Words of Radiance Chicago signing

Argent

In The Stormlight Archive there have been multiple writing systems, [which] as a part of a community effort we've translated, for the most part, the Alethi [Vorin women's script], the Thaylen. Can you talk about the technical details of the glyphs writing system?

Brandon Sanderson

The glyphs were designed by Isaac Steward. He is my scribe, artist, and cartographer. He is also the art director at my company. We sat down and I wanted something symmetrical, so actually half of the glyph is repeated. When you read into it, it's symmetrical, and you can read them by the points where they slant, but you will have to go talk to him about exactly how to do it, because I say "I want a glyph for this" and he designs it. So they are readable, but-- The thing that I used as a model is, I got Arabic art; if you guys haven't read Arabic word art it's gorgeous, it's really cool. And sometimes when it gets really distorted you have to know already what it says, and that's how some of the glyphs are.

Brandon Sanderson

Is it possible to have both an Honorblade and a spren? Yes it is.

Brandon Sanderson

Now, I will say there is one thing I've been wanting to do for a long time that will probably never happen so don't get too excited. But I had this awesome idea once, and these come to me, where I would write a book with Pat Rothfuss where *audience gets too excited*-- wait, wait, you've gotta hear this pitch - where we both have a set of characters who're competing for misaligned goals, like one wants to save somebody and one wants to assassinate somebody-- they've cross purposes. And we write them, and exchange chapters, and have try to assassinate each other and fiddle with each other's plots. And we get it to, like, 80% of the way done and then we send it to George Martin, and we say "read this and decide the ending and then we'll write it *audience laughter and applause*. And so the reason I want to this is so we can write on the cover, it's not "Brandon Sanderson and Pat Rothfuss", it's "Brandon Sanderson vs. Pat Rothfuss". And see who wins at the end if we can convince George not to kill all of our characters. It's never going to happen, but wouldn't that be fun?

Brandon Sanderson

The glyphs on the cover of the [US hardcover Stormlight] books do represent the Order of the Knights Radiant that is being investigated in that book, as is the color of the book. If you look, it represents the color [of the] them in their, sort of, periodic table of Surgebindings in the first book's front endpages.

Questioner (paraphrased)

[Why did Syl use the word "thy" after Kaladin spoke the words of the Third Ideal?]

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Because in their language she was using a more antiquated version of their language, and so that's the best English translation.

Questioner

Are the people from Dalinar's visions, the ones he has the vision through, related to one another?

Brandon Sanderson

No. It's not a Wheel of Time thing where you are going through generations. Good question.

Questioner

In the last part of the book [Words of Radiance], Wit is talking to <the songling>, and says "If you think hard, this sentence is really clever." Are there any implications beyond this, or was that him just talking?

Brandon Sanderson

Go compare to another sentence he used earlier in the book. He is making a pun off of the sentence he used before. [...] It's not as clever as he thinks he is, I'll just warn you that.

SpringWarmCold

Has Hoid been on Roshar before The Way of Kings?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Questioner

In regards to the one-armed Lopen - which arm is missing?

Brandon Sanderson

*photo pause* I have always imagined it as his left, but I don't know if I ever said or canonized it.

ladyknightradiant

Have we seen all four of the genders for the Parshendi?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. 

ladyknightradiant

So it's more than just malen and femalen?

Brandon Sanderson

Well, male and female. So, basically, in my original notes I was trying to decide if I should call them [something else?] but they-- eventually we ended up-- It's basically, they have a male neuter and female neuter, and then a male and a female. So yes, there are four genders. [...] And, if you can't tell, the malen and femalen are both asexual, completely.

Questioner

Can I ask about the wrong decision in the beginning of the original The Way of Kings?

Brandon Sanderson

In the original [The] Way of Kings Kaladin wins and Shardblade and Plate and keeps it.

Questioner

Is Jasnah still alive at the end of the book, since the whole scene where she kind of appears...

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, she is.

Argent

*photo pause* Why does she take so long to come back?

Brandon Sanderson

Because Elsecalling is not precise even if you know what you are doing, which she doesn't.

Questioner

Are gemhearts, the gems in those chemically identical to mined [gem] stones?

