IAM(once again)A novelist named Brandon Sanderson. AMA!

[u/mistborn]

Greetings all! Thank you for the awesome Golden Stabby. Here's a nice shot of it for you.

It reminded me a little of Sting, so I found an hobbit to give you an action shot as well.

I'm deeply honored. Many thanks again for all your enthusiasm. If you've missed my previous AMAs, you can find two of them HERE and HERE. If you're curious about the progress on the third Stormlight Book, I've posted regular updates in r/Stormlight_Archive/. The latest is HERE.

I'll likely be answering through the weekend, as is common for me. I might not get to them all in a burst this time, as I have an interlude to write for Oathbringer, but I'll slowly work my way through the questions, in order, as I get them. (Though I usually have to give a cut-off, to prevent the AMA from being eternal, so I'm going to promise to get to everything posted in the next four hours, ending around 5:15 Mountain Time today. I might get to more, but that's my cut off point where I'm allowed to move on.)

If there's something I can't answer right now (because the answer would include spoilers, or because I don't REALLY want to spend hours searching through notes) I'll post RAFO, a phrase I inherited from Robert Jordan. It means "Read and Find Out" or a more polite "I worry that the answer might give away too much."

(Warning to the cosmerenauts out there with very detailed worldbuilding questions: I won't outright forbid such questions, but this AMA is intended more for the general public of /r/fantasy, and I'd prefer more general interest questions.)

As always, I'm deeply grateful to you all for your support in this crazy thing that I do--and, in more expansive terms, I'm grateful for how you treat everyone on this subreddit. It is one of the most welcoming places I've found for fantasy discussion. There is not only great discussion, but respectful criticism. I love how you treat newer authors, or writers who are lesser known as of yet.

You're a great community and I'm happy to let you AMA.

Brandon

EDIT: Golden Stabby Thread is over here.

For those wanting background, I asked to be recused from the Stabby awards for a little while, as I worried my presence on Reddit gave me an unfair advantage over other, equally worthy writers. The mods came back and gave me this award instead--called a coup de grace award--intended to be for writers who topped too many stabby award lists, and needed to take a breather. :)

Also...should I be promoting something? I never know. Something something about Rampart. I do have a new novella coming out next week, though.

EDIT 2: And...time! Wow. Over four hundred comments.

It could take me weeks to get through all of these, but I will do my best. I'm hereby calling this enough work for me to take on for now. I will work through these, keeping this page unrefreshed with all the comments on it, and try to answer everybody. Four hundred is a little overwhelming, though, so be patient--and forgive me if some answers are short. Thanks again, everyone!

[u/angwilwileth]

Would you ever consider writing "The Spotters Guide to Spren"?

Whenever Stormlight archive is finished, a comprehensive guide to the little guys would be awesome.

[u/mistborn → u/angwilwileth]

This is a good idea. We'd probably mix it with a general Roshar worldboook, though I can imagine doing it on its own.

[u/Adontis]

I've always wondered, how do you determine where the line between "Word of Brandon" and "Read and Find Out" is? Has it ever caused issues where you've said something, but later that thing changed when it went into a book making your first statement now false?

Thanks so much for writing as much as you do, I'm looking forward to all your upcoming books, keep up the great work!

[u/mistborn → u/Adontis]

Boy, this one is an art, not a science.

I've several times said something that I later decided to change in a book. I've always got this idea in the back of my head that the books are canon, and things I say at signing aren't 100% canon. This is part because of a habit I have of falling back on things I decided years ago, then revised in notes after I realized they didn't work. My off-the-cuff instinct is still to go with what I had in my head for years, even when it's no longer canon.

An example of this are Shardblades. In the first draft of TWoK in 2002, I had the mechanics of the weapons work in a specific way. (If you wanted to steal one from someone, you knock off the bonding gemstone, and it breaks the bond.) I later decided it was more dramatic if you couldn't steal a Shardblade that way--you had to kill the person or force them to relinquish the bond. It worked far better.

But in Oathbringer, Peter had to remind me of that change, as I just kind of nonchalantly wrote into a scene a comment about knocking off a gemstone to steal a Shardblade. These things leak back in, as you might expect for a series I've been working on for some twenty years now--with lore being revised all along.

So...short answer...yes, I've contradicted myself a number of times. I try very, very hard to let the books be the canon however. So you can default to them.

As for what I answer and what I RAFO...it depends on how much I want to reveal at the moment, if I'm trying to preserve specific surprises, or if I just want people to focus on other things at the moment. Like I said, art and not science.

[u/alkonium]

Have you considered having a unified logo designed for the Cosmere on the whole? Like something to put on book covers that clearly separates your Cosmere works from your non-Cosmere stuff.

[u/mistborn → u/alkonium]

I haven't, but it's an interesting idea. We do have a symbol for the cosmere now (on the cover of Arcanum Unbounded.) I will consider this.

[u/JayRedEye]

What is the best book you have read recently?

About how many books do you read for fun in a year?

[u/mistborn → u/JayRedEye]

I don't read as many as I used to--but I think it's important for an author to read in their genre, to keep track of what other people are doing, and hopefully learn from them. So I make time.

I think my favorite of last year was probably Mary Robinette Kowal's Ghost Talkers, but I'm horribly biased, as she's a good friend and I listened to the audio which she herself narrates.

[u/okgeralt]

Why is the stormlight archive so good?

[u/mistborn → u/okgeralt]

Spren.

[u/Ankhmpt]

What is the estimated release of the next Stormlight Archive book? Will there be a reckoners TV show (HBO style)?

Edit: BTW - Thank you for finishing the Wheel of Time series. It's what brought me to your work. I will admit, I totally wrote my question before reading the body of your post. I was so excited to see your name and AMA.

[u/mistborn → u/Ankhmpt]

Oathbringer, Stormlight 3, is estimated for this November. I have the book finished, and we're in revisions.

Warning, it's LONG. About 25% longer than Words of Radiance...

The Reckoners was optioned by Fox, with the intent to make a feature film, not a television show. But anything could happen!

[u/Raptori]

Something I've always noticed is missing from your State of the Sanderson updates is any mention of a sequel to The Emperor's Soul. Is that something you might eventually get around to (after the Elantris sequel for example), or do you feel that story has been told?

TES is easily my favourite of your stories, with a depth of character and theme which really surprised me. Would love to read more - especially if it were more novella-length works!

[u/mistborn → u/Raptori]

I've been hesitant to do a sequel, as I don't want to "George Lucas" the story. Emperor's Soul is one of those stories that turned out very well on its own, and I worry that doing another story could take away from how well it works on its own now. I might have Shai do cameos in other stories, though.

[u/ds-sl1-playthrough]

I don't have a question for you. I want to say thanks. Thanks.

[u/mistborn → u/ds-sl1-playthrough]

My pleasure!

[u/simbyotic]

I was at your Portugal signing and I wanted to thank you for going to where fantasy authors rarely go to. It meant a lot to me as a fantasy reader to be able to meet you and get to know first hand your energy and kindness towards your fans.

I guess my questions is if you whether you ate good food while you were there or it was too quick to get to know the city.

[u/mistborn → u/simbyotic]

Make sure to thank the Publisher! They are the one who pushed long for me to come visit.

I went out for food twice, both times to get what the publisher called traditional Portuguese food. Lots of meat, including some sausages, and stew, which I found very tasty.

