Paladin Brewer (paraphrased)
Can a spren or seon travel to another Shardworld?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
Yes they can, though they are more bound to their world, they can travel elsewhere.
#15951
Recent entries
#15951
#15952
Paladin Brewer (paraphrased)
Is it more difficult to worldhop if you are carrying things with you, such as Allomantic metals?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
No, it is not.
#15953
Paladin Brewer (paraphrased)
I assume Sazed does not know the metal used in Lessie's spike because it's off-world, but Odium seems aware of Sazed/Harmony. Why is this?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
Odium has a lot more knowledge that Sazed, he has had the power longer, and there are forces purposely trying to limit Harmony's knowledge.
#15954
Paladin Brewer (paraphrased)
How far can a Shardholder see beyond his own world?Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
In the Spiritual Realm they can see infinitely.#15955
Paladin Brewer (paraphrased)
Is Hoid related to any of the 16 original Shardbearers?Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
RAFO#15956
Paladin Brewer (paraphrased)
Which of the 16 original Shardholders know Hoid the best?Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
RAFO#15957
Jeffrey Marble
Do you plan are having anymore full Mistborn in your books?
Brandon Sanderson
You'll have to read and find out! :)
#15958
Brandon Hord
Will Michael Whelan continue to do cover art for The Stormlight Archive?
Brandon Sanderson
That will be up to him, and his schedule. We will always ask!
#15959
NOOK
What has been the proudest moment of your career?
Brandon Sanderson
A tie between winning a Hugo award and releasing the last Wheel of Time book, so far. Excellent question!
#15960
NongNingNang
How many books do you read each year? Best you've read lately?
Brandon Sanderson
I real maybe a book a month. Much less than some people, but I have to fight to make time!
#15961
NOOK
What stage of the writing process is most difficult for you?
Brandon Sanderson
Revision is the most difficult, by a long shot.
#15962
Drew McCaffrey
Were there any people present at the Shattering of Adonalsium other than Hoid and the 16?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
#15963
MonsterMetroid
Do u have plans for a Lurcher character? Orbiting a bullet/coin around them and back at shooter would be awesome .
Brandon Sanderson
Some day, I'm sure I'll do a Lurcher character.
#15964
William Yates
Did the Ire form before the events of Elantris or do they form after the city is healed?
Brandon Sanderson
This is an excellent question! :) (And one I'm not going to answer yet, I'm afraid.)
#15965
Jennifer Essad
Do you feel confident with the producer/directors making slight changes to the movie?
Brandon Sanderson
The best film versions of books make changes to fit the media. So I plan on this happening here.
#15966
Brandon Hord
Were you influenced by Tad Williams at all? I see some elements of his writing in your work.
Brandon Sanderson
I think Tad is an excellent writer, and have loved much of what he's written. I'd happily call him an influence.
#15967
NOOK
Have you ever designed a character based upon a loved one in order to honor their memory?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, I have--but it's almost always a side character, more a cameo than anything else.
#15968
Stevie Finegan
Is there a genre you think you couldn't/wouldn't write (within fantasy)? Or might your writing take us anywhere?
Brandon Sanderson
I could see myself doing pretty much anything, within certain bounds of harsher content.
#15969
ALMTY BAM
Any plans for any adaptations in the near future?
Brandon Sanderson
If, by this, you mean film adaptations--we're trying very hard. Unfortunately, it's up to Hollywood more than it is me.
Stevie Finegan
Would you prefer film or TV adaptations? (If the choice was magically yours)
Brandon Sanderson
Depends on the series. I'd like to see Mistborn and The Reckoners as film, Stormlight and Wax and Wayne as TV.
#15970
NOOK
Will all 10 Stormlight books be relatively close time wise, or separate centuries like Mistborn?
Brandon Sanderson
They will be relatively close, time wise. Across twenty years or so, rather than hundreds.
#15971
Moogle
Why can non-Scadrians use Hemalurgy? Don't they need Ruin's sDNA, like Allomancers need Preservation?
Brandon Sanderson
Hemalurgy is built to be able to be used by anyone. It's about taking and breaking. Ruin doesn't care who does such things
#15972
#15973
Brian Hermansen
When you write certain characters, do you envision them as anyone in real life? Ie. I see Dalinar as Liam Neeson
Brandon Sanderson
I don't generally envision them as real people. But A Liam Neeson Dalinar brings a smile to my lips.
#15974
Nathan Dallon
How many books/short stories did you write before you were first published?
Brandon Sanderson
I wrote thirteen before I sold one. I was pretty bad at this when I started...
#15975
Brandon Hord
What is your routine as a writer? How do you stay motivated to churn out pages?
Brandon Sanderson
I write every day. My motivation is the same now as it always was: to tell stories. Not much has changed. :)
#15976
NOOK
What's the best order for someone to read all the books in the Cosmere?
