Leinton
So a friend and I who share a passion for sword fighting have been trying to find the real world correlates for the stances that Sharbearers use. So far we've made connections between Windstance and Haidong Gumdo, and Smokestance and the late Medieval/early Renaissance fencing. I was wondering if you could give us more information or at least hints on the other real world correlates?
Brandon Sanderson
I developed these with Ben McSweeney's help, and we plan to include representations of all the stances eventually. However, a few are NOT based on real-world equivalents, because of the size of Shardblades. Look at how various very-large weapons like zweihanders or Zanbat's were used.
Mandi
In [Words of Radiance] Shallan notes that spren don't appear around dense groups of people, even if emotions are high. Why is that?
Brandon Sanderson
You'll find out more eventually. There are several reasons, but imagine how a creature attracted to a specific color would respond if you dumped every color together in a big mess.
Val
How quickly are you able to get back into the storyline flow when you begin another book? e.g. Do you have to review notes extensively for a few days?
Brandon Sanderson
This is one of the most difficult things for me to do. I wish I had a better way to do it, actually. I usually lose a few days or more while trying to get into a book I've stopped for some reason. My primary method is to read what I've written before (or, if it is a new book in a series, the last part of the previous book.) That tends to help get me into a mood, so to speak. But it can take days of thinking, working, and throwing away my work to get into the groove.
William Anderson
Who is the oldest character we know?
Brandon Sanderson
Frost is almost certainly the oldest by a small amount. After that, Hoid.
Tirithna
Does Shardplate have one general style as a pattern, or do different types exist (like European armour vs. Japanese armour), as the different kingdoms have different cultures?
Brandon Sanderson
Different types exist, but it's more along order lines than cultural ones. (That said, a person's culture could certainly influence their armor.)
Jerry Dol
Won't it be difficult to keep the storyline interesting for 10 books straight?
Brandon Sanderson
We'll have to see! I think the storyline for the series is quite captivating, but I've never done something this long before.
Jesse
I love stories in any medium, and I would love to tell one myself. But, I don't think I have anything in particular to say that hasn't been done a thousand times before. I invariably come across some story that already parallels my ideas. What makes a story worth telling even when its like has been done before?
Brandon Sanderson
The answer is simple: YOU are what makes your story worth telling. Harry Potter wasn't an original story, and yet told very well, it became an excellent series.
My suggestion to you is to ask what unique passions or life experiences you have that aren't found in the average fantasy book. This genre still has a lot of room to grow. A person passionate about sports could write a very different fantasy novel from one passionate about lawn care—assuming they take what they know and love and make us, as readers, come to know and love it as well.
Good luck!
Argent
You've said that there are three types of Blades in The Stormlight Archive. We've seen "dead" Shardblades, Honorblades - is the third type the "living spren" Shardblades, or is there another type we haven't seen?
Brandon Sanderson
Nightblood is a very unique kind of Shardblade, but IS a Shardblade.
Argent
Do all Surgebinders breathe Stormlight in, or are there other ways? Is Lift one-of-a-kind in this regard?
Brandon Sanderson
Lift is one of a kind.
Argent
The "God Surges" you mentioned recently, are they a part of the Way of Kings frontsheet?
Brandon Sanderson
All I said regarding this was to tell a fan that it was possible to make an analogy between the god metals on Scadrial and certain powers on Roshar. However, these are not a codified part of the magic system.
Jerry Dol
How much time do you usually spend on creating a magic system?
Brandon Sanderson
It really depends on the book, the length of the story, and how integral to magic is to that particular story. Some are as fast as a couple of days; some take months and months. It is also difficult to answer this question because I spend a lot of time thinking about a book before writing, and the Magic is often part of that. I will often spend years with an idea growing in the back of my mind before writing--and in those cases, the actual "outlining" may take a month, but that doesn't begin to cover the time spent on the idea.
Kyrah Dicroce
Which of your worlds, if any at all, have ice cream, or at least, the ability to make ice cream?
Brandon Sanderson
Scadrial probably has it already. Roshar is farthest, not having as much in the way of milk products.
EODO
Of the 7 remaining Stormlight Archive books (or 3 in the sub-series), which one are you most looking forward to writing?
Brandon Sanderson
Book ten.
Alex Clarke
Did the Davar Soulcaster ever work?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, it did. (Good question.)
Scott King
Out of all the books you've written which do you think is the best?
Brandon Sanderson
Well, Emperor's Soul is the one that won a Hugo, which gives it some objective credibility for being the best. [A Memory of Light] was the hardest by a long shot, and in some ways the most satisfying, but I'm perhaps most proud of The Way of Kings. So one of those three, likely.
Matteo
Why do you so often include some sort of religious government in so many of your worlds? Is it something that comes from looking at how history developed on Earth, or do you think your religious faith influences the way you write/worldbuild?
Brandon Sanderson
There are a lot of reasons. One is because it happened that way so often in our world. Another is my fascination with religion, and wanting to explore what people do with it. The biggest one, however, is related to how I worldbuild. I like things to be very interconnected, as I think that's how real life is. So, when I build a religion, I ask myself what its political ties are, as well as its relationship with things like the magic, economics, and gender roles of the culture.
