Recent entries

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10101 Copy

    iwinUlose2

    If you were going to write a novel in a genre other than scifi/fantasy which genre do you think that you would write in?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Hmm... Perhaps a historical. Something I could really sink my teeth into. I could also see myself writing a mystery or a thriller.

    The thing is, unless I'm under some kind of restriction, I know that any of those three would probably end up having fantasy or sf elements. It's just how I think.

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10102 Copy

    Dreamer129

    I'm feeling a little bewildered; I keep seeing references to "Hoid" throughout these boards and the twitter page, and I'm assuming this is a character who makes a short appearance in each book. If so, is there an actual story going on with him, or was he just someone put in as a sort of "Easter egg"?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I think I've covered this in responses I gave before getting to your question. My forums have a lot more information. (And a lot of guesses.)

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10104 Copy

    Zas678

    What is the X in Aon Mea? Is it one of the Shard-pools?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Afraid not. Aon Mea references the expanded region within which the "Elantris Effect" will create Elantrians. The X is fertile valley with a high density of life, a place with a lot of cognitive activity. (Cognitive as defined by Realmatic Theory includes the 'thoughts' of all things that exist, not just human beings. The more complex the life form, the stronger its presence on the Cognitive Realm.)

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10105 Copy

    Zas678

    My last question shouldn't be as hard to answer and that is: Who is in charge of the Mistborn movie you mentioned at the #tweettheauthor?

    Thank you so much, I love your books!

    Brandon Sanderson

    It is a small production studio, so nobody you'd recognize. The producer is a fan of the Mistborn books who has some credentials in independent films, and who has impressed me with his treatment of the books and his determination to make the film. This individual is starting a production company to focus on the film. We're in the contract stages now, and once that is done, I can be more specific.

    It's not like the Alcatraz movie, which was optioned directly by a studio. Because of that, the Mistborn movie is probably a lot less likely to happen—but, the hands it is in are quite good. Anything having to do with Hollywood is a long-shot in the first place, so (after meeting with the producer) I decided that I'd rather take the slightly more unlikely chance in exchange for the opportunity to work with someone I felt understood the books.

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10106 Copy

    Zas678

    Now this one will probably be RAFO'd: I know you already said that there are four Shards outside of Ati and Leras in your other books. Could you tell us the numbers per book? Is just a standard two per book? Or do some have more than others?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Some worlds have more than others. You have seen the effects, influences, and work of four other Shards. One Shard, however, was no longer on the world by the time the story was told there.

    Zas678

    I know that we've "interacted with two directly" (the pool in Elantris, and The Voice that called Lightsong back to life) that we've "seen it's power" (Dahkhor??) and another that we've seen their infulence (I have no idea on this one, though I think it might be whatever pointed out Aon Rao in Elantris to Raoden)

    Brandon Sanderson

    Nice guesses on most of those. You've got some things right. You've got some things wrong. The only thing I'll confirm (and I don't think I've said this before) is that The Voice is, indeed, one of the Shards of Adonalsium. (Endowment is that Shard's true name, by the way.)

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10107 Copy

    Zas678

    I have some more in-depth questions that might be RAFO'd. For fans who want to know what I'm talking about, go here. Here they are:

    Who is Hoid in Well of Ascension? We (TWG) have found some candidates:

    Wolfhound merchantTerris person that Elend meets after Vin went back to LuthadelTeur or old Jed (the two Skaa in the first Sazed chapter)Crazy cannibal Skaa (I doubt it though)

    We already know it isn't the man who discovered duralumin, or the Skaa leader outside the dress shop, or the old Skaa who waits with the Holy First Witness when the Koloss attack.

    I think those were all of the characters that we found as candidates.

    Brandon Sanderson

    People are really close to this one, and I noticed that later in this thread, you or someone else mentioned the footprints in the deleted scene.

    Hoid's appearance in Mistborn: Well of Ascension is a little unlike the others. When the scene at the Well was moved in revision, one of Hoid's major influences on the book had to go (for various reasons). Left in the book is only one little hint, really. A character notices something odd about someone, but doesn't dwell on it. You can probably find the line if you look very closely.

