Recent entries

    General Reddit 2017 ()
    #6951 Copy

    Snote85

    Have the Highstorms always existed on Roshar? The excerpt that talks about how one of the Bondsmiths had resigned himself to fight the Voidbringers but woke up and had a new idea, one that had to do with the nature of the Heralds themselves. Then, inside the Oathgate, we see "mythical creatures" like lions and such. It would make sense that the world might have been different when the KR were last around. So much so, that if the Highstorms "Opposite" is the Everstorm and it was made by followers of Odium, then the Highstorm would have been made by followers of Honor.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Highstorms did predate the arrival of Honor and Cultivation on Roshar, but it has evolved much during the thousands of years since that event. It was not created by followers of Honor, but there is more to this story that you'll find out as the series progresses.

    Superstars Writing Seminar 2018 ()
    #6953 Copy

    MiToRo94 (paraphrased)

    This is a question about both The Stormlight Archive and the Mistborn series. Does The Thrill have anything to do with zinc, Rioters, or Allomancy in general?

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    "They work on very similar principles." Their magic is based on similar ideas, and they do have a lot in common. A specific example would be that, "they both can affect different people to different extents and in slightly different ways. You can see that in how the Thrill affects Dalinar, and how burning zinc affects kandra differently than others on Scadrial. That is because kandra have pierced souls, so Allomancy affects them differently."

    Miscellaneous 2016 ()
    #6954 Copy

    Questioner

    How does electrum work?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Electrum can see future shadows only as far in the future as is done with atium in the books. They use it to counter atium in that they see their own future shadow fighting, and if they see their shadow get hit by an attack, they know to avoid that attack, and they change their own future. This compounds the future shadows they see, which makes it practically as effective at countering atium as atium itself.

    While the scope of an electrum shadow is very limited, it could be useful in many situations. Like if you were playing tennis, you’d be able to look at your shadow and tell if you managed to hit the ball or not, and adjust accordingly. That would still take a lot of practice to master, but it could be very effective.

    General Reddit 2017 ()
    #6955 Copy

    Snote85

    Is Nohadon a herald. There are tons and tons of little things that make me think this. Like the KR have the Way of Kings to base their views and policies on. Which, as was stated, was written by him. In Dalinar's vision of Nohadon, he says things about surgebindings and implies the man he's speaking to is a leader of an order, like he himself is. We know, from the WoR (In world) excerpts, that all the orders were lead by the heralds, after a time anyway. That's my reasoning, not that you need it, if it's true or not true. I just thought I might clarify why I came to that conclusion.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Nohadon is not a Herald, but I can see what lead you to think otherwise. Let's just say that even among kings and surgebinders, he was someone special.

    General Reddit 2017 ()
    #6956 Copy

    Snote85

    Also, funny question, what happened Nacomb Gaval, the soldier that Kaladin gave a field commission to during the Battle of the Tower? Did Dalinar let him keep his new rank? How does he feel about Kaladin after those events? He is obviously a minor character but I feel like he would be a good friend to Kal if the need ever arose for them to interact. [...]

    Brandon Sanderson

    [...] As for your question, yes, Dalinar let him keep his rank. (He earned it.)

    General Reddit 2017 ()
    #6957 Copy

    Snote85

    I did have a question about the story if you're willing/allowed to answer it for me. In the TWoK and WoR when the Highstorm and Everstorm meet, we're told that they will feed each other and that their strength is increased. What I wonder is that if that increased power is sustained after they pass, so that they get bigger each time they meet. Because if that's the case, it will basically turn into a Fibonacci Spiral of planetary destruction. (at least if my terrible understanding of both that sequence and math itself is right.)

    So, if you could just say if I was supposed to understand that "They will feed each other" means only during their interaction or gives a more permanent upgrade.

    Peter Ahlstrom

    That's a good question. The answer is that they feed each other only while they're interacting. Once they pass they return to normal.

    General Reddit 2017 ()
    #6958 Copy

    Snote85

    I feel (strongly) that Hoid might be a conjured being. As he states he started life as words on a page. Either he knows that he's a character in a book or someone wrote a spell and poofed him into existence. (or you have another origin for him that I'm not considering) I just figured I'd ask and see what you thought.

    Brandon Sanderson

    RAFO. (You expected something else?)

    :)

    General Reddit 2017 ()
    #6959 Copy

    Snote85

    Did Vasher do to himself something similar to what Cultivation did to Dalinar, with his memory? I know in Warbreaker he says he knew the commands to take Denth's memories of things they'd done in the past away. Is there a chance he is not "whole" in his ability to recall his past?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It's safe to say that Vasher's memory has a few holes.