Brandon Sanderson

*clarification* They are very similar. Not 100% chemically identical, they are far more pure for one thing. You would call them the same substance, but you would say, "Wow, this gem has no impurities." They may have flaws, but no impurities. Meaning, in a lot of gemstones the colors waver and vary as they different minerals come in, and things like that, and so what makes a--

Questioner

So it's just a pure ionic bond?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah.

Questioner

That spren that are of Odium, that are in the Everstorm - are there more of those and will they pair directly as opposites of the <Nahel spren>?

Brandon Sanderson

There are more of them. There is not an exact one-to-one correlation?

Questioner

I'm assuming there's going be be ten opposite orders to the Knights Radiant? Yes? No?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO! That's big ol' RAFO!

Questioner

Is it possible - not will there be, but is it possible - for a Parshendi to become a Knight Radiant?

Brandon Sanderson

In the past, they would've said— How about this, in-world everybody would tell you no. It's never happened.

Questioner

Will main characters from books 1-5 [of Stormlight] also show up [in books 6-10]?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. They will be about as prevalent, maybe a little bit more than ones from 6-10 are in these [Stormlight 1-5].

Questioner

I was kind of curious, is Nightblood gonna be able to drain Stormlight or is it going to drain--

Brandon Sanderson

Nightblood will drain any Investiture it can get its hands on, so yes.

Questioner

[I noticed] Nazh's name at the bottom of the illustrations a lot - is that a character that's going to come in in the future?

Brandon Sanderson

He's already appeared in the books. Very very cameo-ish tangential things, you have to be really looking to spot him.

*brief conversation about space age Mistborn*

Argent

Books, plural?

Brandon Sanderson

He wasn't in The Way of Kings, no. Not on screen, I don't think.

Eric

The gemstone [Gavilar] gives to Szeth in the beginning of the book [The Way of Kings], is that the gemstone that's spoken of in the epigraphs?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

Eric

If Adonalsium Shattered with intent, would he always Shatter with the same Shards?

Brandon Sanderson

It is plausible that it could've gone a different way.

Eric

So it could've been different Shards?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, that's plausible.

Dragon13

I was wondering, the point of views for the prologues *photo pause* will we ever see one from Gavilar's point of view?

Brandon Sanderson

That's a big ol' RAFO. Because I want it to be surprising to see who you get each book.

Dragon13

Have we seen any characters who is a part of multiple [secret] organizations, for example the Ghostbloods and the Sons of Honor?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes you have. *photo pause* I've a big cop out there, because you of know of one who is in the Ghostbloods and the Lightweavers. You give me opportunities, and I will answer truthfully.

Questioner

Will Jasnah be one of the characters that gets her own book?

Brandon Sanderson

She will be.

Brandon Sanderson

I'm actually writing a-- I planned, I don't know if I'll get to it, but I planned an in-between [Stormlight] books short story called King Lopen the First of Alethkar. And I'm hoping I'll get a chance to write that and stick it up there for you guys, but yes. Because if you see at the end he is claiming to have been a king for a while. You will find out why he claims that.

Questioner

Elhokar's assassination attempt, the drained spheres [from his Plate] - was that <him> Surgebinding?

Brandon Sanderson

That's a RAFO. Good question. [...] Let me say this. Drawing the Stormlight from an active set of Shards is very difficult to do.

Questioner

 Why can Stormlight heal Lopen's arm, but can't heal Kaladin's scars?

Brandon Sanderson

Because *photo pause* a lot of the healing in the Cosmere works on principles of expectation and how you envision yourself. 

Questioner

So Kaladin has accepted the scars.

Brandon Sanderson

Kaladin has accepted the scars, and Lopen never accepted the one arm. It's a good question, it's one I am hoping people will ask. [...] It's one of these ties when I built the magic systems that I wanted certain threads to run through them, so when I eventually have them being used in the same books, that there will be consistency among them, that so they won't feel like everything's just thrown together. So, for instance, the intention and expectation, for instance, in Warbreaker-- What you want to have happened influences what does happen, the expectation, the way you are thinking about things. Very important for most of the Cosmere magics.

Questioner

In the future Mistborn trilogies, is there going to be any spectator sports revolved around the magic system?