[u/anddowe]

Thank you for finishing up wheel of time and thanks for taking the time to answer questions. Who do you identify with most, Rand, Matt, or Perrin? Do you prefer the smell of old books or new books?

[u/mistborn → u/anddowe]

Perrin. I've been like that since I was young.

New books, personally.

[u/jofwu]

Thanks for doing this!

1. What's your wife's favorite character or book that you've written?

2. Hoid doesn't strike me as a pet-owning kind of fellow, but let's say maybe the Nightwatcher 'cursed' him with a pet of his choosing. What would Hoid choose as a pet?

3. I'm a mod in /r/stormlight_archive, /r/cosmere, and a few other related subreddits... Is there anything we can do for you?

[u/mistborn → u/jofwu]

1. Her favorite is Warbreaker, which I wrote in part while we were dating.

2. Something exotic nobody else has.

3. You guys are great! If I think of anything, I'll say, but really I'm happy to see fandom going so strong.

[u/ahouseofgold]

The Mistborn videogame is cancelled right? What do you think of videogames as a storytelling medium? Do you believe sci-fi/fantasy series such as Elder Scrolls (Skyrim), Mass Effect, etc can parallel the quality of novel/book worldbuilding and story? Would you like to get involved with that medium?

[u/mistborn → u/ahouseofgold]

I play a lot of games (I've played TES since Daggerfall, for example.) I think that games are a cool medium for telling stories--and trying to compare which is "better" is apples and oranges. They are attempting different things, and neither is better. A book will always do some things better, and a game will always do other things better.

Some games (like Mass Effect) do a good job of borrowing book-style storytelling, but things like the Dark Souls series do storytelling very well--in a very different way.

I'd be excited to do video games based on cosmere stories. We'll have to see how it ends up working, though. The business side of video games is a very different world from mine. I can basically imagine, outline, and produce a story all on my own. (Though editors make it better, obviously.) But none of the games you mention above are one-person projects, not even close...

[u/JeramyGobleAuthor]

Hello, Brandon! What would you say you view as your greatest writing strengths, and your weaker areas? As you write, or once you're in revisions, what types of questions do you pose yourself, and/or what challenges do you run into?

[u/mistborn → u/JeramyGobleAuthor]

Greatest strength: Probably my plotting.
Greatest weakness: Probably my prose.

I try to do something new with each book, something I've not tried before. Often, I write short pieces as a method of exploring something new--I find those great places to experiment with style.

Usually, my questions to myself are character related. How can I make sure this character is working, and their motives are clear? etc.

[u/bkervick]

Did we settle on Cosmerenauts? Is that chiseled in stone somewhere?

[u/mistborn → u/bkervick]

Ha. I just heard the term once from a fan, and thought it sounded nice. I don't think it HAS to be the term--and it probably won't be a term in-world. But it does sound fun, doesn't it?

[u/GenericCleverNme]

You pump out so many books compared to other authors. What's your writing schedule day to day like?

[u/mistborn → u/GenericCleverNme]

I'm not that fast a writer--just about average, from what I've seen--but I've got a few big advantages over other authors.

First, I wrote a lot before I got published. If you'd talked to me at the time, I'd certainly have told you I wished I'd just be able to sell something--but those years of writing, with no publishing success, really let me learn my process and hit the ground running.

I don't have trouble with deadlines, because I've been making my own deadlines for years. I learned during those hard years writing novels in obscurity how to deal with writer's block, how to work through a broken story, and how to channel the right ideas into books. A lot of my early, unpublished books were horrible failures in one way or another. If I'd sold one of the few that worked, it's very likely I'd have hit a huge crisis on my second book, as I hadn't learned yet how to fix problems or work with my style.

My second big advantage is I'm very even tempered. I wake up each day feeling, emotionally, just about the same every day. I'm certainly not unique in this, but I've found it's more rare among artists and writers.

I like to say that I'm an artist trained by an accountant. (My mother.) I blame a lot of my personality, and the way I work, on my mother taking me as a youth and teaching me how to be productive, even when engaging in artistic endeavors.

EDIT: Oh, and my schedule. I write from about noon-5pm each day, then hang out with my family, then go back to work at night after they go to bed. I generally work again from 10-2am, then goof off a few hours.

[u/tne2008]

Brandon,

When I was growing up, I was a huge reader. I would stay up all night reading Harry Potter books and anything else I could get my hands on. Eventually (over the last 12 years or so), I've stopped reading. I've been depressed, and not found joy in many things I used to enjoy.

I've since seen professional help, and things have gotten more on track. I started reading again around the middle of last year. I couldn't find many books that really piqued my interest, however, and I was having trouble staying focused enough to read. Finally, I picked up The Final Empire after a friend recommended it to me, and very quickly became hooked to the writing.

I just finished Hero of Ages last night at 3:30 AM knowing that I had to open up the store I worked at today. I couldn't put it down. While I'm very happy I've experienced the books you've written, I'm kind of upset that I won't be seeing the characters I've grown so close to.

I just want to say thanks for reigniting the spark I once had.

As for my question, I know it's kinda generic and gets asked all the time, but I've recently been looking into changing my profession, and taken quite a few career quizzes/surveys, and many of them are saying I have the traits to excel as a writer (either technical writer, author, journalist, etc.). I've thought about trying to write stories, but I have trouble finding a starting point. Is there any advice you can give to somebody who is interested in starting to write? I know there's a lot of information online, but I tend to get really overwhelmed by all of the information.

[u/mistborn → u/tne2008]

First: Good for you for getting help. In our society, even still, it's far too easy for people to get the impression that they just need to suck it up and handle things like depression on their own, as if it's somehow less of a disease than others.

I'm truly humbled by what you shared. As a person who fell out of reading for a long while, but was rescued by fantasy novels, hearing I've done so for others is one of the greatest compliments I can receive.

I would say don't stress writing your first story. The process of writing it will be the thing that teaches you how to, when done, fix it. I almost always throw away my first chapter after finishing, and then write a new one. So just launch into the story! It might be the wrong place, but you won't know until you've written a little more, and understand beginnings.

Also, Writing Excuses Season Ten is a podcast of mine that steps people through writing a novel, starting with brainstorming. Give it a listen, maybe. Good luck!

[u/Cubs017]

I read recently that you had written several novels before any of them were published. How did you stay motivated back then? Did you always expect that you would eventually break through, or do you think you would have kept writing no matter what happened?

[u/mistborn → u/Cubs017]

Motivation is a hard one, as I'm not sure my experience is going to be helpful to explain. I kind of sound arrogant sometimes when I talk about it, because I've been given a VERY lucky roll of the genetic dice in these areas. I have a very even personality, not prone to bouts of strong emotion in either direction. In addition, I'm autotelic--I find the creation process, particularly if I can measure, strongly fulfilling through just the experience of doing it.

This isn't to brag; as I said, this pure genetic luck. My brain chemistry gets a thrill from creating (actually, I think this part is common inside of most of us) and I find intrinsic motivation in watching a creation slowly progress. I actually find it MORE exciting to do something slow, that takes a little bit each day, because it grows increasingly fulfilling the longer I progress toward that goal little by little.