    General Reddit 2018 ()
    #6960 Copy

    Snote85

    Is the story of the girl who looked up a story that is only known to Roshar? I know it could have spread out, especially since we see paintings alluding to it in the cosmere seen by a non-Rosharan but could it be a story they talked about on... say... Yolen?

    Also, was the "god" from "God's love" mentioned by Hoid a piece that either should have or did belong to/with Passion/Odium? Cause that would make all the sense in the world to me that somehow Odium was Passion but because Odium once he lost love from his being... I know it doesn't make a lot sense in the timeline. I just can't get the thought out of my head.

    Thank you for the time you spend answering my inanity or was it insanity. Either/or.

    Brandon Sanderson

    These are actually both RAFOs, I'm afraid. I do appreciate you asking, but I'm going to remain silent for now.

    FAQFriday 2018 ()
    #6961 Copy

    Questioner

    What idea for a book you loved didn't work?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah. It happens all the time, absolutely happens all the time. There's one that I did some readings from, that I got a scene written, where I wanted to do this cool book where I had this setting. The pitch on it was, what if viruses and bacteria evolved to give people magical talents when you caught the disease. This idea that a bacteria doesn't actually want to kill you, or a virus doesn't want to kill you. It wants you to live and spread it. You getting sick is a side effect. What if the side effect is, you got the common cold, all the sniffles and everything, but you could fly as long as you had the common cold? What would that do to society? What happens when someone invents penicillin and can wipe out half of these magical talents? What happens if people start catching a disease that makes everything they touch start on fire. So it was a story about basically fantasy Jack Bauer, who's a member of the fantasy CDC, who tries to stop diseases and things like this. But in order to do his job, he has to keep his immune system terrible, like this weakling who can barely get up the steps, so that he can quickly catch diseases to get the powers he needs to deal with outbreaks of these things. It's just a really cool concept that I've never been able to gel into an actual story. It hasn't worked every time I've tried to write it.

    General Reddit 2018 ()
    #6962 Copy

    holdencaufld

    I feel like society on Roshar would develop a bit differently because of emotion spren. You'd have to be very careful talking/ interacting with people since you can't hide things like fear, anger, awe, anticipation, joy, passion and shame. Imagine going through high school having to deal with them...

    The_Bravinator

    I have to imagine it alters things like, say, the concept of masculinity. Obviously the Alethi have very strong ideas about masculinity, but attracting fearspren/feeling fear doesn't seem to be a negative within that like it would be in our culture. Men attract fearspren all the time, and it's totally fine.

    It also seems like it might be taboo to mention someone else's emotion spren. People are constantly noticing internally that other people are attracting them, but they NEVER EVER comment on it (until the part in OB where they're investigating it in Kholinar). There must be a really strong boundary around commenting on other people's spren.

    It's one thing I did want to ask Brandon about if he does another AMA--how emotion spren affect Rosharan culture.

    Brandon Sanderson

    This is some good theorizing here. I'd agree with what /u/The_Bravinator says.

    The effects are all over the place, but they are just how life is on Roshar, so I rarely point them out. For example, the classic Alethi sort of idolizing being "straightforward" with people. No assassinations. (Well, supposedly.) You're used to being able to see people's emotions, so you take it for granted that only hyper untrustworthy people do things in ways that don't expose emotions. Emotions aren't bad, they simply are, and everyone has them. Views of masculinity are certainly changed.

    The_Bravinator

    Is it taboo to mention emotion spren that other people are attracting, or do people just not generally think to do so?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Depends on the situation, really. Not exactly the same, but note how in Earth societies the different responses to something like passing gas, depending on context, culture, etc.

    General Reddit 2018 ()
    #6964 Copy

    Oudeis16

    I will confess that over the course of my study I learned that we're nearing the 10th Anniversary edition, and that [Brandon] has asked [Peter] to go over the book, take Brandon's notes, and make sure there is a consistent system behind the scenes. Humbly, I do hope that perhaps by at least locating the times in the book when Breath-count is mentioned, I have saved Peter a bit of busy work, if nothing else.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, a more precise system of how many breaths it takes to do X (and the exchange rate, so to speak, with other magic systems) is something on the list to do for Warbreaker 10th anniversary. I have the resources now, with more assistants behind the scenes, to get more precise on this sort of thing than I've done before.

    General Reddit 2018 ()
    #6965 Copy

    Aurora_Fatalis

    Would [Kaladin using a Shardblade to pick his teeth] work, or would it burn out your eyes immediately?

    Assuming Syl doesn't just became a Shard-toothpick, but remains a sword.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I suppose I'll go with the other responders--yes, you could make this work, in a perfect world.