Brandon Sanderson

That is very likely. In fact, one of the reasons I wrote The Rithmatist was to play around with a magic system that's used as a sport, as a game.

Questioner

 In Shadesmar you describe the beads, they are like little beads, this big, BB size...

Brandon Sanderson

They are bigger than BB size.

Questioner

Okay, and everything melts into beads. But when people pick them them up, do they form into the thing they are supposed to be, or just one bead represents the stick, and--

Brandon Sanderson

One bead represents the item that is seen and views itself as a cohesive thing. 

Questioner

Is there a picture inside it, or...?

Brandon Sanderson

We will get more into this as time progresses.

Questioner

The prevailing theory on the 17th Shard is that [Hoid] worldhops using Shadesmar. I was wondering if you were willing to confirm or deny that?

Brandon Sanderson

Hoid has indeed gotten between worlds before through Shadesmar.

Questioner

And would you be willing to give us a hint as to how he does that?

Brandon Sanderson

There are hints in the books. There is a hint in the very first cosmere book I released [Elantris]. [...] Which I thought was a huge hint, but so far I haven't seen anyone talking about it.

Argent

Really?

Brandon Sanderson

Mmhmm. [...] I thought that once people started figuring the Cosmere, they would see the massive in-your-face hint I put in that book, but so far, as far as I know, no one has. *brief conversation about Brandon's tendency to drop sneaky hints and how he likes doing that* Now, the one [hint] about the map [of Roshar], that one I don't think is obvious. I know people have been trying to figure it out. It's something fun once you figure it out, but it's not something huge and obvious. The Elantris once was, like, enormously "HIIINT!"

Questioner

May I ask you what your revision process is?

Brandon Sanderson

My revision process is very goal-oriented. I decide what I want to change about the book, I write it all in a big notes file, and I organize them by how important it is and how far-reaching the changes are. And then I start revising with <the file> open beside me, always watching to make tweaks to fit the goals I have established.

Questioner

Oh, okay. And do you find yourself able to remember everything you've written when you go back and--

Brandon Sanderson

No, that's why-- you got your document here and you've got your revision file here and watching [the revisions file] while revising I'm trying to clear things off this list, and then things near the bottom will move up. And I'll sometimes need to do two or three drafts to clear everything off the list, but being goal-based in it helps me a lot.

Questioner

If you were to use Allomancy to fly faster than light, would it be like the Navigators in Dune, where you pick out the best possible route through the stars?

Brandon Sanderson

No, good question though! That's not quite the way, I haven't really given you the tools to figure it out, because I feel that the tools to figure it out, I couldn't give to the characters early enough. I wanted it to progress with the technological development, so hints are only just really brief in the story. 

Questioner

Can you tell us which Shard is with the new story?

Brandon Sanderson

This is a world that does not currently have a Shard.

Questioner

Is there a limit to how many Shardblades you can have? Be bonded to?

Brandon Sanderson

Theoretically, not really. There are some things that could bound that. I can imagine people having a lot. In the original draft of The Way of Kings (2002) Amaram had two. And so, it's definitely possible to have multiples, and I had not thought of someone trying to bond every Shardblade. 

Questioner

So that means you can be bonded to more than one spren.

Brandon Sanderson

Well, those Shardblades... Can you be bonded to more than one spren? That question's answer is also yes. Potentially. But there is a much harder limit on that.

Questioner

Is it possible to become a Sliver if you burn enough atium?

Brandon Sanderson

I don't think so.

Questioner

Is there a way to tell between different Investitures?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. 

Questioner

For each Shard.

Brandon Sanderson

Oh, for each Shard? Each Shard-- Most of the magics have built into them that ability, but I wouldn't say that everyone does. I am trying to remember if they all do... I lot of them have a power that would allow you to do that, but I don't know if every one of them does.

Questioner

No, I mean that, in the ones that do have [this ability], they can tell the difference between each one.

Brandon Sanderson

If you were really good at burning bronze, you could use bronze to distinguish between different types of Investiture from different planets even. And that sort of skill does exist in other magic systems.

Argent

Is it like a wavelength kind of thing?

Brandon Sanderson

Yea, that's exactly what it is.

