Recent entries

    JordanCon 2018 ()
    #6802 Copy

    Questioner

    In universe, all the intents and charts and names, who names them? Do they name themselves?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I have kind of imagined this is one of those things that they certainly have influence over. But obviously Odium thinks that he's named something other than what he is, and I feel like these are intrinsic things that the sixteen all knew. Like, "I am missing this part of me, it is this." And it was less "we went around and named them" more like "this is just what it is". And various Shards are resisting that, but the others are all like "No, this is what you represent". 

    Billy Todd, Moderator

    Follow-up question there. Would the entity that we call Odium refer to itself as Odium when it's honest with itself?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Ehhh, I don't think Odium is capable of being honest with himself. *laughter* There are times where Odium has called himself Odium. That is more out of convenience and the fact that everyone calls you by a name. But Odium is determined to change that perception. 

    Billy Todd, Moderator

    So, does he genuinely believe in characterizing himself as Passion?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. Part of him does.

    Billy Todd, Moderator

    Has he always ever been Odium since the Shattering?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    JordanCon 2018 ()
    #6804 Copy

    Questioner

    Did the spren that we know of as the Cryptics exist before Honor and Cultivation came to Roshar?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Ah, good question! No. Cryptics would be one of the forms of spren that were a later creation. Creation is the wrong term, but yeah. 

    Billy Todd, Moderator

    Later development? Evolution?

    Brandon Sanderson

    All of the sapient spren are later developments. 

    Billy Todd, Moderator

    Are they evolved from the earlier spren?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Evolution doesn't work the same way on the spren, right? The spren were created more than evolved, I would say.

    Billy Todd, Moderator

    Maybe cultivated?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, cultivated. *laughter*

    JordanCon 2018 ()
    #6805 Copy

    Questioner

    We started out in the earlier books knowing that there's this Hoid guy, he's a worldhopper. Hey, worldhoppers exist. And then we've kind of been given more and more. In Secret History it said you'd be surprised about the economy you've upended by destroying the perpendicularity. What amount of people are travelling between worlds? Hundreds? Thousands? Billions?

    Brandon Sanderson

    ...Thousands.

    Questioner

    Is it like vacation? Or is it like...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Well, I wouldn't call it--

    Questioner

    Is it the frontier? Or is it from where you could go?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It depends on the roadway. Let's say you look at frontier era America. How hard was it to get to England? It was really far away, but it was actually relatively safe and common to do this. How difficult was it to get to Boise, Idaho? That's harder, but you know how to do it. How easy was it to get to, let's say, the Hawaiian Islands? You're starting to get into like, the question comes here, certain pathways are more traveled. There are going to be caravans, there are going to be guides. There are going to be safe travels between certain places that are done commonly enough that if you are in the know and are in the right place you can be like "I wanna buy passage here." And you go there, and you can have a reasonable expectation that you're going to make it to where you're going. 

    Other places, you say, "I wanna go here", and they're like, "Yeah, I've known someone who tried that and they never came back. I'm not taking you." So, where you're going, where you're trafficking, Khriss gives you some indications of which ones are easy to get to and which ones are commonly visited. I would recommend that if you want to go on vacation in the cosmere, like, "I want to go somewhere different," go to Nalthis. Go to Nalthis. Nalthis is great to go to, right? They even have customs that you can go through. You can like, arrive, and things like this. Don't go to Sel. Sel is not good to go to. Sel is really dangerous to go to. There's a dead Shard--two of them--in the Cognitive Realm that will destroy you. Other places, Scadrial, used to be a lot easier to get to. Roshar, depends on which era you're talking about. Sometimes it's pretty easy to go to. Those nice Horneaters will treat you like a god and feed you food. However, right now, it might not be a good time to try to visit Roshar.

    JordanCon 2018 ()
    #6806 Copy

    Questioner

    Exactly how turbulent is the Cognitive Realm around Sel? Khriss seems to think it's rather difficult [to travel] but how difficult would it be for Hoid to get through?

    Brandon Sanderson

    How difficult would it be to get through to Sel, how difficult would it be for Hoid. I would say straining his resources and capacity. It is difficult for him. So take that as you will. But it is worth his effort and he has done it numerous times.

