Yados
What's up with those fish in the Purelake?
Brandon Sanderson
Haven't you always wanted magic fish?
#12351
Recent entries
#12351
#12352
Yados
Are the Heralds native to Roshar?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO (Man, you're good at asking those, aren't you?)
#12353
Yados
Could a Shardbearer materialize his or her Shardblade inside another person? What about something inanimate like stone?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
#12354
#12355
Robospawn
How extensively do you outline?
Brandon Sanderson
Depends on the book. Alloy of Law had a few pages. The Way of Kings had hundreds of worldbuilding notes. The outline for [Words of Radiance] sits open on my computer right now at...12 pages single spaced. It's maybe 2/3 done.
#12356
Yamato
I am currently trying to write a book in which the world is drastically different from earth. Do you think it is too ambitious to start out with such a complex setting?
Brandon Sanderson
No, not at all. Just don't try TOO hard to describe every aspect of it. It's good to be ambitious. However, be careful to keep you number of viewpoints down for your first few attempts--that will spiral out of control faster than worldbuilding will. Don't feel the need to explain too much, keep the focus on the characters, and you should be fine.
#12357
Yamato
Will you ever go into more detail about the dead original shardholders? I'd love to know what kind of people Tanavast, Ati, and Leras were.
Brandon Sanderson
They will all be characters in the Dragonsteel series.
#12358
Yamato
Out of all your magic systems, which one would you choose to be a user of?
Brandon Sanderson
I'd be a Mistborn if possible. So many fun interactions. Not quite as powerful as some of those on Roshar, perhaps, but very fun.
#12359
Yamato
Any advice for an aspiring fantasy writer? Besides the obligatory "Read a lot and write a lot!!!" Characterization advice is especially appreciated.
Brandon Sanderson
Well, I do have my lectures on this topic. Go to writeaboutdragons.com and listen to the characterization lecture. I think you'll find it helpful.
Do remember that your characters should have passions, goals, and flaws that are distinct from the plot of the story. They can sometimes align, but a character should have a life and passions outside of what happens TO them.
#12360
Yamato
How did you portray Jasnah's atheism so well? As a staunch atheist myself, I think you did an absolutely brilliant job. Honestly, It made me happy that a religious person was trying to understand my mindset. Anyway, who did you ask to get such accurate ideas of atheist thought?
Brandon Sanderson
I found some really good atheist forums. Not the 'hate on religion' type atheist forums, but the kind with some serious depth. People asking one another about morality, talking about how they felt when people reacted to them being an atheist, and expressing their philosophy. I gained a great deal of respect for them during these readings.
From there, I went and chatted with some atheists I know to gauge if I had a good handle on things. It was important that I get this right, as it's different enough from my own worldview that if it went wrong, it would have gone VERY wrong and I'd have ended up with something insulting.
#12361
Yamato
What has turned out better for you, starting with the characters, the plot, or the world when you are beginning the writing process for a book?
Brandon Sanderson
Any time I have the characters from the get go, I feel like I'm leaps and bounds ahead. Having a very strong ending in mind before outlining is also very, very helpful.
#12362
Yamato
What is your favorite of your own books?
Brandon Sanderson
I can never answer this. It's like trying to choose your favorite child. :)
#12363
Yamato
Where did you get the idea for your Adonalsium mythos? Did it develop in your head for a while, or did you have a sudden flash of inspiration.
Brandon Sanderson
Over time, particularly when building Dragonsteel as a novel. I was planning it as I wrote Elantris. Hoid has been around forever, long before Adonalsium became the central plot of his story. I have an old short story from the early, early, early days where he's on a planet trying to figure out how the local magic system works.
#12364
Odium's_Shard
Lastly, less pressingly, do Spirit Points (Hemalurgic spots) apply to ever magic system, and through the cosmere at large? Ie. could Hemalurgy be used to take any other magic systems aspects, and do other magic systems also have these 'Points', such as Body Focuses, that work in similar ways?
Brandon Sanderson
Hemalurgy crosses magic systems. You could steal things from people on other worlds, if you knew the right places for the spikes.
#12365
Odium's_Shard
Does the Spiritual power used in any given magic system come from the supporting Shard itself, or through it from the remains of Adonalsium and the Power of Creation?
Brandon Sanderson
From the Shard in most cases. But it's also often built into the world innately, and so the Shard (if someone is holding it) doesn't always have control over who can or cannot use the magic.
#12366
Odium's_Shard
Can magic systems from one world work in any given other?