    Let me say this. Hoid got wrapped up in things he didn't expect to be involved in, and they dominated much of his time during the events of Mistborn: Well of Ascension. He spent most of the book in a different place from most of the viewpoint characters. He's only near them for a very short time, and he's deeply in disguise. I couldn't include his name, as he'd never have used the name "Hoid" for himself there, because it wouldn't have been right for the disguise. He'd have used another pseudonym. (He didn't, by the way, mention one.)

    I've probably said too much already. Now, perhaps what people should asking me is this: "What has Hoid been up to in all of these books?" Or, maybe they shouldn't ask me, as I wouldn't be likely to answer. (There are clues in the novels, however.) No, he's not just hanging out. Yes, I know what he's been doing. Will I write his scenes some day? Maybe. We'll see. There may be short stories posted on my website.

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10108 Copy

    Joshua_Patrao

    Your favorite movies?

    Brandon Sanderson

    GatticaThe Fifth Element, actually, is up there too. The Prisoner of Azkaban movie. Empire Strikes BackSneakers. Jackie Chan's Operation Condor. (I know, I know.) The Emperor's New GrooveStar Trek: First Contact.

    To be honest, that's probably not a great list. Those are the movies I watch over and over, but there are a lot of movies I love, but have only seen a few times. I'm not generally a 'watch it over again' type of guy, so it's hard to pick favorites. I come back to the genre films or things like Jackie Chan because they're quirky and rewatchable, but that doesn't actually mean they're my favorite—or that they've influenced me as much as other films. For instance, Lawrence of Arabia blew my mind, and The Stinginfluenced how I write quite a bit. But I've only ever seen those films once. But I do keep coming back to Gattica as one of the movies I think does what storytelling should do, when done perfectly right.

    Joshua_Patrao

    Your favorite music?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Depends on the month. Right now? Daft Punk. Before that? Anything by Harry Gregson Williams. (Often, his music is better than the film it is in.) Metallica has been a long-standing favorite of mine, though I've been listening to a lot of Desprez lately.

    Joshua_Patrao

    I'd also like to thank Brandon here for being so wonderfully accessible. It's an excellent gesture Brandon, great of you. Your fans will always love you for it.

    Brandon Sanderson

    No problem! Though that list above made me work. (Wipes brow.) I'm terrible at the "What's your favorite..." type questions.

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10109 Copy

    Joshua_Patrao

    The Eternal Question: Mac or PC?

    Brandon Sanderson

    PC. Not out of any avid devotion, but because it's what I've grown up on. My wife is a Mac person, though.

    Joshua_Patrao

    Your word processor of choice?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Word. Same reason as above.

    Joshua_Patrao

    Do you have music on real loud when you write (I've heard Steve King writes like that) or is it soft in the background?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Soft in the background.

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10110 Copy

    Joshua_Patrao

    Is The Way of Kings your biggest work planned or do you have something on the shelf that's bigger?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Well...depends. Dragonsteel is plotted at seven books. And I plan two more trilogies, eventually, in the Mistborn world. But Kings was always planned and plotted to be the big war epic, focusing on large numbers of characters across a large number of books. Mistborn will span hundreds and hundreds of years, though, so it could be 'bigger' by some definitions. Dragonsteel also is in the running, but for reasons I can't really explain without giving away things I don't want to.

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10111 Copy

    Joshua_Patrao

    About research: What, if any, research for your novels have you done, and how did you do it?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The calling of a fiction writer, particularly a fantasy writer, is to know a little bit about a lot of things—just enough to be dangerous, so to speak. I tend to read survey books that talk about history—things that give overviews, such as the history of warfare, or the history of the sword, or navigation. That kind of thing. I would say I do a fair amount of research, but mostly it's an attempt to dump as much into my brain as possible for spawning stories and writing about things intelligently. For Mistborn, I researched canals, eunuchs, and London during the mid 1800's.

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10112 Copy

    Joshua_Patrao

    About your characters, Brandon: Which ones are the most like yourself?

    Brandon Sanderson

    There's a piece of me in every one of them, but I'm not really like any of them. People who know me well say that Alcatraz's humor reminds them of my humor (which is different from Lightsong's humor or Kelsier's humor, which are different from mine.) Elend in the original Mistborn book represents some of how I've been known to act (bringing books to social events). Shuden in Elantris has a lot of me in him, actually. Raoden has my optimism, Hrathen my logical and thoughtful (and dangerously devious) mind, Vin my pragmatic determination, and Sarene my utter lack of skill with painting or drawing. In the end, I don't know if I can pick one who is most like me. Perhaps you should ask my wife. She'd probably be better at seeing this than I am.

