Recent entries

    Firefight release party ()
    #7001 Copy

    Jasonioan

    Have you ever written a character name that you have no idea how to pronounce? *laughter*

    Brandon Sanderson

    Have I ever written a character name that I have no idea how to pronounce. Oh boy, I got to have, right? Like Rock's real name uh, Numuhukumakiakia'aialunamor, maybe? But most of the Hornearter things I just can't, I'm like what? But even some other ones… The thing is that sometimes I don't pronounce them the right way. Like I say "Kel-see-er" in-world they say "Kel-see-ay" because it is French, the original core I was using so you get things like Vin Demoux and things like this which are French terms or French names or French words, and Kelsier, I say his name "Kel-see-er" but I'm an American. 'Murica.  I say it like an American would but you are free to pronounce the names in the book however you want to.

    General Twitter 2011 ()
    #7004 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    The short is this: A fan asked if there were any holidays in the Mistborn world. I jokingly said Koloss Head-Munching Day. Fans ran with it.

    eKalb

    is Koloss Head-Munching Day when people munch on Koloss heads, or Koloss munch on people’s heads? Just want it to be clear.

    Brandon Sanderson

    It’s the day the koloss celebrate by having a nice head to eat.

    General Twitter 2011 ()
    #7005 Copy

    vetemix

    How do you reason using such specific historic terms as “Messiah” & “utilitaristic” in Mistborn world?

    Brandon Sanderson

    What you are talking about is sometimes called the “translation question” in regards to fantasy novels.

    The book—and the dialogue—weren’t in English & had to be translated. The translation uses similar English words to the originals.

    So when the book uses a word like those, the translator from the original Mistborn language feels it is the closest approximation.

    General Twitter 2011 ()
    #7013 Copy

    ericpeters

    What exactly is a dueling cane anyhow?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Some are flexible, like sparring swords, and are used for duels where blood is not needed.

    Others are basically a big length of wood for hitting people, like a tonfa without the grip.

    ericpeters

    Do canes have a hilt like a sparring sword then? I always picture something like pic being used

    Brandon Sanderson

    Many have a hilt. However for most, there is no crossguard or the like.

    And most don’t taper like that one. They are often of a uniform diameter all the way down. #torchat

    General Twitter 2011 ()
    #7018 Copy

    atheistcanuck

    The Almighty’s original name was Tanavast, yes/no?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes and no. The concept of the “Almighty” in Roshar has a lot of meanings, many of them wrong.

    atheistcanuck

    But the person who held the Shard Honor was originally named Tanavast?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. You wiggled it out of me. That was the name of the original holder of the Shard Honor.

    General Twitter 2011 ()
    #7019 Copy

    Chaos

    So Aona is a synonym for love, hmm? Is Charity the correct Shard name?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Not quite. I’m trying to remember what the guesses were for the other Shard on Sel. I may have dismissed them too quickly.

    Chaos

    How about Mercy for Aona, then? The guesses for Skai’s Shard include Devotion, Obedience, and Order

    Brandon Sanderson

    Okay, I was right, then. Ha There’s something very ironic in all of this.

    General Twitter 2011 ()
    #7031 Copy

    mistlepro

    my question was Aona/Skai Shards shattering the event we saw the aftermath of in Elantris? Or a further final apocalypse?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The events in Elantris happened many years before The Way of Kings. That’s all I’ve said for now.

    mistlepro

    But I thought the monks of Dakhor and the ChayShin(?) were all AonDor related? The energy familiars are related to Skai?

    Brandon Sanderson

    What the Dakhor did accessed the Dor, but it was not AonDor—they weren’t using Aons, but different symbols.

    General Twitter 2011 ()
    #7032 Copy

    spencerpanger

    Does Frost make any incognito appearences in any other books other than Dragonsteel? If so Book/chapter?

    Brandon Sanderson

    He does not appear on screen in any published books, though he is referenced. He has a non-Interference policy.

    spencerpanger

    Is this reference you are referring to in TWoK in form of a letter or does it show up elsewhere?