Questioner

Since Hoid is the Horneater god, are there, or at least implied, would other Shards--

Brandon Sanderson

Hoid is not a Shard.

Questioner

Or other Shards that are related to Hoid, since they are in the same time period. Would they also be Horneater gods?

Brandon Sanderson

I think that the Horneaters might interpret things very differently from their reality, as they are viewing certain things happening--

Questioner

So would they originally be from Roshar, or would they have travelled from somewhere else?

Brandon Sanderson

That's a RAFO, it depends on the person. Hoid is not originally from Roshar.

Questioner

The Nahel bond, what determines whether you get a Cryptic or an honorspren?

Brandon Sanderson

The spren themselves.

Questioner

So it doesn't have to do with the Orders of the Knights Radiant?

Brandon Sanderson

If you match, you have to attract the spren, the same way you attract emotionspren, you have to attract the right spren for the Order.

Questioner

Why can only women write?

Brandon Sanderson

It has to with a lot of cultural mores, spraying out of a certain sort of essay written a long ago that divided masculine arts and feminine arts, and then some cultural things sort of went along with that ended up gaining momentum.

Questioner

And we'll find out more about that I guess.

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah... I mean, to the characters it's like asking "Why do you guys shake hands?" It's what you do, culturally. But there are reasons for it.

Questioner

With all the spren, the ones that are developing thought and all that, are you going to have them interact, that we see-- Because you don't really have much interaction between them right now that we know of

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, we do not. I think it is safe to say that what Syl and Pattern say about spren in this book implies that there is between different spren that you can look forward to.

Questioner

After a spren has been bonded, what happens if the person it's bonded with dies?

Brandon Sanderson

If the person they are bonded with dies, it is an emotional event for the spren, but not a damaging event. As long as their oaths were not <broken>.

Argent

Kind of like if a friend dies?

Brandon Sanderson

Maybe a little more personal than that.

Questioner

I guess Helaran was not bonded to a spren then?

Brandon Sanderson

And why do you say that?

Questioner

I was looking at this line here and saw that his [Blade] had a gemstone at the bottom, so that was a clue.

Brandon Sanderson

That is a very good clue, yes.

Questioner

The Horneater names are very similar to Polynesian names...

Brandon Sanderson

That is the direct inspiration. I love how Polynesian languages sound, and it's something I've been wanting to use for years.

Questioner

Has anyone other than the Five Scholars and Vasher Awakened Steel?

Brandon Sanderson

*photo pause* Not that Vasher knows about. And if he doesn't know about it, then there is a decent chance [that it never happened].

Questioner

Can Returned feed on Stormlight?

Brandon Sanderson

This is definitely possible.

Questioner

Ars Arcanum at the back of this book [The Alloy of Law] - who is it written by?

Brandon Sanderson

The same person who has written all of them.

Questioner

What is the gem cut that holds the most Stormlight, and does it vary from gem to gem?

Brandon Sanderson

It does vary from gem to gem, and... I've got this written down somewhere... I am going RAFO, because it's more of a "go to my notes and find out."

Questioner

Where does the fiber for fabric come from on Scadrial?

Brandon Sanderson

[Brandon misunderstands the question to be about Rosharan fabrics] Some of it comes from seasilk. The silk is not the same silk that we [have], most of it is from plant-based textiles. Most of the-- here we have insects, we can use their cocoons and stuff; cocoons on Roshar have rock in them. And so it's a little bit hard. But a lot of the plants do too, and there are a lot of plant-based textiles you can use, so...

Argent

Didn't you ask about Scadrial?

Brandon Sanderson

Oh, Scadrial! I was thinking about Roshar. Yeah, Scadrial is an Earth analogue. Scadrial is my place that if it's on Earth, you can assume it's on Scadrial. That is not the case for the other worlds, but it is for Scadrial.

Questioner

If I were to impulsively Soulcast pewter, the way Shallan does with the blood in The Way of Kings, would it come out that an Allomancer be able to use it?

Brandon Sanderson

You could create Allomantically viable metals, yes.

Questioner

But is it automatic?

Brandon Sanderson

I would say that the pure metals are, but the alloys are not.

Argent

Can the forms of power of the listeners be treated as anti-equivalents of the Orders of the Knights Radiant? Could we consider Stormforms to be anti-Windrunners?