    Joshua_Patrao

    Your favorite male and female characters you've written?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Well, I guess it depends on what you mean by favorite. A lot of people ask me this question, and my response is often different. Who am I writing at the time, what I am feeling at the time? Lightsong makes me laugh, but Kelsier is conflicted in a more personal, dangerous way—and that appeals to me. Vin is best rounded, but Sazed is (perhaps) closest to my heart.

    Joshua_Patrao

    Your favorite male/female characters of all time?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Man, I'm bad at answering questions like this. Okay, male is probably Jean Valjean. Female...urg... Moiraine, maybe? Sioned from Dragon Prince is pretty awesome too. Double urg. I don't know. Jenny from Dragonsbane has long been one of my favorites, so maybe I'd pick her.

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10113 Copy

    Raven_Lunatic

    First of all, I want to say how awesome your books are. The Mistborn series, in particular, is on my list of "best fantasy books ever read".

    Now my question: is Warbreaker going to be the start of a series?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I've talked about the sequel. I wouldn't call it a series, though, since I'm only intending it to be two books. I actually plotted it at one, then during drafting decided that some of the things I wanted to do would be better in a sequel, and started calling it a two-book series. Tor signed me for two, and have put the second one on infinite hiatus, allowing me to turn it in whenever I want.

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10115 Copy

    Nelsmom

    Welcome and it is great to know that you live not too far from me. My question is this. I know that Orson Scott Card taught some Comparative Science Fiction class at BYU. Did you every take it and if so how much influence did it have on your wanting to write? I have enjoyed all of your books and at family gatherings they do get discussed.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I actually never got to take a class from Mr. Card, though I have enjoyed his books quite a bit. From what I hear, he has excellent advice for writers, but he wasn't teaching any classes at BYU when I was there. I did take a class from David Farland, which was extremely helpful. By then I was already a very dedicated writer (I had just finished Elantris) but didn't know much about the business at all. Mr. Farland's class taught me a lot about the nuts and bolts of getting published, and one could say that I owe my eventual publication—and a lot of my success—to what he taught and how helpful he was in how he taught it. Excellent person and writer.

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10116 Copy

    chocolatebar

    Is it possible that there could be more than four Alcatraz books, or will the story conclude there?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I pitched the series at six books, but only signed on for four at first. And so, while I'll be fulfilling my four book contract (happily) I don't know that I'll have time to write an Alcatraz book in 2010 (for 2011 release). I may have to let it stop at four for now, as to not take time away from the Wheel of Time. We'll see how I feel once I've finished all three of those, and we'll see how interested readers are in the books. But there's certainly a possibility.

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10117 Copy

    chocolatebar

    Oops, I missed the Twitter Q&A, but I noticed there you're doing a signing in the DC area later this year. Thanks!

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yup. Soon after The Gathering Storm is released. Details will be on my website soon. Will also be in New York, at the B&N flagship store on Manhattan.

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10118 Copy

    Nightfire

    Now my interest is perked. Which character is in both Mistborn and Elantris? I must know!! Of course, if it is a secret for another book don't tell me.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I suggest looking through my forums and talking to the people there. Also, some questions on this forum talk about the issue. I don't like to spell things out, and so I stay away from giving too much. Look around; it's not to difficult to find, now that people have begun to catch on.

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10120 Copy

    Nightfire

    Also, is there a common reality/universe throughout all of you works (WoT excluded)? The gods and magic system of your books you have mentioned as pieces of a larger source. I know I am mistaking the language a bit; it was a while ago that I read this. But Preservation and Ruin were linked and you referenced possible deities in Elantris, not to mention Austre. I know your magic systems are all well thought out and the rules have practical founding. With this in mind, I assume your deities and beings of power would have universally applied links and rules as well. I figure they all exist in the same multi-verse.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I am remaining mostly closed-lipped on this topic, as I don't want to spoil the story and discovery. There is a lot of discussion about it on my website. I can confirm what I've said earlier, that there is a common character appearing in the books, and that there is a single cosmology to all of the Shardworlds and their books (Elantris, Mistborn, WarbreakerWhite SandDragonsteelThe Silence Divine, etc. Those last three are unpublished, by the way.) There is also a connection between how the magic works in each book, as well as the fundamental metaphysics of the worlds.