    Brandon Sanderson

    RAFO. :)

    General Twitter 2011 ()
    #7034 Copy

    mistlepro

    regarding “bumps” in TWoK, did the events referred to in the Part 2 bumps already occur in your other novels?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So far, the books have been chronological. Alloy of Law is a little out of order, happening before KINGS.

    Words of Radiance Omaha signing ()
    #7037 Copy

    Questioner

    I have read White Sand and Aether of Night, and I don't know why they're not published because I loved both of them.

    Brandon Sanderson

    White Sand is not published because I don't feel that for one, Kenton has the depth of character that I like to have nowadays.  He's more an old school character of mine where he just isn't, personality wise, doesn't have quite enough.  Beyond that I feel that White Sand as a narrative meanders a little too much.  I feel if I cut back about a thousand words and fix him, we would have a good book.  Aether is not published because I feel that I wrote two different books and didn't blend them together very well.  There is the kind of farcical, Shakespearean, switched places, silliness, and it's fun, but it's like a mistaken identity almost sort of stuff and romance and things like that mixed with these dark things are coming out of the shard pool and destroying the world.  And those two stories never meshed together well enough for me to want to publish them.  

    Questioner

    So would you say it would take one more revision?

    Brandon Sanderson

    White Sand one more revision. I'm not sure what I could do with Aether of Night because those two just don't work together.  White Sand we are trying to do as a graphic novel.  

    Shadows of Self release party ()
    #7039 Copy

    Questioner

    So that scene in Warbreaker when Hoid is doing the storytelling with sand, was he doing--

    Brandon Sanderson

    There is indeed some sand in there.

    Jasonioan

    Is it sand mastery though?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There may indeed be, not everything he's doing is sand mastery, but there may indeed be some things involved in that.

    Shadows of Self release party ()
    #7040 Copy

    Jasonioan

    What is the Shard on White Sand? Because we've both read White Sand.

    Brandon Sanderson

    The Shard-- So what the Shard is doing is, the Shard is the Sand God. But I didn't bring it out much, there's only one Shard on the planet. And the Shard actually kind of resides in the atmosphere and stuff like that but we decided to bring the Shard out a little bit more in the comic book so when you read that you'll be able to find a little more.

    Jasonioan

    Does it take effect in the Darkside?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, it does.

    White Sand vol.1 Orem signing ()
    #7041 Copy

    Jasonioan

    If one were to have an unlocked metalmind, nicrosil, and held it while wielding Nightblood what would happen? Would he be taking Investiture from the--

    Brandon Sanderson

    That is a RAFO... you will start to find answers to these sorts of things as more people are involved with Nightblood.

    Jasonioan

    ...So, if it was like a coppermind would the information be destroyed?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That is an excellent question, what I've said before is that Nightblood will feed on whatever Investiture he can gain access to. He will start with the easiest Investiture to reach. He will eventually turn to converting matter into Investiture and eating that.

    General Reddit 2012 ()
    #7043 Copy

    kilomtrs

    So in the trilogy, we see that when someone has a Hemalurgic spike implanted in them, they can hear Ruin talking to them, both as a vision and in their head. However, we learn in the Hero of Ages that Ruin cannot hear a person's thoughts no matter how much under Ruin's influence they are.

    In Alloy of Law, we see that Wax (and other Pathians) uses an earring to "pray" to Harmony, and we see that Harmony can hear his thoughts and respond.

    So I guess this leads to three questions: How does Harmony hear the thoughts of Wax, when it's explicitly pointed put that Ruin cannot?

    Are the earrings that the Pathians use Hemalurgically charged, as otherwise they would be of no use to Ruin, and therefore Harmony?

    Or did Harmony completely change how that aspect of Hemalugy works?

    Brandon Sanderson

    How this all works dates back to the original design of the magic system.

