callumke (paraphrased)
Is Shallan's memory a Surge?
Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
I want to wait for the right opportunity before revealing more surges.
Is Shallan's memory a Surge?
I want to wait for the right opportunity before revealing more surges.
You have said before that all the planets had their names before the arrival of the Shards. Is Roshar the planet's name before the Shards arrived?
Yes.
What is the definition of Investiture?
RAFO. Investiture is off the table as far as questions go.
Could a Feruchemist hide from Lifesense by storing and which metals?
So Lifesense on Nalthis, someone storing, what now, Investiture? Could they hide from Lifesense? Um, yeah that would work.
And which metals would they need to store, Investiture, Connection…
That would probably be Investiture, that’s theoretically plausible, hiding your entire sense, a little bit easier with a copper cloud, which is how you would normally go about it, but you could make your Investiture vanish to the point that… yeah I think that’s theoretically possible.
So Lifesense works on Connection?
Lifesense works by sensing… life, so it’s not necessarily just Connection because you can go off-world from Nalthis and still sense the life to which you are not Connected.
Would someone with enough knowledge be able to use Autonomy’s Investiture if Taldain’s star was seen from his world?
So I’m on a world and I see Taldain’s star, what you're asking if someone could use the Investiture? Oh, OK I see. Yeah yeah yeah yeah. That’s good! You stumped me. I haven’t gotten that question before. I would say yes, if the light particles are reaching you. I mean technically you could use the light from one of those stars to power a solar sail so…
I know it’s a RAFO but, are the Ones Above [Scadrians]?
RAFO.
I just wanted to make sure.
Can spren - like Syl - be pierced by hemalurgic spike? Will it give some effect?
Yes. A spren can be pierced by Invested metal…
Could it be spiked?
Could a spike be used to give abilities to spren? That’s not going to work really well.
Could you steal from a spren?
Yes, you could steal the Investiture of a spren. Any Investiture can be used in a spike if you know what you’re doing. It’s actually not that hard to use one on a spren.
Because I thought you said Hemalurgy needs moving blood.
It needs, uh, yeah… there are places where spren have more physical form, more tangible form.
Roshar?
No, no, no, not Roshar.
The Cognitive Realm on Roshar?
Yeah, if you go to the Cognitive Realm on Roshar the spren act differently than they do.
So you could spike in the Cognitive Realm?
Yeah I’ll leave a RAFO with you on that. That’s your fifth one. So there are ways to get any Investiture into Hemalurgy if you know what you’re doing. But yeah this is not something that would be a common use for Hemalurgy. Let’s just say that.
We do not concern ourselves with common uses.
Yes, I know you don’t. But yeah Hemalurgy, when you’re spiking into somebody you… you’ll see when we get around to it.
Have you ever considered giving your brain - when you die in a hundred years, [having] written thousand books, have you considered giving your brain to scientists?
Did you know that there's an app for Einstein's brain? You can download an app that has a diagram of his brain cause he did donate his to science and was dissected.
Are you planning to do that?
Not right now but I'm an organ donor so maybe... I don't think they donate the brain to people.
Did Hoid use the bead of lerasium to rewrite his spiritual DNA or Web in a way other than just giving himself Allomantic powers?
His goal was to become an Allomancer.
And did he use it to create other powers than Allomancy?
It could not give powers other than Allomancy.
Because it’s lerasium?
Yes.
So he did burn it and become a Mistborn, right?
You have seen him use Allomancy…
Yes, because it’s creating a lot of <misunderstandings>.
You have actually seen him use Allomancy.
Is gravity a physical aspect of the spiritual bond Connecting objects to the planet?
Gravity, like all laws of physics in the cosmere, works like it does here with an additional aspect in that mass and energy can become Investiture. So while you are Connected to the planet gravity is not a manifestation of that. But Investiture can override it because Investiture, energy, mass are all the same thing.
So can Connectors alter it, store it?
RAFO. You know I’m going to RAFO all that stuff.
Does titles of the five books from the first arc create a ketek?
No. I actually considered it but it’s just too confusing so I actually tossed that out before I even started the first book. But I did consider it. It just was too confusing.
You told me - when we were interviewing you on Friday to tell the 17th Shard to tell them you told us how the Cosmere ends and...
And I totally did, right! The answer is it ends well.
They wanted me to tell you that they were like mindblown!
Is it possible to bring Adonalsium together again and was it the reason the Ire was on Scadrial?
This is a RAFO. There are people who believe it's possible and others who believe it's impossible. It’s one of the big questions of the series.
Is there going to be more Lift in the next book?
No, you’ll see some of her, she's reserved... most of her you'll see in the book 6 and on but you'll see little glimpses of her in the other ones. The stuff she has in Oathbringer is a riot, it's very fun.