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10121 Copy

    little_wilson

    And lastly, do you think you're going to be able to do any readings at the Idaho Falls signing later this year, or is it going to be entirely focused on WoT? Because I (and I'm sure others) would TOTALLY love to hear some solo-Brandon stuff. (Oh, and related, do you know WHEN the Idaho Falls signing will be?)

    Brandon Sanderson

    I'll be doing a signing during the Christmas Season, though it will be focused on the WoT. (It's going to be very close to Christmas, maybe the Friday or Saturday before.) Perhaps I'll ask the bookstore if I can come back after the WoT fans are sated to do a reading on another day, after Christmas, focused on my own work. I'll consider it. Seems like it might be a good idea.

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10122 Copy

    little_wilson

    Do you know when we'll start seeing The Way of Kings? Sample chapters in particular. This series sounds freaking amazing and I can't wait to see more of it. So, yeah..now that the first draft is finished (congratulations, by the way), I'm quite curious...

    Brandon Sanderson

    My plan is to start releasing sample chapters of Kings next year sometime in the spring. Not too close to draw any attention away from the release of The Gathering Storm, but far enough ahead of the Kings launch to give a good preview. February, perhaps? If you don't see them by then, I officially give you permission to send my assistant a reminder email to 'poke' me into doing it.

    Barnes and Noble Book Club Q&A ()
    #10123 Copy

    Nightfire

    Hey Mr. Sanderson, I know that A Memory of Light should be finished in the next couple years (at the latest). I know that you tend to work on multiple projects. Unless you are planning to do another (totally) new project can we expect another WarbreakerElantris, or preferably Mistborn book as you release the ten Way of Kings books?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I do like to work on multiple projects. During those early unpublished years, I was always hopping from book to book, and it became habit for me. It really helps me keep fresh, allowing me to try new things and experiment with my style. One of the hardest thinks about working on the WoT has been the number of side projects I've had to set aside because of lack of time.

    And so, with The Way of Kings series (aka The Stormlight Archive) I plan to do the books on a 2-to-1 ration. Meaning two Stormlight books, followed by one random side book. Generally, you should expect three books every two years from me, as that's been my speed. So there should still be a Stormlight book every year, though we'll see.

    Some will be new things, others will be in current series. My current plans are to do an Elantris sequel in 2015, for instance, and I'd like to do the second (and final) Warbreaker book eventually.

    Calamity release party ()
    #10124 Copy

    Questioner 1

    What do you think will come in the future? Like what is-- *interrupted*

    Brandon Sanderson

    "What do I think will come in the future?" I have a bunch of ideas, and I actually said-- I wrote out three one-page synopses of what I wanted to do as a follow up sort of teen series, like the Reckoners, and I sent it to my publisher, and I let them pick which of the three they wanted. And I'm not gonna tell you what that is for a little while, because they're all like freaking out about how to announce it, and things like that. Because they're all like, "Oh we have to get Entertainment Weekly to announce it, or something." *crowd laughs* Okay, whatever. So we'll see.

    Questioner 2

    So will you tell us the two that they didn't pick?

    Brandon Sanderson

    When it comes out I'll tell you the two that they didn't pick, also.

    Footnote: The series Brandon refers to was announced to be Apocalypse Guard.
    Shadows of Self Portland signing ()
    #10126 Copy

    Questioner

    Do you have any plans <for, like, having any of your novels made into graphic novels>?

    Brandon Sanderson

    "Would I like to have any of my novels made into graphic novels?" We're actually doing one right now. I've hit-- I've kept away from doing this for a while because I didn't want to just give people the same story. So <I kept thinking>, "Oh, I'll write a side story for something." But then that requires so much time for me, that if I were going to do that I'd just release it as a novel. So we <caught> this kind of weird place where I wasn't sure what to do. But then my agent pitched taking one of my books that was unpublished during my days that I was trying to break in, that was pretty good, and had a good magic system, but needed a lot of editing. And said, "Why don't we do that? Because we can edit it during the same time that we're preparing the graphic novel, and then do a graphic novel version." And that turned out really well. We got another writer to help me and do the writing-- someone who knew comic books. And the script turned out fantastic, so we sent it in as being turned in. They've done 5 out of 6 issues. And it will be 18 issues, but they'll issue them in 6-issue clumps. They actually will only be graphic novels, there won't be-- And there will be three of those. So the first of those should come out next year. The first six. It's called White Sand. If you want to read the book, I do send that book out to people who just write to me. Because I don't think the book as it stands is good enough to charge you for. So be aware that if-- But it was written about the same time as Elantris, and it's just a little worse than Elantris.