Brandon Sanderson
For some, it will take quite a bit of work, but it's possible to get them each to work. Sel's magics are regional, and so they are going to be tough. Scadrial's magics are the easiest.
#12367
Odium's_Shard
So, firstly, is the Cognitive Realm the only way to access the Spiritual Realm from the Physical Realm, and vice versa?
Brandon Sanderson
No.
#12368
Kuri Shardweaver
What's your opinion on golems/constructs/robots? The Lifeless are a somewhat similar concept, but I was curious as to whether there's a world in the cosmere that might have a more classical take on ye ol' fantasy standby guardian, or are Awakened suits of armor as close as we can get? Is the Future Mistborn trilogy going to have Anti-Allomancer Alluminaughts?
Brandon Sanderson
Ha. I am fascinated the idea of golems, and when I play an RPG I'm often trying to make golems of one sort or another. However, I worry that the idea is a little overdone in fiction, so my takes on that sort of thing come in more unusual flavors.
#12369
Kuri Shardweaver
Are there any plans for a world where the magic system operates through devices that transform and empower individuals with spectacular abilities? Like...say...a belt with an ornate buckle...a bracer..things like that?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
#12370
mycoltbug
Are there any worldhoppers that we should recognize as worldhoppers in anything other than [The Way of Kings] beyond Hoid?
Brandon Sanderson
They aren't recognizable, and aren't intended to be, as of yet. There are some around, however.
#12371
mycoltbug
Is there a magic system that best allows people to worldhop between worlds?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, but it isn't needed. Some do help more with understanding how to traverse the Cognitive Realm.
#12372
mycoltbug
Are there any ramifications beyond leaving one's world behind when they worldhop to other worlds? IE physical ailment, aging, time travel lag X1000
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
#12373
#12374
#12375
mycoltburg
Is there any ramifications to the holder of a Shardblade for using a Blade in a manner that it wasn't intended?
Brandon Sanderson
Depends on the type of Shardblade. (You have seen three different kinds in [The Way of Kings].) For most, no. For some, most certainly.
#12376
#12377
mycoltbug
Could a Shardblade holder potential drill a hole through the planet by using his Blade like Dalinar?
Brandon Sanderson
Uh... I think that you'd hit the core and that would not be a good thing for you.
#12378
Stroniax
What is your favorite world of the cosmere?
Brandon Sanderson
Favorite world? Probably Roshar, as it's the most unique.
#12379
Stroniax
Is there a way to harvest BioChromatic Breath from a planet, if it holds any? (If a person dies, and their body turns to dusty he dust of the earth, then doesn't [Nalthis] therefore hold thousands, if not millions, of BioChromatic Breaths?)
Brandon Sanderson
Possible. It would be the same thing as harvesting the nature of Preservation or Ruin, which--on Scadrial--took the form of nuggets of metal.
#12380
Stroniax
Are Surgebinding and Awakening related?
Brandon Sanderson
All of the magic systems are related, and these two do share some defining fundamentals.
#12381
Stroniax
Can people from one area of the cosmere Return to the place in the cosmere where Awakeners are from?
Brandon Sanderson
Meaning, can they travel to Nalthis, where Warbreaker takes place? Yes, they can.
#12382
Stroniax
Does Szeth-son-son-Vallano's Surgebinding require an honorspren like Kaladin's?
Brandon Sanderson
No, it does not. (Hm....) Gold star to you.
#12383
Stroniax
What did Jek and Szeth do to become Truthless?
Brandon Sanderson
This will be answered in his book, during his flashback sequences.
#12384
Stroniax
Is Jek-son-son-Vallano important?
Is Jek-son-son-Vallano Szeth-son-son-Vallano's brother?
Brandon Sanderson
He is the same person as Szeth; I just changed the name. Sorry, no hidden truth there.
#12385
Lance Alvein
Did Cultivation come to Roshar with Honor, or was she already on Roshar when Honor arrived?
Brandon Sanderson
Good question. They came together.
#12386
McCullough
Having to do with Legion, if you could take a picture of any historical event what would it be?
Brandon Sanderson
Wow, tough question there at the end. Hmmm.... So many choices. Sermon on the Mount, perhaps?
#12387
McCullough
I love Wax as a Skimmer and a Coinshot. Is that your favorite Twinborn combination? If not, what is?
Brandon Sanderson
It's certainly one of my favorites. However, some of the characters in the modern day trilogy have some really neat combinations as well.
