Recent entries

    Holiday signing ()
    #12751 Copy

    Questioner

    How do koloss breed with humans, because you say in Alloy of Law that one of the--

    Brandon Sanderson

    What happens is the koloss breed with each other and a koloss-blooded is the result, because a koloss needs the Hemalurgic spikes to make them full koloss.  So if two koloss breed you get a koloss-blooded, which is basically a human with some weird genetics in them and if they choose to go through the transformation to full koloss they will become one.

    Holiday signing ()
    #12752 Copy

    Questioner

    So you initially said that you had started the first third [of Shadows of Self] and then you took a break for two years.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, mmhmm

    Questioner

    I kind of get the feeling that in the first third The Set was supposed to be the Big Bad villain of the second book and then you massaged it into the kandra.  Is that the case or--

    Brandon Sanderson

    No the kandra was always planned as the second book villain. When I sat down to do the outline of the three, that is when I decided-- So yeah it was the kandra. The big change is that Marasi wasn't working at all, that's probably one of the reasons I stopped it. I had to rebuild her from the get go in that one, and she works much better in the revision. I was pushing her in the first draft more toward lawyer/attorney stuff and it just wasn't working, it's not where she wanted to go.

    Holiday signing ()
    #12753 Copy

    Questioner

    Not to bring up Rithmatist, do you think it is just going to be the two books or--

    Brandon Sanderson

    I plotted it at three, so it is probably going to be The Rithmatist, The Aztlanian, and then I-- The Nebraskian? But I have to find some goofy thing so it's not necessarily Nebraskan...

    Holiday signing ()
    #12754 Copy

    Questioner

    So are any characters, like Vasher, going to be in any of your other books?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Well, Vasher is in Words of Radiance.

    Questioner

    Yeah, I knew he was in Words of Radiance. Is he going to show up more in that? Have more importance?

    Brandon Sanderson

    He is not going to have a huge role, he'll have a little one. Normally I try to confine people who are interfering in other series to their own series, if that makes sense?

    Holiday signing ()
    #12755 Copy

    Questioner 1

    I just notice that in the newer Mistborns that some of the older Mistborns, on the metals, aren't there a couple metals that are missing?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. There are. They didn't quite understand the-- all things, just like we don't understand all science, and as the series progresses you will see that table become even more intricate as it becomes more and more scientific.

    Questioner 2

    So this series is a step modernized? I've only read the original.

    Brandon Sanderson

    This one is a step modernized, still all the magic and stuff, but it's kind of mixing gunslinging and Allomancy. There's going to be another series that's going to be 1980's level technology where you'll really see things start to modernize, and then there's a science fiction series. Eventually.

    Holiday signing ()
    #12756 Copy

    Questioner

    If you were to place yourself in the...  what Knight Radiant-- what Radiant Order would you be?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Mmmmm.

    Questioner

    It's a hard question.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah that is a hard question. I probably naturally, I think the best fit would be Lightweaver but it could be Bondsmith depending on what mood I'm in. You'll have to read that one… Dalinar becomes one at the end.

    Questioner

    We don't know much about them yet. What do they do? There's only three though, right?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Right now? There's-- yeah. But there's also Lift, who's an Edgedancer--

    Questioner

    No, I mean three Bondsmiths.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Oh, yeah. There aren't very many, ever.

    Holiday signing ()
    #12757 Copy

    Questioner

    How hard is it to write about the death of a character? Like when you wrote about Kelsier, and Vin had to go through the aftermath--

    Brandon Sanderson

    It's, to me, pretty hard. The thing is, it's harder for me in the planning because by the time I reach it in the books I'm usually well-prepped for it because I'm an outliner so I know before I start. It's not like in the moment. Once in awhile, I'll have to go and rebuild the outline, y'know, this person has to not make it but usually I know it very early on. But it can be hard, for sure. But it helps like, that I know their whole life, you know what I mean? I don't just get the glimpse of the story, I know everything about them. And you do know that there are hints of Kelsier in Book 3 Mistborn, he was around doing some stuff.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12761 Copy

    ccstat

    In Shallan's drawings during the course of The Way of Kings, she sees multiple Cryptics. Were there other Cryptics accompanying Pattern in those drawings?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    ccstat

    Were they approving of Pattern's choices.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes. The Cryptics are much like what is happening with Lift, where there is more of a conscious effort on their part. As opposed to what is happening with Syl or Jasnah where there is hesitance. What the Cryptics are driven to do is in part because of what a few of their members have been experimenting with.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12762 Copy

    ccstat

    Vasher uses Awakening in a very interesting way, off-stage, to modify the memories of the girl he rescues. Can Hemalurgy do the same thing if used carefully?