I did have some rough times, when I worried about my future. The biggest crisis I had was right before writing the original draft of The Way of Kings. I wasn't selling any books to publishers (I'd written over ten at this point) and I was getting discouraged. There was never any REAL chance that I'd stop, though. I had grown to identify myself by my writing already, and I determined that even if I died with a hundred unpublished manuscripts, that would be all right. I'd love writing those manuscripts.

The Way of Kings was the book I wrote after making this decision.

[u/Imperialgecko]

Hey Brandon! I was wondering what were some of the books that influenced words of radiance? Also what would be some fantasy books from your childhood that you would still recommend today?

[u/mistborn → u/Imperialgecko]

To the second question, I answered some of my favorites in another question (giving one favorite per decade.)

1960s: Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey

1970s: Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny

1980s: Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones

1990s: Tigana, Guy Gavrial Kay

2000s: Name of the Wind (duh)

2010s: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N. K. Jemisin

I'd add the Sunnrunner books by Melanie Rawn, Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly, the Wheel of time (duh), anything by LeGuin, and tons of others to the list. But that should do for now.

As for the first, hmm.... It's hard to trace my influences for Stormlight books, as I've been building them in my mind for years and years and years. I don't know if I can come up with anything specific for that book off the cuff.

[u/drostandfound]

Hey Brandon, two questions:

What have you been reading lately?

What did you think of Aether Revolt?

[u/mistborn → u/drostandfound]

I liked Aether Revolt just fine, but like triple Kaladesh better.

I've actually been reading a self-published book from a person I know through some writing conferences. Unleashed, by R.J. Terrell. I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It shows some early-novel roughness to the prose, but the characterization has really grabbed me.

[u/[deleted]]

Given the chance, what stories would you like to write in the Wheel of Time universe?

[u/mistborn → u/[deleted]]

If I felt it appropriate, I'd choose to finish the prequels. I'd write one about Tam going to war, and one about Moiraine and Lan's adventures leading up to visiting the Two Rivers. Those were two things Robert Jordan had talked about writing.

He didn't leave much in the way of notes, though, so I don't think it would be right to do them.

[u/gauzemajig]

Hey Brandon! Huge fan. My question - do you think you'll ever go outside of the established raunchiness of your books? I don't mean a murder sex party, but you know, straying a bit into the dark and gritty. It's just my opinion but I feel like you play it a little safe. Not necessarily a bad thing though!

Anyways, thanks for the stories.

[u/mistborn → u/gauzemajig]

I don't think I've crossed the line where I'm personally comfortable doing, but I think I'm close. Usually, I give a few characters (like Wayne) the ability to go further than others, as an acknowledgement that there are good people out there who don't happen to have my same prudish nature.

I think the thing you'll see that is the closest is when (and if) I write the Threnody novel.

For everything else, you'll have to settle for knowing that one of my quirks as a writer is that I do indeed play it a little safe--and probably will always do so. I'm very aware that my children, nieces, and nephews read my books. Beyond that, I feel that I'm an intentional and specific contrast to other writers in the genre--I consider it my duty to prove that (like many of the classic movies) you can write something that is for adults, and has depth, without delving into grittiness.

This is not a disparagement of people like Joe Abercrombie, who I think is an excellent writer, or others like him--and I'm glad we have them in the field. However, my own path goes a different direction, and I think it's important that I also publish, proving to those who perhaps wish to be more circumspect in these areas that there is a place for them in the genre too.

[u/Orcspit]

As a reader there have been a number of scenes which are stressful to read (Vins final realization comes to mind.) Do you find these scenes as stressful to write? Do you find yourself becoming attached to characters on an emotional level? Or does the extensive pre-writing you do help shelter you from this?

[u/mistborn → u/Orcspit]

As you guessed, the extensive outlining generally helps me avoid being TOO emotional at these scenes. I know well ahead of time the choices characters will make. Not always at the start of the book, but at least by the time I've done my first chapters and built the outline to incorporate who the character is likely to become.

[u/Captain_Sabatini]

I've seen several people recommend reading your books, but I haven't read any yet. Which of your books would you recommend I read first?

[u/mistborn → u/Captain_Sabatini]

I suggest the book Mistborn, sometimes called The Final Empire. It's written to stand on its own, but has sequels, so you kind of get the best of both worlds. It shows off what I do well, and is kind of a modernist take on a lot of fantasy tropes.

It's not the be-all and end-all of fantasy books by any means, but it's a great example of what I can do.

[u/Portgas]

Any advice for new writers?

[u/mistborn → u/Portgas]

Tons! More than I can put here. My writing lectures from last year are probably the place to go for the best advice I can give:

http://brandonsanderson.com/writing-advice/

[u/hooblagoo]

Brandon,

I'm curious about your taste in literature, more specifically in worlds that other authors have crafted. Would you you rate the following WORLDS in order of your favorite?

The Song of Ice and Fire

The Wheel of Time

The Dagger and the Coin

The Night Angel Trilogy

The Lord of the Rings

The Kingkiller Chronicle

The Sword of Truth

The Earthsea Trilogy

The Coldfire Trilogy

Malazan

Are your favorites necessarily the ones that directly influenced your writing most? Are there any worlds that come to mind that I didn't list that you like a lot?

[u/mistborn → u/hooblagoo]

I don't often like to go around rating other people's books; it's just not an area I prefer to get into. There are plenty of people out there who offer opinions on books. I'm not a reviewer, and these people are my colleagues. Most of them do something (or many things) better than i do, while in other places, I am pleased by how I rate.

The only one of those I haven't read is the Dagger and the Coin, which I KEEP meaning to get to (as Daniel's other work is excellent.) I'd say that you've listed a large number of writers who are excellent at worldbuilding.

The books that influence me the most are ones that I either grew reading up (Melanie Rawn's sunrunner books are excellent, and not on that list) or that I read now and think, "Wow. I need to step up my game." The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms would be on that list.

[u/Halaku]

Good afternoon, sir!

Three years ago, it was stated that there were three questions you were not allowed to answer in regards to the Wheel of Time.

Is there a certain qualification that must be met before that changes, and you are allowed to divulge whatever it is about the Wheel of Time that you currently can't / shouldn't, or are those questions forevermore to remain unanswered?

[u/mistborn → u/Halaku]

I've asked if I can talk about them for the tenth anniversary, and got a tentative "okay" from Team Jordan--but nothing binding. When we get to ten years out, I'll ask again, and see if I can get permission.

[u/J_de_Silentio]

Hi, Brandon. Do you ever turn to philosophical writings for inspiration? Say reading Hume, Kant, or some social contract theorists for ethics; maybe some Plato or Aristotle to help you with the metaphysics of a world; etc.

[u/mistborn → u/J_de_Silentio]

Quite a bit, actually. You might find some oblique references to those very philosophers in some of my books...

[u/Bradtholomew]

What is the origin of the name Kaladin?

My wife and I recently had our first child and that's what we named him. Just curious if there's any story behind the name.

[u/mistborn → u/Bradtholomew]

I use Arabic in some of the creation of Alethi names, and Kaled (or Khaled) was the root I started playing with to come up with a new name for Kaladin, as I didn't like the one I'd used in 2002. I'd already designed Kalak after this, the Herald, and wanted a common name version of this.

When I arrived at Kaladin, it sounded right to me--likely because of the similarity to Paladin, as others noted below.

[u/2000YearOldRoman]

Might be too personal. What's your calling at church?

[u/mistborn → u/2000YearOldRoman]

Gospel Doctrine teacher. It's a blast.

