Recent entries

FireArcadia

When Dalinar and Honor are having a "chat" at the end, Honor says "I don't know who you are, or how you found your way here." Does Dalinar visit the Spiritual Realm in his dreams then?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO. (Sorry.)

Shivertongue

Do you have any of the Power Nine, and if so, which ones?

Brandon Sanderson

Pearl, Emerald, Ruby, Time Walk, Recall. Four left to go. I try to pick them up at times when it means something--for example, I bought my Ruby in Taiwan during my visit there earlier, and my wife gave me one as a gift...that sort of thing.

Shivertongue

What aspect of a new setting do you find to be the most difficult to develop?

Brandon Sanderson

Hmmm.... The everyday stuff is actually the hardest. For example, the question about racist jokes. They'd have them in world, but getting everything like this into a novel can be tough--particularly since it has a chance of squeezing out the story if you do too much.

Shivertongue

A few months ago, I discovered listening to classic jazz just really got me into the mindset for my current novel, and I think it might be because the story is set in a time similar to the America in the 1920's; do you ever try to match the music with the setting of a specific book or scene? Is there any one artist or style of music that works no matter what?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, indeed I do. I actually listened to era-appropriate music when working on Alloy of Law. In general, a good soundtrack can work no matter what, but for some scenes I need something more powerful. (Szeth's scenes in [The Way of Kings] were usually to Daft Punk.)

Kaist

Are the lighteyes descendants of the first people who took the Shards after the Knights Radiant abandoned them?

Brandon Sanderson

I'm afraid I have to RAFO this too.

Kaist

If Kasbal hadn't been trying to kill Jasnah, would him and Shallan have gotten together?

Brandon Sanderson

It's uncertain. He actually did care for her, but he was an assassin trained to infiltrate and gain the trust of people like Shallan. If he hadn't been trying to kill Jasnah, he would never have had a reason to begin spending time with Shallan. However, I assume your question is if they had somehow started interacting, would they have gotten together. It's possible, but I don't think--in the end--it would have lasted.

Kaist

Are the Parshendi of Honor?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

Link389

Are there any other Shards on Nalthis aside from Endowment.

Brandon Sanderson

I suppose I can answer this if I haven't already. No, it is only Endowment.

Link389

With Stormlight being in your mind 2 five book arcs, is there still a single "through-line" so to speak (aka, the Everstorm, A clash with Odium, or the like).

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Link389

Before Adonalsium was Shattered, was there magic in the cosmere and what form did it take?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, and when I write Dragonsteel, you shall see the answer to this.

InsurrectionistFungus

Did Sazed do anything with the bodies of Ati and Leras after he Ascended?

Brandon Sanderson

No, I'm afraid not. Those might have been useful to have around, though.

InsurrectionistFungus

Are there more kinds of kandra blessings than just the four we've seen?

Brandon Sanderson

Potentially, yes.

InsurrectionistFungus

Does aluminium have any effect on the other Allomantic metals aside from iron/steel and zinc/brass? If yes, does that include god metals and their alloys?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes and no.

Voidus

Would an Archivist who was sufficiently practiced be able to store memories at different strengths? (Keep a vague recollection of the memory as well as a stored copy which would degrade faster)

Brandon Sanderson

I don't think this is outside of reason for one to do, if they wanted to. I'm not sure if they would want to, but it's plausible.

Voidus

What would happen if you Allomantically burned an Awakened piece of metal?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

Arcanist

Is Szeth bounded to the Oathstone (master) with magic/force or just with his honour? As I can remember, in the end of [The Way of Kings] he nearly killed Taravangian.

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO. :)

Arcanist

Do you plan a magic system which enables the character to manipulate the four elements with their will? I mean not so bounded, like Allomancy with Pushing or Pulling but shaping/summoning the elements according to the wishes of the person. I ask this, because in the whole fantasy genre I rarely find something like this (except: Arc Magica RPG), so I had to develop it myself at home. But from the authors I know you are the person who has the creativity to do this without doubt.

Brandon Sanderson

Maybe, but there are a few problems here. For one, "Four elements" magic has been done over and over in books and video games, so it feels hard to make fresh. And in what you describe, it sounds like the characters would be very powerful, which makes for a challenging story to write.

Arcanist

When will be see the whole Cosmere-concept (Shards, the plans of Hoid) at the level of the books? In the third Mistborn trilogy or earlier? In which books do you plan to finish the "hidden story" which connects all your earlier books?

Brandon Sanderson

Third Mistborn Trilogy will certainly include some of this. We shall see if I do any of Hoid's stories before then.