    Shadows of Self Portland signing ()
    #10127 Copy

    Questioner

    Have you been approached by anybody about making a movie?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Okay, "making a movie," okay, okay. *sighs* *crowd laughs* So, Holywood. Holywood! Holywood is this-- they do this thing where they option books, right? And this-- most of the deals you see, they get signed, are what we call an option. They come in, they say, "We think we might be able to get a movie made, but we don't know for sure. So we're going to rent the rights from you." Against-- Like leasing. Renting to own. Where we pay you a certain amount every year that's against a big payout, and if we ever decide to make a big payout we buy the rights outright. But until then we can rent them for like five years and pay you every year or eighteen months. These are very common in Holywood. They happen a lot. And it's-- now that I've become involved in this it's kind of interesting to me that, like, when something gets optioned it's like, "Huge news! Oh, it's gonna get made!" But one in thirty of these get made <by general>. And most of the deals you're hearing about are those. As well you'll probably hear about this deal, you'll be like, "Oh, somebody's going to make this film." And then five years later you're like, "Whatever happened to that?" Well, it was just an option deal. And I've had like ten things get optioned. Like I've sold things over and over again and stuff like that. And so yes, people have my works optioned. Nothing I've done has ever gone past screenplay except for Alcatraz, at DreamWorks Animation which went to storyboard before then they decided to kill it. So, yeah obviously you didn't get that movie. That was years ago. They made the Croods instead. *crowd laughs* No, really, I-- those were the two competing projects. So I got-- So nothing has gone past screenplay-- I have gotten a screenplay a couple times before, but the step after that is like to get a director attached, and then like, you know, then get a greenlight, or get actors attached. The greenlight is the hard thing. The only thing I know of that got greenlit recently is The Sword of Shannara, which is coming out in January I think. Everything else I know is just an option. And so, yeah. But Steelheart's at Shawn Levy's company, who did the Night at the Museum films. Emperor's Soul is at DMG who were producers on two of the Iron Man films. The rest of the Cosmere is optioned by somebody else, but they haven't announced it yet, so I can't talk about it. They're very specific about stuff like that. Legion's been optioned twice, and both people have not been able to get that made as a television show. I mean, everything's been optioned.

    Shadows of Self Portland signing ()
    #10128 Copy

    Questioner

    In a lot of your books there are, like, things that make them seem like they might be connected...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Okay, "in a lot of my books there are things that make them seem like they might be connected." *crowd laughs* What's that?

    Questioner

    Is there going to be a crossover?

    Brandon Sanderson

    "Is there gonna be a crossover?" So for those who don't know, my books-- my epic fantasies are all connected. There's a hidden epic happening behind the scenes. There will be someday that I will do crossovers, but I am not doing it right now. The focus right now-- I don't want people to like read the books and be like, "I am so lost." I don't you to feel like you have to read my whole body of work to appreciate what's going on in one of them. So while there will be cameos, and sometimes they will be moderately relevant to the plot, it's only gonna remain mostly cameos for the moment, until I do a series which is upfront going to be, "Here's the big crossover. You have to know all eight magic systems or you're gonna go crazy."

    Shadows of Self release party ()
    #10130 Copy

    Questioner

    Can I get the Hoid sense of humor question real quick?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, where'd he get his sense of humor?

    Questioner

    Yeah, because he doesn't really have one in like Mistborn.

    Brandon Sanderson

    You will find that eventually. It depends on the character he's playing. He had it in Mistborn, he just was not playing a character that was conducive to that.

    Questioner

    Fair enough, 'cause he's very different in--

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah. In Elantris too.

