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Questioner

From context and usage, it's fairly clear, sort of, what the word "slontz" means, but what exactly does it mean? Where does it come from?

Brandon Sanderson

Where does the word "slontz" come from? Alright, alright. Um-- *long pause* Boy, can I even dredge up where that came from? I like to use, particularly in certain worlds where it seems like it fits, I like the made-up swear words. And the made up names, just because I think slang evolves, and slang being individual to the world feels much-- And I know some people find them goofy, but it feels more realistic to me than them using our curse words. It just doesn't seem right. Now there are worlds where it was right, like in Mistborn I used our curse words because I was like, "These are a bunch of thieves living on the street," I wanted it to feel a little harder. Though, you know, it's me, so it's never gonna be that hard. But "slontz," I think I was like, "I wanna come up with some fake Yiddish word that sounds cool," honestly. I like the Yiddish. I hang out with my editor and my agent in New York, and they're both Jewish, and they use all these words that are so much fun. I'm like, "I want a word that sounds like that." I didn't spend too much time on the linguistics of that one, I'll be honest, it was just a fun word that I came up with.

Brandon Sanderson

Some statistics/fun facts on [Calamity]:

• The Book Guide (my planning file) was started in late December, but that was mostly made of me grabbing the notes for this specific book out of the general outline file for the trilogy, and pasting them in here.
• Chapter One was started January first.
• Chapter Fifty was finished May 5th.
• Includes the shortest prologue I've ever done, at 61 words.
• I wrote 13,200 (somewhere around 12-13% of the book) words yesterday across around thirteen hours. (With a break to go watch Ultron in the middle.)
• This series is unique in that I wrote the first chunk of it years ago, around 2008, but then didn't have time to return to the project until a few years back. Unlike many of my series, I didn't plan out the entire trilogy before the first book--I wrote the first book, sold it, then put together an outline for all three books.

Big Smooth

These were previously described as a trio of novellas, but [Lux] is labeled as a novel. Were the novellas combined, or is this still the first installment of a trilogy?

Peter Ahlstrom

It turned out that the pacing worked better as one novel. If it was 3 parts each one would have felt incomplete. So it’s just a novel.

mail-mi

Could an Epic have children? Would the children have the parent's Epicness?

Brandon Sandersonr

Yes, Epics can have children. Epicness does not necessarily travel down the line, but it can. (I have to be vague here because of the next book.)

Questioner

What powers does Mizzy have?

Brandon Sanderson

I’m not telling people that yet, mostly because I haven’t decided 100% how I want it to work yet. I know basically what I want to do, but I haven’t decided how I’m going to play it out. I’m not telling people until I get the book actually written.

Questioner

Does that mean there’s another book?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, if I write another book, it will be a Mizzy book.

Questioner

The alternate world we see at times with Megan, did David and Firefight know each other before he died?  And how did David die?

Brandon Sanderson

Firefight knows of him.

Dancingedge

Is gifting/power transference to normal people with Epics an all or nothing deal or could there be an Epic that can gift one ability but has another power he can't gift? And while on topic of quirks in Epic powers, how much do emotions play into them? We have some examples like Steelheart were strong emotions can cause the power to run amok, is there more of a guideline to this or just a quirk of some powers?

Brandon Sanderson

All powers can be gifted if any can. Gifting is a power that modifies other powers. Controlling the powers during times of great emotion is generally more difficult, but this has more to do with human nature than the powers.

Phantine

So Gifters can gift gifting?

Brandon Sanderson

No, I'm afraid. That's a separate power.

Octavia

I know the second book in the series isn't due out until next year, but can you tell us how many books there will be total in the series?

Brandon Sanderson

A trilogy. As for it being open-ended, I can't reveal the ending of the third book, or anything about it, while the first book is just barely out! So, you'll have to wait and see.

AndrewStirlingMacDonald

I know they are not a part of the Cosmere, but does the Reckonersverse follow the rules of Realmatic theory?

Brandon Sanderson

No. Instead, it follows quantum multiverse theory.

Dancingedge

In Steelheart David mentions that Epics age slower, to which degree is their aging slowed?

Brandon Sanderson

It's not the same across the board.

Dancingedge

While Epics already age slower can their powers protect them from aging completely, be it by simply negating it or for example returning them to a specific age, upon resurrection.

Brandon Sanderson

There are no known Epics who don't age at all.

