Recent entries

    General Twitter 2015 ()
    #6402 Copy

    Evgeni Kirilov

    Does Kai's name (Perfect State) rhyme with the letter A or I?

    Peter Ahlstrom

    I can't remember. It might appear in a video of Brandon's reading from his recent tour.

    Evgeni Kirilov

    He says it like "hey" but I realized that might be like an informal "K". Like a Jason might be J.

    Peter Ahlstrom

    Nah, it's not a K. So that means that's how you pronounce it. Brandon is usually more likely to say ai as A than I (as I would).

    Evgeni Kirilov

    Same with Shai?

    Peter Ahlstrom

    Yes.

    General Twitter 2015 ()
    #6403 Copy

    lpf & yurisses

    But, I get the feeling you forgot about copperclouds making Smokers and mistborn immune to emotional allomancy. Didn't you?

    Peter Ahlstrom

    They don't. Only the Smoker himself is made immune.

    lpf & yurisses (Part 1/Part 2)

    I am not suggesting otherwise. However, I remember Sanderson saying Zane used emotional Allomancy on Vin, and Vin using duralumin and brass successfully on Yomen's Smoker (and Tineye) at the ball. Among other instances I forget.

    Peter Ahlstrom

    Duralumin beats copper. I'm not sure about the other instance.

    General Twitter 2015 ()
    #6407 Copy

    BrandonColevander

    How come the base 8 abilities come in pairs by base metal & alloy, but the higher ability pairs are not related?

    Peter Ahlstrom

    Which book are you on? Things change after the first book. They don't understand things as well as they think.

    BrandonColevander

    I've read all 4 several times. Ex: electrum is a gold alloy yet it is opposite of atium & malatium opposite gold...>

    Peter Ahlstrom

    Alloys of atium can't be thought of as establishing any pattern.

    BrandonColevander

    @PeterAhlstrom there are alloyS (plural) of atium?! Any chance that atium or its alloys show up again in any of the upcoming novels?

    Peter Ahlstrom

    RAFO :)

    Skype Q&A ()
    #6411 Copy

    Mestiv

    What do you think about Arcanum (the website)?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Very cool! I am happy to see this sort of thing happening, and different directions going, it can be a little intimidating.

    Footnote: Mestiv is the lead developer of Palanaeum, which is the platform Arcanum runs under.
    Skype Q&A ()
    #6412 Copy

    Mestiv

    Cosmere is a dwarf galaxy. Does Investiture exist in other galaxies? Do those galaxies have their own Adonalsiums?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That is beyond the scope... that's a RAFO, but not a RAFO I'm going to answer, that is a RAFO that we are concerned only with the cosmere.

    Skype Q&A ()
    #6413 Copy

    Extesian

    Can you give away a Divine Breath to another human? If so would they have the same powers as a Returned or would they just 'store' it like an inanimate object that Breath is stored in when not Awakened? Does a human require a 'crack' in their spirit web to receive a divine Breath?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So, a Divine Breath-- you're kind of going along the wrong direction on that line of reasoning. Divine Breaths cannot be transferred. When they are used they immediately become kinetic Investiture and are activated. This manifests normally as healing the person, both body, mind, and soul, but you can't give it up, transfer it in the same way you can regular Breaths.

    Skype Q&A ()
    #6414 Copy

    Extesian

    You've said that Nalthians without Breath have something missing (are less invested) than other humans. Was this the case before Endowment invested on Nalthis? Would a non-Nalthian given Breath, who then gives up that Breath, be less invested than before they got the Breath? Would there be something missing in their spiritweb compared to their original state?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So, no. If someone from Sel went to Nalthis and got a Breath and then gave it up, would it give up more, the answer would be no, they would be who they were before.

    Skype Q&A ()
    #6415 Copy

    Lerasium Mistborn

    Will we know why Dalinar has a "warm feeling" sometimes? More specifically, in Oathbringer Hoid calls (covertly) Adonalsium's Power a "God's Light". Is it the same Light Dalinar senses?

    Brandon Sanderson

    RAFO

    Skype Q&A ()
    #6416 Copy

    Lerasium Mistborn

    Dalinar had two non-Stormfather visions. First at the end of Words of Radiance, and second with Nohadon in Oathbringer. I'm curious if these two are related or they come from different sources?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So, by even answering that, this is one of those questions I tend to RAFO because by answering it I'm implying that your postulations are correct, which I am not even willing to do. It's more of a RAFO in that... let's just say I'm not even willing to confirm the postulations.

    Skype Q&A ()
    #6418 Copy

    Kidpen

    Do Smedry Talents transferring between marriage have to do with whether the couple sees themselves as married, or the spouse seeing themselves as a Smedry?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Excellent question! I am going to go with... whether the... I've thought a lot about this one. And I keep thinking and wanting to distinguish it from cosmere magics, which are all perception based. So I want this to kind of be more about the oath sworn, that the magic kind of seals, which also has a cosmere-ish sort of feel to it but not quite as much. When you have sworn the vows, so to speak, that's what the magic cares about.

