Creating Entries

Index

  • Audio Recordings
  • Social Media
  • Signed Books
  • Paraphrased Reports

Entries from Audio Recordings

Before audio can be transcribed on the site, it needs to be uploaded and processed by an Arcanist. This typically takes between a day and a week after it is becomes available or is uploaded by an individual who recorded it. When it is ready for transcription, it will appear in the New Sources section of the main page; when you navigate to the event it was uploaded to, you will find it on the Sources tab. To see that audio file's list of snippets and begin transcribing them, click the “Edit” button at the bottom-right of a file.

You can also go to the To Do List page, from the dropdown menu, which will show a list of all audio files with snippets that need to be transcribed.

Snippets that don't have an entry yet will have a red pencil in the box to the right, and ones that do have an entry have a black pencil. When you click a red button, Arcanum will create a new entry and assign the snippet to it, and you will be redirected to the entry edit page where you can transcribe.

Here are some tips for transcribing:

  • The Style Guide contains guidelines for formatting, punctuation, inaudible sections, and more.
  • While transcribing, you can use several of the function keys to navigate the audio. F7 will rewind 5 seconds, F8 will pause and unpause, and F9 will fast-forward 5 seconds.
  • To add additional lines, use the “Add Line” button on the right, below the existing lines. Any blank lines will be deleted whenever you click “Save.”

Once you save the entry, Arcanists will need to approve it for accuracy and formatting, but until then other logged in users will be able to see your transcription and edit it, too. It's a collaborative process.

To continue transcribing after finishing an entry, hit the “Edit Source” button at the top of the entry edit page, which will return you to the snippet list.

Entries from Social Media

For each calendar year, there are several events where you add questions Brandon answers on social media. Examples over the years have included: "General Reddit 20XX", "General Twitter 20XX", "Brandon's Blog 20XX," and "YouTube Weekly Updates 20XX." The events that get created year-by-year depend on where Brandon is active; for a site he's not very active on, the few things he posts will be added to the "Miscellaneous 20XX" event instead, which gets created every year. When you find something to add, go to the appropriate Event page and click the gold “Add entry” button on the right side of the screen. (If you do not see the event on the main page, check the full event list; events with no entries yet do not appear on the main page.)

Fill in the lines with the social media conversation, using “Brandon Sanderson” to replace Brandon’s username. There are several important fields you must make sure you fill out at the bottom of the page.

The Date field will default to January 1st. Put the date as the first of Brandon’s response.

For URL sources, you only need one link, to Brandon’s first reply. If you need additional URL sources (for example, on older Tweets, there is no way to navigate from a reply to the original tweet it was replying to), you can add lines for additional sources using the “Add source” button at the bottom of the page.

If you are not able to provide a URL link for something you’re adding (for example, a Reddit direct message), follow the directions in the Signed Books section of this page to upload the screenshot to the social media event.

See the "Other Entry Info" section of the Style Guide for details on what to use as the "Source Name."

Entries from Signed Books

If you get a signed book with a WoB in it at an event, go to the appropriate Event page. If the signing wasn't associated with an event, or you have a some other written WoB from a private setting, put it in that year’s "Miscellaneous 20XX" event. Use the gold “Upload Sources” button on the right side of the page.

Once the image has finished uploading, go to the Sources tab and click the “Create or assign entry” button.”

Fill in the lines for the question and answer. If the picture only includes Brandon’s answer and does not have your question, do NOT mark it as paraphrased; Brandon’s exact wording is more important to have. Make sure you fill in the date as when you received the book (as close as you can remember).

If you have multiple images to associate with a single entry (for example, if you have the question and answer in separate images) follow the instructions above to upload the first image and create the entry. Repeat the initial steps to upload your additional image(s). From there, please inform an Arcanist on the 17th Shard Discord server or the Arcanum forum that you have additional images that need to be associated with an entry.

If you do not have a picture of your signed book, you should enter it following the Paraphrased Reports section of this page.

Entries for Paraphrased Reports

Not every WoB comes from a recorded or written source. To add a WoB from an event that was not recorded, either your own or one reported by someone else, go to the event page and click the “Add Entry” button.

Fill out the conversation, using the Style Guide as a reference. If a single report contains multiple unrelated questions, split it up into several different entries. Make sure you finish the process for creating the first entry before moving on to creating any additional entries.

At the bottom of the entry page, you will have to fill out several additional fields.

Put the date as the date the WoB was obtained, if possible. If the exact date is unsure (i.e. a late report from years ago), use the date it was reported.

If this is a report somebody has already made (on the 17th Shard forums, Reddit, Tumblr, etc.) that you are just collecting in Arcanum, mark the Paraphrased checkbox, and put a hyperlink to the report as a URL source.

If you are adding a report to Arcanum using your first-hand information (in other words, there is no url source to reference), mark the Direct Submission checkbox. Fill in your Arcanum username (or whatever identifying information you would prefer) in the “Reported By” field. The Paraphrased checkbox will automatically be marked for all direct submissions.

Modified by jofwu on Oct. 18, 2022, 3:27 p.m..

Welcome

Welcome to Arcanum, the Brandon Sanderson Archive. We're here to collect everything Brandon ever says about his books--the "Words of Brandon," as they are called--with a focus on collecting information related to the cosmere.

Statistics

  • 15709 entries
  • 501 events
  • 512 audio sources