Bobby
Do you have any advice for new fantasy writers to smooth out any road bumps on the way to getting published and how do you juggle success with the life you had before your books took off?
Brandon Sanderson
I have a ton of advice, but most of it I can't put here. I have a couple of resources where I go into depth. The first is Writing Excuses, my podcast. I suggest that you start listening the with January 2015 episodes—it will be very helpful. For something more in-depth, I post videos of my writing lectures on YouTube. This is the class I teach at BYU, and goes very in-depth on publishing.
Here, I'll just say this: Practice a lot. Write the kind of books that you wish were being written. Make good habits, and learn to be a writer long before you publish—own being a writer. Do the work, learn to think like a writer, and guard your writing time as if this were your job. Then when it actually happens, it will be more like "Hey, it finally happened" than "Wow. What do I do now?"
E.D.E.
If you could have an Epic power in your everyday life—you know, just every once in a while, not enough to corrupt you—what would it be?
Brandon Sanderson
I would love to be able to fly. It's not the "right" decision, which would probably be some kind of healing/comforting power to make myself and those around me more healthy. (Even if it is to get rid of the common cold.)
But…flying!
Atanas
What would you say is the best approach to battle the growing apathy, greed, violence, corruption, pollution and misery in the world today―using Sazed's wisdom, education, research on religions and unity through equal- mindedness or Kelsier's way of personal example, sacrifice, and unity through action?
Brandon Sanderson
I am more a Sazed than a Kelsier. Sazed is focused on patience, careful change, and thoughtfulness. But we need Kelsiers too—people who are willing to act decisively, to become the type of person that others follow, and to make things happen, even if sometimes there are terrible consequences.
Jessica
In Shadows of Self a few characters use some variation of "Hell!" as an exclamation when things go awry. I don't recall any reference to "Hell" as a place or philosophy in the religions of the Mistborn series. How does this word fit into their world, does it differ from our own?
Brandon Sanderson
The characters in Mistborn have been using "biblical" curses since book one. This was a specific choice made on my part, as I want the "feel" of Mistborn to be like London in the early 1800s. All of my books are to be read as if there's a phantom translator who took it from the original language and translated it into English. In many cases, there isn't a word that is an exact translation—so the translator does their best.
In The Final Empire, there was indeed a kind of "hell." Though there wasn't a specific idea of a devil—it was just the punishment ascribed to the souls who failed or disobeyed the Lord Ruler. Even the skaa knew of this, though religion was forbidden them. So it was a more vague sense, than specific theology, to them.
Cade
Brandon, what has been the influence of your LDS religion on your writing? Have aspects of Mormon doctrine been incorporated into your worldbuilding?
Brandon Sanderson
I'm very interested in the concepts of religion and the ideas that surround it, and I often find myself writing books that deal with things I'm interested in myself. I allow the themes of books like these to grow naturally out of the world I've built and out of the stories that I want to tell. Specifically, I kind of let the characters decide what the themes of a book are going to be. I don't go into it saying, "I'm going to write about this," but the worlds that I create betray my own interests very strongly.
What is it about faith and deity? This is something that is unique about us as human beings, something very interesting to me, and it felt like this area was an open space to explore in fantasy in ways that hadn't been done before. I always find myself gravitating toward things that I feel haven't been explored as much as they could have been. That interests me and fascinates me.
Hoa
How do you prioritize the various series you are writing? Are you influenced by your creative interest, schedule, fans, family, etc.? You have so many wonderful, intricate storylines and series such as The Rithmitist, The Stormlight Archive, The Wheel of Time and others that are all being released simultaneously.
Brandon Sanderson
Deciding what to work on is a balancing act. On one hand, the artist in me always wants to be doing something new, and it pushes me that direction. On the other hand, the completionist in me knows that there is great, great satisfaction and power in finishing a piece of art. It pushes me to work on the established series, and keeps me from going too many directions at once.
In general, I only write new fiction on one story at once. But when I finish one, I have to make sure I do something very different from it to keep me from being burned out. I am absolutely influenced by my schedule, my fans, and my family—all of these things give me ideas, and also require some very careful juggling of priorities to make sure everything gets the time it deserves.
Jim
When doing your worldbuilding and plotting work prior to writing do you ever work with maps and soldiers? Do you build out your fights with models etc?
