Leinton
I think a lot about the fact that [Brandon] decided that Roshar needed 10 evenly spaced gas giants in its system.
Peter Ahlstrom
The spacing is not to scale...and the uninhabited planets are very hard to detect from Shadesmar.
Also few of these would be visible from Roshar. So...
Do female listeners have periods? If yes, do all forms have it, or just mateform?
If they do, it's just mateform. (Maybe slaveform too.)
My friend is eager to know whether power plants in Elendel use Allomancers to generate electricity. Do they?
RAFO.
When you're writing, how many words you do per day on average? And when you're revising, how many words per day on average?
Writing between 2k and 3k. Revising, between 10k and 20k, depending on how difficult the section is.
Was Nahel name of a person? (Gonna be RAFO'd right?)
I don't know, but I doubt it.
Just reread Emperor's Soul. Use of cursing being nights and days. Important? Please tell me will be getting more eventually.
Yes, it's important. I will get into it some day.
Dunno if you can answer this now, but if everyone is from Yolen way back when, is there a migration story?
Not all humans originated on Yolen, but the first humans were there. Watch the books for myths that hint at more.
Ooh could a kandra pretend to be Returned on Nalthis by using the bones of a recently deceased person?
Heightenings would still recognize them as being alive, as their flesh is alive--even if they're pasting it over dead bones.
Is there any relation between Shardplate and the spren like there are with the Blades?
RAFO. :)
Is Wayne cosmere-aware? a couple little moments make me wonder, even though it's more than unlikely.
He is not, but he has (unknowingly) spent time around people who are. A little has rubbed off.
In Elantris, are Forton's "potions" magical, or is he using natural substances?
They are invested. (Magical.)
I'm planning on doing a cosplay of a Parshendi warrior for DragonCon this year. Are they barefoot or do they wear shoes?
They wear shoes or boots.
Are Aimians the mass exodus race mentioned in TWoK?
What is the mention you're referring to?
https://t.co/h6P6Dvwr2l
We finally limit it to Aimian, Shinovar, or Iriali. Which is the answer or?
Peter Ahlstrom
RAFO.
Ever thought about a comic of the Reckoners world? I would freaking love it!
We have considered it! If the White Sand graphic novel does well, I might do others.
Would being fat be advantageous for steelpushing? Asking for a friend.
Advantageous in pushing against someone else, trying to knock them over. Disadvantageous when lifting yourself into the air
I love Marasi with Wax! But Steris looks like she is winning so I'm gonna stop reading cuz it made me cry. It's been fun.
I'm sorry. He just didn't feel about her the way she did about him. (Plus, her path leads other directions.)
Are Odium and Devotion opposites?
One could make that argument.
Help us with some at-work Bands of Mourning conversation: what is the intended pronunciation of "Marasi"?
MAHR-uh-see
About 1/3 through [The Bands of Mourning] I see Hoid is up to his old tricks again. And how can he "technically" own Seran?
I'll hopefully get around to explaining that some day...
Can the 16 Shards be mapped onto the chart of Allomantic metals? i.e. does each Shard have a corresponding Allomantic metal?
The Shards were first. The metals are in a way a...further division on an established pattern.
I thought Kaladin was dark skinned.
Most of the Alethi are darker skinned, and would not look Caucasian to us. But most cover artists (and readers) miss this fact.
It's not something I've been clear enough about to publishers when they commission art. My bad, not theirs.
Chronology question: Coppermind says White Sand probably after Elantris. I thought considerably earlier. Anything canon yet?
Not yet, but I suspect it's after Elantris.
Are Mistings exposed to the "burning bad alloy or wrong metal" problem (hurting them), like Mistborn are?
Good question. I don't know if they can even sense an off alloy of their metal.
Can Forgery be used to rewrite a person's Spiritweb?
That's basically what Forgery always does.
Is there a relationship between the power of [iron] Ferrings and the power of Windrunners?
Like what?
Just curious. Sazed says that filling his [ironmind] affects the pull of gravity on his body and Windrunners are similar...?