Brandon Sanderson

You could consider it that way, but there is not a one-to-one analogue.

Argent

Because it seemed like there are ten voidforms, and their abilities are kind of anti-Surges...

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, yes, there is definitely something there, but again I say, it's not a one-to-one correlation. They are not going to be exactly opposite.

Argent

The person who arrived at the gates of Kholinar, the one you refuse to acknowledge as Talenel - is that person the same as the one delivered to the warcamps?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Argent

When a Surgebinder's eye color changes when they Surgebind or have a Blade [out], is the color of their eyes corresponding to their Order? So Windrunners would do blue, and then--

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. 

Argent

So each Order gets a different eye color?

Brandon Sanderson

Each Order does indeed have an eye color representation.

Argent

Can you confirm the real names of the Heralds for me? I have Jezrien (ˈjɛzɹən), Nale (for Nalan) - is that right?

Brandon Sanderson

Nale (neil) is what-- Nale is, yes, yes.

Argent

Chana [pronounced Shana] or Chana...

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah.

Argent

Vedel.

Brandon Sanderson

Vedel (vəˈdɛl), yeah. Chana (ˈt͡ʃænə) is also called Chanarach (ˈt͡ʃænəɹæt͡ʃ). Either one would be alright.

Argent

Okay, but her birth name...

Brandon Sanderson

Probably-- I think Chanarach is actually her birth name and Chana is the nickname.

Argent

Vedel... Pali, for Pailiah?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, I think Pali (ˈpæli) is the nickname in that case.

Argent

Okay, Ash?

Brandon Sanderson

No, that's a nickname.

Argent

What's the real one?

Brandon Sanderson

Shalash (ʃəˈlɑʃ).

Argent

That's not he just the Vorin...

Brandon Sanderson

No, that one was actually symmetrical.

Argent

Awesome. Battar (bəˈtɑɹ)?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Argent

Kalak?

Brandon Sanderson

Kalak (kəˈlɑk), yes.

Argent

Talenel (tæləˈnɛl), with a nickname Taln (tæln)?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Argent

And Ishar (ɪˈʃɑɹ)?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Argent

Is normal Awakening and BioChroma an end-neutral system?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah. Yes. Meaning, you don't lose Breath in the [process].

Argent

In the different worlds, can you spike people Hemalurgically  with materials other than metal? Say, you create a wood spike for Breath, or a gem spike for Surges?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

Argent

There is a person on the forums who noticed that Shallan has this awesome Memory thing going on, Jasnah seems to have a really powerful, kind of, geolocation thing going on, Kaladin is a really good fighter - are those just their traits, or is there something supernatural going on?

Brandon Sanderson

There is something supernatural going on. Each Order... Well, how about this. If you look at the scholar interpretations, there are some scholars who think that these things are not supernatural, in the past, and some who said they definitely are. But many, if you look, many Lightweavers had powerful mnemonic abilities.

Argent

So it's definitely tied to the Orders?

Brandon Sanderson

It's tied to the Orders. Now, I am not going to say that you've got them all 100% correct, but each Order, there are things that come with Order, things that do not add up from simple the "you get this power plus this power," there is something else going on. And I would say that for Windrunners, watch the number of squires and the power of the squires... is abnormal for the Windrunners.

Argent

And each Order's squires are somehow different from the other Orders'?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeeeaaaah... some Orders don't have them, [that] is the difference.

Argent

 But some have more?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah.

Argent

The Iriali Long Trail, is it related to the Cosmere?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Argent

And the Fourth Land, the Seventh Land, those...

Brandon Sanderson

These are definitely-- They are in the Cosmere. This is where you give me a lot of wiggling, because yes, it is related to the Cosmere.

Argent

Did Gavilar see the same visions Dalinar did?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

Argent

The Parshmen / Parshendi / Listeners, do they give birth like humans do? Living little Parshendi?

Brandon Sanderson

They give live birth, yes. 

Argent

Do Surgebinders have gemhearts like greatshells do?

Brandon Sanderson

 RAFO.

Argent

The ketek in the first book ["Above silence, the illuminating storms - dying storms - illuminate the silence above"], it seems like this refers to Honor's death.