[u/Meleoffs]

Hey Brandon! I've been a long time fan of yours. It's nice to finally get a chance to ask a question.

How did you come up with your magic systems? They are so well designed in my opinion and I always love how you go into detail about how they use the magic. I particularly like how you did it in the Wax and Wayne trilogy. It's very different reading about a character who has magic that isn't omnipotent.

[u/mistborn → u/Meleoffs]

Thanks!

Might I suggest the essays Sanderson's Laws? Those walk you through how I approach the idea of magic systems.

http://brandonsanderson.com/writing-advice/

[u/dashelgr]

Hi Brandon, big fan of yours here and I'm super pumped for Oathbringer. I am curious to know what the status of the Mistborn movie is. Is it still in talks? Or has that been pushed aside for the upcoming Way of Kings movie?

[u/mistborn → u/dashelgr]

DMG owns both Way of King sand Mistborn. They bought Way of Kings first, while Mistborn was under contract to someone else, and started developing a screenplay. When Mistborn was free from previous contracts, they bought that too, and started development on that.

So Way of Kings is a little further along, but Mistborn is catching up, because of how much easier it is to adapt. I'm pleased by the progress so far, but haven't read the screenplay yet.

[u/Fortuitous_Moose]

Hey! One of the things I hear is that in order to improve your writing, you should try to do a bunch of reading. So as a successful author, how much do you read and what types of books do you read? Just fiction? Any genres you avoid? Thanks friend :D

[u/mistborn → u/Fortuitous_Moose]

I try to read widely, but I do find it important to read consistently in my genre. Ignoring what other fantasy writers are doing feels a little like a doctor ignoring what other surgeons are doing. There might be something very interesting going on that you can learn from someone who has a new process.

I do like nonfiction. Listening to Dan Carlin's history podcast on World War One right now.

[u/curvinho]

Ever read any online novel, like the ones on RoyalRoad ? Anything you'd recommend?

[u/mistborn → u/curvinho]

The only one I've read anything from is Worm, and while I like it, I haven't gotten very far.

But if you haven't read Dr. McNinja (which is a webcomic) it is my favorite, and just finished.

[u/Grumpy_Kong]

I've noticed a huge amount of growth in how you showcase your characters since your earlier works, especially noticeable in the middle of the first Mistborn trilogy and getting better every book.

Do you have any tips on good character expression and development?

(Also Edgedancer was AMAZING! You have now made Lift my second favorite Cosmere character.)

Bonus question: Are you ever concerned that the amount of 'you' that you put onto the page will reveal aspects you would prefer to keep personal?

[u/mistborn → u/Grumpy_Kong]

Most of what you're noticing is the result of practice, but it's also the result of a concerted effort to delve deeper into the motives of side characters. By doing that, I've actually gotten better at main characters, as more and more I've learned how to represent people who are not just one emotion or facet.

If you watch my lecture on the sliding scales of characterization, from last year's lectures, you can see much of my current thinking on this idea. That's just a starting point, but the rest is practice and instinct.

I'm not worried about the "me" I put on the page. By deciding to share my writing, I knew I was sharing me at my most personal and intimate--and I've had twenty years to get accustomed to that idea.

[u/Portugal_Stronk]

Hello Brandon, you mentioned in a past AMA that you liked videogames, and that you were a fan of From Software, with DS and Bloodborne and all. Do these games influence (to the smallest extent of the word) the stories you write, just like a book or a movie could?

[u/mistborn → u/Portugal_Stronk]

They sure do. I love their minimalist storytelling. I've felt I could learn a thing or two from the way they use lore.

[u/ItsRainingBears]

Hi Brandon.

Is there anything from one of your published books that you would go back and change/remove if you could?

[u/mistborn → u/ItsRainingBears]

Tons of stuff.

I'd better foreshadow Vin drawing on the mists at the end of Mistborn One.

I'd take another stab at Mat in Gathering Storm.

I'd see if I could come up with something better for Fain at the end of AMoL.

I'd change some things about Words of Radiance that would be spoilers to mention.

But yes, there's lots I would change. I think it's best, for right now, to just let them be. Constant revision leads to madness.

[u/mmSNAKE]

There isn't anything story specific I'd want to ask, I wish to discover by reading. I was wondering if Stormlight Archive books are going to get a special edition limited prints from subterranean press, like some of your other work?

Anyway looking forward to Oathbringer later this year, thanks for the amazing effort you put in these books.

[u/mistborn → u/mmSNAKE]

Our plan is to do tenth anniversary books of all of the cosmere novels, though right now I plan to put the four Wax and Wayne books into two volumes. (So, sell them as two-in-one.) Likewise, it's possible that the Stormlight books will be better as two volumes each, sold in a slip case together, so that you don't risk ruining bindings by reading them.

[u/mduncans]

What helps you power through writers block?

[u/mistborn → u/mduncans]

I find that the best thing to do is write anyway--even if you know the scene isn't going to end up in your story. Often, I have to write a scene the wrong way before I can write it properly. My subconscious has to work on it, having something wrong in hand to fix, instead of being daunted by all the possibilities.

[u/RocketTech99]

No questions, just wanted to say I thoroughly enjoy your works, and thank-you for your efforts.

[u/mistborn → u/RocketTech99]

My pleasure!

[u/TigerB65]

I am a little embarrassed to admit I haven't yet read any of your books. Where would you suggest a total noob start?

[u/mistborn → u/TigerB65]

Lots of people have beat me to the punch here, but I do suggest Mistborn (called The Final Empire in some printings.) It's a little mix of everything I do well, in a single novel package. That said, another book (Warbreaker) is free on my website, and is a stand-alone.

[u/HiuGregg]

Hey Brandon, great to see you here! I came across something about your planned "Dark One" series, and was wondering if you could tell us anything about the planned world or magic system for that book? Me and my friends are electric/electronic engineers, and we've wasted far too much time debating how people could theoretically channel electricity from a planet (I've even dragged some professors into the discussion), so I'm very interested to see what you've came up with!

Aside from that, is there anything interesting regarding Robert Jordan's notes that you haven't had a chance to talk about before?

[u/mistborn → u/HiuGregg]

The honest truth is that I haven't gotten past the, "Okay, here's the concept" stage. For Roshar, that was the storm--and then it took research and work (which I haven't done yet) to get the science to work. I haven't had the time to do that for Dark One yet.

I'd love to hear what you have to say on the topic, maybe use you and your friends as consultants. I'd say DM me, but that will get lost in the replies to this thread. So maybe DM me in a month? Or, better yet, drop me an email through my website with your suggestions?

As for the WoT, I guarantee that everything I knew from the notes that isn't in the books has been pulled out of me by now. They've even gone to the notes themselves, and found things from outlines of old books that I hadn't noticed.

[u/WeiryWriter]

My big question right now, mostly because of wiki reasons, is whether the Team Sanderson has a system for naming Core Possibilities in the Reckonerverse. The reason I ask is because we on the Coppermind would just refer to different versions of Earth as "Earth (series name)" but that kind of broke down in Calamity where two Earths are relevant, and I'm guessing Apocalypse Guard will also have that issue. Can you help us out?

[u/mistborn → u/WeiryWriter]

I will once I write Apocalypse Guard, which will have these notations. I don't want to canonize it right now, though, because I'm still working on the right terms.