Questioner

Megan and Steelheart, what was the nature of their relationship?  How did they know each other, meet each other?

Brandon Sanderson

Employer and an employee.  More like high-level employer and very competent contractor.

Questioner

So, when you were coming up with superhero names, did you have to look them up to make sure somebody hadn't done it already?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, I had to make sure that they weren't... impossible-to-use names that somebody hasn't done, I just had to make sure they weren't super popular. And some I was able to find that people hadn't done. But some, I'm like, "I have to use this name anyways." But, like, my first three names, like Nightwielder, people had used. I eventually found one that hadn't been used.

Questioner

Was that frustrating?

Brandon Sanderson

Uh, it's kinda like the "Simpsons did it" thing. People complain that every plotline's been done by the Simpsons. Superhero powers have all been done, superhero names have all been done; but stories have all been told before. So, it's "What can you add to it?" that you ask yourself.

Questioner

So, of the ones that you came up with, how many would you say you looked up and were like "aaaah..."

Brandon Sanderson

I would say about half.

Mailliw73

How many Epics have "unique" powers like Firefight or Mitosis?

Brandon Sanderson

Less than 10% are both unique and useful.

Mailliw73

What about unique and useless? ;)

Brandon Sanderson

Happens fairly often.

Mailliw73

So, a power to, say, conjure Big Macs out of their pocket wouldn't be too crazy?

Brandon Sanderson

No. That's actually well within reason.

And actually quite powerful if you don't put a limit on concurrent mass created or speed of creation.

Voidus

What about an Epic whose only ability is to accurately tell the time?

Brandon Sanderson

Sure.

Mailliw73

Can an Epic be given powers that are permanently countered by their weakness? Ex: Being able to breathe underwater, but whose weakness is water?

Brandon Sanderson

I'm going to say no on this one, unless the weakness is something more specific. (I.E, you can breathe under water, but your weakness is water with food coloring in it.) The weakness can relate somehow to the powers, but not in a way that if every time you use the abilities, they're automatically negated.

winter_cloud

What are some of the more common powers, then?

Brandon Sanderson

I based this off of comic books, so I assumed classic comic book superhero powers--various forms of flight, invulnerability, control over various types of matter, energy blasts--are common enough to have "standard powersets" for research purposes. Basically, this means that people like David and the lorists can make references that readers with a familiarity with comics can understand.

King_of_the_Kobolds

Is there any chance we could see the lorist categorization system published someday? As a sort of Reckonerverse Ars Arcanum?

Brandon Sanderson

This is possible, but likely only if I come back to the world for more books beyond the original trilogy.

Voidus

How common would teleporting be?

Brandon Sanderson

Rare.

Mailliw73

Are powers such as being able to negate others' powers or being immune to Epic powers possible?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

PrncRny's wife (paraphrased)

If using their abilities slowly drives them mad, how can good Epics rise up to help?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

That is kind of the point of the novel isn't it?

Dancingedge

Could Obliteration (or an Epic with similar powers), in theory, actively suppress his danger sense, so he doesn't teleport, even if someone would score a lethal hit on him? Also, do active Epic powers like throwing energy beams or flying drain stamina?

Brandon Sanderson

Obliteration hasn't learned to do this. Perhaps it's possible, but difficult. As for how draining the abilities are, it varies based on the Epic.

Questioner

Does Calamity have any relations to Shards, at all?

Brandon Sanderson

No. People see relationships, that's 'cause, it's just my writing style does tend to follow similar themes. I did not imagine Calamity as a Shard.

Octavia

With Steelheart, every superhero I've worshiped as a kid was pretty much blown to bits and replaced with the scariest bunch of "supers" I've ever seen. How did you come up with the idea to take superheroes (and even today's, not even close to epic level, villains) and make them so amazingly evil?

Brandon Sanderson

I was on book tour, driving a rental car up through West Virginia when someone aggressively cut me off in traffic. I got very annoyed at this person, which is not something I normally do. I'm usually pretty easygoing, but this time I thought to myself, "Well, random person, it's a good thing I don't have super powers—because if I did, I'd totally blow your car off the road." Then I thought: "That's horrifying that I would even think of doing that to a random stranger!"

Any time that I get horrified like that makes me realize that there's a story there somewhere. So I spent the rest of the drive thinking about what would really happen if I had super powers. Would I go out and be a hero, or would I just start doing whatever I wanted to? Would it be a good thing or a bad thing?

