Recent entries

    Lucca Comics and Games Festival ()
    #11303 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    My favorite time period is when superstition was transitioning into science. I am very fascinated by that idea, superstition and science. Isaac Newton believed in Alchemy and tried to make it work, and many scientists did. This is really cool to me because this is both the dawn of enlightenment and understanding, but also it has mythology and lore to it. In my books I am usually trying to recreate this idea, we're sifting through the lore and pulling out the science. Magic is transitioning into science, but it is a world with a new branch of physics. This allows me to mix what we call a sense of wonder with a sense of reason. It makes me very exited when I have a good idea to connect mythology and science together.

    Lucca Comics and Games Festival ()
    #11304 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    I generally write on only one books at a time. This is different, some writers aren't like that, Ray Bradbury famously had a big filing cabinet of half finished stories and he would, every morning, get out one and get out the typewriter and type more lines on it until it didn't work for him anymore and then he put it back and grabbed another one and started typing on it, which blows my mind. I cant imagine that; I can only usually do new fiction for one at a time, though I'm often panning in my head or working on the outline for the next one while I am writing the prose for this one. It uses different parts of the brain usually.

    Lucca Comics and Games Festival ()
    #11305 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    As a writer, I believe that i am not providing the whole story for you. I provide a screenplay, a script, and you are the director of this story, and that as you read it and imagine it - that's when its completed. Its not done until you have done that. Its a participation and you have the right to change, in your version, whatever you want. Your pronunciation is correct in your version of the story.

    Audience

    *claps*

    Brandon Sanderson

    You are clapping for me, but I should clap for you because you make my art live. I really appreciate you bringing my art to life and giving it that extra imagination it needs.

    Lucca Comics and Games Festival ()
    #11306 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    The beginnings of the Cosmere I can trace back to being a teenager and I would read Anne McCaffrey books and I would always imagine a character that was my own that I had secretly inserted into her books and this character - I would insert into everyone else's books when I read them too. This was the start of Hoid, was this character who was appearing in everyone else's novels and I knew his secret agenda. It was very fun for me to imagine as a youth.

    Lucca Comics and Games Festival ()
    #11307 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    So the reason that I write so many different things is because I found every writer, when they are working on a book for a long time, perhaps you know this too, starts to hate that book. They get so tired of it because you do so many drafts, and spend so long. When I finish a book I dont want to work on a sequel to that book. I am done with that book. I need something very new and different to refresh myself. So like how you eat grapes in between bites of cheese. This is why I do so many different things.

    Lucca Comics and Games Festival ()
    #11308 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    My evil nemesis is John Scalzi, science fiction writer. We are very good friends, but he is also my evil nemesis. One time I was at a book store in an airport. i like to sign my books in airports and leave them for fans to find and i was doing this and someone came to the section in the airport. I was signing and they said "Oh, you're a writer?" and I said "yes!" here's my book, its great, you should read it." They said "I don't like fantasy, I like science fiction instead." I went 'alright' and so i sold them one of john Scalzi's books just because I wanted to match the right book to the right person.

     

    I heard "Sanderson!" and I turned around and it was John Scalzi. He said, "I heard you siold one of my books, here's your royalties", and he threw two coins at me, all across the hall.

    Footnote: there is a break in the audio between the first and last paragraph
    #brandon
    White Sand vol.1 Orem signing ()
    #11309 Copy

    Questioner

    How did you like doing the graphic novel compared to normal stuff.

    Brandon Sanderson

    It was fun. The thing about it is, my main part in it was to write the book, 'cause its a prose novel that I wrote years ago, and then to look over things as my team was putting it together. They had a writer take my book and condense it down to the dialogue bubbles and things like this, and built it out and I would see a page and say "good". So I didn't really make a graphic novel I wrote a book that people who know what they are doing adapted into a graphic novel.

    Questioner

    Makes sense. Would you do more of it?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It depends on how people react to this. If the fans like it and say "yes, this is a book we enjoy. Keep doing things like this." I will do more.