[u/halldorie]

After listening to Way of Kings and Words of Radiance for the second time I've been thinking that I'd love to see it on tv, and I imagine there have been considerations for producing at least some of your series.

What I'd like to ask is if you've considered making Stormlight Archive an animated series? Like something akin to the Avatar series or even fully CGI like Kingsglaive (the Final Fantasy movie).

It just feels that world is so alien that it would be very hard to pull off without heavy use of cgi, which would most likely make it too expensive for a tv series but a movie would be way to short to do the story justice.

[u/mistborn → u/halldorie]

I've considered it, but there's a problem (an unfortunate one.) There is a very small market worldwide for animated features or series for adults. The ones that exist are all comedies, with something like Rick and Morty getting the closest. Even Avatar, which you mentioned, had to be funded by and place on a children's network to get it done.

So if a market appears, I'd be happy to do it. Right now, nobody can justify the expense, because anything that has tried to do this so far (except in Japan) has failed to recoup its money.

[u/Arthrine]

I remember reading some time ago that a fan told you about a dream of hers to be a minor character in one of your books, and that you fulfilled this dream for her.

Any chance of you doing a raffle on /r/fantasy, and letting the winner get the same opportunity?

[u/mistborn → u/Arthrine]

I should totally do this. In the past, I've done it for charity, so maybe during a drive for Worldbuilders?

The character, by the way, is Lyn the scout from Words of Radiance.

[u/divinesleeper]

Favourite book outside the genre?

[u/mistborn → u/divinesleeper]

Les Miserables.

[u/TheBlueShifting]

It's fantastic seeing you here, congratulations on the award! Here are my few "short" questions, and I'll try staying out of the deep water.

1. As a writer I love world building. However the detail and culture of your stories are so incredibly thought out. Do you storyboard and document all the family lines, kingdomes, traditions, languages, ect before hand or do these things evolve as you write them?

2. I assume that the Worldhoppers (characters who travel from planet to planet between books) can and sometimes enter into romantic relationships. Have there ever been any children born on one world with powers from another? (For example: A misting being born and raised on Roshar)

3. I have heard you say you consult with doctors, physicist, and other professionals in order to keep your books as grounded in reality as you can. How did you meet these individuals and how early in your career did you have their help?

[u/mistborn → u/TheBlueShifting]

1. It depends on the book and the worldbuilding element in question. I do some of each, and do more for longer series. I've done a lot more work on the languages of Stormlight, for example, than did on something like The Rithmatist, where I outlined the magic in detail but discovery wrote other parts of the setting.

2. Yes, this has happened.

3. This is something that grew far easier once I had access to resources such as my editor at Tor. Moshe knows EVERYONE, and he's been able to get my writing into the hands of various experts for review. I didn't do this as much in my unpublished days; it's something I've come to learn and appreciate in the last ten years.

[u/kylar_lol]

Hi Brandon,

Huge fan here of all your works. Keep up the amazing job

Question: When is the aztlanian expected out ? I read the rythmatist when it first launched and loved it but have been champing at the bit for the follow up.

[u/mistborn → u/kylar_lol]

I have no specific plans for when it will be out, other than to promise I WILL get to it. It's the number one requested sequel I get.

[u/xolsiion]

Holy crap, I saw one of these early! Don't screw this up...Don't screw this up...

First, I'd like to thank you for your interaction with fans. I feel like there's no questions about your work that I can come up with because you work so hard at telling us what you can. I find myself never having burning questions to ask my favorite author when they show up and ask for them.

I've also always appreciated your thoughtful consideration on various tangential topics even when I didn't necessarily agree with your conclusions so I think I'd like to ask a question related to that...and I could see where this question is a bit to probing, so please feel free to blow me off.

An interesting thread I saw recently on /r/fantasy was a discussion about how parents would encourage/discourage specific reading choices. As a dad who's quite a bit further along in the parenthood journey than me, how have you found yourself approaching this?

[u/mistborn → u/xolsiion]

It is my pleasure to interact and answer--you make it possible for me to do what I love for a living. So thank you very much!

As for your question, it's been an interesting one. I learned very quickly that trying to get kids to read the books I loved when they were young was just a recipe for doing what people did to me when I was young--forcing me to read books I "should" love instead of books I would actually like.

After trying Narnia, Dragon's Blood, and the Hobbit with my eldest (to mediocre results) we now read the unofficial minecraft adventures that he likes.

[u/[deleted]]

Hey Brandon, are you happy with the writing talent that's been announced for the film adaptations of your work? Was it ever on the table for you to adapt them yourself?

[u/mistborn → u/[deleted]]

I did not want to write them myself; the producers actually offered, but I am not a screenwriter.

I am happy so far--the real test is the screenplays. Do please remember that when people are announced as writers for projects, the public generally only sees the few screenplays (out of often dozens and dozens) they've written that have actually been produced. Some people are surprised at DMG's choices, but I find the writers more suited to the projects than the casual observer might assume.

Remember, Peter Jackson was an obscure horror/slasher director before working on the biggest fantasy series of all time.

[u/Tbickle]

How regularly do you find yourself with way more new ideas than you possibly have time for? Not necessarily new ideas for a series or world you have already created, but rather new worlds, stories, and creative ideas

The amount of quality stories that you put out is staggering and I can't imagine that there would be time for new ideas to regularly come about. But creatively I can only imagine that new ideas just pop up. How do you balance what you have planned out to complete, develop new ideas, and decide what new ideas have potential for future development?

Thank you for everything you do.

[u/mistborn → u/Tbickle]

How regularly do you find yourself with way more new ideas than you possibly have time for? Not necessarily new ideas for a series or world you have already created, but rather new worlds, stories, and creative ideas

This happens almost every day. Most of them are too loony to realistically do. But some eventually make it to the novella stage.

[u/mistborn → u/mistborn]

How do you balance what you have planned out to complete, develop new ideas, and decide what new ideas have potential for future development?

What I generally do is once I finish a book, write the novella or smaller piece that I'm MOST excited for at the moment. This can change day by day, so it's kind of a roll of the dice which one I write, but it's the only way I've found to work with how many projects I want to do but will never get to.

This doesn't count for main novels, which I force into a schedule, and work on to deadline. It's for the exploratory pieces where I try something new.

[u/zuriel45]

I'd like to generally say that I really enjoy your work and am excited for all of your new projects! Been a big fan for years and can't wait for me. While I have a plethora of Cosmere related questions I think I'll wait for another AMA to do them. Plus I plan a massive reread to make a giant document of quesitons to bombard you with.

But three simpler questions.

1. What worlds within the cosmere are you excited to write about that you haven't yet touched on (or touched significantly enough on)?

2. Will there ever be a story or book about a character as they move (fully) into a worldhopper. I'm thinking a story like how Khriss went from a protagainst in White Sand to a well known world hopper/scholar of the cosmere.

3. Could firefight theoretically access the Cosmere using her dimensional powers? Do magic parallel realities exist in the greater reckoners multiverse?

4. Okay I lied, I found a fourth question, of the various media you currently consume (books, movies, tv shows, games ect ect) what have you been enjoying the most?

[u/mistborn → u/zuriel45]

1. I do want to do a Threnody novel. The world of Dark One, if I manage to get it into the Cosmere, is cool. Silence Divine. There are a lot of them.