Kritika
I'm blown away by all the different types of people you portray in The Stormlight Archive (different cultures, social classes, genders, varying levels of...morality). What kinds of things help you create such diverse casts of characters? I'm imagining that you have a secret encyclopedia somewhere that helps you keep all your cultures and customs straight!
Brandon Sanderson
I do, actually, have a secret encyclopedia. It's a wiki on my computer, filled with information. That helps me keep things straight. However, specific inspirations are often in the people I meet. I do spend a fair amount of time looking through the internet for blogs/forums populated by people who think very differently from myself. This helps me create realistic portrayals.
Anderson Tiago
How do you feel on being read and worshiped as one of the best writers in the world by people that doesn't even speak English?
Brandon Sanderson
Humbled, honestly. I don't know if "worshiped" is the right term, and I would hope that most people are focused on the stories, rather than on me. They're what matter. That said, it has been incredible to see the reception my work has received.
Mandi
Both Parshendi and Horneaters are able to see spren, ordinary humans can't. Is there a connection between these abilities, or do they come from completely different sources?
Brandon Sanderson
Horneaters are human/Parshendi hybrids. (There are several Roshar races that have Parshendi blood in them.)
Sharade
The fantasy universe is very fond of antiheroes lately, so I was surprised when I read your books with charismatic and inspiring lead characters, who, almost single-handedly, give faith to people and make them claim back their dignity. What is so compelling about creating characters such as Kaladin or Kelsier?
Brandon Sanderson
I find that the antihero angle is very well covered by other authors. I am fascinated by people who are trying to do what is right because most everyone I know is actually a good person--and a good person needing being forced to make unpleasant decisions is more interesting to me. The great books I read as a youth inspired me; I'd rather dwell on that kind of story than the opposite. (That said, it's great that the genre is big enough for both types of stories.)
It IS interesting to me that over the last twenty years, what I do has become the distinctive one.
Lee Allen
When Kaladin helped Adolin fight in the arena, did Elhokar notice him Surgebinding?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO. :)
Noah Hill
Is there any chance we will have a deeper backstory for Bridge 4 members? Maybe an anthology or something with short stories that detail backstory for Rock, Lopen, etc? That would be amazing!
Brandon Sanderson
I do intend to dig into some of them a little. (Rock, for example, is currently plotted to have a viewpoint sequence in a later book.)
Jerry Dol
Do you think that there will ever be a movie trilogy or tv series of The Stormlight Archive like they have done with Game of Thrones and Harry Potter?
Brandon Sanderson
Boy, I'd love it if there were. I will work to make it happen, though with Stormlight I probably won't be optioning the books for film until a few more are out. I don't have a lot of power over what Hollywood decides to do, though.
Hanna
What advice would you give to someone who is trying to write an epic fantasy novel for the first time?
Brandon Sanderson
Turn off the internal editor. Write with passion, and don't spend a lot of time on revision. You will grow so quickly as a writer during your first book that you want to power through it, learn a lot about the process, THEN do your revisions. Otherwise, you might end up stuck in an endless loop of revising the first few chapters.
Also, don't spend so long planning that you don't get around to writing. The goal is to train yourself to learn how to write—and you only do that by actually writing.
Shauna Mahana
If you had to pick any one of your characters to be your new best friend (besides your wife) for the rest of your life, who would would it be and what do you imagine would be your weekend "Let's hang out, but I don't want to plan anything, so let's do the 'usual'" ritual?
Brandon Sanderson
I think I'd dig hanging out with Sazed. The usual would be, "tell me about a religion you've studied."
M.M. Schill
I always wondered. You say you produce clean drafts, and you apparently produce stories quickly (relatively to a lot of people I've met.), how do you keep cranking it away? What is the motivation to keep creating? (I think this might be the key to why some many people start and never finish projects. ??)
Brandon Sanderson
I'm not actually a fast writer, hour by hour, but I am very consistent. I enjoy writing, but I will admit, some days it is hard. What keeps me going? This has changed over the years. At first, it was a desire to prove myself, and to make a living doing this thing I love. Eventually, it has transitioned into a feeling of obligation to the readers mixed with a desire to see these stories in my head told.
Sirce Luckwielder
(paraphrased)
So each anti-investiture is like its world's investiture, but can't be effected by it. So aluminum can't be affected and destroys Allomancy, ralkalest can't be Soulstamped, Shardblades are blunted by that one thing. Is the black filled sphere that Galivar gives to Szeth the anti-investiture to Stormlight?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
When I asked this, he became much more tight-lipped and said that was an interesting theory and that I would learn more in book three.
Sirce Luckwielder
(paraphrased)
Can aluminum be used to destroy a Feruchemist's metalmind if the person burning aluminum were to cut his hand and place it on the metalmind?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
He said that cutting the hand would probably not be enough, but that I was on the right track.