An [iron] Ferring is basically changing weight. It's not the same as lashing.
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?
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.
I'm still reeling from the amount of cosmere material we got in Bands!
The Mistborn books in particular will slowly skew more and more cosmere-oriented over time.
With your magic systems, do you plan it ahead or do you develop it with your first drafts?
A little of both. In some cases, it's more front loaded, but there is always tweaking during the drafting process.
Is Steris intended to be on the autistic spectrum? She reminds me of my brother.
Sorry for the late reply, but yes. She is.
Re-reading Way of Kings. Thanks for the epic ride! Can you share something about my fav Renarin?
In the original draft of The Way of Kings from 2002, Renarin created the Diagram.
Did Korean inspire the combination of glyphs to create writing for men like in Amaram's study?
Yes, a little. Korean was a bigger inspiration for Aonic (in Elantris) though.
Good to see annotations again! Would love to see Stormlight ones, though I imagine the time sink would be a bit too much!
I tried doing them for TWOK, and yes, they were just draining too much writing time. :(
How did you come up with the cool names in Mistborn? Did they just come to you or did you twist already existing names?
A mixture of both. The thieving crew names came from getting into Kelsier's head, and letting him name people.
Excuse me, the E of Edgli is pronounced like E of Echo, or E of Egypt? Or else?
Echo
Is Dalanar just Seeing visions or is he visiting/interacting in the past a-la Quantum Leap?
They are essentially visions. They don't change the past or create alternate timelines or anything like that.
So was Adonalsium a divine being or a pure force/essence of creation?
RAFO
Did Shai have to Forge a soul for Ashravan's body because his actual soul had gone to the Great Beyond?
Rafo! :)
Is "dragon's nest" a Nalthis to English translation or are dragons part of their culture? Is Edgli a dragon?
I don't know the answer to that.
Dragons are mythological on Nalthis, but there is a reason that the stories exist. It's not a translation quirk.
17th Shard user Treamayne made an interesting observation re: Surge glyphs - Can you comment? :3
No comment yet on this specifically, tho I'll respond to something in that thread regarding names and "screw yous" within glyphs.
Readers are trying to pronounce glyphs by reading them. Glyphs aren't read. They're memorized. Sounds might be found in glyphs.
Glyphs have evolved from the early days. Just like the Chinese character for "tree" doesn't look like a tree anymore.
Alethi glyphs are recognized by overall shape, not by the shapes/sounds that might be found within.
For example, the Bridge 4 glyph is still recognizable even if the component shapes are changed.
Hope this helps!
So let's see if I got it. The "kholin" glyphpair could, given enough time, no longer look like "khokh" & "linil"...
... but still be recognizable as "kholin" due to its overall shape?
That is correct. More ancient glyphs will have slowly morphed away from the original sounds found inside.
Argent
Hey, speaking of art. Was the mathematical inspiration behind Roshar's map your idea, or Brandon's?
Isaac Stewart
Brandon's.
Argent
Ah, that might be a bummer. I was hoping to figure out the exact formula used to generate it so I can do some animation stuff.
Isaac Stewart
Sorry...I'm afraid I don't know the formula....
Why does Marasi's memory of the voice of "Death" or Marsh, change? From Alloy of Law to Bands of Mourning chapter 15?
This is a thing that drives Peter crazy. My research tells me that people change memories based on expectations and environment.
On occasion, you'll see me having characters miss-quote themselves, or remember events clearly wrong. I do this for realism.
(Though on occasion, it's just a mistake or lapse on my part. Those we fix. The rest drive my editors crazy.)
Silverstars
Every time Shallan thinks about Jasnah it's so gay which is #relatable, @BrandSanderson did you realize how bi you wrote her?? Either way, thank you.
Brandon Sanderson
This wasn't directly on my mind while writing, but looking back, I think it was in my subconscious. I'm flattered to hear it.
Joe ST
is Barlesha Lhan the scholar/author of Topics and Lhan from the Pai interlude the same person/related?
Peter Ahlstrom
I think one is a first name and the other a last name, so not related