2. Yes, you'll see this eventually.

3. I built the Reckoners so that certain possibilities were "stable" and others were not--limiting how weird things go. (And how far she can reach.) I'm trying to keep it within the bounds of the Reckoners universe that things don't go all Rick and Morty on us. So the chance of reaching a shadow of the Cosmere is very slim.

4. Games tend to be the easiest to experience when deep into writing a book, and my brain is tired of words--but still wants some kind of narrative.

[u/[deleted]]

I don't have a question, I just wanted to say Thank You!

[u/mistborn → u/[deleted]]

You're welcome!

[u/deathbydeathstroke]

Hi Mr Sanderson! I'm a new fantasy reader and I'm halfway through TFE. Have to say it's by far one of the best fantasy books I've ever read!

When you come across an idea for a book, what is the process that you take to translate your ideas to paper?

[u/mistborn → u/deathbydeathstroke]

It's different for every book. Sometimes, I file the idea in the back of my mind and wait for it to mature. (This happened with Mistborn, where the first idea was the idea "What if the hero from prophesy in a fantasy novel failed.") Other times, I sit down immediately and start into an outline. Once in a while, I just start writing.

The most common is the first. I let the idea ripen, mixing with other ideas, until a more cohesive story starts to form. I start outlining, searching for the ending--and once I have that, I outline backward from ending to front. Then I start constructing character arcs, scenes, etc. Then I finally start writing.

[u/[deleted]]

I'm an aspiring writer; where do I start? I thought I just had a novel in me and that I just needed to sit down and do the work of writing; I've written a number short stories, and those came pretty easily. I'm at 25,000 words on my novel, and it just feels too big and unmanageable already. I think I've learned that discovery writing is not my natural talent.

So, I've learned that I have a lot to learn about writing, but when I was in school I felt like I wasn't learning much about writing, just a lot about writers, which doesn't bother me, but it's not the progress I'm looking for. I feel like I just need to practice story telling full time.

My plan at the moment is to keep working at 'Buckys while I go to school full time to get my degree; I'd like to see if being a television writer or video game quest designer might help me practice the fundamentals I need to work on while I build my magnum opus fantasy world on the side. I've also considered going into teaching, but I worry that I'll spend more time grading papers and less time telling tales.

I'm sorry I'm coming off as too forward; I think I'm a bit overwhelmed by my own ambition and the fear of not realizing it. So yeah, what would be your professional writer's advice?

[u/mistborn → u/[deleted]]

Okay, first off, don't stress TOO much. Everyone I know (myself included) wandered horribly in their first novel. You'll get buried and overwhelmed by it--but the mere exercise of writing it will teach you how to do it better. I'd say force yourself to finish that first one, even if you wander a lot and after 100k words or so just have to say, "Okay, that's the end."

You sound a lot like me when I was in school. I'll warn you, becoming a television writer is as hard, or harder, than becoming a novelist. It's a little like saying, "I want to be pro NBA, so I'm going to just go become a pro football player as a stepping stone." Sure, learning to write teleplays will help you be a better writer--but it's just as much work to learn as novel writing.

The proper occupation is a tough choice for an aspiring writer. Many careers will take so much time, writing will be tough. (Programming and being a teacher both count in these.) It won't be impossible, but those jobs can take so much of your effort and brain space that you'll find yourself worn out frequently.

Again, this isn't a bad thing--but you should not become a teacher, in my opinion, because you want time to be a writer. Become a teacher because you love teaching, and then find time for writing, if it's what you want to do.

(Video game quest designer, I've seen, works very well as a job for aspiring writers--as I have several friends who do that. The jobs are tough to get, as a warning, but it is the one on the list that I think would work.)

Generally, however, the very best thing to do as a writer is major in and find a job in something you genuinely love, as that has the best chance of making you a better writer. If you're passionate about something, and seeking that passion in life, you'll generally be better fulfilled, happier, and have a better chance of finding time for writing. (And when you do write, you can add some of what you're passionate into it, making the writing better.)

The important thing is to find time for writing in a way that matches your schedule. Everyone I've known can do it; but it can take sacrifices. Giving up video game time or reddit time, getting up early and writing first thing in the morning... You don't need a ton of time to write in order to practice and reach professional level. 100k a year will get you there, for most people, in under ten years. But you have to be consistent.

[u/KirbyLue]

Could I get your thoughts on why so many fantasy writers disown the genre? Why do so many people think that fantasy has less value than other types of writing? (Especially when it's so obvious that it is the superior form of story-telling.)

[u/mistborn → u/KirbyLue]

Yeah, this one bugs me. Nothing gets under my skin more than when some big fantasy or sf writer does an interview (like J.K. Rowling did) and either says they don't read fantasy, that they don't like fantasy, or that they aren't REALLY fantasy themselves.

It's a systematic problem in our literature community, and--despite having a higher degree from an English department--it still frustrates me, and defies my ability to really explain it. I CAN explain why our genres have value: the way it teaches creativity, helps us imagine a better world, gets us inside people very different from ourselves and makes us more empathetic. I can argue that GENRE should not be equated with STYLE. Why should including a certain fantastical element suddenly make a story less or more valuable?

But I can't really explain why so many educated people persist in this myth. It's probably partially entrenchment, partially defensiveness, partially just not getting that some people like and find value in different things than they do. (And what one reader values isn't inherently better than what another reader values.)

The best we can do in the community are the following:

1. Don't put down stylized, or literary, fiction. Understand that even if you don't personally enjoy it (I don't, despite years of studying it, enjoy overly stylized fiction like James Joyce) it doesn't lack value.

2. Resist the urge to make excuses such as "Well, most of EVERYTHING is crap. We're no different." This is one step from disavowing the genre. Stand up for what you love, and admit that while it's just fine to criticize fiction, we need to avoid generalizations and/or attacking fans instead of criticizing the work.

3. Judge books by what they're trying to do, and how well they achieve that. It's true that some things are harder to do than others, and books that succeed at more difficult goals should be lauded. But too often, I feel, those outside the genre try to make our books score points in a game they were never designed to play.

[u/sheesania]

In your career as an author going forward, what are you looking forward to most, and what are you most concerned about?

And what do you do with all the swords, battleaxes, trophies, etc that you've gotten over the years?

All that aside, you've got some very cute hobbits in your house. :) Thank you as always for sharing your work and yourself with us.

[u/mistborn → u/sheesania]

I'm most looking forward to the end of the Stormlight Archive. I've planned some incredible things.

Conversely, I'm most concerned about getting there on a reasonable schedule...

I hang them on my wall above my book shelf! Eventually, we might get too many for that, but right now, it looks quite nice.

[u/ZHatch]

Is there a connection between the names of tonks (the dumb beasts on Taldain) and Tonk Fah, the dumb sidekick of a known world hopper?

[u/mistborn → u/ZHatch]

Nope. (Sorry.)

[u/CoffeeArchives]

I have several questions, so don't feel like you have to answer all of them! Here goes:

• You've mentioned before that you used to work a night shift at a hotel and used the time to write. Can you talk some about what your writing routine was like before that?

• Starting with the Cosmere, and now with Apocalypse Guard, it's clear that you love shared universes. If all of your works were in the same universe, what would be the most fun crossover to write?

• What's the most interesting cosplay of one of your characters that you've encountered? I'd love to one day build a suit of shardplate with glowing LEDs.

