Mailliw73
Did any of Tindwyl's daughter's survive the Catacendre? Did Sazed ever meet any of them, after his Ascension?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. And RAFO. :)
Did any of Tindwyl's daughter's survive the Catacendre? Did Sazed ever meet any of them, after his Ascension?
Yes. And RAFO. :)
At what point did you determine Spook's ultimate place in the Mistborn universe? Was it planned up front?
Spook was the big surprise in the series. Everything else was planned from the get go, but I grew to like him a great deal.
Did Trell ever have any pre-[Ascension of the Lord Ruler] Terris worshipers?
Yes
The finale of Hero of Ages is incredibly ballsy. Were you at all concerned about backlash?
Yes, I was. As was my editor. We both agreed it was the right ending, though, and so I didn't have to do much convincing.
What inspired you to write about immortality in Elantris?
Honestly, it was zombie stories. I wondered what it would actually feel like.
Did Elend or Vin ever consider parenthood, or was that never a priority for them?
Not a priority at all, considering their situation. Neither really gave it much thought.
Can you tell us anything about Night's Sorrow?
Almost nobody has ever seen Night's Sorrow.
Why did Mat never meet up with the [Band of the Red Hand] again?
[Robert Jordan]'s notes had them going on separate paths, specifically because he wanted Mat to go to Seanchan.
But after events of A Memory of Light, you can assume he dropped in to check on them.
A being with a lot of Investiture worldhops, then dies. What happens to the Investiture that was part of them?
Most likely, it returns to the Spiritual Realm, where all places are one, and where you were is irrelevant.
Is there are metal that can grant Feruchemy, a la lerasium/Allomancy?
Another RAFO. (Sorry.)
Have you considered writing a book explaining the cosmere and worldbuilding?
Some day, we will probably do this. But I want more of the different worlds fleshed out first.
Is the metal on Scadrial specially Invested? Can an Allomancer use metals from other planets?
Metal is a key, not the source of power itself. Most is not specially Invested. It glows because of the power seeking to come through it, not because of the power within it.
When did you first start playing around with the idea of Allomancy?
Sometime in 98-99.
Any advice for creating an editing plan, especially if a novel needs big changes?
Organize your list of changes by importance, and try fixing only the most important ones in your next draft.
Once you have the big things fixed, you can move on to smaller issues. Be goal based in your revisions.
What author would you want to finish The Stormlight Archive or Mistborn books if you were unable to?
I'd probably want Brian T. McClellan or Brent Weeks, though I don't know if either would have the time.
Could a sentient Invested object take up a Shard?
Highly unlikely, probably impossible--but impossibility is hard to judge.
Can you give us an Oath that hasn't been revealed in the story yet?
No. You'll have to wait for the stories to get those.
How big is the Roshar supercontinent?
[Peter Ahlstrom] or [Isaac Stewart], can give you a specific on that, if you need one. I don't have the scale map handy.
Roughly 4000 miles East to West.
I can't remember if that is right, per my globe.
True. Things might've changed since the globe experiment.
Is "Galladon" Galladon's true name ?
It is his birth name, if that's what you're asking.
Yes, I had this crazy idea about "people need to have an Aon in the name to be chosen by the Shaod" and Galladon hasn't it.
Ah, that's an excellent guess. But no, that isn't the case. It's more about Connection.
Epigraphs in Mistborn & Stormlight: did you wrote them before, during or after writing the rest of the book?
Almost always after the book is done, with notes before certain chapters of what to include above that one.
Who/what was the inspiration for Wayne's character? He's the best!
Really, it started with the hats and went crazy from there.
What's the book you've enjoyed the most writing?
Hmm.... Probably one of the Alcatraz books.
Do you think pantsers grow up to be planners? Or, are pantsers forever pantsers, & planners forever planners?
I think that both pantsers and planners generally learn to use the tools of the others side on occasion.
And some do swap, particularly for given books. But neither is the other in embryo.
Was atium truly one of the 16 metals, or can it be used by anyone just like lerasium?
Atium has some screwy things going on. It's not one of the 16, but not just anybody could use it.
If Kelsier had visited Roshar, what spren would have been attracted to his character?
Gloryspren because he pretty much always feels like he's done something awesome. :)
Hoid, Wayne, Kelsier and Wax are playing cards. How many aces are there?
Only Wayne and Hoid are likely to cheat, and they'd be in cahoots.
Just to be sure. Wax is wrong, and jumped on conclusions about how Excisors work. Right?
He did jump to some conclusions. Whether he's right or not will have to wait for future books.
Will you ever do any more in the Reckoners' world after Calamity? Both [Megan Tarash] and I hope you will.
Leave the man alone, Knees. He's answering the fans' questions, not yours.
How do we win? That's my question.
I'll be releasing a little instructional manual on this in a few weeks called Calamity. :)
Come on. That answer was about as helpful as a dryer full of water balloons.
(I'm only teasing. Please don't kill me in the next book. Please.)
If you pull a campfire soul out of your pocket in the Cognitive Realm near Threnody, will shades get mad?
RAFO!
In Stormlight Archive what inspired you to come up with the idea of bridges & how they carry them across chasms?
I wanted a form of siege warfare that was different from anything that readers had seen before, but had the same despair to it.
if you could have any of the powers from your books which one would you choose?
Windrunning, probably.