    Shadows of Self release party ()
    #10135 Copy

    Questioner 1

    What would happen if you used lerasium as a spike for Hemalurgy?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Oh lerasium as a spike for Hemalurgy? Um lerasium as a spike for Hemalurgy--

    Questioner 1

    Would it work or would it just not work?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No I mean it would work--

    Questioner 1

    If you were to place a lerasium spike would you transform into a full Mistborn as opposed to--

    Questioner 2

    Well it can also steal powers, not just grant them, right?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Um, right. The thing about it is you're trying to Invest something that is already very Invested, which always has weird effects. So while you could do it, it would be a gross waste of the potential. It's like using a nuclear bomb as a paperweight. It is functional but--

    Questioner 1

    Does that mean it would be hard, for example, to make Nightblood stick something? Because--

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes it would be very hard to make Nightblood stick to something. The amount of Investiture in Nightblood is--

    Bystander

    Astronomical?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. Larger than most things you've seen. So Pushing on Nightblood, really hard.

    Shadows of Self release party ()
    #10136 Copy

    Questioner

    So Hoid it seems, you've indicated, he has actually used the bead of lerasium he got.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Umm, there are guesses along those lines. And those guesses would be supported by evidence from the books.

    Questioner

    That he drank something that gave him an advantage, things like that. But anyway does he also have Feruchemical abilities, and if so how would he have gotten them? Aside from Hemalurgy.

    Brandon Sanderson

    You really think I'm going to answer that one? *laughter* Big old RAFO.

    Shadows of Self release party ()
    #10137 Copy

    Questioner

    Are you not really willing to comment much on Hoid, should I leave that alone?

    Brandon Sanderson

    You can ask, but you're generally not going to get much on Hoid.

    Questioner

    Is his longevity tied to any particular Shard?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Hoid's?

    Questioner

    Yes.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I would say no.

    Shadows of Self release party ()
    #10139 Copy

    Questioner

    Okay I had a question for you about that. You make a point about talking about that in your books but we know that air resistance and other things has an effect--

    Brandon Sanderson

    Air resistance does.

    Questioner

    --for instance a feather and a bowling ball dropped from the top of the Empire State Building are not going to hit the ground at the same time.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Right.

    Questioner

    Even though when in a vacuum they would.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    Questioner

    ...In the books Wax is affecting his weight a lot.

    Brandon Sanderson

    But he's also still wearing clothing, so he's never going to get light enough that-- Like Sazed getting light enough to drift down was pretty hard for him, you'll see how much work he had to go through. Wax could get that light but he's going to have guns and his metal belt and his mistcoat and things like that. And so when Wax is talking you're just going to assume that he's talking in his general experience. Air resistance does matter but that's not how he perceives it.

    Shadows of Self release party ()
    #10140 Copy

    clyguy

    If Wax were to go to Roshar, and--he's a Skimmer, right? So he can change his weight--if he got Lashed in a different direction if he Stored his weight would that nullify some of the Lashing?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Okay, you're going to make me think through this. *laughter* So Wax actually changes mass. And the Lashing only affects gravitational pull. So the answer is no because different things with different masses fall at the same speed.

    Shadows of Self release party ()
    #10141 Copy

    Questioner

    So could somebody using maybe a duralumin Push or Pull, or just a strong Allomancer, take control of a Shardblade?

    Brandon Sanderson

    The more heavily Invested something is, the most-- the more <release?> other forms of Investiture? But as we have proof in Mistborn you can Push and Pull on metalminds, you can Push and Pull on even a spike that’s inside of somebody. If you have the strength. So it's kind of pushing against the strength of the Investiture.

    Shadows of Self release party ()
    #10142 Copy

    Questioner 1

    Are you ever going to release the other 16 alloys with the god metals? Did you decide?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Maybe.

    Questioner 2

    Are you not releasing them because you're still trying to-- you don't want to pin yourself down just in case?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It's part that, but part I know. The more I release, the more distracting it is from the stories and it also prevents me from using them in the stories as reveals.

    Shadows of Self Portland signing ()
    #10143 Copy

    Questioner

    What got you reading and then later on writing? And also how do you get a child to love to read?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Okay, so what got me reading and what *inaudible* me fall in love with reading and-- initially-- and I'll do the second question in a minute.

    So originally I became a reader because of an eighth grade English teacher who handed me the book Dragonsbane. <Any> eighth grade English teachers here? Middle grade English teachers? You guys are awesome. They-- she's actually an *inaudible* professor. I'm still in touch with her. She made a reader out of me by refusing to let me not, you know? I was of age to be reading these books, but I was reading stuff I'd loved in second grade. And she just lovingly got me reading other things.