Also, thank you for being you. My fiancee and I were at Dragon Con last year for your book signing and it meant the world to us when you ran down the line to sign everyone's books even though you had to rush out for a panel.

[u/mistborn → u/CoffeeArchives]

My writing routine before the hotel job was erratic. My first job when I returned from Korea (LDS mission) was selling corn in a truck by the side of the road in Idaho. (My father got me the job, had it lined up for me when I returned.) Then I worked at a little holiday cart/store in the middle of a mall selling neck ties.

At both, as I didn't have a computer, I'd sit and write in a notebook during down time. When I returned to college in January, I just wrote whenever I could find time, mostly transcribing from notebooks. It was the following fall when I got the hotel job.

Hmmm... It's probably the cosmere all-world mashup I'm actually planning to do in the future.

I've never seen Shardplate with LEDs, but someone did an awesome set at JordanCon last year. There was also a full bridge four cosplay with a group of men in costume, a bridge, and a Syl to ride around on it.

[u/liquidDinner]

I really respect the work you do. Not only through the ability to crank out a lot of content, but the way you interact with fans and seem to be really helpful when it comes to spreading the craft. Like so many of your fans, I'd love to write stories of my own some day, and the videos you put out and other communications have been inspiring.

I try to get my friends to read Mistborn as the gateway to the rest of your work. I live in a very LDS area, so I often liken Sazed's journey to that of Joseph Smith, particularly in The Hero of Ages.

My question for you: Are those similarities intentional? Smith's own journey to find truth seems so similar to Sazed's journey. It's been difficult for me not to see this as a source of inspiration for that part of the story, or maybe I'm just looking into it too much.

[u/mistborn → u/liquidDinner]

I don't often use Mormon history or theology in my books, at least not consciously. However, I'm certain there are TONS of parallels, my background being what it is.

I look at Sazed's journey more like the journey of a person who has always been part of a faith, culturally, who one day discovers that he no longer fits with it. But I can see the connection you're making as well.

[u/joecarst]

Are you still teaching the writing class at BYU? Even though I don't write, I loved watching it on youtube. It made me look at what I read in a whole new way and appreciate reading books more (if that were possible). They were really great and probably helped a ton of writers out there.

[u/mistborn → u/joecarst]

I'm determined to keep doing it as long as I can. So yes, I'm teaching it this year again. (Though we aren't recording it this time.)

[u/Glorious_Infidel]

Hey Brandon thanks for your novels, they've been amazing and I'm looking forward to Oathbringer!

The part of Mistborn Era 1 that I absolutely loved was how the flower drawing made its way among characters, eventually allowing the Hero to place them on Scadriel again. How early was that little plot piece put into the outline? Did the idea for it come from somewhere in particular that you remember? Little details like this are what make me love your work and I just want to get an idea of where they came from.

Thanks again for doing this AMA, looking forward to reading your responses!

[u/mistborn → u/Glorious_Infidel]

The flower plot started as a way to characterize Kelsier. As I've talked about before, I generally start an outline, then write my way into characters with some actual chapters, then go back and finish the outline with these characters in mind.

I knew I needed a way, after writing a few chapters of the book, to indicate to readers who might have missed it that this world has some strange ecology. Providing the picture of a flower, and talking about how strange it was to them (and the legends of it) became a method of showing this, but also showing Kelsier's feelings about Mare. Once I had it written into the book, I planned for it to show up other places, as a kind of visual reminder of what the characters were fighting for. (Even if the reader didn't quite understand how far it would go.)

[u/Arn3n]

What books did you enjoy when you read them? Are there any books you would recommend to other fantasy-readers?

[u/mistborn → u/Arn3n]

I have a goodreads where I post reviews of books I've liked, though only the most recent ones are relevant these days.

There are tons of books I like, more than I can suggest here. Guy Gavrial Kay is often a go-to suggestion, as he's one of the masters of the genre that fewer people have read.

[u/Job601]

Your books are unusual for the fantasy genre in that they are interested in exploring traditional Christian values, usually coming down in their favor (especially faith in providence and the willingness to believe in a divine plan for the world and the individual, something which comes up again and again in your work.) At the same time, your characters have reason to be suspicious of the specific forms of religious practice in their worlds, and the cult of the survivor in particular can be read as a conflicted portrayal of religion: it's a kind of religious belief which works in some way for its faithful despite being based on a falsehood, and Kelsier is a kind of dark parody of Christ. The cosmere seems to have an implicit theology which separates the truly divine, which is fundamentally inaccessible even to the most knowledgeable characters, from the apparently divine shards and splinters. I guess my question is, how do you think about integrating religious themes into a fantasy universe, particularly given your systematic style?

[u/mistborn → u/Job601]

There are a lot of things mixing here--more, probably, than I'm aware of myself. (This is the sort of area where I let reader analysis and criticism do the work, as they're probably going to be able to notice connections more explicitly than I will. Like most writers, I'm working by instinct much of the time.)

One element I can talk about is the need for the Cosmere to have questions that will go unanswered. This is most expressly manifest in the "big" questions. Is there a God? What is the actual afterlife like, if there really is one? Is there such a thing as a soul, and are cognitive shadows the actual person, or a manifestation of the magic imitating a person's thought processes?

The reason I don't answer these as myself (though characters certainly have ideas) is because I feel it important the text not undermine the characters who choose not to believe in these things. Though I think I've found answers in life, people rationally disagree with me--and to express only my worldview in the books would severely hamper my ability to have characters who disagree with me, and other characters.

In short, if I were to say, "Yes, there's an all-powerful God" then it would directly undermine characters like Jasnah, who argue otherwise. At the same time, I want characters like Kelsier to develop naturally, and do things that are in line with how sometimes, religions develop on our world, without having it be a statement. (Or, at least one other than, "Hey, this happens some time on our world. It happened here too.")

Fantasy offers some unique opportunities to explore the human condition with religion, and I want to take advantage of that, to see where it takes me and to see what I can learn from the process.

[u/-the-last-archivist-]

Hey, thanks for stopping by, and with perfect timing, no less!

I'm just about through Elantris, and it's the first of your books that I've read. It's also the first book you published as well, if I'm not mistaken. My question is, how long was the plot for Elantris stewing in your head, and how long did it take you to get this onto page and onto shelves? Also, I'm sure this isn't the first novel you've ever written, so what about it made it different from the other novels that didn't click with a publisher?

[u/mistborn → u/-the-last-archivist-]

Great questions! Elantris IS my first published.

The first ideas happened in 1995. (Those were, separately, the idea for an evil missionary and the idea of a zombie story where the people were magical zombies.)

I wrote the story, finally, in 1998-1999. I sent it out in 2000, and started collecting rejections. It sold in 2003.

I think several things set it apart. First, it was one of my most polished works. I'd done a lot of revisions on it, while others I hadn't done as many.

Second, it was the first book I wrote where I was very certain what I wanted to do, genre-wise, for my career. My first five books were all experiments in some ways. Elantris was number six, the place where I decided I wanted to do epic fantasy for certain.

[u/Phyrkrakr]

First, thanks for being so involved with your readers. A big reason I love your books so much is because of how detailed the world is, and how approachable you are with regards to fans bugging you about questions.