Brandon Sanderson
I don't build any of my action sequences with models, though that's an excellent question. I have a vivid imagination, and generally don't need to place things on a map to create an action sequence. In fact, I think doing so might be dangerous, as I'd be tempted to describe things happening across the action sequence all over, rather than what is immediately happening to the viewpoint character—which is where my focus needs to be.
Often, the only map-based worldbuilding I'll do is a general sketch of a continent or city so I know broadly how everything is related. But then I write the book, and let what has to happen in the book happen—good storytelling trumps cartography. I can always rebuild the map to be accurate once I write the book.
The exception is large-scale battles, like some of those in The Wheel of Time, where I had to involve real warfare strategy and tactics. In those cases, I need to know enough that it's best to draw it out and have a full battle map.
D.I.
I've heard you are a plotter, yet chose to write The Reckoners as a pantser. What were some of the unexpected difficulties or advantages of pantsing?
Brandon Sanderson
I "pantsed" the first few chapters of Steelheart, but I quickly went from there to creating an outline. The early part was exploration, the first three or four chapters. That's not uncommon, even for an outliner. However, I did then stop and produce a really solid outline for the book. (Actually one of the most solid I've ever made.)
When you're discovery writing, you often have a lot more success creating and discovering characters, in my experience. That's why I often free-write a few opening chapters to a book, so I can get a feel for who these people might be.However, a difficulty with discovery writing (pantsing) is plotting it's very difficult to create a tight narrative without an outline. (That said, many people who love to discovery write can fix this problem in revisions.)
David
Having completed the The Wheel of Time series for Robert Jordan. Who would you want to complete your books if anything should happen to you?
Brandon Sanderson
Boy! Let's hope that I make it. But, having done what I did for The Wheel of Time, I've had to consider this. I think right now, I'd like either Brent Weeks to write it (as he and I have very similar styles, and I like his books a lot) or Brian McClellan, my former student who is now writing excellent fiction. (I can't take much credit for Brian, as he was an excellent writer before he took my class.) I haven't asked either of them to do this, though, so it's more just idle consideration to me.
Howard
How often (if ever) do you reread your own books to make sure the content stays fresh in your mind? Or do you just rely on your notes and timelines you have for your books?
Brandon Sanderson
Depends. If it's been a long time, I'll reread. (Or at least look up specific chapters.) It depends on how much the story is "present" in my mind as well. The Stormlight Archive and The Reckoners have been solidly in my mind these last five years, and I have enough a grasp on the story that I'm in control of it and can work with it the way I need. When I get back to The Rithmatist, however, I'll need to reread the whole thing.
Cassidy
What was your premise behind the main character David [in The Reckoners]? Why did you create him as he is, scared yet fearless at the same time, smart about specific things yet totally ignorant about others, etc.?
Brandon Sanderson
I built David around two pillars of personality. One is his interest in the Epics, which balances between hatred and fascination. The other one is his fierce determination, which leads him to be impulsive and bull-headed at times, but also pretty inspiring at others.
I feel that as people, sometimes our greatest strengths are also our greatest liabilities. In this respect, every human being is a conundrum in at least one or two ways. With David, his fixation on the Epics is a huge strength but he's been so narrowly focused in his interests that he neglected many other areas of study. So he's both smart and stupid. At the same time, he's impulsive and determined, which leads to acts of great bravery, but he lives in a society that beats people down so if he stops and thinks too long, he can often psych himself out.
Caleb
What was it that inspired you to write a superhero series in which all the super-powered heroes had become so corrupt?
Szilvi
What made you think about people with superpowers that could destroy the world, since most people make people with super powers the good guys?
Brandon Sanderson
I did it exactly because I hadn't ever seen anyone do it! I've enjoyed the superhero genre quite a bit during my years, and as a writer I'm generally looking to do something similar to stories I've loved in the past. At the same time, something in me rebels at just doing "the same thing" again. This is the conflict of fan against artist inside me and the result is usually that I spend time thinking about a genre of stories, and try to find a take on it that feels fresh and original. It's like eating my cake and having it too! I feel that I can add something to the genre, giving people a new story, yet also incorporate some of the things I love about the genre the things that make it really work.
mail-mi
(paraphrased)
Could you write a clue about Shadesmar on my shirt?
Brandon Sanderson (Written)
(paraphrased)
Shadesmar has much investiture in some places.
mail-mi
(paraphrased)
There's a bunch of us on 17th Shard doing a role playing game set in the Reckoners universe, and we were wondering if there are any powerful Epics on the west coast that we should know about.
