Questioner
Have we seen Kelsier outside of Mistborn yet, and will we see him outside of Mistborn?
Brandon Sanderson
No you have not. And RAFO, but realize, he is-- The way Investiture works, you would consider him similar to how you would consider a spren. It's gonna be hard for him to get off-world.
Questioner
It also means that he can still-- He gets kind of close, he gets really close--
Brandon Sanderson
I considered him still--
Questioner
Still on this side.
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, but he got close to the line. But I would say he did not get off [Scadrial].
Questioner
So it's gonna be hard.
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
Questioner
Which hand is the safehand?
Brandon Sanderson
It is the left hand.
Questioner
What's your favorite Lopen moment?
Brandon Sanderson
Probably where he is on the ground talking to the sky. Probably that one.
SpaceGodPerson
In The Stormlight Archive, do corrupted spren act differently in fabrials?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. Excellent question!
Questioner
Why are Spensa's eyes purple?
Brandon Sanderson
Because the artist drew it that way. Since Spensa's eyes, I don't imagine actually being purple, but it looked really cool on the cover, so there we go. Maybe they're canonically purple now. Maybe I'll write that in.
Questioner
Is silver in Shadows for Silence similar in any way to aluminum in the rest of the cosmere?
Brandon Sanderson
*hesitantly* Yes, but not really. Silver is like silver, and aluminum is like aluminum.
Questioner
Does aluminum have any specific use in Shadows for Silence?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, you could definitely find a use for it.
Questioner
Where do you lie on the "BrandoSando" versus "Branderson"?
Brandon Sanderson
I would probably go "Branderson", but I don't mind either of them.
Questioner
Because I'm firmly in the BrandoSando camp.
Brandon Sanderson
BrandoSando? What about "BrandySandy"? I get that one too... No one goes with the cool ones. "Oh, the Sandman". I'm not cool enough.
Questioner
Is there a maximum speed a Coinshot can propel themselves or something else?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. It will vary slightly based on the strength of the Coinshot, but there are maximum velocities, just kind of-- you would burn yourself up at certain points.
Questioner
So imposed by the laws of physics.
Brandon Sanderson
Yeah, laws of physics are going to-- Those aren't normally going to come in play in Allomancy, because Pushing that hard will be really difficult... But, as we are getting into more mechanical uses of Allomancy, those laws of physics become more and more relevant.
Questioner
Is the nation JinDo in Elantris-- Are they at all- were you thinking of Shinto, the Japanese religion that also goes by Jindo?
Brandon Sanderson
I did not know it was also called Jindo, but I was definitely working with Japanese morphemes when I was creating that.
Questioner
A friend wanted me to ask if you ever had plans to put in a transgender character.
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. Trying to find the right place, but it will likely happen sooner rather than later.
Questioner
Will the gap between Warbreaker and Stormlight be filled in?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. Partially through implication, but with some actual explicit scenes that will happen.
Questioner
What's your favorite guild in Ravnica?
Brandon Sanderson
Probably Dimir, probably. I mean I'm Esper, but I'm more interested in Dimir than I am in Azorius.
Questioner
That's exactly where I am, actually. I have an Esper Commander deck, been drafting Dimir heavily. Thank you so much!
Brandon Sanderson
I'm glad Dimir's finally good, 'cause in the previous two, Dimir has not been a place you wanted to be, either in original or in returns.
Mr Fancy
The Returned. When they come back, they appear really attractive. Is that based on their own idea of what's attractive, or society?
Brandon Sanderson
It is going to be society. But they are definitely having an influence over it, so let me say both in that case... Yeah, there could be a short, bald one. That is totally viable, but it's maybe what the person views as a societal ideal, how about that, an easier way to explain that.
Questioner
How has your worldbuilding changed over time to date.