Brandon Sanderson

Mmhmm.

Argent

What does "Above silence," refer to?

Brandon Sanderson

Above a silent land. 

Argent

Hmm. Roshar, somehow? Okay, you're not gonna tell that.

And the second ketek, in Words of Radiance, similarly refers to the highstorm and the Everstorm... Is there more to it?

Brandon Sanderson

No, it's by Navani about the two [storms].

Argent (paraphrased)

Is the number of Unmade fixed?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Yes.

Argent (paraphrased)

Is it ten, is it ten, is it ten, is it ten, is it ten?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Is it ten? No, it's not ten.

Questioner (paraphrased)

What spren types are Glys, Ivory, and Wyndle?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

RAFO, because I haven't decided yet. I know generally what they are, but I don't know how I am going to call them in the books. It happens with other things in my writing, Shards for example - Odium was originally Hatred; the idea was the same, but I decided to change the actual word.

Questioner (paraphrased)

 Is Hoid human?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Hoid was human a long time ago. Now... it's complicated. We would call him human, and so will pretty much everyone else, but he is not exactly that.

Argent (paraphrased)

Brandon talked about something he called "Honor's purposes" or maybe "Honor's Purposes," and how they are the reason 10 is such a holy and dominant number - I assumed it meant Honor has (had) 10 of those Purposes. It was heavily implied in the conversation that Odium, if he has similar Purposes, does not have 10 of them.

Brandon Sanderson

[brandon spoke about how he planned all of The Stormlight Archive books to be named after in-world books - that's where the "archive" part comes from. Book #3 will be pretty... unique. He said we'll know what he is talking about when we see it (so I guess it won't be a normal book format or something. Maybe the Shin write their books on stone tablets or something...).]

 

Questioner

You do a lot of insider *inaudible* and you have *inaudible. How does that inform your process going forward *inaudible* the new books, knowing that you might someday have to tell people-?

Brandon Sanderson

So, how does it inform my new books, knowing that I put so much stuff on my website? On there, I have annotations for a lot of my books, chapter-by-chapter. I have a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff. I grew up in the internet era. Well, at least I became a writer in the internet era. So I'm used to having extra information. I remember waiting for Wheel of Time books, and like, "When is this gonna be done?" And nobody knew, it was all hearsay. So, when I developed my website, I'm like, "Let's put a progress bar on so that it's right there, and you can go to the source and find out when the next book is gonna be done." So I just started, from the get-go, doing this extra bonus material. I feel like in this genre... Science fiction and fantasy people are very tech savvy. I'm willing to bet that every one in this room could torrent the books for free if they wanted to. And instead they buy them and support me. It's a genre where I am directly supported by fans as a conscious choice on their part. So I feel that it's my part to give them everything I can as this sort of additional content with the book. Because it's not just the book, it's everything surrounding it that you're buying into. And that's just kind of a personal quest of mine. It does make me more aware of my process. Because I'm like, "Oh, they're gonna ask me where I came up with this character. Where did I come up with this character as I'm designing it?" And I'll write down some notes on, "This is what inspired me here." It gets much harder for me to talk about Elantris and Mistborn, 'cause I can't dig so deep into my my influences, even Way of Kings sometimes, because they go back so far. But books that are newer, I can be, "Hey, this is exactly where my influences came from." Because I am <so conscious> now. Good question.

Questioner

When you have written, did you ever write with other people in pairs? Or do you focus on writing solely as a...

Brandon Sanderson

Do I ever write with other people in pairs? I've tried it once, and it didn't work so well. So it's not something I'll probably do again. It works very well for some people, and it just didn't end up being something that worked really well for me.

Questioner

Was there something that caused it to fail?

Brandon Sanderson

No, there wasn't something specific that caused it to fail, other than the fact that I kind of like to be in control of my stories. And not being in control of my stories just didn't end up working out for me. It didn't save me any time, and it didn't save the other writer any time. It made both of us have to do more work.

Questioner

For Words of Radiance, could you put a comment about something in the upcoming books, something not too specific, just something I can think about? Something like "Renarin has a spren" you wrote for somebody else in The Way of Kings?

Brandon Sanderson

[written] Stormlight makes plants grow.