    White Sand vol.1 Orem signing ()
    #11314 Copy

    Jasonioan

    If one were to have an unlocked metalmind, nicrosil, and held it while wielding Nightblood what would happen? Would he be taking Investiture from the--

    Brandon Sanderson

    That is a RAFO... you will start to find answers to these sorts of things as more people are involved with Nightblood.

    Jasonioan

    ...So, if it was like a coppermind would the information be destroyed?

    Brandon Sanderson

    That is an excellent question, what I've said before is that Nightblood will feed on whatever Investiture he can gain access to. He will start with the easiest Investiture to reach. He will eventually turn to converting matter into Investiture and eating that.

    White Sand vol.1 Orem signing ()
    #11316 Copy

    Questioner

    So we already know that Vasher was Kaladin's trainer with a Shardblade, 'cause you told me that last time I asked you. So does Vasher just have a large mass of Biochromatic Breaths and that's how he's surviving, or is he somehow feeding off Stormlight while he is there?

    Brandon Sanderson

    He is feeding off of Stormlight, which is the primary reason why he came to Roshar. Investiture is easy to access in plentiful amounts.

    Questioner

    How did he know how to use Shardblades so well when he got there, is that related to how they created Nightblood

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, he has experience with Roshar from hundreds of years ago.

    White Sand vol.1 Orem signing ()
    #11321 Copy

    Questioner

    So, the fan page wanted to know. Would it be possible for Hemalurgy to steal a living Shardblade? That was the top voted question.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Ok, so you're bonded to a Shardblade. You get spiked, then they spike off the bond so that the Shardblade is bonded to someone else.

    Questioner

    I assume so...

    Brandon Sanderson

    But can they do it with a living Shardblade? You can definitely do it with a dead Shardblade because its just stealing the Connection. With a living Shardblade, yes you could do that 'though the spren could break the bond at will.

    Questioner

    So the spren would survive? That was the second-- the corollary--

    Brandon Sanderson

    Ehhh. Would the spren survive? The spren would survive as long as the oaths were--

    Questioner

    Intact?

    Brandon Sanderson

    --the person didn't break the oaths. But you could theoretically steal the bond, break the oaths, and kill the spren. If you wanted to. Its a very convoluted to kill a spren, they are easier to kill than that, but yes. You could do that. That is a viable but twisted route that you can do. You would end up with a dead spren and a Shardblade, so there is that. But there are easier ways to accomplish that...

    White Sand vol.1 Orem signing ()
    #11322 Copy

    Questioner

    I recently reread Elantris and I came to an interesting conclusion: that the seons are similar to the spren.

    Brandon Sanderson

    They are.

    Questioner

    And are they Servitude, broken pieces of Servitude.

    Brandon Sanderson

    So, they are actually broken pieces of Devotion, which is a similar concept, but yes.

    Questioner

    And then the Elantrians are based off of Dominion then?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Dominion are the skaze. They are referenced briefly.

    Questioner

    Then Hoid talks to them, or--

    Brandon Sanderson

    Hrathen references the skaze in his thoughts. I show a skaze I believe in the extra bonus scene, don't I?

    Questioner

    Where Hoid is going to jump into the well?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, there is a skaze there, that's a skaze.

    Questioner

    ...I'm assuming then, we can look forward to the skaze!

    Brandon Sanderson

    You can look forward to the skaze being involved in things, definitely .

    White Sand vol.1 Orem signing ()
    #11323 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    I'll be very interested to see what people think of the adaptation.

    Questioner

    What do you think of the adaptation?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I like it, it's so-- The big change of making Ais a women is great. That's the big change we made. It trims out a bunch of the fat. What we lose is some of the world building and behind the scenes mechanics of how the magic works, that trade off it's like-- It's faster paced and some of the characterization is much better. Worldbuilding and magic mechanics, we lose a bunch of because that's something you do in prose. There's pros and cons, but i think it looks great and I'm very pleased with it.

    Questioner

    Is it something that you'd consider doing with any other of your work?

    Brandon Sanderson

    See, here's the thing, I've never wanted to do it for a published novel because I figure people have already read that. I want to be giving them at least something new.