Brandon Sanderson
So, it's become a lot more deliberate. And it has become more-- One thing is I've let myself push further. I've found that worldbuilding is one of those areas in storytelling where I can let myself kind of off the chain, off the leash, and go steps further than I thought I could, and it still turns out well. A lot of times if you do that with story, for instance, if you do that with plot, the way to kind of go off the leash and do something unexpected with plot is to do something that's not foreshadowed and is not satisfying, which can make for a really interesting story. Go watch Into The Woods if you want to go see something that-- Yeah, half the audience groaned when I mentioned Into The Woods, for a good reason. That's not a reason to not tell those stories, but experimenting with plot can, in many ways, be something that fails pretty spectacularly. Good to do it, it's good to learn those things, but worldbuilding, I've found, I haven't found that I've gotten ever too far where it's failing because the worldbuilding is too different. I've failed with my worldbuilding because I haven't brought the elements together. In fact, Apocalypse Guard, one of the reasons I pulled it is the worldbuilding was not working. And I can't release a Brandon Sanderson book with bad worldbuilding, right? *crowd laughs* That's like the baseline, "No." It's not the only thing that was broken in it, but it was one of the things that was broken in it. So, more deliberate, allowed myself to stretch further, and I would say I'm always kind of looking for those conflict points, nowadays, in the worldbuilding. The points of conflict are really interesting to me.
Ark1002
Are there special effects if someone's born in the Cognitive Realm, or conceived or lives?
Brandon Sanderson
I will say yes, there are. They may not be large or overt, but there is a difference. Excellent question!
Questioner
For the Saint in Skyward, I just love the funny prophet character. What was your inspiration for that?
Brandon Sanderson
So, the Saint in Skyward. Not giving any spoilers. When I was working on this character, I was really looking for something-- I look for linguistic cues. Because if you can have linguistic cues to who's talking and what the character's like, and something that'll characterize them through their language, that makes it so much better in storytelling, because you don't have to put that in narrative, you can put it in the flow of a conversation. And you'll notice, at least I've noticed, that a lot of the great screenwriters look for these sorts of things, so they can tag who is speaking, even if it's offscreen, by the way that they are talking, and I just love to do this. And a lot of these things come out of me taking a scene and working with it and casting different people in the roles and trying their voices until I hit on one that I say, "That's interesting, let's dig into this further", and that's what happened there.
Questioner
What's your favorite Wayne one-liner?
Brandon Sanderson
Probably "defecation of character". My favorite Wayne moments are the ones that you could conceivably miss. Like, there's one for the next book where he calls being pressed into the army, "corporal punishment," that I'm just totally over the moon over, that I think people will probably miss, and that's what makes them fun.
Questioner
When you do the big twist at the end of a book, do you always have that twist in your mind when you begin writing the book, or do you do the twist after?
Brandon Sanderson
I generally have it ahead of time. I am an outliner. I like-- Writers tend to fall into two camps with a lot of variety in between--they're not polar opposites--between what we call "gardeners" and what we call "architects." I'm more of an architect. I like to build a structure and then hang my story on it. That said, you need to be flexible and willing to take something better if it comes along. For instance, Secret Project, which I can't tell you anything about, had a different ending than the ending I just put into it, because the ending just didn't land, right? I'm like, "Alright, I need to go back to square one and I need a better twist for this story," and I dug into it and came up with one. That causes a lot more revision to have to be done, but at the end of the day, I think you need to be able to do it. Sometimes when you're writing you just come up with something better, you're like, "I need to try this instead 'cause it's stronger".
MarShadow
What new statement can you give us about the cosmere that would give us a bunch to speculate on?
Brandon
I'm not sure if there's something new I can say. Um, I think rampant speculation about the Threnody novel would be cool. So, you have seen a hint in the books about the Threnody novel that no one has asked me if this is the thing.
MarShadow
Is there a maximum amount of Investiture Nightblood can take? So like if he were to be thrown into-
Brandon
RAFO.
JoyBlu
Szeth, when he writes when Gavilar dies, what language was that written in?
Brandon Sanderson
That was written in Alethi.
JoyBlu
Where did Szeth learn Alethi?
Brandon Sanderson
He has been living among them for a long time, and Alethi was also part of his training.
JoyBlu's Daughter
How long is Bastille's hair?