    JordanCon 2018 ()
    #6808 Copy

    Questioner

    So, kind of a support question... The nature of Investiture and metals, is it just solid Investiture that's metal or is all Investiture some kind of state of metal?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So this gets back into your idea of metal. Do they all represent metal? Well, I'm fascinated by states of matter, if you can't tell, and I'm fascinated by groupings on the periodic table in our world. I am fascinated by how certain things share... properties with one another but not other properties. When I was building the cosmere, I loved this idea of this pure Investiture, this solid state Investiture which looks like metal, but it's not a metal that would be on our periodic table, and none of them are, but they share some properties with metals. You look at it and you're like "That's a metal!" But is it? Well it wouldn't go on the periodic table in our world. It's its own thing. 

    So yes and no. 

    Billy Todd

    Is that similar to the way that a Rosharan calls all birds "Chickens"?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No, the way that Rosharans call all birds "chickens" or all alcohols "wines" is actually me maybe feeling more clever than I am, putting in seeds from book one that-- This just happens in linguistics, where certain words sometimes narrow in definitions, other times they broaden in definition. Just how we call Googling something, searching for it. There are people who are joking that movies are just going to be called Disneys in the future. I love the linguistics of this, and I wanted to indicate that the word for "bird" just spread through Roshar as "chicken" because those were the birds that they knew about. And wine was a pretty good one. There aren't grapes on Roshar, right. They call them "wine"; none of it's wine. You wouldn't call any of it wine. Because they don't have grapes. But this is a word from a planet from when they used to have grapes, that they used for this thing, that eventually replaced the word and became the generic. You see it more often in our languages the other way, Peter can talk more about this. Words will become more and more narrow over time.

    JordanCon 2018 ()
    #6809 Copy

    Questioner

    Why can't Zahel sleep at night?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Well, multiple reasons. None of which are particularly pleasant. He just has a rough time with a lot of different things.

    Billy Todd

    I'll inject a follow-up on that. How many of those reasons would give rise to a bounty?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Multiples, depending on who's offering the bounty.

    JordanCon 2018 ()
    #6811 Copy

    yulerule

    Okay, so Twinborn have [resonances], but full Mistborn don't, right?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    yulerule

    So then I assume that a nonmagical person, like someone who doesn't have magic, holding the Bands of Mourning will not have no perks.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I would say they would not.

    yulerule

    Will a Twinborn that's holding the Bands of Mourning still have their original perk?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    yulerule

    Or, if a Ferring is holding the Bands, and they use just one ability, will they develop a perk, tied to the one second ability they are using?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The longer they use it, the more likely that this is to happen.

    yulerule

    Using Investiture a lot over a long period changes your Spiritweb. So what happens if a nonmagical uses the Bands for a while?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Same thing that would happen to someone else, um, it would have a definite effect on them. *laughter* It would change them, as... in similar ways. Not exactly the same, but in similar ways.

    JordanCon 2018 ()
    #6813 Copy

    thegatorgirl00

    There's a character in Bands of Mourning named Cob and there's also a character named Cob in the Oathbringer Epilogue. Are those two characters the same person?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Nope. Good question.

    JordanCon 2018 ()
    #6814 Copy

    Questioner

    In the Celebrant Market, there's a nice piece of jewelry that's mentioned. 

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, I wouldn't call it jewelry, but yes.

    Questioner

    Say a spren in humanoid form there put that on, could they manifest in Roshar in their humanoid form?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So he's asking about the odd chain that's mentioned in the Celebrant Market. You are way off on this one. I'm going to say, point different directions than that on that one.

    JordanCon 2018 ()
    #6817 Copy

    Questioner

    Could a higher spren manifest on a world other than Roshar in their spren form, not as a Blade?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Well, they would have to get off first.

    Questioner

    That doesn't answer my question!

    Brandon Sanderson

    A lot of these questions I have to be careful because they're presupposing things as foundational assumptions. A lot of time people-- The really sneaky ones will ask me these questions knowing if I answer the question, that there are three steps back assumptions that I am then canonizing, so I'm just going to RAFO that one, because I'm giving you the answer, "They would to have to get off first."

    JordanCon 2018 ()
    #6818 Copy

    Argent

    Ba-Ado-Mishram. Just the name sounds a little bit like a Shin name to me because they're all 'Somebody son Somebody' or 'Somebody daughter Somebody', was she a Shin woman at one point?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I'll RAFO that cause that comes down to, they even asked this in Oathbringer, were they people or not? 

