second book.

    Govir

    As a follow-up, will the fourth just be adding onto the end (i.e. it's a quartet), or will it be tangential, similar to Mistborn: Secret History (i.e. a trilogy + another book)?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It will be a quartet. I did my normal thing, writing the first book as proof of concept to myself, then sitting down and really hammering out the series. When I was done, the story beats worked far better as four books than three, so I will probably write it that way instead.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    Oversleep

    At first [Skyward] was supposed to be in the cosmere. Were there any reasons you pulled it out of it besides not wanting to deal with spacefaring era of Cosmere yet?

    Where was the planet supposed to be in the cosmere? Would it have had a Shard or would it have been a minor Shardworld?

    Brandon Sanderson

    When Spensa started life in my brain, she was late cosmere pilot character, from around Era Four. When I started to work on this as my next YA project, I decided I wanted to use a certain technological aspect from a story I'd previously worked on--something I touched on in a novella, but which was still very interesting to me all these years later. But it was something that did not work with cosmere technology, so it was a natural fit to port Spensa over to this new story.

    It wouldn't have been planetary-based if it had been in the cosmere. Mostly, it was Spensa as a character. Once the story started transforming into a girl and her spaceship, the cosmere ties got severed quickly.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    Jofwu

    I'm really hooked by the "girl and her dragon" idea. Were there any fun or interesting things you were able to explore by virtue of replacing the dragon with a spaceship? That is, it's easy to imagine the fun similarities, but I'm curious if there were any notable differences introduced by that swap.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Hm... Well, normally in the dragon egg story, a trope is that the dragon needs to learn how to fly/fight and the trainer needs to learn with them.

    Here, the ship knows how to fly--but is busted up. So there's a lot of fun in the story relating to how exactly to get parts for the ship--which leads to a completely different style of storytelling.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    thegatorgirl00

    Do you have a name for the Skyward universe that we can use on the Coppermind and in discussion beyond just calling it the Skyward universe?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I kind of think Skyward Universe is probably the best, for now. I'll ponder this.

    thegatorgirl00

    If you haven't considered it already, I'd like to bring the term Skyworld or Skyworlds to your attention.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Ha! That's not bad, though it could get a little confusing if I ever write one of the books I've been planning that literally take place in a world with no ground...

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    NotOJebus

    What do you feel is the main difference between writing sci fi and fantasy is? Did you learn things in writing Skyward that you feel will help you write Mistborn Era 4?

    Brandon Sanderson

    For me, it's a fine line, because I'm not writing Hard SF--but instead, a kind of hard fantasy. So my books tend to ride the line between SF/Fantasy anyway. And Skyward is straight up space opera, I'd say--most of the technology that we use in the books is fantastical anyway.

    In SF, I feel I can lean on shared vocabulary a little more. This has been particularly handy in the novellas I've done, where we can use Earth as a reference point. Modern (and beyond modern) communication, and expectations of character education, also play a big part in changing how I approach the stories.

    In some ways, it comes down to different storytelling traditions, and what they each afford you. Again, though, it would be different if I were writing hard SF.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    CoverYourSafeHand

    My other question is about Wheel of Time. At the end, Rand just kinda walks away in Moridin's body. Does he stop being a ta'veren? I can't imagine the pattern would just let him live a quiet normal life if he still was.

    Brandon Sanderson

    The ending portion of WoT that you reference was written by [Robert Jordan] himself, and he didn't leave a lot of explanations. Subtext and things Mr. Jordan said lead me to believe that the character you indicate is free, now. But we don't have a 100% for sure answer.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    6th_account_so_far

    How much of an impact did interviewing professional fighter pilots have on the story? Did anything learned from them actually change parts of the book in significant ways? Did you learn anything weird or unusual that you found fascinating?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The pilots were a HUGE help. The biggest issue I had, which was really hard to get through my skull, was the different ways that G-forces interacted with the human body.

    I knew the basics, and had flight suits operating correctly and was watching for people pulling too many Gs. But the fighter pilots kept explaining things like "eyes out" and how it wasn't just number of Gs, it was the direction they were pulling. It wasn't until I called one of them and had a lengthy conversation that it started to click with me.

    From there, some of the direct feelings of pulling Gs--feeling like your skin is sliding off your body, or that you've aged a hundred years--I got from them.

    As always with a sf/f book, one of my goals is to walk the line between realism and fiction. I tried to make the battles feel real enough to not kick an actual pilot out of the story, but at the same time, I specifically gave the fighters technology that we don't have, in order to spice up how the combat would work.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    R'Shara

    Hey, is Brandon willing to tell us which universe Skyward is in yet? He said a while aback that it was in a universe (not cosmere) that he'd written before.

    Brandon Sanderson

    So, here's the thing--it's a pretty big spoiler. Meaning if you know the novella this is tied to (and it's one of the ones mentioned in this thread) you'll know a moderately large plot point in the book.

    It's not the type of spoiler that will ruin a story--I do think some readers would enjoy watching how I lace them together. But do be warned that if you haven't read my science fiction novellas, and you hate spoilers, you might want to wait until Skyward is out to read them.

    That said, if you know the terminology of the novellas in question, you'll find your answer in chapter seventeen.

    Skyward Pre-Release AMA ()
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    Use_the_Falchion

    Have you ever thought of doing a magical school series a la Harry Potter, The Name of the Wind, or The Magisterium series? Or did Skyward kinda fill that spot for you?

    Brandon Sanderson

    We'll see. I've never had a really good idea for one. I need to feel like I'm bringing something new to a sub genre like that.