#12388
McCullough
In what ways do you feel that finishing The Wheel of Time helped to prepare you for The Stormlight Archive and how did it change your writing in general, if at all?
Brandon Sanderson
I gained three things, I feel, by working over the years on [The Wheel of Time]. (And, in particular, by studying [Robert Jordan]'s work in depth.) I learned how to better balance lots of different viewpoints, I got a better grip for foreshadowing and subtlety over many books, and I gained a deeper understanding of how to write a really sold third person viewpoint.
#12389
Straff Venture
Are any of your books' locations (barring Legion) based on real-life places? If so, where? If not, what propels your creative drive to make new worlds?
Brandon Sanderson
All of the keeps in the Mistborn series are based on real structures I've visited. The mists are based on a trip to Idaho, were I drove through a fog bank at high speeds.
Warbreaker's setting was inspired, in part, by a visit to Hawaii.
Much of Roshar is inspired by tidal pools and coral reefs.
#12390
#12391
Lightflame
Can you give me a hint about Nafti, the Uvara girl that Derethil brought with him when he left the Great Abyss?
Brandon Sanderson
There is more truth to that story than some may think.
#12392
Lightflame
Do all Shards have some sort of Shard-induced weakness, like how Ruin and Preservation can't see metal?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
#12393
Lightflame
When Shallan is appealing Jasnah, Jasnah reveals that she has heard about Shallan's step-mother, Malise Gevelmar. Has Malise Gevelmar ever met Jasnah or one of her associates (excluding Shallan)?
Brandon Sanderson
No, she has not. You'll learn more about Malise in [Words of Radiance]. She really is just a rural lighteyes of not much consequence. Shallan's mother, however...
#12394
Lightflame
You've confirmed that several Heralds have appeared or been mentioned in the modern (non-prelude, non-vision) parts of The Way of Kings. Have any members of the Knights Radiant (the one from the days of Urithiru, not near-Radiants like Kaladin) appeared in the modern parts of The Way of Kings? And if you have to RAFO me, could you give me a hint about the Heralds?
Brandon Sanderson
I can answer that--no, no Radiants from those days have appeared on screen in [The Way of Kings].
#12395
dyring
A Coinshot able to store weight can, as you showed us with Wax Push in a ridiculously powerful manner, as the weight/mass is the largest factor which controls the Push strength.
I'm wondering if the same can be done with soothing(or rioting). If you where to increase your identity, that may/should increase your emotional imprint(or whatever you might call it), would your soothings/riotings become vastly more powerful in a similar way as weight makes steelpushing more powerful?
And if it does, is this how the Lord Ruler improved his Soothing in such a spectacular fashion?
Brandon Sanderson
Well, the Lord Ruler--don't forget--could compound any Allomancy he wanted. That creates some crazy effects. As for what you discuss in your first question, I don't want to touch too much on Identity yet as I am saving it for later books. Talking too much here might undermine my ability to reveal interesting and cool things in books when the time is right. I like your theory, and it has merit, but I'm not going to give you a yes or a no as it delves too much into what Identity, as an attribute, can do.
#12396
rags
If I used a Hemalurgic spike charged with Allomantic powers on a person on say Nalthis, will the focus of Allomancy change because the power is being used on another planet?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
#12397
Kurkistan
Would it be fair to describe the three realms as the Spiritual Realm providing motivation/general directives (gravity, desires, energy, etc.), the Cognitive Realm interpreting and applying those directives, and the Physical Realm as where these directives--as interpreted by the Cognitive Realm--are actually implemented? All of this with interactions/change flowing back and forth between the Realms as well (Physical phenomena affecting thought affecting the spirit, for example).
Brandon Sanderson
Ha! That's a very interesting way to look at it. The theory isn't all there, but it's thinking along the right lines.
#12398
rags
You have told us there are more than 30 magical systems on Roshar. I am assuming there are 10 Surgebindings and 10 Voidbindings. Do the next 10 belong to another such classification? If yes, can you give us the name for it.
Brandon Sanderson
Fabrials are part of it.
#12399
rags
How is Harmony balanced when a part of Preservation's power is expended on human sentience? Isn't that what caused all the trouble to begin with?
Brandon Sanderson
Indeed. Hm... What could Sazed be doing with that extra power...
#12400
rags
We know that there are 10 orders of Radiants and 10 different powers, with each order having access to 2 of them. Any reason why this "class restriction" exists (they are lot more combinations possible with 10 powers)?
Brandon Sanderson
There is a reason. I don't know when I want to get into it, however.