    General Reddit 2018 ()
    #6966 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    So, a couple of things here. First off, I'll take any knocks I get--and try to do better. I'm not an expert on mental health, and though I do my best, I'm going to get things wrong. I'm going to risk defending myself here--and hopefully not dig myself deeper--as I at least explain my thought process, and why I built Shallan the way I did.

    However, one of the rules of thumb I go by is this: individual experience can defy the standard, if I understand that is what I'm doing. Like how Stephen Leeds is not trying to accurately portray schizophrenia, Shallan is not trying to accurately portray dissociative identity disorder (if a scholarly consensus on such a thing even exists. I haven't glanced through the DSM5 to see what it says.)

    In Legion, I have an easy out. I say, point blank, "He doesn't fit the diagnosis--he's not a schizophrenic, or if he is, he's a very weird one." I don't have the benefit of a modern psychology voice in the Stormlight books to hang a lantern on this, but my intention is the same. What Shallan has is related to her individual interaction with the world, her past, and the magic.

    Is this Hollywood MPD? I'm not convinced. Hollywood MPD (with DSM4 backing it up, I believe) tends to involve things like a person feeling like they're possessed, and completely out of control. The different identities don't remember what others did. It's a very werewolf type thing. You wake up, and learn that another version of you took over your body and went out and committed crimes or whatever.

    Shallan is coping with her pain in (best I've been able to do) a very realistic way, by boxing off and retreating and putting on a mask of humor and false "everything is okay" attitudes. But she has magical abilities that nobody in this world has, including the ability to put on masks that change the way everyone perceives her. She's playing roles as she puts them on, but I make it very clear (with deliberate slip-ups of self-reference in the prose) that it's always Shallan in there, and she's specifically playing this role because it lets her ignore the things she doesn't want to face.

    She's losing control of what is real and what isn't--partially because she can't decide who she wants to be, who she should be, and what the world wants her to be. But it's not like other personalities are creeping in from a fractured psyche. She's hiding behind masks, and creates each role for herself to act in an attempt to solve a perceived shortcoming in herself. She literally sketched out Veil and thought, "Yup, I'm going to become that person now." Because Veil would have never been tricked into caring about her father; she would have been too wise for that.

    I feel it's as close as I can get to realism, while the same time acknowledging that as a fantasy author, one of my primary goals is to explore the human interaction with the supernatural. The "What ifs" of magic. What if a person who had suffered a great deal of abuse as a child COULD create a mask for themselves, changing themselves into someone stronger (or more street-smart who wouldn't have been betrayed that way. Would they do it, and hide behind that mask? What would that do to them and the world around them?

    DID is indeed controversial, but I really like this portrayal. Not of a disease, but of who this character is. And I've had had enough positive responses from people who feel their own psychology is similar that I'm confident a non-insignificant number of people out there identify with what she's doing in the same way people with depression identify with Kaladin.

    State of the Sanderson 2014 ()
    #6967 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's the list of things people often ask me about. Unsurprisingly, I have other projects in the back of my mind. For example, I have two more Cosmere series that will need to be written before we can get to the third "big" Mistborn trilogy. (The sf one.) But that's the long, long-term plan.

    For now, my goal is to get Calamity and Stormlight 3 finished. As always, I appreciate all of the enthusiasm you show for this crazy thing that I have somehow managed to do with my life. Thank you for sharing my books with others, and for being willing to try the more unusual projects (like Legion) that I do.

    I feel humbled to have a great crowd of fans who are willing to put up with my eccentricities as a writer—particularly my desire to not work on just one project, but to have an entire body of varying stories. You guys are awesome. May you have a happy holiday season, and do go munch some heads tomorrow in my name.

    Brandon

    p.s. If you aren't on the newsletter mailing list, please consider signing up! In the summer, the newsletter included exclusive looks at some of the Stormlight 3 scenes I was working on. We plan to do more of this sort of thing in the future. As always, if you include your city, we'll send you notifications when I'm going to be doing signings in the area.

    State of the Sanderson 2014 ()
    #6972 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    Silence Divine (this will be renamed sometime)

    I did readings from this on my last tour (you can probably find them on YouTube; it was the Words of Radiance tour). I only have a few pages done, playing with the primary concept. (Diseases grant magical talents for as long as you have the disease—you lose the power when you get over it.) This one has probably been downgraded from full novel to novella, as I feel that something more Emperor's Soul-esque will do a better job with the themes I want to explore.