In all your books, who's your favorite character?
You know, I usually cheat on that question and I say "whoever I'm writing right now", cause I like them all, they're my children...
Okay, but you have to pick one.
Probably Dalinar, probably but...
My favorite is Steris.
Steris is a lot of fun.
Will there be a second part of Warbringer [Warbreaker]?
Some day. I can’t promise when, it will be a side project, but it will happen.
Can you make TenSoon puppies? Like, plushies?
We thought about it, it's so hard to do. So hard. We thought about it, maybe, it's not impossible, but very hard.
If Vasher is Zahel, in Stormlight Archive? Will <inaudible>
That's a RAFO.
You know what that means? That means "Read And Find Out". It means I'm not gonna answer right now because it will give you a spoiler... but read and find out.
Do you plan to kill Shallan and do you think she’s an awful person?
I do not think she’s an awful person, because she is a person, who has done the best she can in some very bad situations and we will see what happens, I can’t tell you whether or not she will live.
Have you ever created a character, that you will then thought is too powerful?
No, I've never had that problem, I have written my characters in a problems that it was hard to get them out of. But usually I get together my friends and I brainstorm, and so far so good, but no, I have never got into that specific problem yet, because everybody's got a weakness.
In Mistborn, Ruin could talk to you when you were Hemalurgically spiked, and Preservation could hear you. Do other Shards have different abilities?
It varies, but yes. But that was related to the way they created people.
If I spoke the words <inaudible>
If you spoke the words it would depend on the spren to choose, but I think so!
So, can I try?
Sure, go for it!
Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination.
So just waiting for the spren to appear.
*completely serious*
These words are accepted.
Can Parshendi bond with an honorspren? I mean, spren <inaudible>
They would have to choose, it's never happened before. On Roshar they would say it’s impossible. That doesn’t mean it actually is.
Will Dalinar punish Adolin for murdering Sadeas?
He doesn’t know. Nobody knows… If he knew, he’d probably will.
Comic book. Will there be more?
Yes. This is three parts, so we'll at least get that done.
Are you planning to resurrect Kelsier?
Well, how far have you read in this book?
I have read it all.
So he's not really dead.
Well, it depends on what you count as Cognitive Shadow. So resurrect… no… but…
There was this quote about the kite that was without a string.
Yes, he’s looking for a string. He’s indeed looking for a string, so what’s actually going to happen is RAFO.
Is next Elantris any closer plans?
Not really unfortunately, I just have to get as much Stormlight done as I can, before I can do other things. It’s still probably after Stormlight Five.
I have a question about Wayne, are his skills of taking another personality, is it his trait, or something magical?
It is not magical, he’s just really good at it.
Do you have any idea when you’ll finish this series?
So there’ll be two five-book groups, first five should finish fairly soon. But then there’ll be a break while I write something else and then I’ll come back to the back five, so i’m not sure, but the first five will have their own arc.
Do you know when <inaudible> be published?
I can't promise. I'm not a 100% sure. Probably between Stormlight 5 and 6, it would be my guess.
Will we find out if Vivenna became a worldhopper like Vasher?
Keep your eyes open, you might see some more Vivenna in the near future.
So Dragonsteel after Stormlight? So that would be 20 years?
Yes. Unfortunately.
It will be the next to last, because last is the final Mistborn series.
Which one of the ten abilities on Roshar <inaudible> it depends on spren?
Which of the Orders?
Of the abilities on Roshar.
Oh, the abilities of the Knights Radiant?
So, this depends on which spren indeed. Each spren can give two of the abilities, and they're slightly different for each Order.
If you could have one, which one would it be?
Probably Windrunners, cause I would want to fly.
I would prefer Regrowth it's very much for growing plants.
That would be very convenient.
How do you come up with all these names?
I do the language first and then I build names that fit. There’s no science to it, just instinct.
Could you tell me something about Cosmere, that we don't know?
Oooh boy, that is so hard, people ask this all the time and I keep running out of things... Was there anything I haven't added recently... There are Shards whose Shardpools are not on a planet they currently inhabit. At least one.
What’s your favourite game?
Probably Dark Souls, lately, I really like those.
Are they going to be Graphic Audio audiobooks for all books or just...?
Eventually, yes.
Will there ever be Mistborn video game?
We tried very hard to make a video game and the company that was making it eventually went out of business and couldn't make it. So we don't have plans right now but we will try again.
I wonder, if original shardholders [Vessels] was another sapient species, not from...
Not human? Or...
Human but not from...
Not from Yolen? So... no, everybody was from Yolen.
Sapience was..?
Not all human, but all from Yolen.
Did you eventually <adaptations? based> any of your other novels?
I think they'll eventually do Stormlight, most likely. I think they will. But we'll have to see. I think there'll be a Stormlight.