Questioner

I have a question for the world of Steelheart. How do the electric sockets work if everything is steel?

Brandon Sanderson

How do the electric sockets work? They needed to be rebuilt for the electric sockets to work, but you can also get down far enough where the builders, the machines, have rebuilt everything and so that wouldn't all have been turned to steel. Some of that has been dug out and reworked and rebuilt. There are some pretty crazy things that happened. 

Questioner

Is Calamity actually a worldhopper?

Brandon Sanderson

Calamity, I didn't write this as a part of the cosmere. The main distinction is I didn't want Earth to be in the cosmere, I want it to be distinct. Once I stick Earth in, the cosmology and things doesn't work. The cosmere is a dwarf cluster, and it's a dwarf galaxy, it's a cluster of stars. It's a specific place, and Earth's not part of it.

lightylantern

Finally, can you tell us what Regalia's weakness is? We never did find that out.

Brandon Sanderson

Not ready to talk about this one yet, as I haven't finished the third book yet. It's likely irrelevant, but I'll RAFO in case I decide to reference it.

Dancingedge

What is Obliteration's usual M.O.? Does he destroy every town he goes to or does he usually just kill a couple people, melt a small neighborhood, maybe go and hold a sermon and then goes shopping?

Brandon Sanderson

He does not destroy every town. More in book 3.

King_of_the_Kobolds

In Steelheart you mention the Coven, a group of Epics that I've found immensely intriguing ever since hearing their name. Is there anything you can say about their group or one of their members?

Brandon Sanderson

A member of the Coven will appear in Calamity, and others will be referenced.

Questioner

Does, like, Steelheart universe included in the cosmere?

Brandon Sanderson

It doesn't. Good question.

Joe Shanders

I've read and reread Calamity looking for clues but I can't figure out what Mizzy's powers are! Why did you not reveal them?

Brandon Sanderson (Part 1/Part 2)

I wanted to be vague because I need to have freedom to tweak them when I write a follow-up.

I have plans, but can't lock myself in too much until the outline for Mizzy's book is done.

AndrewStirlingMacDonald

Can you tell us the name of factory from which Tia gets her Cola pouches? And perhaps the city?

Brandon Sanderson

Factory is one that doesn't exist in our world, but I believe I have it in Chattanooga.

Questioner

Why would you choose Chicago as a setting?

Brandon Sanderson

I grew up in Nebraska, Lincoln, and Chicago was the big city we would travel to. I liked that it was-- This is kind of going to sound weird but it was a big city full of mid-westerners. Like when I went to LA everyone talked and acted different, when I went to New York everyone talked and acted different, but in Chicago it-- they were kind of like a bunch of hokey mid-westerners had somehow built a big city? *laughter* If that makes any sense. So I have always had a fondness for Chicago. It's like the big city of farmers or whatnot. I don't know there's just something about it, the being on the lake and the profile of it and things like that. And I'm a Batman fan and Gotham is Chicago. Chicago was my go-to when I was going to destroy a city in our world; I picked Chicago.

Questioner

What happened with Abraham’s court martial?

Brandon Sanderson

So that is backstory that is a RAFO.  Why Abraham was there is not something he necessarily likes to talk about, not that he’s shy, but at the same time it’s not something he easily talks about.  And so I will not talk about it, I will let him, someday perhaps, talk about it.

Dancingedge

Why doesn't Nighwielder's weakness penetrate his blanket over Newcago when it does pierce the shadow tendrils he attacks David with? Could the reason be that his clouds act as some kind of "security blanket" if for example he got his weakness from being stranded in the dessert clouds like his would have protected him from the sun, which keeps the UV-rays of the sun from triggering his weakness, because they can't recreate the situation it originates from.

Brandon Sanderson

I've been dodgy about answering this one, as I thought I might get into it in Book Three, but as I work on it I don't know that I am. The answer is actually pretty simple--it's for the same reason that someone manifesting Regalia's weakness in Babilar doesn't make the waters suddenly retreat. Or that Steelheart's powers didn't leave pockets of open material around anybody who hadn't ever heard of him. (Which is where this exception started in my mind, as without it, the first book would never have worked.)

Basically, I had to make the rule that a large scale, general use of the powers had a kind of immunity to the weakness--one of diffusion. But the general spreading of the powers on the large scale were also far less precise. (For example, Nightwielder could cloud the sky with darkness, but not stop rain from falling.)