Arcanist

As Dalinar gave his Shardblade to Highprince Sadeas, was his motivation only to free the Brigdemen as "Thank you" for the help? Or did he already plan to build a team from soldiers who are loyal only to him?

Brandon Sanderson

He certainly saw the side benefits. However, his primary motive was to make a statement. Not just as a thank you, but as a way of proclaiming to all of the Alethi "What we have been doing is wrong. This wealth is not worth the lives of men."

Arcanist

Are the intelligent spren like Syl the "seons of Roshar"?

Brandon Sanderson

What a clever question. Gold star for you.

Arcanist

Most of your heroes are true traditional "heroes", because they want to be useful for the family/society/other, and they often lack selfish, "dirtier" motivations. Will we sometimes see characters, who are not villains but are rather egocentric?

Brandon Sanderson

Kelsier. :)

Expanding that, however, I feel that in general, other people are telling stories about "dirtier" characters and doing it well. I don't feel characters who are generally good characters are any less realistic, however--in fact, almost everyone I know is more like Vin or Dalinar. They want to be good people, they TRY to be good people. Fantasy has taken a very dark turn in many ways, and this is fine, but it is not the type of story or characters in which I am interested.

That doesn't mean I won't ever do it. There are some far more borderline characters mixed into some of the series, but they are more the exception than the rule.

Arcanist

According to [Sanderson's Second Law of Magic] your characters have flaws, weaknesses. What is the reason, that in a lot of them (Vin, Elend, Kaladin, Dalinar, Spook, etc) the most significant weakness is the lack of self-confidence?

Brandon Sanderson

It's because of mode-shifting. The people you noted have been doing one thing for a long time, and are now forced into something else. The self confidence is a side effect of that. However, I wouldn't say it's the primary character attribute for any of them, however. I think you're blanketing self confidence as a larger issue, when it's the smaller part of something larger for each character.

Vin: Trusting Others

Elend: Idealism

Dalinar: Conflict between the killer he was and the man he wishes to be.

Spook: Self Worth

Nemuri

If a Shardblade was used on an Awakened object, would it physically harm the object, destroy the Breath, or a combination of the two?

Brandon Sanderson

You will someday know.

Nemuri

Can Knights Radiant of one Order see the spren of someone from another Order?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

Nemuri

How has writing Shallan as the focus character been compared to Kaladin in the last book? Easier? More difficult?

Brandon Sanderson

So far, I've only done her flashback sequence--but this was a little easier than Kaladin's, as I've been kind of chomping at the bit to tell her story.

Joe ST

What do you think to a Sadeas and Zane pairing? Not many people seem to like the idea, but I think they'd get on swimmingly :P

Brandon Sanderson

Sadeas would make great use of Zane. Far better use than his father did.

Joe ST

Can a Misting burn the god-metal alloys of their metal? If not, do the god-metals even 'exist' if there are no full Mistborn?

Brandon Sanderson

There are metals which exist that any Allomancer can burn, regardless of their own orientation.

Joe ST

Is there any relationship between Hemalurgic bindpoints and the body focuses in Surgebinding? Specifically, the eyespikes and the eyes being a body focus in Surgebinding?

Brandon Sanderson

The relationship is there, but it's not a very strong connection.

Joe ST

Are we going to be seeing Eastern Slang/High Imperial throughout the whole of the Mistborn sequence? How about on any of the other Shardworlds?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO. (But you will see it again.)

Joe ST

Would you be willing to write a Ketek in High Imperial? It's just something that's been going around in my head for a while, I think it'd be pretty cool XD.

Brandon Sanderson

Ha. I...really would rather pass on this one. Getting the Ketek right in [The Way of Kings] took weeks of writing and rewriting. I'm not sure I'd like to try something, even for fun, in a quick forum write like this.

Thoughtful Spurts

If tapping heat means your own body gets hotter, does it also mean you become immune to hot temperatures so long as you're tapping it, or should you fill heat and grow colder for that to happen?

Brandon Sanderson

As everything in Feruchemy, you become immune to the effects of the ability only. Like weight doesn't crush you, but at the same time doesn't have a net gain in strength. Growing colder, however, would be more helpful in this regard.

Thoughtful Spurts

If there's really no upper limit to Feruchemy for practical reasons* , why didn't Sazed just fill steel at ridiculous levels for a few minutes in [Well of Ascension], and then go back to running instead of leaving his steelminds there? Say, being some 100,000 times slower than he would normally be for about a minute. Meaning that a Feruchemist should be able to fill a given metalmind in very short periods of time if you fill at a high enough rate.