    Skype Q&A ()
    #6420 Copy

    LadyLameness

    You've said that Tien was beginning to bond a Cryptic before he died – did he use Surgebinding before he died, even unconsciously? If yes, did we ever see it on screen?

    Brandon Sanderson

    He was far enough along to start having some of the-- let's just say he was far enough along to have sworn at least one oath.

    Skype Q&A ()
    #6421 Copy

    WeiryWriter

    Do the Fused still require a bond with a spren for maintaining a form/full sapience, or does the Investiture that makes them Cognitive Shadows fulfill that requirement?

    Brandon Sanderson

    They do not require a bond with a spren, so yes, the Investiture handles all of that.

    Skype Q&A ()
    #6425 Copy

    RenegadeShroom

    Have any groups of singers ever had any nonbinary genders? That is to say, a fifth gender recognized by their culture, rather than malen and femalen, which seem to function as more of an extension of the gender binary than anything our culture would recognize as nonbinary.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    Skype Q&A ()
    #6426 Copy

    RenegadeShroom

    Can you tell us anything about Elend's mother; her name, the house she was born into, that kind of thing?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I could, but I don't have the notes handy and it's been a long time. So that one's a "if you can catch me when I have the notes open", then yes, but it is very important to him, not relevant to the overarching story terribly much.

    Skype Q&A ()
    #6428 Copy

    Blightsong

    In Oathbringer it is revealed that the humans who originally came to Roshar were the first ones to be named Voidbringers and that they carried magical powers. The Stormfather also implies that modern Surgebinding didn't exist before the Heralds. Were the original powers that the humans possessed Voidbinding?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So, we're getting into lots of interesting definitional problems here. And also the ways that different entities perceive the definitions of different terms. I will answer this question specifically as we do the flashbacks from Ash and Taln's viewpoints. So you've got a long ways to wait. But understand that definitions are not always-- the way that people define things cannot always be trusted. That said, humans were not using powers from Honor originally.

    Skype Q&A ()
    #6429 Copy

    Alyssum

    How would someone with naturally perfect pitch be affected socially on Nalthis, even though they only have one Breath?

    Brandon Sanderson

    They would be regarded-- they would be well-regarded, let's say that. Now, you say on Nalthis, but there are a lot of cultures on Nalthis, and so they're not going to be a monolith, but a lot of cultures are going to consider this person someone who's touched by the divine, or someone who's-- it's going to be a sign, perhaps, that there's something about this person, depending on the culture.

    Skype Q&A ()
    #6430 Copy

    Alyssum

    You said previously that someone with synesthesia wouldn't be affected by Heightenings differently, unless they had a lot of Breath. What would those effects be?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It's going to depend on the type of synesthesia, because there are so many different types.

    Skype Q&A ()
    #6431 Copy

    Lightweaver Gaz

    SPEAKING OF Shallan's Red I would like to know what his actual name is for fanfiction purposes.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Oh. Fanfiction purposes... I have not named him. I just call him Red.

    Ravi

    This is the "Ultra Gaz" fan I told you about. And she wants to write a fanfic about--

    Brandon Sanderson

    I don't have a name for him right now. If you write a fanfic, he'll call himself Red. So that's reasonable.

    Legion Release Party ()
    #6436 Copy

    Questioner

    In Calamity, Calamity's part of a mysterious group or civilization, really weird motives, we don't find out much about them. Was that <pointed, in any way,> part of the plot from the start?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It was.

    Questioner

    Do you have a plan to explain that civilization?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I will someday  explain that. At the very least, if I just have to sit down and write an essay on it, to give the closure. Yes, I will. And I do apologize for that. Apocalypse Guard was going to delve into this, but then the book got cancelled. By me.

    Legion Release Party ()
    #6437 Copy

    Questioner

    You mentioned that you thought Rithmatist was gonna in the Cosmere. Did you have a Shard in mind?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Very early on, I did. But I won't tell you who it was. It it not a Shard we've seen. If I ever do write Rithmatist 2, you might be able to piece it together. Though I'm, in revisions of the outline, really trying to push it away from where it was originally, so it will have a distinctive feel of its own. So I'm trying to write out some of the cosmere elements. But this is one of those things that, if I write it out too much, it just won't match with the first book. So I have to be okay with some of the sort of cosmere relationships.

    Legion Release Party ()
    #6438 Copy

    Questioner

    What technology that you have heard of recently in real life has inspired fantasy?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There's gotta be something in Skyward, right? Maybe?