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Night's Whisper is a super powerful Epic on the west coast, and Obliteration could definitely be there for Oregon's destruction.
Skaiiwalker
Can you give me a hint about the Parshendi gods? It can't be Odium, right? Because it's plural...
Brandon Sanderson
No, it's not Odium. The Parshendi gods... *he paused here for a while* are closer to what the humans would call "Heralds".
Skaiiwalker
(paraphrased)
What does Investiture look like in the Spiritual Realm?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Er, I haven't said anything about that yet.
Skaiiwalker
(paraphrased)
But is it important?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Yes, it's important.
Skaiiwalker
(paraphrased)
Could you say that it looks anything like mist?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Well you could say that it looks anything like mist. *smiles teasingly*
Skaiiwalker
(paraphrased)
Do Axies's and Jasnah's reversed shadows have a common source?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Yes.
Skaiiwalker
(paraphrased)
Does it have anything to do with its draw towards Investiture?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
*After a pause* It has more to do with Shadesmar than Investiture.
Skaiiwalker
(paraphrased)
Does Hoid use his Feruchemical abilities with the atium to see the future?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Ah ah ah, I haven't confirmed that Hoid had Feruchemical abilities.
Skaiiwalker
(paraphrased)
You haven't?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
*grinning slyly* No, but most people think he has Allomancy.
Skaiiwalker
(paraphrased)
We know that Hoid has a bead of lerasium. Does he have any atium?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
He has access to atium, yes.
Skaiiwalker
(paraphrased)
Did any atium survive The Hero of Ages?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Yes.
Skaiiwalker
(paraphrased)
Are there any kandra on Roshar?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Yes.
Skaiiwalker
(paraphrased)
Is Axies one of them?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
No, but good guess. The Aimians are a different race.
Skaiiwalker
(paraphrased)
Did any kandra survive the end of Hero of Ages?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Yes.
Lindel
(paraphrased)
There's that trick with Feruchemy that lets you make metalminds that others can tap. Could you do something similar with Self-Awakening?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Oh yeah, there are all sorts of tricks that you can do. You could use other peoples Breaths, make it seem like you don't have any Breath-
Lindel
(paraphrased)
Awaken an object so that others could access its Breaths?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Yes.
Lindel
(paraphrased)
Crem and the Purelake on Roshar. Do they have any connection to Cultivation?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Both existed on the planet before Cultivation arrived.
Lindel
(paraphrased)
But both are influenced by her now?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Yes, she influences both.
If you pull a campfire soul out of your pocket in the Cognitive Realm near Threnody, will shades get mad?
RAFO!
Will you ever do any more in the Reckoners' world after Calamity? Both [Megan Tarash] and I hope you will.
Leave the man alone, Knees. He's answering the fans' questions, not yours.
How do we win? That's my question.
I'll be releasing a little instructional manual on this in a few weeks called Calamity. :)
Come on. That answer was about as helpful as a dryer full of water balloons.
(I'm only teasing. Please don't kill me in the next book. Please.)
Are either the blue-skinned Natans or blue-veined Babatharnams human-Aimian hybrids?
Yes.
Has one world's magic systems been used in battles/wars on another worlds? Such as Allomancy used on Roshar?
Not in anything large scale.
Which of your characters required the most research beforehand in order to write?
Kaladin took some research into field medicine and depression. He probably took the most.
AndrewStirlingMacDonald
I know they are not a part of the Cosmere, but does the Reckonersverse follow the rules of Realmatic theory?
Brandon Sanderson
No. Instead, it follows quantum multiverse theory.
Maria Goulet
Radiant vs. Mistborn: who wins?
Brandon Sanderson
Depends on the situation and the Radiant order.
AndrewStirlingMacDonald
Did Nazh fall in with Khriss before or after the Forests of Hell were colonized by Patience's people?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO. (Sorry. I am toying with a book on Threnody, and don't want to lock myself into anything yet.)
Caitlin Shanly
Your characters often gain confidence from beg to end of a book. What inspired that trend of personal growth?
Brandon Sanderson
My own life! :)
Sagar M
Do you always know the ending of the stories when you begin them?
Brandon Sanderson
Almost always. I'm a planner. Once in a while, I do a short story where I don't. Even that is rare, though.
Shyninglight
if you could have any of the powers from your books which one would you choose?
Brandon Sanderson
Windrunning, probably.