Otherwise, you could just find the pockets where the Epic's powers on the grand scale were not working, and easily figure out their weakness. Hence, engaging Nightwielder directly ruins his immediate powers, but on the grand scale the darkness remains in place over the city.

It's the only way I could make the powers work on the grand scale I wanted, in turning Newcago to Steel or sinking NYC.

piporpaw

[The sunrise metaphor] is one of my favorite quotes. Did you spend much time rewriting it?

Brandon Sanderson

This one took a fair bit of time to craft.

Going into Calamity, one of the things I knew I wanted to show was that David could--on occasion--really NAIL a metaphor. That he wasn't completely hopeless; he just often spoke without thinking or finding the right setting.

Here, I needed the metaphor to be more than just silly--or even more than just "This is really sweet, once he explains it." It needed to work in a way one hadn't before. So I spent a great deal of time pivoting on this scene in my head, trying to determine the way to go.

Argent

One thing I can't figure out - Newcago's name is obviously a short of New Chicago. So is there anything Babilar stands for? The "Babyl-" part is obviously from Babylon, but I can't think of anything for "-ar"... Babylon Restored > Babylo-R > Babylor > Babylar kind of makes sense, but it doesn't make me happy.

Peter Ahlstrom

Babyl-R (say the letter name).

Questioner

What kind of Epic is Mizzy, what are her powers?

Brandon Sanderson

That is another thing I’m going to save.  IF I do a sequel trilogy, which I may or may not actually do after I do the next thing, Mizzy would be the protagonist.

Questioner

And are there established trade routes between Epic-controlled areas?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Questioner

Are they patrolled by Epics?

Brandon Sanderson

Umm, yes to an extent. For the most part you know that if you hit an Epic's trade caravan you're all dead, y'know? So they don't have to worry about it that much. But some are patrolled. Not by the Epics, but by their people.

Voidus

Can Epics have children?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Questioner

Are you ever planning to sell someone the rights to a Steelheart video game, 'cause let me tell you, that would be so unbelievably--

Brandon Sanderson

I would totally do that. 

Questioner

I can't think of any developers that could do it though, at least not right now.

Brandon Sanderson

Everything's going to... "you have to be AAA or you have to be mobile game".

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

He was asked a question about creating Steelheart and it boiled down to being unique with names and powers is hard, he had a hard time finding things that Marvel and DC haven't done already.

Dydi/Hale

I'm absolutely obsessed with this Faultline character in Steelheart is there anyway there might be a spin off about her?

Brandon Sanderson

I've toyed with doing something about her. We shall see. It's not outside the realm of possibility.

Peter Ahlstrom

In the original outline there was a part where they take down Faultline. Brandon took it out before he wrote up to that far in.

Questioner (paraphrased)

What inspired the Epics?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

I got cut off in traffic and thought, "you're so lucky I don't have superpowers because I would totally blow up your car!" And then I started to think about how I couldn't be trusted with superpowers and what the world would be like if no one with superpowers could be trusted.

tatu_huma

Nightwielder's weakness is UV light. When David shines the UV flashlight on his shadows/mist, they disappear. So how does he block out the sun, since the sun is a giant UV light. Wouldn't the UV rays from the sun just destroy his shadows that he covers Chicago with.

Does that mean the shadow he uses to cover Newcago, is different from the shadows he uses to attack David. I think I remember the shadows he used to attack being dissolved by the UV light.

Peter Ahlstrom

Some of the Epics' powers have macroeffects and microeffects. What is effective against the micro may not be effective against the [macro].

vernontwinkie

Say an Epic was dying of old age and had reincarnation - like Firefight - would they get stuck in a "death loop" When they died and came back?

Brandon Sanderson

No. That Epic would just die. 

Questioner

What power do you think you would get if you were in the Steelheart universe?

Brandon Sanderson

...I would hope to be able to fly. That would be my favorite. I don't think I'd get that. I'd get some weird temporal power, probably.

Ted Herman (paraphrased)

Where did you get the name for David's crystal grower?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

I named it to annoy Peter Ahlstrom since he didn't like the names for Dawnslight and Harmsway.

Questioner

Is Calamity the last book in the series?

Brandon Sanderson

I have a plan to do a book about Mizzy. But before I do that, I am writing a book called The Apocalypse Guard, which takes place in the alternate dimension that Megan sees into in these books. So, you should enjoy those. They'll be kinda the same style, but different characters from the alternate dimension. They're a blast, I just finished the first book.