    State of the Sanderson 2014 ()
    #6973 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    Dark One

    This is a series I've talked about for a long, long time about a boy who discovers he's the "Dark One." Basically, it's the classic epic fantasy story told from the eyes of the dude destined to try to destroy the world instead of save it. I've made good progress on the setting, which is going to be awesome. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the teen series I do once the Reckoners and The Rithmatist are both done.

    As a note for fans, this is a Cosmere story.

    State of the Sanderson 2014 ()
    #6975 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    Elantris sequels

    The Emperor’s Soul is now two years old, so it is probably time to get back to Sel and do some more there. We should be releasing a trade paperback of Elantris in the next year or two, with revised (and new) maps and a better Ars Arcanum. (Read: an Ars Arcanum.)

    The full sequels will need to be finished before I can do the contemporary (1980s tech) Mistborn novels because of behind-the-scenes Cosmere bits, so I will do my best to find a place to squeeze these in. At the very least, I will write them following the end of Stormlight 5. So, these are distant, but not too distant.

    State of the Sanderson 2014 ()
    #6976 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    Next Projects

    I've now begun Calamity, last of the Reckoners series. My goal will be to rough-draft it over the next three months. I have a tour between now and then (for Firefight) and a trip to Taiwan as well, so who knows if I'll make that deadline. We'll see.

    Once that is done, I will dive into Stormlight 3. I'm still waffling on whether this will be Szeth's book, Eshonai's book, or Dalinar's book. The original outline calls for book 3 to have Szeth's flashbacks, but I am feeling that another character might match the events better.

    I did some exploratory scenes for it this summer, though these may or may not end up in the actual book. I have been tweaking the outline, and am starting to feel very good about it. Writing the book should consume the entire rest of 2015, with a 2016 release. I do plan the Stormlight books to be an every-other-year thing.

    Follow along starting next spring as I write the book and post updates on my website. I'll even try to do some screen capturing with Camtasia as I write, for those who are interested in watching for them.

    That wraps up current and finished projects. 2014 was partially about me getting my feet underneath me after finishing The Wheel of Time and going right into Stormlight 2. I've caught my breath now, and feel good moving forward.

    And, speaking of moving forward, it’s time for a State of the Sanderson tradition—we're going to play "What about the sequel to this book I love, Brandon!"

    Here comes the big list.

    State of the Sanderson 2014 ()
    #6977 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    What I spent 2014 doing

    January–March 2014: Firefight

    Though I had hoped to have Firefight (The Reckoners 2) done long before January, the touring last year made that impossible. It snuck over into 2014, which is why you’re getting the book in January 2015 instead of the originally scheduled fall of this year. In March, I also did the Words of Radiance tour, which really cut into my writing time.

    April 2014: Legion: Skin Deep

    In April, once all the chaos was done, I took the time to finish up Legion: Skin Deep (sequel to Legion from a few years back), which I’d been working on during plane flights the year before. If you haven’t checked these two novellas out, you might want to consider it! They’re very fun, though the second book is not yet out in the UK and associated territories such as Australia and New Zealand. (Note that in those territories, Legion 1 and The Emperor’s Soul were released together in a very handsome paperback.)

    We will eventually have regular hardcover copies of Legion 2 available. That will probably come sometime in the first half of next year. Our contract with Subterranean Press, who produced the very attractive limited edition hardcovers of Legion 2, says that we’ll wait until their edition sells out before we release a competing one.

    May 2014: The Aztlanian (Rithmatist 2)

    Next, I dove into research for a sequel to The Rithmatist. This is going to be a tough book to write, as it takes place in a fantastical version of Central and South America, and deals with things from Aztec (Mexica) mythology. (In The Rithmatist, a lot of the geography is shifted around in bizarre ways.)

    Dealing with another group’s culture in this way is rife with opportunities for stuffing my foot in my mouth, and so I wanted to be very careful and respectful. This meant spending time devoted exclusively to doing extensive research. I didn’t actually get any writing on the book done, though I read some very excellent history books.

    (As an aside, if anyone out there is an expert in the Aztec/Mexica culture—particularly if you yourself are a Native American—I’d love to have your help on this book.)

    At the end of the month, I decided I needed to do way more research than a month afforded, so I put the book off for now. I still intend to write it, but I need more time to do it right.

    June 2014: Alcatraz

    Having spent a month with no writing, I wanted to jump into something fun and quick to refresh me before moving on to my next book. So, I dug out my outline for the Alcatraz series and at long last did a rough draft of the fifth book. These are fast, fast books to write—as I improvise them—but they are very slow to edit.

    I finished the book, and am pleased with it, but I have no firm date yet for when I’ll be publishing it. Tor is rereleasing the series starting next year with new covers and extensive interior art. I believe these launch starting about a year from now. (If you want them before then, your best bet for getting them is the UK omnibus of the first four.)