JoyBlue
In one drawing it was long and in another it was shorter.
Brandon Sanderson
*Brandon points to just below his shoulder*
OrangeJedi
In a previous question you said that when Pattern talks he makes vibrations in the air that can be picked up by a recorder. When Syl talks to just Kaladin, and is only appearing to just Kaladin, could that audio be recorded?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
JoyBlu
Kids in Stormlight; we have Oroden, we have Gavinor, we have Sah’s daughter Vai, we have Taravangian’s grandkids, plus the little orphan that Kheni and Cob have. How old are these kids going to be at the end of Stormlight 10?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO.
JoyBlu
At the end of Oathbringer there is an agreement between Odium and Taravangian.
"If you help me, I will save your family. Anyone within two generations of you."
Taravangian says "Not enough."
"Then we have no deal"
And so then they go on and they make the deal that says "The city itself, and any humans who have been born into it, along with their spouses."
Was the grandchildren included in that? -- or was it meant to be ambiguous?
Brandon Sanderson
Depends on where they were born.
JoyBlu
And then, Grandchildren. There are three listed of Taravangian's: Gvori, Karavangia, and Ruli. There is also the one that Shallan drew the picture of which I think is a different one. Is that right?
Brandon Sanderson
*nods head in agreement*
JoyBlu
So far we have four granddaughters. Karavangia is obviously named after her grandfather, Right?
Brandon Sanderson
*nods head in agreement*
JoyBlu
Does he have more grandchildren named after him?
Brandon Sanderson
*shakes head no*
Why are you asking?
JoyBlu
I was wondering if Tarah was somehow related to Taravangian.
Brandon Sanderson
Good question, no.
OrangeJedi
In several instances of the highstorms, several characters mention seeing large creatures walking in the highstorms; they don't seem to be super fazed by this. Do they know these creatures exist, is it part of their lore?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. But you've got to also remember that people who are out in highstorms, they expect it to be... they expect to see odd things. When you're out in a highstorm, it does not faze you in the same way that if you go to a horror movie, you expect something horrific to happen.
OrangeJedi
Do they have a name for said creatures?
Brandon Sanderson
There are names in various parts of the lore, but there is no one name.
OrangeJedi
Could you give us one of them?
Brandon Sanderson
No.
OrangeJedi
If a coppercloud was near an Awakener, would they dampen the effect of the colors being deepened around them?
Brandon Sanderson
I haven't thought about that. Yes. That one is a tenuous yes, though, I would have to think about it.
JoyBlu
Can you confirm that Shallan is the biological child of her dad, Lin Davar?
Brandon Sanderson
*evil laugh* Should I confirm that? Yeah, I'll confirm that, she is.
JoyBlu
As I was reading about nightmaws, I thought that nightmaws were like dinosaurs. Is that...?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, but they are feathered.
JoyBlu
Like a pterodactyl?
Brandon Sanderson
More like a giant...
JoyBlu's Daughter
Chicken!
Brandon Sanderson
Giant chicken. We're looking at a giant evil bird.
OrangeJedi
What would your name be in Sixth of Dusk?
JoyBlue
What time of the day were you born?
Brandon Sanderson
It is not always that way. I would be, probably, First of the Early Morning.
JoyBlu
I dressed up as Kokerlii from Sixth of Dusk. I want to know, red and green are in the book are these [rainbow-colored array of feathers] appropriate, or not?
Brandon Sanderson
Kokerlii I had not imagined as fully rainbow colored.
JoyBlu
So red and green, were there other colors?
Brandon Sanderson
I was imaging red on green.
JoyBlu
What about the green Aviar? If I wanted to make a green aviar costume? Green and white?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes that would work.
JoyBlu
Is it just those two colors? Are there different shades of green?
Brandon Sanderson
There are aviar that are like this *gestures to JoyBlu's costume*, full parrot. Totally legit. But There are a lot of breeds of aviar.
JoyBlu
*inaudible* What would be the best <pattern>?