    I wanted Ruin and Preservation to be complementary opposites, like many things in the Mistborn world. Allomancy, for example, has Pushes and Pulls were are less "negate one another" opposites, but instead two sides to the same proverbial coin.

    Ruin is invasive. The power is more "Yell" than "Listen." The philosopher would probably have some interesting things to say about the masculine symbolism of Hemalurgy and its spikes.

    Ruin can insert thoughts. That power, however, can't HEAR the reactions. It's about invasion.

    Preservation, however, is the opposite. Preservation listens, Preservation protects. (Perhaps to a fault--if there were no Ruin, there would be no change to the world, and life could not exist.) Because of this, Preservation can hear what is inside people's minds. It cannot, however, INSERT thoughts. (This is important to the plot of Hero of Ages.)

    Harmony is both, the two complementary opposites combined. And so, he inserts thoughts with Ruin and still uses Hemalurgy. He can also listen.

    Yes, Wax's earring is Invested. (Or, in other terms, it's a Hemalurgic spike.)

    bettse

    Doesn't that imply it was shoved through someone's heart at one point (ala Steel Inquisitor creation process)?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, the metal would have to have been part of a spike that at one point was used to kill someone and rip off a piece of their soul.

    General Signed Books 2014 ()
    #7044 Copy
    Argent's Words of Radiance

    Argent

    We know that the Cognitive Realm is called Shadesmar, because in the language of the people who "coined" the term, "shadesmar" translates loosely to "cognitive realm." Is there a similar name/phrase for the Spiritual Realm we could use?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There are cultures with a name for the Spiritual realm, but most of them translate to "Heaven" which isn't entirely accurate by our understanding. Some day perhaps I will say more.

    Mistborn: Secret History Explanation ()
    #7045 Copy

    yahasgaruna

    So assuming that the other novels in the White Sand trilogy were meant to be the same length, that means White Sand will take about nine years to finish?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Well, there's a big "IF" in there. We don't know how the book will be received in the first place. If it IS well received, and people want more, I will sit down with the person who adapted my book and see if we can take my notes and do them justice in an adaptation for another graphic novel.

    We'll see how things go. I'm hoping they come out faster than one a year, but I can't promise anything, as I really don't have much experience with this. My only mandate to the publisher was that we do them as graphic novel collections, instead of individual comics, as I didn't want to risk a repeat of the Wheel of Time comic situation (where one issue came out, and then a LONG delay came before the second appeared.)

    yahasgaruna

    Hah! As one of the people who've had the fortune to read a copy of the White Sand manuscript you sent, I have to say I find the likelihood of it not being a hit close to zero.

    So we're getting at least 3 graphic novels, with a possibility of more depending on reception right?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, that's correct.

    Aurimus

    Hold on, so there are 3 GN books being made from the 1 manuscript? nice!

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. The book is long enough, that the script turned out to be quite long. I don't know if they're planning an omnibus eventually or not.

    General Reddit 2016 ()
    #7046 Copy

    Aurimus

    Has Brandon said that the Shardblades are based off of the swords from Soulcalibur/Final Fantasy. (You know, those stupidly huge swords?) Or are they just normal swords when it comes to the shape and size etc?

    Ben McSweeney

    Shardblades come in many shapes and sizes, but are often larger than normal swords, in order to fight larger-than-normal enemies.

    Not always, though. Szeth's Blade, for instance, was about the size of a scimitar.

    There is no single source or work from which the inspiration was drawn. It's a refection of a common trope, instead. Isaac and I created a few dozen silhouettes, and Brandon chose the ones he liked best, and we've been extrapolating from there ever since.

    Words of Radiance Omaha signing ()
    #7048 Copy

    Questioner

    Soulcasters that use the fabrial.  Do they visit Shadesmar?  Or do we see more about them?  Because they are hidden and there is something about them that they get the stone face.  

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.  The actual Soulcasters.  The use of of the Soulcasters is affecting them on one of the realms other than physical.