Questioner

If you were an Epic what would your powers be?

Brandon Sanderson

Truthfully it would be something like summoning books out of the air.  But if I wanted one I would pick flying.

Questioner

The YA book you were talking about earlier, is that Dark One? That your doing for--

Brandon Sanderson

I'm not doing Dark One. I pitched it to them and they decided one of my other pitches they liked better. The Apocalypse Guard... So the Apocalypse Guard is-- So people have started to explore the multiverse and found that there are dimensions in which the planet is doomed to some catastrophe. It's going to extinction event. And the Apocalypse Guard is a group of scientists, soldiers, and experts who save the planet that they have discovered that is doomed. So it's about saving planets.

zas678

That sounds very non-cosmere.

Brandon Sanderson

It's non-cosmere. But you have, if you've been reading non-cosmere books-- there's another non-cosmere book which explores the concept of a multiverse and alternate dimensions. It might be in the same continuity.

Cognizantastic

Did any countries not pass an equivalent of the Capitulation Act?

Brandon Sanderson

Some did, some didn't. For example, Canada didn't… and things didn't go very well for them.

Cognizantastic

Are the areas where they didn't livable?

Brandon Sanderson

Well, livable is a broad definition. For some people, Newcago is livable.

Questioner

All the people with powers fit into one category.

Brandon Sanderson

All the people with powers fit into one category? Yes.

Questioner

Was there a reason you chose to do that?

Brandon Sanderson

Was there a reason I chose to do that? Well, I'm not sure if I can answer that... So I assume you're asking-- The original premise for Steelheart was that everyone who has superpowers is evil.

Questioner

Yes.

Brandon Sanderson

And that is just the original premise so that is not a spoiler. In my-- The reason I came up with the series is I wanted to tell a story about a world where Superman was not there to save you, or what not. Where it was "what if people started gaining these powers and did terrible things with them". When I was touring for the first book I told people the story of how I came up with that, I imagined-- when someone cut me off in traffic I imagined blowing their car up and feeling very satisfied and like "Yeah" and then feeling really guilty because I'm like "Is that really what I'd do with superpowers? Oh... Well I better write a book about it." *laughter* It's what authors do, anything that makes us think, or makes us have strong emotion, we're like "Well that's going in a book". And so it was an intentional choice, it was the whole premise and concept for me. And then the question became did the powers corrupt, or did only evil people get them, or what's going on. And that is one of the primary questions going on in the first book. They've mostly kind of drilled down to an answer by the second book.

Dancingedge

We have seen that Epics have a compulsion to pick a name for themselves (and have been told that some apparently have very bad taste) but is there also some kind of compulsion for them to be at least somewhat appropriate or for example could Nightwielder also have called himself Sunshine Shimmer (if he were such inclined)? And on a similar note, about when does this need start to manifest itself.

Brandon Sanderson

It is possible for him to have named himself that.

Dancingedge

Concerning the terminology for Epics, the definitions given for High Epics and a prime invincibility are effectively the same, meaning every High Epic should have one. However, in Steelheart David says that only a couple of the hundredths of High Epics in Newcago have one. Did David change his terminology between books or is there another reason. (I would also appreciate definitions for what differentiates a minor from a lesser Epic.)

Brandon Sanderson

Prime invincibility is the cream of the crop of High Epic, in David's estimation. The hardest of the hard to kill. However, other people define things differently. "High Epic" means "I have a power that, if you stand there and try to shoot me, it doesn't work." That's why in his definition, Regalia doesn't fit the bill--though many others would say her power of keeping herself hidden as she does would totally count. All a matter of semantics, but to him, there's a specific gradation.

Questioner

You mentioned the other ruined cities... Are there any other cities that you were thinking of putting into the book, but ended up not?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, I had-- I brainstormed a few with the team. Cities I was thinking of-- Toronto we-- Toronto was the big one.

Isaac Stewart

What was the funny, weird thing about the city?

Brandon Sanderson

Um... I wanted to do a mushroom city, and I didn't do that. I dunno, I had a bunch of them that I bounced off of Isaac and Peter. This is the one we decided on just because the salt thing is so *unintelligible*, you know?

Isaac Stewart

Yeah, we did a lot of Canadian cities, is what we were thinking at first.

Brandon Sanderson

And then Random House came in and said, "Can it be an American city? Please?" I'm like, "Okay, but you'll have to fight off the Canucks."