    How do you do that? Well for me it worked giving me the right book. I'm working on this with my seven year old right now. Who i want to be reading Harry Potter with, but he wants to be reading Fly Guy, which is about a boy with a pet fly. *crowd laughs* And so we read what he wants. And I figure if I can get excited about what he loves, and read it with them, that that will work rather than trying to get him to love what I love.

    Questioner

    *inaudible*

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, it's hard. I dunno. Ask-- don't ask me. Ask literature people, because I had to have it done to me. So I'm not even sure what happened. But it was like, I read that Dragonsbane, and I came back to my teacher, I'm like, "I can't believe people write books like that." And she's like, "There's a whole genre." *crowd laughs*

    Arcanum Unbounded Seattle signing ()
    #10145 Copy

    Questioner

    Who is the Willshaper?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Ok, of the group of the ten...

    Questioner

    Have we met the Willshaper?

    Brandon Sanderson

    You have met the Willshaper. 

    Questioner

    Is it Moash?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's a RAFO.

    Questioner

    Ok. But it was a good guess?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Do you want me to write RAFO in this? You got RAFO'd.

    Questioner

    Thanks.

    Brandon Sanderson

    People are really interested in the Willshapers. Has this been a topic of conversation?

    Other person

    *inaudible*...17th Shard. *inaudible*

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, right. The Dustbringer is harder to figure out, I feel like the Willshaper will be a little more obvious once it happens. The Dustbringer is going to be hard.

    Arcanum Unbounded Seattle signing ()
    #10146 Copy

    Questioner

    What happens if you burn duralumin while Compounding?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Duralumin while Compounding. So, what duralumin does is it burns out of all of your metal in one burst. So it doesn't necessarily gain you power, it makes it all happen at the same time. The same thing would happen.

    Questioner

    Could you turn into a baby?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Oh, you could totally turn into a baby. That is within the power of using that, doing <health wrong>, yeah you could totally... You'd be really dangerous.

    Questioner

    But it wouldn't really do much?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Oh it would have explosive... it does things really fast. That's what it does. Yes you could achieve very powerful sudden effects through that. It'd be scary. Controlling it can be dangerous, regardless of which metal you use.

    Arcanum Unbounded Seattle signing ()
    #10147 Copy

    Questioner

    So if I understand correctly, every Shard has three different states in which it manifests physically in the world, liquid, gaseous and solid. So my question is, Harmony's holding two Shards, is there any bleedover that would make like...harmonium?

    Brandon Sanderson

    In the newspaper pages, one of the essays is on "Does Harmony have a metal?". So this is a question they are asking in-world, that they think should probably be, and if you look around you see strange metals appearing, including one that is highly unstable. Or highly reactive is what I would say, not unstable, because it's not radioactive but it is...yeah, so.

    Arcanum Unbounded Seattle signing ()
    #10148 Copy

    Questioner

    So there's only one Honorspren that got power, and does that mean that no more can get out and are there only *inaudible* Cryptic?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Syl disobeyed what she was supposed to do. However, at the same time, she blazed a trail so there might be others. The Cryptics, on the other hand, they are totally fine with what's happening but Pattern was the one who was nominated, he lobbied for it, to go and be the guinea pig. So the Cryptics are totally all over doing this, they are eager for more. But a lot of them think it is a death sentence, but they're weird, they don't mind it that much.

    Arcanum Unbounded Seattle signing ()
    #10149 Copy

    Questioner

    Why do female*inaudible*

    Brandon Sanderson

    Well, there are several answers to this. The Alethi would say it is because it is the only way to be modest. But that's not the real answer. The writerly answer, which is also not the real answer, is that I grew fascinated by interesting social taboos by traveling to other countries where, for instance in many countries showing the bottom of your feet to people is insulting, and stuff like that. But the actual answer is that, you saw the events after the Recreance when the Knights Radiant abandoned their shards and, at that point, some people in power realized that if they could eliminate women from picking up the shards then it was twice as likely that they would get one. And so they started popularizing a work, an essay by a woman who had talked about feminine arts were one-handed, painting and things like this, and masculine arts were two-handed, breaking rocks and fighting and stuff like this, and they popularized that and some of the women who were involved in this seized writing, in this division, as a feminine thing. So there were both men and women involved in this sort of split that was kind of a conscious attempt to struggle power, or struggle the power in different ways, and that became not just a thing that people talked about, but an actual feature in the society moving forward.