Tara
In Stormlight Archive what inspired you to come up with the idea of bridges & how they carry them across chasms?
Brandon Sanderson
I wanted a form of siege warfare that was different from anything that readers had seen before, but had the same despair to it.
Eric Hohnbaum
Who provoked the confrontation, Tanavast or Rayse?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
Raina Payne
Is it known to most people in Elandel that Ranette has a girlfriend? Or are they hiding?
Brandon Sanderson
They don't need to hide in particular in Elendel.
Anna
Do you watch Doctor Who? And if so, would you like to write an episode?
Brandon Sanderson
I have watched some Doctor Who and liked it a lot--but I don't do screenplays, so I might not be a good choice.
Jose paez
When you write.do you see the characters as real people or cartoons or comics?
Brandon Sanderson
Real people.
Un0ri
Will there be a sequel to the secret project? (are we allowed to use it's name yet?)
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, you can use the name now. And yes, I plan a sequence of these.
Lindel
(paraphrased)
You've mentioned several times that traveling to Shadesmar [the Cognitive Realm] on Sel is incredibly dangerous. Would reassembling Devotion and Dominion solve this problem?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Yes, I suppose that could work, yes.
Brandon Sanderson
The Butler
If you watch in these scenes, I'm trying very hard to set up the butler's eventual betrayal. This one must be done very carefully, however, for a couple of reasons. First off, Tillaume is actually a pretty good person. Loyal to Wax's uncle, true, but a good man. He doesn't want to kill Wax, but he sees it as important and understands what must be done.
What he is doing here in discouraging Wax is an attempt to keep him from drawing the old Lord Ladrian's attention. Tillaume knows that if it goes too far, Wax will have to be removed. But Tillaume is fond of him, and doesn't want that to happen. Hence his disapproval. He doesn't actually know he''ll be ordered to kill Wax; in fact, if he had known that he'd be responsible, he probably would have tried harder to sabotage what Wax is doing in these chapters. It takes him a little by surprise that Wax does all this, however, as Tillaume thought he'd sufficiently discouraged such behavior.
Mell Ashwill
Where did the Cosmere come from? What inspired you?
Brandon Sanderson
Lots of things. Isaac Asimov connecting his Robot books and Foundation books was a partial inspiration to be certain.
Leah Burkhart
Have you ever completely lost motivation or inspiration to write? When?
Brandon Sanderson
Closest I've come was about two years before I got published. I'd been rejected so much, and had worked for 8 years.
AndrewStirlingMacDonald
Parshendi/Parshmen/Gemhearts vs ISIS/Non-radical Muslims/Oil - A comparison you've considered while writing?
Brandon Sanderson
The Parshendi aren't the radicals, though. In that conflict, I'd argue that the humans are.
Is there a plan for a book focusing on Hoid or will he always remain an enigma?
The final Mistborn sequence will have him as a main character, as will the Dragonsteel prequel novels.
Drew McCaffrey
With the White Sand graphic novels, do you intend to continue the sequence past the first MS of White Sand?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, if they are popular enough, I do.
the other Nathan
If a large group of Windrunners lashed enough mass towards a single point, could they create a black hole?
Brandon Sanderson
Offhand, I think that would be theoretically possible, though in practicality impossible. We'd need [Peter Ahlstrom] to do some math.
Brandon Sanderson
Chapter Three
Wax investigates
If you've read the book, then you probably won't be surprised to find that a partial inspiration for it was the Sherlock Holmes stories. Of course, you'd have to search pretty far to find any kind of detective story that isn't somehow influenced by good Mister Holmes. This story, however, is more consciously inspired along those lines. I purposely developed a mysterious (almost even magical) series of robberies along the lines of what you see in the Holmes stories. The technological era is similar as well.
Of course, the characters are much different—even down to the character roles and dynamics. I wanted Wax to be a thinker, but more of a lawman than an eccentric. Wayne has enough eccentricity for three characters. I wanted the way that Wax approached solving a problem like this to be more methodical, more like a lawman who has grown accustomed to doing things on his own—but who has procedures he follows.
Beyond that, I wanted Wax to be solid. Many people are going to prefer Wayne for obvious reasons, but I prefer this story to be about Wax. (I'll talk more about Wayne's origins later.) Wax's solidity helps anchor the story, I feel. Perhaps I find him more interesting than others will, but the different parts of him that are warring inside create for a stronger dynamic than some of the other characters, who are more static.