    I’ll want to release the fifth one once the series has been rereleased, so maybe summer 2016. If you’ve never read these, they are very different from my other work. They’re bizarre and sarcastic comedies that are self-referential and offer commentary on fantasy as a genre along the way. Those who love them absolutely love them. Those who don’t tend to find them insulting. That dichotomy alone is part of what endears them to me.

    July–December 2014: Mistborn

    The last half of the year was dedicated to Shadows of Self, the new Mistborn novel. And I have a confession to make.

    I also wrote the sequel.

    Now, before you start wagging your finger at me for being a robot, there was a really good reason I did what I did. You see, I was having real trouble getting back into Shadows of Self. I had written the first third of it in 2012 between revisions of A Memory of Light. (I was feeling Wheel of Time overload.) However, it can be very hard for me to get back into a book or series after a long time away from it. (This is another issue with the Rithmatist sequel.)

    So, jumping into Shadows of Self was slow going, and I found it much easier to go write the sequel to refresh myself on the world and characters. That done, I was able to move back to Shadows of Self and finish it up.

    So a week or two back, I turned in two new Wax and Wayne Mistborn novels. They’re titled Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning, and Tor decided to publish them in quick succession: the first in October 2015, the second in January 2016. So, if you have read the original trilogy but haven’t tried The Alloy of Law yet, you might want to give it a look! From the beginning, I’ve planned Mistborn to be a continuum series, showing off Allomancy in different time periods. I think you’ll find the Wax and Wayne books to be fun, quick reads—and they introduce some very, very big things coming in the Mistborn world.

    There will be one more Wax and Wayne (early 1900s-era) Mistborn book. Back after I finished The Alloy of Law, I sat down and plotted out a trilogy with the same characters. The Alloy of Law was more of a happy, improvised accident. The follow-up trilogy is meant to be more intentional. So in the end, we’ll have four total. (The final one is tentatively called The Lost Metal.) From there, I might jump to the second “big” trilogy, which is 1980s tech. Or I might dally a little more in something 1940s-era instead. We’ll see.

    Amusingly, doing these two Mistborn books together totaled only about half as much writing as a Stormlight book. Perhaps you can see why it takes even me quite a long time to finish Stormlight novels. (And it’s why you might want to lay off Pat Rothfuss a little. I believe The Wise Man’s Fear was even longer than Words of Radiance.)

    Tor did their announcement about these books earlier today. You may now commence wisecracks about me secretly writing extra novels when nobody is looking.

    State of the Sanderson 2015 ()
    #6978 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    Conclusion

    Well, don't say I didn't warn you that the list was big.

    It's been quite the year. Lots of travel, lots of meeting people and signing books. My tenth year doing this. I've spent the last decade kind of looking at myself as one of the new kids in the fantasy market, but I suppose it's time to admit that I've become—albeit not a member of the old guard—one of the genre's more established names.

    As always, you make this possible. Here's looking to another excellent year. Merry Christmas, and a Happy Koloss Head-Munching Day, to you all.

    Brandon Sanderson

    December 2015

    State of the Sanderson 2015 ()
    #6979 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    Projected Novel Release Schedule

    There's a good chance I won't hold to this, but just so you know, here's how I view my upcoming novel release schedule (not including any novellas or short stories that may or may not appear during moments when I need to do something new):

    January 2016: Wax and Wayne 3

    February 2016: Reckoners 3 (final book)

    June 2016: Alcatraz 5

    Sometime 2017: Stormlight 3

    Sometime 2017: Rithmatist 2

    Spring 2018: New YA project 1

    Fall 2018: Wax and Wayne 4 (final book)

    Sometime 2019: Stormlight 4

    Sometime 2019: New YA project 2

    Sometime 2020: Elantris 2

    Sometime 2020 New YA project 3 (final book)

    Sometime 2021: Stormlight 5 (ending of first arc)

    Sometime 2022: Elantris 3 (final book)

    State of the Sanderson 2015 ()
    #6980 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    Projects in Development

    Aether of Night

    Another of the books I wrote around the time of Elantris, and another one that's not half bad—but still in need of a solid revision.

    I'll likely do something with it someday. In the meantime, if you want to read it, you can send us an email to ask for a copy. (Consider it a thank you for getting this far in this huge post.) I'd ask that you'd consider signing up for my mailing list when you do email me, as that's how I get the word out on when I'm doing signings and when I have cool new things to release. But that's not required in order to get the book.