Sirce Luckwielder
(paraphrased)
When Kelsier is teaching Vin about the basic eight Allomantic Metals, he talks about not flaring metals, especially tin and pewter, as it does strange things to people. Does this imply that there were other savants before Spook?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
His answer was that there were other savants before Spook.
Sirce Luckwielder
(paraphrased)
In the flashback [of Words of Radiance] with Shallan meeting Hoid, Hoid pours something from a pouch into his cup and drinks it. Are these Allomantic metal shavings?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
His answer was that there was something indeed significant about what Hoid placed in the cup, but that it was not necessarily Allomantic shavings. He wouldn't tell me what it specifically was and gave me a R.A.F.O. card.
Sirce Luckwielder
(paraphrased)
At the Yomen wedding [in The Alloy of Law], the newlyweds are talking to "a scruffy man who looked like a beggar, dressed all in black". Is this an appearance of Hoid?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
His answer was that yes, in fact, it was.
Lindel
(paraphrased)
What about the three individuals we know to have traveled to and from Sel? Did they use the Shadesmar [the Cognitive Realm] anyway, or have they accessed an alternate method of worldhopping?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
I'm going to have to answer that with a yes as well.
ZenBossanova
(paraphrased)
I asked if knowing the positions/orbits of the moons would be enough to predict the [highstorms].
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
He said not enough. You need the historical records of storms as well because there is a pattern. You need that pattern and the tides, to correctly predict the timing of the storms. He said it was more than a simple beat.
ZenBossanova
(paraphrased)
I then turned back and asked, "Are you saying the highstorms are music?"
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
He replied, "I didn't say they were music. You said that."
ZenBossanova
(paraphrased)
Since Shallan has a unique ability of memory from her blended surges, is fighting what Kaladin has?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
No. His unique ability is "strength of squires".
ZenBossanova
(paraphrased)
And Jasnah?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
RAFO.
stormfather
(paraphrased)
Is Soulcasting blood a valid cure for blood diseases?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Not really, it's super hard to Soulcast people/bodies. You'd have to get it so exact. Their blood. Healthy blood. It's very hard.
stormfather
(paraphrased)
What is Renarin's eye color?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
PAFO - Peter and find out. He gets to canonize it.
stormfather
(paraphrased)
Does the plague on the Purelake has anything to do with the fact that the magic fish form symbiotic bonds with spren?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
No, worldhoppers brought a disease to Roshar that they didn't have before. It's the common cold. Rosharans' Investiture makes it so they're usually a healthy bunch so something like the cold is kind of frightening. "It's a plague of the sniffles."
stormfather [Alternate wording from ZenBossanova's report]
(paraphrased)
Another person asked about the plague in the Purelake.
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Turns out, that was a pathogen introduced by worldhoppers. People on Roshar normally have greater health than elsewhere in the cosmere because they are more Invested (Stormlight and all that). This plague was what we call… the common cold.
Questioner
(paraphrased)
How do you come up with names?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
He takes a culture then breaks down the linguistics of it and its kind of complicated but he uses the rules from one language, then breaks them and makes his own?
Questioner
(paraphrased)
What was your inspiration for Grandpa Smedry?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
[Brandon's] mother, who was always late to things. [Brandon]'s the inspiration for Alcatraz *he held up his broken phone to us*.
Questioner
(paraphrased)
Are Mat's [from The Wheel of Time] memories from the past his own or other people's?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Other people's.
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
He was asked a question about creating Steelheart and it boiled down to being unique with names and powers is hard, he had a hard time finding things that Marvel and DC haven't done already.
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Sabriel was his inspiration for unique rule based magic systems.
Questioner
(paraphrased)
You say you put limits on magic to make it interesting, do you do the same to characters?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Yes! A lot of characterization comes from conflict in what the characters can't do.
Questioner
(paraphrased)
Favorite thing Hoid's done?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
RAFO, sorta. A lot of his fave things have happened off screen that we're not supposed to know about (yet). Wit is his fave role that we've seen!
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
He enjoys coming up with Epic weaknesses more than Epic powers.
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
The potato in the minefield was his favorite bad metaphor.
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
The non-cosmere works/series are not related to each other or in the same universe.
Questioner [Alternate wording from stormfather's report]
(paraphrased)
Are the non-cosmere books related?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
No, Earth is just generally non-cosmere, but they're not related.
Questioner
(paraphrased)
[Brandon] said in the lecture that he took a programming course in college. He was asked if we will ever see a programming language as a magic system?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
We already have. Reread Elantris.
Questioner [Alternate wording from stormfather's report]
(paraphrased)
He's taken programming classes, and someone wanted to know if he'll apply that knowledge into magic systems.
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Yes, see: Elantris.
Questioner
(paraphrased)
Why can only women read in [The] Stormlight Archive?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
Immediately after the Recreance an old book was used to argue for the idea that only men should be picking up the blades and plate, fighting was a masculine art. Over a period of 20 or so years this became established and some women used the same argument to take back some power by taking literacy for themselves as a feminine art.
Questioner
(paraphrased)
How long of an in-book time break between the two 5 book arcs in The Stormlight Archive?
Brandon Sanderson
(paraphrased)
10-15 years