Brandon Sanderson
It depends. Publication order is just fine. However, I often start people with Mistborn.
#15977
Elliot Davis
If Kaladin were to write a self-help book, what would the title be?
Brandon Sanderson
Being a man, Kaladin would avoid writing anything, as it wouldn't be proper. :)
#15978
C. Logan Aube
Are there any other time periods you would like to explore with the Mistborn series?
Brandon Sanderson
I'll be doing a 1980's level tech, and a future tech, in upcoming series. So you could say that there are. :)
#15979
PhantoMonstrosity
Before Ruin and Preservation showed up on Scadrial, was aluminum already antimagical? Also, is [The Alloy of Law] between Stormlight 5&6?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, [The Alloy of Law] is after Stormlight 5. Specific timing will depend on how long I make the 5/6 gap once I get there.
#15980
#15981
#15982
PhantoMonstrosity
Atium is the best metal to use for Hemalurgy. Does *burning* atium help you figure out where to put the spikes?
Brandon Sanderson
Anything that gets you a glimpse of the Spiritual Realm could help with placing spikes.
PhantoMonstrosity
Would flaring iron and steel also help?
Brandon Sanderson
No, not without additional help.
#15983
NOOK
If you could have any of the Epics' powers, who would it be?
Brandon Sanderson
Hm... I mean, Steelheart is invulnerable, can fly, and can shoot lasers out of his fists. It is hard to go wrong there.
#15984
Jennifer Lerud
What do you think of the New Adult category?
Brandon Sanderson
I'm reserving judgement. If the readership likes it, then it will take off. If not, oh well.
Jennifer Lerud
Darn! I was hoping you'd say you loved it. Everything I write (almost) is NA. :)
Brandon Sanderson
I think it's a cool category; I'm just not convinced that the public is embracing it.
#15985
Argent
For Terris names, is it safe to assume the first vowel is always long?
Brandon Sanderson
This is frequently the case, but it's not 100%.
#15986
Eoin Burke
Could a Brass twinborn compound to effectively be a human flamethrower? Also can a compounder store faster?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO!
#15987
Aaron Gable
If you pull a campfire soul out of your pocket in the Cognitive Realm near Threnody, will shades get mad?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO!
#15988
David Charleston
Will you ever do any more in the Reckoners' world after Calamity? Both [Megan Tarash] and I hope you will.
Megan Tarash
Leave the man alone, Knees. He's answering the fans' questions, not yours.
David Charleston
How do we win? That's my question.
Brandon Sanderson
I'll be releasing a little instructional manual on this in a few weeks called Calamity. :)
David Charleston
Come on. That answer was about as helpful as a dryer full of water balloons.
Megan Tarash
(I'm only teasing. Please don't kill me in the next book. Please.)
#15989
Questioner
I want to know how Hoid travels between worlds. Or, if you're not going to tell me right now, will we ever find out?
Brandon Sanderson
Hoid has travelled between the worlds by getting in one Shardpool in Shadesmar and coming out a different one. *pause* Okay? So that is one method he has used to travel between the worlds. The worlds are connected through Shadesmar. Um, things that people don't think about as much reflect very minorly in Shadesmar, so when you-- all the-- most of the space between planets is cut out, and there's some weird, twisted geography going on there. So that's basically how he does it, Cognitive Realm.
#15990
Lady Radagu (paraphrased)
Since Horneaters don't really go for Vorin dresses, what would your average Horneater guy and girl wear? Anything special to differentiate a Nuatoma and their retinue?Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
I'm going to have to RAFO that. We're actually working on the sketches for those, and until they're finalized, I don't want to say anything to canonize them. But we will get you that information.#15991
Questioner
Which is your favorite Epic to write?
Brandon Sanderson
To write? Obliteration, because he's creepy in the way I like people to be creepy.
#15992
Questioner
How do you keep it all organized when you're doing so much at once?
Brandon Sanderson
A wiki. An internal wiki is where I keep all the cosmere and all the notes on that. The other things, I don't have to worry about as much. For instance, Reckoners, I've got one viewpoint character and one major plot; that I can keep in my head. I've got note files and things like that, but the Cosmere? Big old wiki full of stuff.
#15993
Questioner
*Something incomprehensible about emotion* Do you like to connect with your reader on an emotional level?
Brandon Sanderson
I do. So here's the thing: I am not an emotional person by my nature, and one of the only things that makes me feel very strong emotions is fiction. A really good piece of fiction makes me feel like the characters do, and the rest of the time, I'm just kind of - I won't say emotionless, but not emotional. It's not that. It's like some people have wild mood swings; one day they're a 20 and one day they're an 80, on a scale of 1 to 100, right? I'm always a 70, right? Like almost consistently always pleasantly happy. I don't know what depression feels like. I don't know what it really feels like to be sad. I've never really felt that - except when I'm reading a book. Does that make sense? So that's one of the reasons I write, because I want to be able to [go through] those emotions with people.