    Brandon Sanderson

    *long pause* No, I don't really think that it can. Nobody has asked that before, but just looking at the way the magics work, I don't think that is something that Hemalurgy is capable of doing.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12765 Copy

    ccstat

    Can a Seeker, standing outside a Coppercloud, that is between them and another Allomancer, can he sense the person standing on the other side of the Coppercloud?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, but he might get some interference.

    Ben McSweeney

    Would you sense the cloud itself, like "Hey, there's a cloud between me and what I'm looking at"?

    Brandon Sanderson

    If you know what you're doing, you might be able to say something is interfering, but you wouldn't be able to determine what. There are multiple things that could cause that, for instance-- Most of them are only-- That they would be able to-- Yeah, there are multiple things that could cause that. Like, for instance--

    Ben McSweeney

    Big buildings?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Well, aluminum.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12770 Copy

    Questioner

    When you do get around to giving us Hoid's story is it going to be like Ender's Shadow type of thing where you're filling in the gaps?

    Brandon Sanderson

    You know I know that stuff, but I don't plan to do it that way. I plan to do his backstory more as his own story because while I really like Ender's Shadow, most of the things like that I haven't enjoyed as much. Plus, it would take me books and books and books to do it. We'll see. I haven't closed the door on that idea, but I'm not planning on it right now. There are parallel things like that I am planning to write, but it's not Hoid.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12772 Copy

    KalynaAnne

    Lines of Vigor, do they behave like light waves?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    KalynaAnne

    So a higher frequency means it’s better at penetrating, lower frequency transfers energy and moves stuff?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    Ben McSweeney

    Nice, I didn't know that one.

    KalynaAnne

    So, when they bounce off Lines of Forbiddance, do they follow laws of reflection?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    Ben McSweeney

    They should always reflect at the same angle.  Think of, like, a pool table.

    KalynaAnne

    If a Line of Vigor is moving from concrete onto asphalt, is it changing?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It's going to act like light transferring to a new medium.

    KalynaAnne

    So it refracts?

    Brandon Sanderson

    It's going to-- Yeah, it's going to refract.

    KalynaAnne

    So it changes speed as it moves?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yep. So you get a different wavelength, or whatever, once transfers onto a new medium.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12773 Copy

    KalynaAnne

    If you use different circle centers rather than the orthocenter, you can do 9-point conic constructions and make 9-point ellipses?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    KalynaAnne

    Is that valid?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I would say yes, that could be valid.

    Ben McSweeney

    Wasn't there a rule about ellipses being a little--

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes, they are a little less strong.

    Ben McSweeney

    --they're weak because the long sides are weaker than the short sides.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, but this would work. There's not much reason to use it because the other is naturally-- has a stronger integrity than this, but you could theoretically do that. The defenses that make use of an ellipse make use of the strengths of an ellipse already. But yeah that would be possible.

    Ben McSweeney

    With an ellipse you are asking for your opponent to flank you and come at you from the sides. And then if he pushes your circle out you're in trouble.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12774 Copy

    KalynaAnne

    So when you have multiple points, that are like a point where there are multiple things, could you bind multiple things to that point?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Um yes, and you can always bind multiple things to a point--

    KalynaAnne

    Oh you can always bind--

    Ben McSweeney

    So you can bind a chalkling and a circle to the same point?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, but it's going to make it weaker, so you don't usually want to do it. 'Cause you are better off to just stick circle on and get multiple points on of that...

    KalynaAnne

    But if it had multiple ones, would that make it less bad to join two?

    Brandon Sanderson

    No.

    KalynaAnne

    So it doesn't--

    Brandon Sanderson

    It doesn't. Good question!

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12775 Copy

    KalynaAnne

    So, 9-point circles are important... You can get all the different point placements as special cases of the nine point circles.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Uh-huh.

    KalynaAnne

    You can also get 5 point; is that valid Rithmatically?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, that would work.