Brandon Sanderson
Solid colored feathers *inaudible*
Questioner
Is [Hemalurgy] going to be introduced in other worlds and has Hoid ever used it?
Brandon Sanderson
It will be introduced in other worlds; but RAFO on the other one.
Ethour
Would it be capable for a non-human to become an Elantrian?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes, this is theoretically possible. It wouldn't be that hard, the ways you are thinking of it happening would probably work.
Ethour
Would an Aviar be capable of a spren bond?
Brandon Sanderson
What they do is the same thing, by cosmere terms. It is not as powerful; because of that it is easier to shift between people. What you gain is not as strong, but you also gain flexibility. But it would be, cosmerologically, considered the same thing.
Questioner
What happens if you eat an Aviar?
Brandon Sanderson
Normal things happen; you would not gain the powers. You would be a cruel person because Aviar are not of animal intelligence. You would not gain the powers
Questioner
Mistborn Era 3. Are you going to make a steel Twinborn?
Brandon Sanderson
That's a very dangerous combination. Let's just say that certain elements in-world are very, very interested in finding and/or making them.
Questioner
What has been the craziest, most off-the-wall, unexpected kind of feedback you've ever gotten--
Brandon Sanderson
Ooh. *crowd laughs*
Questioner
...you know kind of how it sent you in the right direction.
Brandon Sanderson
Wow, craziest off-the-wall feedback I've ever gotten and what direction did it send me. I have so much trouble with these things. Some people ask me the line "what's the weirdest thing a fan has had you write in a book". And I know, if I took the time, I could think of it, but off the top of my head it's kind of hard. I'm not sure what the craziest, most off-the-wall sort of feedback I've gotten. I've given a lot of crazy, off-the-wall feedback. Legion... came about because I was trying to convince my friend Dan Wells to write this book. *crowd laughs* "Oh, you could do this thing, and it could be like schizophrenia but not really, it could be a superpower," and he's like, "Brandon, that's not a Dan Wells book. That is a Sanderson book". And so I ended up writing the book, but that has happened. I've given weird feedback. I'd have to think about that one a little more.
Questioner
Can Breath be taken or withdrawn from a sentient object that's not a person?
Brandon Sanderson
I will RAFO that.
Questioner
If Vin had not killed the Lord Ruler. I would think that the Lord Ruler would take up the Well of Ascension a year later. Would he have just fixed the world to be what it was pre-...?
Brandon Sanderson
I think there are various theories of where this could have gone. Some, it would have been okay. I think that assuming things would turn out the way the Lord Ruler thought he was capable of doing would be assuming a lot, for what his state was at the time that he was *inaudible*. It is possible that things would have gotten much much worse. I'll just say that. I'm not gonna canonize either way, but I think there's a good argument in both directions.
Slowswift
How do the spren in Shadesmar feel about fabrials? Are they mad that people are trapping spren?
Brandon Sanderson
Let's say there's a wide variety of emotions, but the general response would not be favorable.
Questioner
There are honorspren and cultivationspren on Roshar. The other spren that are tied to orders of Knights Radiant, do they have any relationships with any other Shards?
Brandon Sanderson
They are all going to be a mix of the Shards on Roshar. Some weight a little further one direction or the other. They are not off-world Shards. Good question.
Questioner
Could you tell me whose books are the next few Stormlight?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. Eshonai, book four. (Even though, you know...) Szeth is book five. Six is Lift. Seven is Renarin. Eight is Ash. Nine is Taln. Ten is Jasnah.
Questioner
Do you have it planned out to a final ending?
Brandon Sanderson
I do. It's interesting how the outlines work. The further you get in a given series, the middle books have the least, and the last books have the most. It's the same for the Cosmere. Last books of Era 4 have a lot more than the first book of Era 4 does.
Questioner
Is there a point where you foresee basically ending the Cosmere and moving away from writing the Cosmere, start doing prequels?
Brandon Sanderson
The fact that I will probably not finish this until, like, my 60s if we're lucky. I feel like that point, I could do more jumping around, but that will be an endpoint. I like things to end. So I won't write off doing some other things in the Cosmere, but that will be an endpoint.