    White Sand vol.1 Orem signing ()
    #11324 Copy

    Questioner

    Where'd you come up with Wayne's kleptomania where he steals things and replaces things he finds of value. I think that's the funniest part of his character, that he determines that "oh, this is worth more than this" and "that is a good trade".

    Brandon Sanderson

    I have no idea where that came from, I can take no responsibility for that man. He just kinda popped out fully formed. I started writing a short story about him, which was where I started, I was gonna do a little Mistborn novella in the wild west era with Wayne as the main character. He was a riot but he couldn't be a main character, he couldn't be the main character. He needed somebody to play off of, and so the Wayne and MeLaan story got shelved--eventually I'll show people, I only got about a thousand words into it--and instead we got Alloy of Law.

    White Sand vol.1 Orem signing ()
    #11325 Copy

    Questioner

    What's your release schedule for volumes two and three?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I think they are one a year.

    Questioner

    One a year?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, I'm sorry... They take so much time. It's possible they can go a little bit faster cause they did the whole script up front.

    Questioner

    Are they still drawing 'em and coloring 'em?

    Brandon Sanderson

    They are still drawing them and coloring 'em, yeah. We basically released this one as soon as we had it done. I told them they couldn't release it by little issues, cause I wanted people to have more of a promise they would get the whole thing so I said "You have to wait until you have at least a third of it done", but yeah. I think they are counting on this one paying for them to keep doing what they are already doing, so.

    Vericon 2011 ()
    #11327 Copy

    Puck (paraphrased)

    How is a Splinter different from a Sliver?

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    Let me see... You have met Splinters in Elantris, Warbreaker, and in Way of Kings. You have not met them in Mistborn.

    Puck (paraphrased)

    I feel like we know that. So, qualitatively, what's the difference?

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    Qualitatively, they're reverses of one another. A Sliver is a human intelligence who has held the power and released it. A Splinter has never been human.

    Puck (paraphrased)

    But it derives from a Shard's power.

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    Yes. That's not it completely, but there's at least something to think about.

    Vericon 2011 ()
    #11332 Copy

    Brandon Sanderson

    Inside Puck's copy of Elantris Brandon wrote "Do not go to Shadesmar on this world (really, I'm not kidding)" on the title page, then said "You guys can chew on that for a little while."

    Footnote: Brandon has confirmed that the reason for this is that the Dor, the Splintered remains of Devotion and Dominion, are located in the Cognitive Realm, which makes the region dangerous to traverse.
    Brandon has since asked that people not ask for cosmere hints. He would prefer people to come with specific questions in mind.
    #cognitive realm #sel
    Sources: Puck's report - 17th Shard
    Miscellaneous 2012 ()
    #11333 Copy

    FireOx

    Do we know the exact purpose for creating 3 different symbols for each book's metals (chapter symbols)? Is it for the 3 metallic arts? If so, which belong to which?

    Isaac Stewart

    Hi FireOx! The three sets of symbols show the progression of the Allomantic text through the ages. The earliest script is from Hero of Ages. It was changed and modified into the Terris script symbols we see in Well of Ascension. After more time, the Terris script morphed into what is now known as the Allomantic Alphabet or the Steel Alphabet, which are the symbols used in Mistborn: The Final Empire. We've extrapolated the Steel Alphabet into a script that's more-standardized and refined for the chapter headings in Alloy of Law, which takes place 300 years after Hero of Ages.

    A Memory of Light Raleigh Signing ()
    #11334 Copy

    Questioner (paraphrased)

    Why did the Lord Ruler have to stay aged at times?

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    That's when he was doing his rebuild. He didn't really have to, but he let himself. He has to recharge periodically, and then stays on a higher and higher burn over the thousand years. It gets harder and harder. The way the magic works—he doesn't have to stay aged.

    Questioner (paraphrased)

    Is he burning or tapping?

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    He's tapping.

    A Memory of Light Raleigh Signing ()
    #11335 Copy

    Questioner (paraphrased)

    I’ve been fortunate enough to read White Sand and Aether of Night and I enjoyed them very much. Will they ever be published? I also managed to read Dragonsteel and I enjoyed that too.