    State of the Sanderson 2015 ()
    #6981 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    Projects in Development

    Soulburner

    This is an outline I developed last year during a lull—a kind of space-opera-fantasy-hybrid like Dune or Star Wars. The setting is awesome, one of my favorites. Very distinctive.

    I don't have a story for it yet though. I'm just putting it on here so that you know that wacky things are still bouncing around in my head, looking for a way out. It's not something I'm going to release anytime soon, but if I ever do, you can point here and say, "Hey, I saw this first!"

    Status: No Projected Start Date

    State of the Sanderson 2015 ()
    #6982 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    Projects in Development

    Silence Divine

    This story (which is the one about a world where catching a disease grants you magical talents) is another perennial State of the Sanderson participant.

    I did some work on a short story in this world a while back, and liked it, but didn't have time to finish. (This is the thing I did readings from during the Words of Radiance tour, I believe.) It's set in the cosmere, and I have plans to someday write this—but I'm not sure when I'll do it. Could be a long way off still.

    Status: On Hiatus

    State of the Sanderson 2015 ()
    #6984 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    Projects in Development

    Death by Pizza

    I had a nice breakthrough on this book recently, making the main character far more interesting. (For those who don't know, this is about a necromancer who owns a pizza joint.) However, this remains a very out-of-left-field project for me, and something I did mostly for fun. (I have a nearly complete draft of the entire book.)

    I don't anticipate doing this anytime soon, though I did briefly consider it as an alternative to the new YA series listed above. It's still just too strange for me to want to do right now. Perhaps eventually.

    Status: On Hiatus

    State of the Sanderson 2015 ()
    #6985 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    Projects in Development

    Dark One

    A perennial favorite on the State of the Sanderson is this YA series about a boy who discovers he's the Dark One, a figure from prophecy fated to destroy the world. My outlines are looking okay for this one, but it doesn't feel like the right time to do it. I pitched it to my editors at Random House along with the new YA series above, and we all agreed the other project was a better follow-up to the Reckoners.

    Dark One is bound to get done someday. That day isn't now.

    d No Projected Start Date

    State of the Sanderson 2015 ()
    #6986 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    Projects in Development

    Adamant

    Some of you have heard readings from, or seen excerpts of, this epic science fiction series that I've been working on. I finished one novella in the world, and am pleased with it, but I have no immediate plans for writing the rest. Perhaps I'll feel different once Stormlight is done and I'm satisfied with it. (It's always possible I'll need a break between projects where I can do something very different.) We shall see. I have no plans to release this in 2016.

    Status: On Hiatus

    State of the Sanderson 2015 ()
    #6987 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    Projects in Development

    These are projects you might have heard of, but for which no solid evidence of them ever being released is out there. On occasion I might do readings from them, and I might tinker with them—but I don't have much specific to tell you about release dates.

    New YA Series

    I am developing a new YA series to be released after the Reckoners with the same publisher. I can't say much about it right now, though we will probably do some announcements regarding it during the Calamity tour. If all goes well, the first book of this trilogy will be the third shorter novel I write between Stormlight 3 and 4.

    I always need to have something new to be working on, if only in the back of my mind, to help prevent burnout. I'm excited about this series right now, and actively working on the outline. But I won't be digging into writing it until next summer or fall, depending on when Stormlight Three is done. So I don't expect a release for a while yet.

    Status: Outlining

    State of the Sanderson 2015 ()
    #6988 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    Tertiary Book Projects

    Cosmere Short Fiction Collection

    For a while I've been thinking that I need to collect all the various pieces of Cosmere short fiction and put them into a single collection, for those who don't like hunting around for them.

    This might be the year to do that. If Stormlight doesn't make it into 2016, we might be able to get a collection (with a Stormlight novella) out by the end of the year instead. Something to tide you over, at least, until book three comes out.

    If we do this, my goal will be to have it include every piece of short fiction from every source up until now and bind it together in a handsome hardcover that will look nice on the shelf next to your other books.

    This will give you multiple options for the short fiction, if you want to collect it. We will continue to do our little two-novella collections (like the Perfect State and Shadows for Silence double that we just released.) So if you'd prefer to collect those in the smaller size, I anticipate everything eventually being released in that format too. However, if you'd like one thick tome, every ten years or so you should see a bigger collection.

    More on this as it develops. Right now I'm toying with the title Arcanum Unbound, and would love to include a star chart of all the cosmere worlds in it.

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    Brandon Sanderson

    Tertiary Book Projects

    Legion

    I owe people another (and final) Legion novella, and I plan to do this as well. Novellas aren't as big a commitment as novels, obviously—that's part of why I do them. But I don't know when I'll squeeze this in, with all the things I'm doing right now. It could happen literally at any time—but I don't expect it in 2017, to be honest.