Questioner
What made you want to write Skyward?
Brandon Sanderson
Skyward is a weird book in that it is a science fiction book based on a fantasy idea. Some of my favorite books when I was growing up were stories about a boy who finds a dragon egg or a dragon, and raises the dragon and then flies on the dragon, all sorts of fun stuff happens. And I've always wanted to do one of these stories. One of the very first books I ever read in fantasy was Dragonsblood by Jane Yolen, which I just reread so I could write a little review of it. And it's great. One of my favorite books of all time is The White Dragon, by Anne McCaffrey. And you'll find some Anne McCaffrey references in this book, you won't have to look that hard. But the idea was I wanted to do one of these books, but I never felt like I could give a good spin to it. And it is when I combined it with some other worldbuilding I had done in a science fiction universe and changed it from "a boy and his dragon" to "a girl and her spaceship" that the story really started to connect, because the worldbuilding that I had built for this galactic science fiction really clicked with this story. And that was kind of the breakthrough that I made, was combining these two things together.
So, Skyward came from me wanting to write a story about a dragon. It just turns out the dragon is a spaceship with a really weird AI.
Questioner
Do you have any updates on the Dark One TV series?
Brandon Sanderson
It's got an interesting history. Dark One is one I've been working on for a long time, and I actually wrote out a big pitch for it when I pitched Apocalypse Guard to Random House, and I said, "Here's one of the other ideas I'm gonna write someday." They're like, "Woo. We'll keep this in our binder." And that binder made its way to their TV department, who read the pitch and was like, "We have to have this!" and came to me and said "Can we buy this?" I'm like, "Well, I haven't written the books yet." They're like, "We don't care. We want this pitch." And the pitch, the idea is that a young man in our world, a knight shows up to assassinate him, and he finds out that there's kind of a Narnia-esque fantasy world that his father visited when he was a kid and screwed up, and they are super mad. And they have prophecies that this kid is gonna be the next Dark One, and so they're gonna assassinate him before the whole epic-fantasy-thing can happen, and the Dark One tries to conquer the world. They're just gonna take him out first. And so it's kind of this twisting the story on its head idea. And it's a really fun pitch.
So they bought it from me. I expanded it to a 30-page outline, sent it to them. I can't tell you who they got, but they've got somebody very big attached to it, which I'm very excited about, someone who I was excited about that my assistant Peter just about fell over dead when he heard the person attached. And we should be flying out to do pitches to studios and places early part of next year. We wanted to be doing it now, but I have a book launch, and they want me there with them.
It's going really well. It's been a wonderful experience. I'm very hopeful with that, I think it will be a very interesting story if it happens.
Chaos
In the Death Rattle, "In the storm I awaken, falling, spinning, grieving," have we seen it on screen?
Brandon Sanderson
Not yet.
Questioner
Does Vivenna appear anywhere other than Warbreaker and Stormlight, so far?
Brandon Sanderson
So far, no. Good question.
Questioner
Could someone who is spiked, not on Scadrial, still talk to the Shards?
Brandon Sanderson
Yes. Little asterisk, but yes.
Questioner
I had a question about [steel] Ferrings. So, I saw that you had mentioned in a previous talk that you could only move so fast with air resistance, like eventually you'd start burning up. If you were to become an Edgedancer as well?
Brandon Sanderson
If you can combine those two powers, Edgedancing and [steel] Ferring, then you are able to do things that would circumvent that restriction. Yes, indeed.
Questioner
When are you going to tell us about your Secret Project?
Brandon Sanderson
Well, I have an NDA that I have signed, which says I will not tell people what it is. So, because of that, I'm staying just far away from it. I have said before, I'm letting them announce it when they want to announce it. It will be announced probably, and released, before the end of the year, is my expectation. I can't say anything else. Even if you guessed right what it was, I would have to say, "I don't know." Or "That sounds like it would be fun." But I will have to imply that I don't have any idea what you're talking about, even if you guess right.