    KalynaAnne

    And 8-point?

    Brandon Sanderson

    8-point they haven't done very much experimentation with.

    Ben McSweeney

    But you could!

    Brandon Sanderson

    But you could, yeah.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12776 Copy

    Questioner

    We got a RAFO ticket so--

    Ben McSweeney

    Did you actually get a card? Those are so cool. I've only gotten one, and I've been working for this man for five years.

    Questioner

    You have to ask more questions

    Ben McSweeney

    I basically have to hit him at a signing and then I'm not supposed to be taking them from the fans.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Right. The thing is, he can have the answers he wants.

    Ben McSweeney

    I get some. You RAFO'd me once.

    Brandon Sanderson

    I RAFO'd you once.

    Ben McSweeney

    I actually think that's how I got the card. 'Cause I did it and you were like "No."

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12777 Copy

    Questioner

    If you had to be stranded on an island with Patrick Rothfuss forever, who would drive the other one more mad?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Ummmm, boy...

    Ben McSweeney

    That's a pretty good one.

    Brandon Sanderson

    It is a pretty good one. I don't know who'd crack first. We're both kind of quirky guys, we both have our writer's egos. I would just fear for a third person trapped with us. *laughter* We'd just go to our separate sides of the island and write books for each other.

    Ben McSweeney

    You'll just yell at each other about where is your next book. "I finished mine, where's yours!"

    Brandon Sanderson

    It's in the sand over here, where's yours...

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12779 Copy

    Ben McSweeney

    *in response to a discussion about RAFOs* There was the one about what painspren look like.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, what do painspren look like on the Cognitive Realm.

    Ben McSweeney

    That's a RAFO.

    Brandon Sanderson

    That's a RAFO because it is actually relevant to future stories.

    Ben McSweeney

    It'll be important.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Not that it's a big deal, but I got to hold some stuff back.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12780 Copy

    Questioner

    She wanted to know, the safehand, is it always the left hand or is it--

    Brandon Sanderson

    It is.

    Questioner

    That's what I thought, she thought it was just the non-dominant hand.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Nope, it is the-- So it's rough on lefties. But remember, most non-nobles they just wear a glove, so it's not such a big deal for them. It's when you're noble and left handed that you kind of have a problem.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12781 Copy

    Questioner

    What’s the hardest power you've created to find a balance for?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Hardest power to create a balance for? I'd say first is Wheel of Time, but I didn't create that... Hardest to balance… They've all been fairly easy so far. My guess is that it will end up being Stormlight just because I am doing so many books in that world, and I'm not resetting characters as much as I am in Mistborn, that I'm going to have to be careful about power creep... That's an excellent question.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12782 Copy

    Questioner

    And are there established trade routes between Epic-controlled areas?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes.

    Questioner

    Are they patrolled by Epics?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Umm, yes to an extent. For the most part you know that if you hit an Epic's trade caravan you're all dead, y'know? So they don't have to worry about it that much. But some are patrolled. Not by the Epics, but by their people.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12784 Copy

    Questioner

    In the book [The Way of Kings] you discuss that if you were to lose a piece of Shardplate you have to regrow the part back, or else someone takes it and tries to regrow the entire plate. One thing that has been bugging me for a while now is if you were to take a small piece of the armor, such as a glove, and fuel it with Stormlight to regrow the whole armor, does it retain the original armor? Like does it retain how it looked before, the glove?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yes

    Questioner

    So it just transfers over.

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, and the original glove will disintegrate.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12786 Copy

    Questioner

    There's a huge movement in the genre, almost away from heroic, truly good figures and it seems to me like a lot of your books are kind of, there is some darkness in them but you are holding really tight to the light… What do you think about the idea of the true heroic character and where they're going?

    Brandon Sanderson

    I think that people can be truly heroic and I'm happy that the genre has lots of room for different types of storytelling, but the books I'm most interested in are the ones that are people still trying to do what is right, and so that's what I want to write about.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12787 Copy

    Questioner

    I've been watching some of the videos online and you say writing-- ideas are cheap, and they are, you can get ideas pretty easy, but how in the world do you get-- I can get the beginning and figure out an end but how do you do get all the stuff in the middle?