    Argent

    'Cause one of them says they needed to be made and then unmade. 

    Brandon Sanderson

    Mmhmm, so I do not feel I've explicitly said either way.

    Argent

    And you haven't, no.

    JordanCon 2018 ()
    #6819 Copy

    Argent

    Because of Kelsier's status as a Cognitive Shadow we've been wondering what wonky things you can do with him being like that and so-- Hypothetically, purely hypothetically, could a Surgebinder, could somebody form a Nahel bond with him?

    Brandon Sanderson

    With Kelsier? We'll RAFO that. We will definitely RAFO that for now

    JordanCon 2018 ()
    #6820 Copy

    Argent

    Can Shards manifest a physical body that can actually interact with the Physical Realm?

    Brandon Sanderson

    If they wanted to, yes.

    Argent

    Was that the thing that Odium did at the end of Oathbringer or was that just a projection?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Umm, it starts to be really difficult to define when you're getting to these points because they generally are such massive wells of Investiture themselves that it's like, is this thing they're creating, like, they are kinda, y'know, then bending the three Realms around the like spacetime with lots of gravity so is that a projection? Is that a real thing? Does it matter? Does that definition--

    Argent

    Oh! At that point they are almost the same thing, right?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, exactly.

    General Reddit 2018 ()
    #6821 Copy

    zotsandscrambles

    Here is an example of a Mongolian girl with red hair. Would she make a good example of a Vedan darkeyes, [Brandon]?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, that's a good example. Though do remember, Vedens aren't all redheads--that's going to depend on region, and even have a lot of variance within regions. (Alethi skin tone will be similar in its variety, depending. Vedens in general tend to be lighter.)

    Here's another image I noticed a while back that feels very like what I'd imagined.

    https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/55dba2321400002e002e3dd1.jpeg?ops=scalefit_970_noupscale

    General Reddit 2018 ()
    #6822 Copy

    spookytus

    I want to know if Shadesmar contains memespren or (since they're defined as idea viruses) memetic plague. If anyone can make literal meme magic, it'd be u/mistborn.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Ha. Yeah, that could probably become a thing in the cosmere, though I doubt I'd go there. (At least, if I did, it would have to be done very carefully.)

    General Signed Books 2018 ()
    #6827 Copy
    20180417_163327.jpg

    Hoiditthroughthegrapevine

    If a person held enough breath to attain the 5th heightening, lived for a thousand years, and then sold all but their initial breath, would their spiritual age force them to rapidly age as we saw with Rashek, or would they resume natural aging from the point at which they ceased?

    Brandon Sanderson (written)

    I think they would rapidly age.

    But I'm not ready to say 100%.

    Orem signing ()
    #6829 Copy

    Questioner

    Is the sequel to The Rithmatist still in the works?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes... It's still in the work. The Rithmatist is this strange doc in my writing in that it's the last book I wrote before The Wheel of Time hit me like a freight train. All future plans got trampled and balefired, right? And things I'd been planning to do, I no longer knew what was going to happen. So  Rithmatist I didn't release right then. I let it sit for a while. Eventually the publisher is like, "we really should release this, it's a good book." And I think it is a really strong book.

    So a couple of years back, I sat down and tried to write the sequel. And it's another one of these books that didn't work. There are a variety of reasons it didn't work. But it didn't work. I got maybe four or five chapters in and I shelved it and wrote an Alcatraz book instead--it's another series I've had looming over me. Now that I've learned to do novellas and things like this, you find me making open-ended series less often. Like with Skyward, it's going to be a trilogy and I'm going to write two of them this year--maybe all three if I can--and then it's done and turned in. And with the novellas, there's not necessarily sequels that I'm planning. So I'm getting better at managing that, but I've gotten these kind of "open" series. I really want to write The Rithmatist 2. I think it's very deserving of a sequel. I think it's a good book. I don't know how to do it yet, which is rare for me, but I don't.