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    White Sand will definitely eventually be published. Aether of Night, not so sure on, because Aether is two halves of two books that didn't fit together. The two pieces didn't mesh. White Sand is part of the sequence and will be done. Dragonsteel is part of the sequence and will be done, but it will be very different now that the Shattered Plains have been used in Way of Kings.

    A Memory of Light Raleigh Signing ()
    #11336 Copy

    Questioner (paraphrased)

    In your novellas Legion and The Emperor's Soul, there was a common theme of a creation of character. Were you making a comment on that as a writer?

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    The Emperor's Soul was much more so, specifically dealing with the artistic process. That was part of the theme for me. Legion was more "Wow, this idea's awesome." I originally told Dan (from Writing Excuses) that he should write this, it's really quirky. He said, "I got my own ideas—go write it yourself!"

    A Memory of Light Raleigh Signing ()
    #11337 Copy

    Questioner (paraphrased)

    Do you see Robert Jordan’s characters coming out in your writing?

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    No. That may happen unconsciously, but my goal is not to have that happen, because I want to tell different stories. It would be like if Kelsier started coming out in Dalinar. It's just not something we want to have happen as a writer. We want everyone to be their own individual.

    A Memory of Light Birmingham Signing ()
    #11338 Copy

    EHyde (paraphrased)

    In The Way of Kings, is assassination a common thing in the Parshendi culture, because it seems odd that they would have a specific custom for what assassins wear?

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    It is something that happened quite a bit more in the past than it does now. But yes, you will find out much more about them. They are now more unified, but they used to be a bunch of different tribes, and they would send assassins into each other's camps.

    A Memory of Light Birmingham Signing ()
    #11340 Copy

    Questioner (paraphrased)

    In at least two of the books that I know of, a god is either dead or attacked in some form or fashion. Is there any reason for that?

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    Yes, there is an ongoing theme there, and it's primarily because there is an overarching story behind the story. The books are all in the same universe. And there is a character that's the same in all of the books. In Way of Kings it's Wit. He's actually in all of them.

    A Memory of Light Birmingham Signing ()
    #11344 Copy

    Questioner (paraphrased)

    If you were to choose (to be) a Feruchemist or an Allomancer, which would you choose?

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    I would choose Allomancy, because I would want to have Steelpushing; that's my favorite of the powers.

    Questioner (paraphrased)

    Is that why you gave Waxillium Steelpushing?

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    Yes.

    A Memory of Light Birmingham Signing ()
    #11346 Copy

    Questioner (paraphrased)

    Why did you have to kill Vin and Elend?

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    They demanded that they be allowed to take the chance they did. And I just let them take the chance. I didn't kill them, I just let them take the chance that they demanded that I let them take. That's kind of a cop-out answer, I'm sorry, but that's what it feels like to me. And if I always make it so that there are no consequences, then the books have no heart.

    A Memory of Light Birmingham Signing ()
    #11348 Copy

    Questioner (paraphrased)

    What about the Mistborn video game?

    Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

    We put it off until 2014, because of the new console generation. We had planned for it to come out right when the buzz was saying the new consoles were going to launch. And that felt like a bad idea to us. The Mistborn film is also in the works, but it is very early and it is not nearly as far along as the Wheel of Time film is. So if anyone's father is J. J. Abrams, have him call me.

    Arcanum Unbounded Hoboken signing ()
    #11350 Copy

    Questioner

    I love *inaudible* this series. How did you come up with Elend?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So, I wanted an idealist *inaudible* revolutionary stuck in a world that wasn't ready for one yet, and that was my pitch to myself, right? Like if you took, you know, someone like... one of the great *inaudible* like Hamilton or somebody and just stuck them in a world that just was not ready for their ideas. How would that go?

    Questioner

    That sounds like the *inaudible*. Don't you have that in mind, like...

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, but he-- he that was-- yeah, yeah. His plan was-- be an idealist. The second book is where he realizes he can't make the same path he wants to, and third book is kind of reconciliation of how he can create this step that will eventually lead to Democracy and things like this, which you eventually then get to see in later books.