    Status: On Short Hiatus

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    Brandon Sanderson

    Tertiary Book Projects

    Warbreaker

    While some characters from Nalthis have made appearances in other books, I still don't have a specific timeframe for when I'll go back and write the second Warbreaker book. (Titled Nightblood for the time being.)

    I know a lot of people really want this book, and I intend to do it, but I have to find time for the Elantris sequels first. So you're unlikely to see it until Elantris is finished. (Sorry.)

    Status: On Hiatus

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    Brandon Sanderson

    Secondary Book Projects

    White Sand

    For those who don't know, this is a book I wrote around the same time as Elantris—but which I didn't ever sell. Once I was published, I considered releasing it, but felt it needed a solid revision before I could do so.

    Well, that revision was delayed time and time again, until the point where I decided I probably would need to just rewrite the book from scratch if I ever did release it. An interesting opportunity came along a few years later, however, and that changed my perspective. You see, the comic book company Dynamite Entertainment had come asking if I had anything, perhaps an unpublished novel, that would make a good graphic novel.

    This seemed the perfect opportunity to make use of White Sand. I didn't have time to do revisions, but another writer could take my words and adapt them (really, what the book needed was a trim anyway) into a graphic edition. We said yes, and started into the process.

    I've said before, Dynamite has been excellent to work with. Rik Hoskin, the person hired to do the adaptation, is a fantastic writer—and he really managed to preserve the core of my story, using my own dialogue and descriptions, while cutting out all the chaff. The artist Julius Gopez, the colorist Ross Campbell, the letterer Marshall Dillon, and the editor Rich Young have all done a fabulous great job.

    The novel is big (no surprise), so it's going to be released as three graphic novels. The first of these is almost ready, and we're expecting a release sometime next year.

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    Brandon Sanderson

    Secondary Book Projects

    Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians

    Here's another one we've been able to clear off my list. With Tor republishing the first four books of this series throughout the spring next year (starting in February), I am at last able to get the fifth book (and the final one Alcatraz will write) out to you fans.

    The new art for these editions has me very excited. For once I think we have covers that indicate to readers the tone of the books. Book Five should be out in the summer, though I believe Tor is scheduling it for August instead of June. It is written, and I'm doing final edits on it right now. (In the evenings after I feel I've hit my wordcount goal for Stormlight.)

    If you haven't read these books, give them a browse once they come out again in the spring. They're very fun, but very different from my other books. They're insane, fourth-wall-breaking comedies, so they're certainly not for everyone. They have been an excellent way for me to blow off steam and refresh myself between longer, more ponderous books.

    Status: Book Five Completed!

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    Brandon Sanderson

    Secondary Book Projects

    The Rithmatist

    Book two of The Rithmatist (called The Aztlanian) is another thing on my schedule that I need to get to soon. If you didn't read last year's update on the book, I tried writing this—and found I didn't have a strong enough grasp on the historical period and culture to do it justice. So I stopped and did a bunch of research, but by the time I finished, I needed to be back to work on my main projects.

    Therefore, I've slotted this in after Stormlight 3 as well. Hopefully it won't get pushed back again. Usually I try to do about equal in pages to a Stormlight book between Stormlight books. That gives me room for three smaller books. Right now plans are for these three books to be The Lost Metal (Wax and Wayne 4), The Atzlanian, and a new project. (See below.)

    Status: Delayed, but maybe coming soon

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    Brandon Sanderson

    Secondary Book Projects

    Elantris

    I do still intend Elantris sequels. (And the enthusiasm for the leatherbound edition proves that people are still interested in the world.) Right now, I have them scheduled to be slotted in once Wax and Wayne is done. We'll take a break from Scadrial at that point, go back to Sel and do some Elantris books, then hop back to the 1980s era Mistborn series.

    This slots an Elantris sequel into the spot between Stormlight books 4 & 5. It is coming, just more slowly than I'd once hoped.

    Status: Delayed, but coming before too long

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    Brandon Sanderson

    Main Book Projects

    Mistborn

    And speaking of Mistborn, how is Scadrial doing? My current plan is still to have the Mistborn books stretch throughout my career, establishing stories in different eras of time with different sets of characters.

    The original pitch was for three trilogies. The Wax and Wayne books expanded this to four series. (You can imagine Wax and Wayne as series 1.5, if you want.) This means there will still be a contemporary trilogy, and a science fiction trilogy, in the future.

    I have one more book to do in the Wax and Wayne series, and I'm planning to write it sometime between Stormlight books three and four. Until then, Wax and Wayne three—The Bands of Mourning—comes out in January!