    So, maybe this thing will work with Dan, and I'll go, well maybe there's someone who can help me fix this, one of my friends. Maybe I will just carve out the time to do this, let's do it. But right now, it is one of those things I don't just have a date for, and I feel bad about that. The good news is I'm doing this less and less. I'm figuring out how to make this happen. Legion is now done and turned in. Alcatraz is very close. I finished half of Alcatraz 6. Well, Bastille 1, but there's only one Bastille. If you guys don't know, the first five Alcatraz books are written by a guy named Alcatraz and then he leaves the ending in a terrible cliffhanger at the fifth book, and says, "I'm done!" But the joke has always been his friend Bastille thinks that's stupid, so she's going to write the ending he refuses to write. So I wrote half of her book and it looked good. I'm pleased with where Bastille Vs. The Evil Librarians is going. So that'll be wrapped up before too long, and then that series is done. So Legion and Alcatraz are very close to being done. That leaves The Rithmatist. And so it would be next on my, "let's figure out how to get this done."

    That's a long answer that just basically says, "it's coming but I don't know when."

    General Twitter 2016 ()
    #6830 Copy

    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.

    General Reddit 2018 ()
    #6835 Copy

    C0SM1C-CADAVER

    Then, at the sixth chapter [of White Sand Volume 2] I was like "ugh... A new artist.." and then I was all like "Oh! A new artist!" I hope new Julius stays on for the rest of the series.

    Peter Ahlstrom

    Sadly, new Julius has other commitments, but the current proposed artist looks promising.

    C0SM1C-CADAVER

    Oh yeah? Who's that going to be?

    Peter Ahlstrom

    That's not for me to announce.

    Jofwu

    Are you able to speak to what drove the change to a new artist?

    Peter Ahlstrom

    I believe not.

    General Reddit 2018 ()
    #6836 Copy

    SuberYew

    Was there a being/entity named Patji onworld - prior to the Shard 'interfering' - that lead a life that was more conducive to Autonomy, and was it a case of that entities (for lack of a better term) natural bent towards Autonomy naturally turning it into a portion of Autonomy (again, for lack of a better term)?

    Brandon Sanderson

    This is a good and valid theory that I don't think I should comment more on right now, as I feel like I would muddy the water more. I need to wait until I approach these concepts in-book.

    I'll just say that I don't consider what you said to be excluded by the things I've said about the situation.

    Arcanum Unbounded release party ()
    #6842 Copy

    Questioner

    The universities of Silverlight, where is that headquartered?

    Brandon Sanderson

    In the city of Silverlight.

    Questioner

    Does that happen to be in Shadesmar like the IRE are?

    Brandon Sanderson

    A lot of people think that it is what they call (the fans) The Restaurant At The End Of The Cosmere. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I haven't talked about where it is yet.

    Questioner

    Will we see more of that in novels?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, Silverlight will be referenced. I have a story brewing set in Silverlight.

    Arcanum Unbounded release party ()
    #6845 Copy

    Questioner

    If Marasi could burn duralumin, would that make time go faster or her bubble get bigger? 

    Brandon Sanderson

    This is on tape so I have to make sure I do this right.

    It is less about the size of the bubble and more about speeds. You can expand the size and change the size of the bubble, so it's possible that you could use duralumin for either one if you knew what you were doing, but the speed is the more relevant part. So, I just wanted to say that correctly. 

    Arcanum Unbounded release party ()
    #6847 Copy

    Questioner

    If an Allomancer drew Nightblood, would it eat the metals first?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Only if they were burning it. 

    Questioner

    At the time, otherwise it would go straight through and eat them?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah it would just eat them. Yeah. If they were burning the metals, it would burn through the metal, and he would take the power instead of you gaining whatever ability you were trying to get from it.

    Questioner

    Who he be able to use the metal power or would he just eat it as...?

    Brandon Sanderson

    He would just take it as raw Investiture. 

    Arcanum Unbounded release party ()
    #6848 Copy

    Questioner

    Have you heard any updates on the Steelheart Screenplay?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Uhh, last I heard from the Steelheart was two weeks ago...a week ago? They are shopping for a revision. They are- This is their next set of revisions. 

    Questioner

    So they finished their first and are on to the second?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Mhm.

    Arcanum Unbounded release party ()
    #6849 Copy

    Questioner

    Was Elantris built before or after the prologue of Way of Kings? 

    Brandon Sanderson

    *Pauses* Go to my notes and find out. I would have to actually specifically look that one up. My instinct says.....oh boy.

    Questioner

    Yeah, because they're both really old.

    Brandon Sanderson

    They're really old. They're both really old. I want to say that the prologue is older, but I don't know for sure, because I know things on Roshar are older. But, the prologue happens late in things on Roshar, so it's still old. So I'm gonna go with, I think this but I'd have to actually get the outline and look at the timeline.