When's the next Elantris?
It's a little ways away. I will write one but it's kinda far away.
What if a Connector tried to store his Connection to his time of birth? Because I understand that’s how spiritual age works.
Right, Connection to his time of birth. I’m not sure exactly how he would manage that.
I don’t think that would work, I’m not sure how you would manage it. There are other ways to make, you’re along the right path, but that’s not exactly what, the terminology it's just not working right there.
By the way Shadows of Self was my favourite Mistborn book. That ending was just emotional trainwreck for me. It was awesome.
It's weird because I think that the weakest Mistborn novel is actually Alloy of Law but I think Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning are among the strongest.
Could you write [sign] the Alcatraz like Alcatraz?
Yes. He signs upside down.
Would tapping Connection increase the steelsight?
No, probably not, there are arrangements that could make that happen but just tapping it, no.
Have you ever read any Polish fantasy or are you planning to?
I am planning to read cause I have this! *shows flashdrive* I was just given this flashdrive in Warsaw with a bunch of Polish writers translated to English and I plan to do some of that.
Before that my only knowledge of Polish fantasy was Spa... Sark... [Sapkowski] the Witcher guy! *laughter* I mean, everybody knows him though.
But, the Solaris writer I didn't know he was also Polish. Lem.
My question is for both of you: regarding the translation process, is word-for-word translation more important or do you go with the feeling and how much communication is done with Brandon during the process?
When I was at university, I had two lecturers. One said: "The original is sacred. You mustn't do anything too original. It's so important, you have to remember/take everything." and the other when I went fifteen minutes later to another class it was "Oh dear. It should read well. Forget the original, it should read well". So I think I found a kind of balance between those two stances.
And I always tell translators to err on the side of reading well rather than preserving the exact words. Particularly because, some of the languages we're translating into, you can't preserve exact words.
When Anna wrote to us I sent her to my assistant Peter, who is an editor and continuity editor and I let him interface with all of the translators because I would probably just ask him anyway to look the details up in our wiki. We do occasionally have to answer new questions, though, because for instance -- as Anna pointed out to me -- Polish has a lot of gendered words that aren't gendered in English and sometimes I'd use a phrase and would have to say whether this person was male or female.
Will we see Scadrial in cyberpunk era?
I have plans for Scadrial cyberpunk but the problem is I don't know if I'll have a long enough lifespan to write all these books. So I'm trying to avoid adding any more books to the Cosmere outline until I get a little further along I'm gonna have to write; consider that Oathbringer turned out to be a quarter longer than Words of Radiance. I really need to be sure I'm keeping going and trying to keep from expanding too big. Definitely the 1980s one, some cyberpunk themes will bleed into it cause that's when cyberpunk started.
But maybe I'll see the new Blade Runner and I'll have to write one, so...
Three books or three authors you'd recommend to any fantasy reader?
If I were to recommend one, it would probably be the first Mistborn novel.
*laughter*
Apart from your books.
Terry Pratchett is probably my favorite writer. I really liked Anne McCarthy work and I think it translates very well to large or different types of audiences. I often give Name of the Wind to people, it's good introduction to fantasy, it's a really solid novel.
But of course there is also Wheel of Time. I genuinely recommend Wheel of Time to people who already love fantasy cause it's a big commitment.
If Hoid swallowed duraluminum would anything happen?
If Hoid swallowed duralumin would anything happen... Um… yes!
Is that the end of your answer?
Yes, that’s the end of my answer.
Do you listen to music while writing and what kind of music is it? Is there perhaps any song that is particularly connected to Cosmere?
I made a Spotify playlist. You can go on Spotify - I assume you can get it in Poland - and you look for Stormlight 3 soundtrack. That was the soundtrack I listened to while I was writing the third Stormlight novel. You'll know it is me when you look for it cause my Spotify name is "mistborn1".
And - because people are going to ask, so we'll answer it now - Stormlight 3 comes out in November in English.
*in Polish*
And it will come out in Polish when I translate it.
*applause*
So it's all up to Anna.
And I did write one more scene for it this morning that I needed to add, in Kraków, so when you read Stormlight 3 you can know there was one scene that was written in my hotel here.
It involves one of the Ryshadium horses, so you'll know.
How many hours a day to you spend on writing and how much do you sleep?
*laughter* I'm an insomniac, that helps a little bit. But actually I don't... I have a very good work-life balance. People think that I must be writing sixteen hours a day but I'm not. I'm very good with my time and I have no commute which saves me a bit of time. So I spend around eight to ten hours working a day. A chunk of that is answering interview questions or email or things like that. I spend maybe four hours a day with my wife and my kids, doing whatever they want and a couple hours goofing off.
What more can I ask for?