#15994
Questioner
I've gotten both Legion books from Subterranean Press, and I was wondering if you've planned on doing any more through them.
Brandon Sanderson
I would like to. The thing is, it is kind of a hassle, just because working out release dates and things like that, part of the reason to do - I think they do gorgeous editions - but part of the reason to do the e-book things is so that I can be a little bit more spontaneous in releasing them and things like that, and so I'm likely to continue, but it is a bit hard. This time, we were like, "Why don't you guys just release a limited edition, and we'll do a print edition," but then they were like, "No, please don't do one." So I think I'd go back to letting them do a cheap edition and a limited edition if I did another one with them, I don't know.
#15995
Questioner
What was the book that was the hardest to write for you?
Brandon Sanderson
It would definitely be A Memory of Light, the last Wheel of Time book.
Questioner
Why?
Brandon Sanderson
Well, number one, I had been following that series for 20 years, and I was finishing off the writing of an author I respected a lot, and trying to fill his shoes, and not being able to do it because no one could, and the end of a journey. Every other book I've finished, I know if I wanted to I could go back and write more about those characters. Wheel of Time, I can't. It's done. It's not mine; I can't go write another book about Mat or Perrin or anything like that. So there's a finality to finishing that book that I haven't had with any of my other books. And then in addition, logistically it was a very difficult book to write.
#15996
Questioner
What was your inspiration for coming up with Szeth?
Brandon Sanderson
So... I designed his culture first, one of the odd cases where I was working on the culture, and out of that grew his character, at odds with his culture. So I wanted somebody who was both the paragon of his culture and the person who was at odds with it. That concept just worked for me.
#15997
Questioner
So do you ever put a page length limit on yourself?
Brandon Sanderson
I don't, but I know by gut generally after I start writing how long a book feels.
Questioner
Does the publisher ever put any limits on you?
Brandon Sanderson
No, they actually haven't. They do ask me if I'll write them shorter, but it's always an ask, and I usually ignore them. In fact, Words of Radiance is the largest book they can physically print with their printer, but the font is not the smallest font they could do yet. So I could actually get about another 100,000 words longer before it gets unreadable.
Questioner
So by the time we get to Stormlight 6 or 7, they'll have to go buy a new printer?
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, I've warned them. I will write it at the length that feels right.
#15998
Questioner
Second question, if completely hypothetically, and forbid! - somebody had to do for you what you did for Robert Jordan, who would your choice be?
Brandon Sanderson
I would probably either pick Brent Weeks, who has a very similar style to me, or Brian McClellan, who is one of my students who is now publishing books, and writing very good books. Those guys, either one, I think would do a fine job.
Questioner
I read McClellan's book on your recommendation. Can you let him know that he needs to put women in his books?
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, that's what I actually told him. My number one criticism when he called me and said, "What do you think of my book?" I said, "You only put one woman in your book, and she's a cliche." She's the friendly cliche, *audio obscured*. The first thing that happens is you get the cliched damsel in distress, then when people realize "Oh, that's being sexist," they then make the girl awesome, but have no personality. That's like step two. Then step three is real characters, and so I did let him know, and he promised he would do better with future books. I think it is the most legitimate criticism of that book, is that he's just bad with women. But you know, my first book I was terrible; I just didn't publish that one. He's unfortunate that he published it. But even in Mistborn, I only had Vin, so we all fall into this trap, and I've read many women who only put one guy in the book, and he's perfect. It's just something that new authors have a problem with very naturally, so hopefully he'll catch on the same way I caught on.
#15999
Questioner
First of all, how confident are you in your race with [Patrick] Rothfuss for use of the word "Stone" in your title?
Brandon Sanderson
You know, it's looking more and more like this might not even be Szeth's book. And if it's not Szeth's book, I may not even name it Stones Unhallowed; I might name it something else relating to another character, but then again, Kaladin's book was named after the book Dalinar was reading, so anyway. We'll see. I'm pretty sure I will... He has said his "isn't coming out next year," as in coming out this year, and so... I'll have mine done by the end of this year, and it will be coming out next year, so it'll just depend
#16000
Questioner
Do you have any, or will you ever write a gay character into any of your books?
Brandon Sanderson
There are several. Drehy, in The Stormlight Archive, the bridgeman is gay, because he's based off a good friend of mine who's gay. Ranette in the Wax & Wayne books, the woman that Wayne's in love with, she's gay, and it's hinted at in the first book. By the second book, they're like "Dude, she's gay, just leave her alone." So yes, I have written gay characters. I've never written a gay main viewpoint character, maybe someday I will, it's not something I've done yet.