    Status: Era 1.5 book three done; book four coming soonish

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    Brandon Sanderson

    Main Book Projects

    The Reckoners

    The last book of the trilogy is complete, revised, and turned in. It's coming out in February, and is—indeed—the ending.

    I have not closed the door on doing more in the world, but it will not be for a while. If I do return, it will be like a Mistborn return, where the focus of the books shifts in some way and I create a new series. I like leaving endings as endings, even if the world and some of the characters do progress.

    I'm extremely pleased with the last book. I look forward to having you all read it, and I am grateful to you all for supporting this series. There were voices that told me something outside the Cosmere would never sell as well as something inside—but this series is neck-and-neck in popularity with Stormlight and Mistborn. It's a relief, and very gratifying, to see that people are willing to follow me on different kinds of journeys.

    Status: Completed!

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    Brandon Sanderson

    Main Book Projects

    The Stormlight Archive

    Stormlight is going very well. I'm working on Book Three, which I'm calling Oathbringer. (That is likely at this point to be the final title.) This is my main project, and I won't be writing any new prose on other stories until it is done. You can follow the progress bars!

    Release dates for this book are still in flux. Even if I finish it early next year, it could be a year or more until you see the book. The amount of editing, continuity, and art that these books require creates a need for a long lead time. I've told people that Fall 2016 is the earliest they'd see it, but my team has been warning me that's not realistic. We'll see, but for now you should assume on a 2017 release.

    What does this mean for my once optimistic "one Stormlight book every eighteen months" goal? The more I work on these books, the more uncertain I am about that. The outline for Oathbringer, for example, took about a year for me to nail down. Considering how many moving pieces there are in these books, it's tough to judge how long they will take to write. And while there are books I can force through if some things aren't right, I can't afford to do that on this series.

    I'll continue to write Stormlight books at as quick a pace as is reasonable. I consider this my main project for the next decade or two, and am dedicated to it. But each book, as I've said before, is plotted as four books in one. So even if I release them once every three years, you're getting four "books" in three years.

    We'll see. I'll try to pick up the pace. In the meantime, I'll try to get some short stories in the world out for you. (More on this later.)

    Status: Book Three in Progress

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    Big List of Things I'm Working On

    Now, let's get to it. Each year around this time, I take stock of my many projects. You can read last year's post here, to compare and see how things have been progressing. (And to see how well I did in my plans for 2015.)

    Thank you in advance for continuing to give me the freedom I feel I need to jump between different worlds. While I know it's frustrating sometimes that I'm not working on your world, the greater plans I have for all this require me to approach things in a certain way. Both for my health as a writer, and to bring about some large-scale awesomeness.

    I'm going to go down the list of projects I'm working on, starting with what I consider my "main" projects. These are getting the focus of my time right now. From there, I'll move on to things that I'm still toying with doing sometime soon.

    Then it gets a little more speculative.

    Enjoy!

    State of the Sanderson 2015 ()
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    Brandon Sanderson

    My Year

    2015 was a bit slower than last year was, as I spent a lot of time editing.

    January–May: Calamity

    The bulk of my writing time this year was spent on Calamity, which I'd been putting off last year in order to write the two new Mistborn novels. Looking back at my records, I finished the last chapters in early May.

    This was interrupted, on occasion, for revisions of various books—and for the Firefight tour, along with a trip to Sharjah in the UAE. Busy times. So busy, in fact, that it's taken me all the rest of the year to give full feedback to the writers who took my class. I managed to grade their papers in May, somehow, but promised them each a personalized look at their final story submissions, which I'm only now finishing up.

    June–August: Stormlight Three

    I did squeeze in some writing time for Stormlight in here, though not a whole ton of it got done. I had to stop for revisions, touring, and travel through most of September and October.

    September–October: Revisions and a Secret Project

    Traveling so much made it difficult to do Stormlight 3 writing, which requires a lot of time investment. So between revisions, I managed to finish a project I've been working on for about a decade now. (Yes, a decade.) You'll see this soon. It's a novella.

    November–December: Stormlight Three Again

    I plan to keep on this one until I finish it, as I'll talk about below. However, if you want to read a little about my writing time in November, you can read this other blog post.

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    Conclusion

    Next year will be a little quiet, following this year's releases. (Which included Secret History, The Bands of Mourning, Calamity, White Sand, Alcatraz, and Edgedancer/Arcanum Unbounded.) Right now it's just Snapshot and Oathbringer. (Which might give you a glimpse into how much work a Stormlight book is. The new one is longer than all of the above stories combined, and then some.)

    As always, thanks for reading.

    Brandon Sanderson

    December 19th, 2016