    Brandon Sanderson

    So if you've got your end, try and say what things, try to get a brainstorming session where you write with bullet points underneath it what things will help me earn this ending so that it feels-- that it has the emotion that I want. And try to brainstorm five or six things and make those waypoints along the way, if that makes sense, between-- Where it's not just one point and two points, it's five points, "I'm going to hit this one, this one, and this one" and if you can come up with four or five interesting things to happen through the end of your book that you can earn that way you're going to have a sequence of like twenty touchstones that can each form a chapter or a couple of chapters that you can work on to get to that ending.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12788 Copy

    Questioner

    Why did, when Alcatraz got his father's soul back, why did he poof back wearing his suit? Since when you get turned into one they're incinerated, your clothes are gone. Why does he have his?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Why did he have his? Because he was prepared for this. He was ready and he had done something so it wouldn't go that way.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12789 Copy

    Questioner

    Are going to do anything else in that world [of Dreamer]

    Brandon Sanderson

    Probably not. She [Charlaine Harris] wanted me to write a horror story, and I'd never written one before so I said, "All right, what is the most frightening thing I can think of?" The most frightening thing I could think of was the kids who play Xbox having power over real people’s lives, and that’s where that story came from.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12790 Copy

    Questioner

    As a physicist I appreciate you being so consistent with your magic systems.

    Brandon Sanderson

    It is something I try very hard to do, though I do recognize that we do bend a lot of rules. When we were doing the time-based one in this [The Alloy of Law], I'm like, "Oh, boy, redshifts. Oh, no, conservation of energy." We had to do some bending to make it so that the radiation from the light passing out of the time bubble wasn't deadly.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12791 Copy

    Questioner

    I was deployed in Afghanistan when I read The Way of Kings. And I was wondering how do you put yourself in the mind of a soldier?  Because it was very--

    Brandon Sanderson

    I have a good friend and I asked them when I interviewed them and that was a big help to me.

    Questioner

    When they got to the Shattered Plains it felt like I was reading a story about myself--

    Brandon Sanderson

    Oh really?

    Questioner

    Reading about how the rank structure, that was really-- It wasn't quite the same but--

    Brandon Sanderson

    I've got a good friend. His name is actually Skar--he's the bridgeman Skar, I put him in the book because he helped me so much--who is in the army. He had lots of advice for me on how to make everything work.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12792 Copy

    Questioner

    So [Edmund] is Conflux, and you say the Epics are supposed to turn evil. How come [Edmund] hasn't turned evil yet?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Well they think it is because Edmund is a Gifter and isn't using his powers directly. That's their philosophy on it. Whether that is true or not remains yet to be seen.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12793 Copy

    Questioner

    Do you think any of your characters have ever been influenced by people you know in real life?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, it happens. It definitely does happen. Sarene, from Elantris is based on somebody. Most of Bridge Four is friends of mine, most of the lesser Bridge Four members. Not the main ones, but like Skar is a friend of mine, Drehy is a friend of mine, Peet is a friend of mine.

    Questioner

    So I was going to say-- What about, what's his name?

    Ben McSweeney

    Lopen?

    Questioner

    Yeah, Lopen.

    Brandon Sanderson

    No, not the core group. Not Lopen or--

    Ben McSweeney

    None of those guys.

    Brandon Sanderson

    But everyone else is like a cameo of my friends that I stuck in Bridge Four and, y'know,  then mutilate in horrible ways.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12794 Copy

    Questioner

    I am doing a GURPS rpg right now where my character is a lawyer and I'm in law school. And I was wondering if you have ever considered having a character in the books who is a lawyer?

    Brandon Sanderson

    An attorney? There is a story I've wanted to tell forever... I'll never do it. But it's one of those ideas. I wanted to do a story where aliens come down and decide that throughout human history possession of land indicates ownership, by our historical record. We have to convince them in court that that's not the way we do things. They just want to annex the planet. "Look at the Americans. You just took this land and said it's yours. So we want to do that to your planet." And have a science fiction story that is a legal battle about why they can't take over our planet.

    Firefight Atlanta signing ()
    #12799 Copy

    Questioner

    I was wondering if Sazed was based on any of your own explorations when you were developing your own path?

    Brandon Sanderson

    Yeah, definitely he is a part of me, but there are big things that are different from me as well. Really the main concept for him was "the Missionary for Every Religion" and that was a cool idea to me.