*(yes, you have the limit of how much you can store in a given metalmind and for how many metalminds you can carry on your person, but those are probably too high to really be taken into account in more "normal" circumstances)

Brandon Sanderson

The low end is bounded. You can pull out tons--but in filling, you can only go so far. I didn't ever explicitly talk about this in the series, but the implications are there. Not all have the same bounds, but in your example, the body just can't slow beyond a certain point. Think of it this way--you can only fill a weight metalmind with as much weight as you have to give. So you can become very, very light--but you only add to a time for doubling your weight. You can't make yourself 100,000 times slower and gain 100,000 times multiplication. You can give up all of your normal speed, and so when you tap that speed out you are at 200% for an equal period. (And that's a theoretical maximum; realistically, you can only go to down around 75% slower or the like.)

Thoughtful Spurts

What do the Terrismen who aren't stewards or breeders do? Are there castrated Terris craftsmen around in the Terris dominance? What do the Terriswomen who aren't breeders do?

Brandon Sanderson

Lots of things. There is a full society up there. Lots of small villages.

Thoughtful Spurts

Are there any racist jokes in the Mistborn world?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, I would think there are lots of racist jokes everywhere. It's more of a thing on Roshar, however, where the races are more distinct and rub each other the wrong way more often.

BLU3

Just wondering, are you ever going to go back and write about The Further Adventures of Lestibournes? I think his character is pivotal to the Mistborn trilogy and felt cheated that the trilogy mostly focused on Vin, Kel, Sazed, and Elend. I would like to know more of his backstory and how he became the stud that he is.

Brandon Sanderson

He became quite the 'stud' in the years following the first trilogy. I might be persuaded to show some of this at some point. He also knew many things he really should not have.

Satsuoni

Tell us something new about Cognitive Realm, please :)

Brandon Sanderson

You will get plenty in the next Stormlight book. But more than one type of spren live there.

Satsuoni

How much power does a Breath and a freshly charged Hemalurgic spike have relative to each other?

Brandon Sanderson

This is a RAFO. I don't want to be pinned down on this one quite yet.

Satsuoni

How is heat a mental attribute in Feruchemy?

Brandon Sanderson

Because I messed up. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but that power was supposed to be swapped with another one. (You might be able to guess which one.) However, by the time I realized my mistake, it had already been canonized in print in the trilogy, so I was stuck with it. I've been tempted to go back and correct the error, but it reaches pretty far back. People drawing upon warmth is mentioned in the first book. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that in general the 'physical, mental, etc' things are applied by people--they are boxes that people investigating the magic have used to describe it.

Satsuoni

Is it possible to give cats intelligence with Hemalurgy? Or transfer cat's identity to a human?

Brandon Sanderson

Hemalurgy can do some very, very odd things. And the endowment of intelligence is a common result of tinkering with Shard-based magic.

Irothtin

Is Wax's sister a duralumin Ferring?

Brandon Sanderson

I'm curious what makes you guess that particular power.

Windrunner

Is the Dor made up of both Devotion and Dominion's power?

Brandon Sanderson

The Dor's nature, and why it acts as it does, is in part related to this question.

Windrunner

Did people exist on Nalthis prior to Endowment's arrival there?

Brandon Sanderson

Some planets had people before the Shattering.

Windrunner

Why does Devotion's Shardpool act so differently from Preservation's?

Brandon Sanderson

For similar reasons to why the Dor acts so differently from Preservation's essence...

Windrunner

Can all Investitures be classified as end-positive, neutral, or negative?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, though in the overwhelming majority of cases, it's end-positive or at least neutral. Hemalurgy really is an oddity in the cosmere.

Sweetness

Does Forgery use the Dor?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

Sweetness

Can Demoux burn malatium?

Brandon Sanderson

Interesting theory.

Sweetness

Just after the Shattering (but before they started created humans or something), did all Shards have roughly the same amount of raw power?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. Good question.

Sweetness

So, those things on the inside cover of [The Way of Kings]. Crabwasps, or crabdragons?

(These guys, for clarification.)

Brandon Sanderson

They range between the size of a hand to perhaps the size of a small melon. You'll find out more about them eventually. Like most things from Aimia, they're pretty odd, and are also now very rare since the Scouring.

KChan

In your books, we see a lot of really interesting and diverse world elements that make these places and cultures really come to life. What are some of the world elements you've had the most fun creating, and what do you like best about them?

Brandon Sanderson

I'd say that the spren on Roshar have been my favorite so far--they are so different, but also so RIGHT. They have a mythological fae-feel to them, but also fit into the cosmere arcanum just perfectly. I also like writing them.

KChan

Can anyone with access to Shadesmar learn how to worldhop?

Brandon Sanderson

In theory. Getting to Sel is really tough...