    Obviously, the Legion stories are, all three of them, inspired by real-world technology that I read something interesting about, and then go and write a story about. The first one, taking pictures of the past with a camera, not a real-world technology, but I was reading about photography and things like that. The second one, storing data inside of human cells, that's a real thing that lots of people are trying to do that, it's very interesting. And I didn't want to do a story about that, because I thought other people would do stories about that, so I did a story where someone storied data in a body and then lost it. And the third one is directly inspired by my kids love of their VR.

    FanX 2018 ()
    #6439 Copy

    Stormlightning

    Hoid. Was his hair white from birth?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Hoid's hair, in the current incarnation, was not white from birth. But that's not canon until I write it. So, his hair was not white in the very first story I wrote about him, but it was white by Dragonsteel, so who knows what I'll do when I really get back to that. But, right now I have it not being natural.

    Let's go with, canon answer for Hoid, 'not natural white hair.' But that's got the asterisk of "it's possible I could change that when I actually write it." Who knows what I'll do in 15 years. I think I'm going to have enough trouble making sure all the things that I've put in the books about him are all--stay true. I don't want to pull a Lucas and have the four things we've actually talked about not actually happen in the prequels, but...I'm not going to hold myself to all the Words of Brandon, particularly when I write Dragonsteel.

    FanX 2018 ()
    #6440 Copy

    Stormlightning

    *Written on a sticky note* Is there a connection between the characters who have large purple birthmarks?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I do not have any significance to it right now, no.

    FanX 2018 ()
    #6441 Copy

    Questioner

    In Alcatraz series, he talks about a lot of things. Religion, fame, particularly fame, stuff like that. I was wondering if that is his voice entirely, or if it's also partially you?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There is a lot of me in Alcatraz. My mother says Alcatraz is her favorite character because he sounds the most like me.

    FanX 2018 ()
    #6442 Copy

    Questioner

    What book was the most fun to write?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The most fun to write was probably the third Wax and Wayne book, which is called Bands of Mourning. It was just a blast.

    FanX 2018 ()
    #6443 Copy

    Questioner

    What Order of Knights Radiant would you be?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I don't know. I've thought this before. Probably Bondsmith would be definitely my personality. But it depends. It depends on, if I were living in Roshar, what would my life be like, and things like that. A lot of people could be in multiple Orders, depending on the spren they meet, and where they go from there.

    FanX 2018 ()
    #6445 Copy

    Questioner

    Do you have a character that's your... a way to be interacting through a character through a first person viewpoint.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Probably the closest thing I have is Alcatraz, from the Alcatraz books. Who is my method of blowing off steam about the writing process.

    FanX 2018 ()
    #6446 Copy

    Questioner

    So, in Steelheart. The symbol of hope, they're thinking it's the Superman symbol.

    Brandon Sanderson

    It is. But I couldn't say that, because it's trademarked. But that is what it is.

    You can imagine it as not. Because, I can't ever talk about Superman in that world. You can imagine it's an alternate version of our world where it's not. If it were ever made into a movie, it would not be.

    FanX 2018 ()
    #6447 Copy

    Questioner

    Is there a specific ear that Vin's earring goes in?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, and we've canonized that, but I can't remember which one it is. If you look online, we have posted it to the fans, and they've put it in the wiki.

    FanX 2018 ()
    #6448 Copy

    Questioner

    What inspired Steris?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Partially, me feeling that I didn't do a fair shake by an autistic character in Elantris, and wanted to do a better job of it later on after I had read more and more about it, and I'd known some people with autism, and things like that, and I wanted to try approaching someone on the spectrum from a more realistic viewpoint. Not that Elantris is completely wrong, but it's more Hollywood interpretation, rather than the real-life way that a lot of people who have autism live with it. That was part of it.

    Part of it was also, I wanted to write a character based on a friend of mine, who when I first met them, was very kind of abrasive. And as I got to know them, became one of my best friends ever. And I'm like, "I want a character like that for fans." So if you read the book, you're like, "I hate this character." But at the end, you're like, "Oh, when I can see from their eyes, suddenly they're one of my favorites."

    FanX 2018 ()
    #6449 Copy

    Questioner

    Kaladin is one of my favorite characters, and I noticed he's a really good leader, but he also does have his very hard moments. And I was wondering, what inspired you to make such a strong character that is allowed to cry and be weak?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That is partially my philosophy on writing coming out. And is partially me noticing some things about characters in books that I felt hadn't been covered very well. Certain styles of characters had not been done as much, and I wanted to explore that direction. I take a lot of inspiration from my wife for Kaladin, actually, who has depression.

    FanX 2018 ()
    #6450 Copy

    Questioner

    Do you see yourself as a certain character in the book?

    Brandon Sanderson

    They are all one part me, one part not me.

    Questioner

    I was wondering if you see yourself as Hoid.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Definitely not Hoid. Hoid is very different from me. If I'm like anyone, I'm either like Sazed, maybe older Dalinar.