Is it known to most people in Elandel that Ranette has a girlfriend? Or are they hiding?
They don't need to hide in particular in Elendel.
Could the spear used to kill Kelsier be used as an Identity spike?
I'm RAFOing most questions about Identity right now. (Sorry.)
Do you always know the ending of the stories when you begin them?
Almost always. I'm a planner. Once in a while, I do a short story where I don't. Even that is rare, though.
Did Nazh fall in with Khriss before or after the Forests of Hell were colonized by Patience's people?
RAFO. (Sorry. I am toying with a book on Threnody, and don't want to lock myself into anything yet.)
Your characters often gain confidence from beg to end of a book. What inspired that trend of personal growth?
My own life! :)
I know they are not a part of the Cosmere, but does the Reckonersverse follow the rules of Realmatic theory?
No. Instead, it follows quantum multiverse theory.
Is Edgli going to make an appearance (or be mentioned in) another book? I want to know more about Edgli!
Yes, this will be answered eventually.
Why isn't Alcatraz part of the Cosmere?The lenses seem like they could be investiture-related.
I didn't want Alcatraz to have to follow Cosmere continuity and rules. Yes, the magic could work in the cosmere
Other than Hoid, which character have you had the most fun writing?
Wayne.
I'm assuming they met in White Sand, if Hoid is who I think he is in that one ;) but more how well does she know his agenda?
I'm not sure if you're thinking this, but Nazh and Hoid are separate people.
Any new information about the Steelheart movie? So excited about it! Will you be involved in making it?
Last I heard, they had a script they liked, and were sending it out for a polish. I will be as involved as they will allow!
Any updates on movie/tv/video game adaptions?
Nothing big. Steelheart has a script. It's the only one so far to hit that stage.
How hard was it for you to get your first manuscript published? Did you send multiple copies?
It took me ten years of work to become an author who wrote books that were of professional quality.
Once I hit that point, my chances improved. Elantris was rejected half a dozen times over four years before selling.
Could you Awaken an Honorblade?
It would take a Looooooot of power. (A near impossible amount.)
Can you tell us the name of factory from which Tia gets her Cola pouches? And perhaps the city?
Factory is one that doesn't exist in our world, but I believe I have it in Chattanooga.
Regarding the Ire: did they set out into the Cosmere pre- or post-Reod?
RAFO! :)
If a large group of Windrunners lashed enough mass towards a single point, could they create a black hole?
Offhand, I think that would be theoretically possible, though in practicality impossible. We'd need [Peter Ahlstrom] to do some math.
Radiant vs. Mistborn: who wins?
Depends on the situation and the Radiant order.
Are either the blue-skinned Natans or blue-veined Babatharnams human-Aimian hybrids?
Yes.
Parshendi/Parshmen/Gemhearts vs ISIS/Non-radical Muslims/Oil - A comparison you've considered while writing?
The Parshendi aren't the radicals, though. In that conflict, I'd argue that the humans are.
With the White Sand graphic novels, do you intend to continue the sequence past the first MS of White Sand?
Yes, if they are popular enough, I do.
Where did the Cosmere come from? What inspired you?
Lots of things. Isaac Asimov connecting his Robot books and Foundation books was a partial inspiration to be certain.
Will there be a sequel to the secret project? (are we allowed to use it's name yet?)
Yes, you can use the name now. And yes, I plan a sequence of these.
When you write.do you see the characters as real people or cartoons or comics?
Real people.
Do you watch Doctor Who? And if so, would you like to write an episode?
I have watched some Doctor Who and liked it a lot--but I don't do screenplays, so I might not be a good choice.
Is there a plan for a book focusing on Hoid or will he always remain an enigma?
The final Mistborn sequence will have him as a main character, as will the Dragonsteel prequel novels.
If you could bring one of your characters off the page and into the real world, which would it be and why?
Sazed. I think he could teach me a thing or two.
Which of your characters required the most research beforehand in order to write?
Kaladin took some research into field medicine and depression. He probably took the most.
Has one world's magic systems been used in battles/wars on another worlds? Such as Allomancy used on Roshar?
Not in anything large scale.
Will you ever do a crossover novel with different characters/worlds?
Yes, I will. The final Mistborn books will have this. There's already some in novellas like Secret History and Sixth of the Dusk.
Would you mind giving a width for the Final Empire as well? Thanks! :)
Still work to do on that... Maybe before the end of the year.
Ah, for the book with all the starcharts [Arcanum Unbounded]? Looking forward to seeing it then :).
Not necessarily for that book. :)
Are there any characters that were particularly difficult for you to work with?
Cadsuane from the WoT was the one that comes to mind.
Who provoked the confrontation, Tanavast or Rayse?
RAFO.
Been approached by any movie studios or directors about any of your work yet?
We've sold Steelheart to Fox, Emperor's Soul to DMG, and Mistborn to the people who are working on the video game.
Hoid has never drawn his sword on Roshar, which looks similar to Nightblood. Is Hoid's sword also Awakened?
That is a RAFO, I'm afraid!
Have you ever completely lost motivation or inspiration to write? When?
Closest I've come was about two years before I got published. I'd been rejected so much, and had worked for 8 years.
If someone was tapping gold, would spiking a separate ability out of them kill them? Or would it work at all?
It is possible to spike someone without killing them. But they'd never be the same. It would be worse than being a drab.