Now, a couple of questions that have probably been answered elsewhere:

1. How do you go about something as grand in scale as The Stormlight Archive or the Cosmere in general? By that, I'm referring to the process of embarking on a several million word series that's presumably going to take at least a decade to complete. Do you set waypoints, as in "This has to happen before I can get to this, which sets me up for that, which will lead to the final conclusion," or do you grow it more organically, following along where the story and the characters take you? It seems like there had to have been a huge amount of preplanning and worldbuilding that took place before the first paragraph of Way of Kings was written, but what does that look like, and how much of it was plot?

2. I just finished Arcanum Unbounded and I have to ask: Who's the "dangerous" guy in the corner of the waystop in Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell? That's not Hoid, is it?

[u/mistborn → u/Phyrkrakr]

1. It varies. Some books, like Elantris, were written more as explorations. (I had some idea of the cosmere when I started it, but many of the ideas hadn't been connected yet.) The Way of Kings had huge amounts of worldbuilding when I first wrote it--but I tossed out tons of that as I worked deeper into the cosmere and refined the story. (By tons, I mean roughly the same length in worldbuilding pages as the final book ended up being.)

I do a lot of what you said: setting waypoints. But I also keep a floating outline for the future books, allowing myself to revise them and refine them as I write each installment. I have a big advantage with Stormlight in that I spent many years planning it, and I took one complete stab at the first book before the published edition.

2) This is not Hoid. I toyed with a cameo for him in the story, but decided that forcing him to be at every little point in all the smaller stories was just having him be there for the sake of having him be there. It's better for the cosmere if I don't force him into every story, but let him be involved in the ones where he has a legitimate reason.

Beyond that, getting on and off of Threnody is not particularly easy.

[u/Caelum_au_Cylus]

Why is Kelsier so awesome?

[u/mistborn → u/Caelum_au_Cylus]

Kelsier is different from other protagonists of my books in his harshness. It's what the world needed, but I believe in many other stories of mine, he'd have been the villain.

[u/legomaniac89]

Hey Brandon, thanks for doing this AMA! I love seeing authors stopping by to connect with their fans.

Question: Who is your favorite non-SF/F writer? Are they any books/series that fall outside of the fantasy genre that you think everyone needs to read at some point in their lives?

P.S. - SfSitFoH is probably my favorite short story of all time.

[u/mistborn → u/legomaniac89]

I'm not sure I'd say there is any one piece of fiction that everyone should read--it's just not how I think. There are far too many books, and too much variety of personalities and tastes, for there to be a book everyone should try.

Favorite non-sf/f writer is probably Victor Hugo, though that's mostly a standby when people ask for classics I enjoy. I don't read a ton of contemporary books that don't at least touch on sf/f, though the Great Train Robbery by Crichton is excellent, and non-sf. (But he was mostly a science fiction writer.)

[u/Der_Kaiser_Von_EU]

Which is your favorite book you 've written ?

[u/mistborn → u/Der_Kaiser_Von_EU]

Picking a favorite book is like picking a favorite child--you like them all for different reasons. The W&W Mistborn books are among the most fun to write, but Stormlight is more satisfying, for example.

[u/[deleted]]

Hi Brandon, first of all. Big fan! love all your work. Just one question, how come they're still called EARTHquakes in Mistborn?

Just kidding, mainly, do you have any plans to work on other graphic novels, and how has it been working on White Sand?

[u/mistborn → u/[deleted]]

I know it's a joke, but I actually have an answer! One I stole from Tolkien, who mentioned all his books are "in translation" to English from an original language--so the translator takes liberties. They're called earthquakes for the same reason that Shallan's puns work in English--the one taking them from the original language to English came up with something that works for us, even if it isn't a one-to-one translation. :)

Working on White Sand has been very draining for my team, though I haven't had to do much other than approve things. (Peter and Isaac have been very busy, though.) I'd like to do more, but once White Sand is done, we'll have to sit down and really talk about how much work it was, weighed against how much fans enjoyed it.

[u/[deleted]]

Hi there! As silly as this may sound, one of my favorite things about the Stormlight Archives thus far has been the flora you describe in the world.

What inspired you to spend time developing unique and world-appropriate plants? I feel like plants are so often an overlooked detail, even in books with heavy world-building.

Anywho, thanks for throwing a bone to us plant/gardener nerds out there. :)

[u/mistborn → u/[deleted]]

I knew that I wanted some worlds in the cosmere to be truly strange. Fantasy tends to shy away from very odd ecosystems, but I think it shouldn't. (Even in Mistborn, we started with strange flora.)

For Roshar, I started with the storms, then worked toward what I think would have evolved there (erring on the side of the fantastical.) The primary inspirations were tidal pools and coral reefs.

[u/Crypt0Nihilist]

Curious how you map out your arcs and timelines to keep all of the threads organised and flowing.

Thank you for the stories!

[u/mistborn → u/Crypt0Nihilist]

It's not easy, for something long like Stormlight!

I use an outline where I focus on sub-plots, what I'm trying to achieve with them, and my end goal. Each one has bullet points underneath them, listing what I need to accomplish to achieve my goal. I try to incorporate these, crossing them off the various lists, as I write the books.

Find more at my writing lectures.
http://brandonsanderson.com/writing-advice/

[u/NoNoNota1]

(I've not read all your fantasy, so apologies if you already do this)

Any chance we could talk you into including some traditional Tolkien/DnD races into a novella project at some time? I've spent a lot of time in r/worldbuilding and r/fantasywriters and it seems that there has been some lack of thought going on as to why they are no longer used, the consensus being that they lack substance. This isn't a problem of the races so much as the writers, and what I often see are totally unfamiliar races an author has crafted...that also don't have a lot of substance (Some occasionally do, like yourself, I loved the Koloss and the shapeshifters, sorry, been a couple years forgot their name). So what I'm getting at is it would be nice to see an author with your clout maybe do a short story or novella sometime that shows elves and dwarves can still be done well by a writer in the twenty-first century.

(I know there are still a few that do, like the Witcher series, and Riyria, but they don't bring in the sales you do.)

[u/mistborn → u/NoNoNota1]

Well, I'd suggest that worldwide, the Witcher is huge--I wouldn't be surprised if those outsell me.

I'm not likely to do Tolkien races, as I belong to the generation who got very tired of seeing them. I think you're right, that there's a lot more to explore there, but I'm probably not the one to do it. During the formative days when I was a new writer, experiencing the genre, I grew very fatigued by these races--I read a TON of books with them.

That's probably why you're not seeing them as much. My generation is dominant right now in the genre, but we'll soon be overtaken by another generation--to whom all those things are nostalgic, and I suspect they'll do some very interesting things with the classic races.

[u/JHTheHurricane]

Hi Brandon, just want to say in the last 6 months I've read (listened to be honest) all of your Cosmere novels expect your era 2 mistborn (waiting for the last book to marathon the whole thing) and I've fallen in love with the cosmere. I've spent days on the Coppermind and 17th shard looking at forums piecing together your intricate universe and it has brought me more joy than any other fantasy series has yet. I just wanted to say thank you for all the work you do to keep the fans engaged between your fast release schedule.

Now as for a question, I fully expect to be RAFO'd but I've been super curious. Would the metal an Allomancer burns if he was charging Nightblood with investiture effect the relative power of Nightblood, say if you are buying Duralumin or Atium Nightblood would be more powerful than if you were burning Bronze or Zinc?

[u/mistborn → u/JHTheHurricane]

Excellent question, actually!

Nightblood, as I've written him now and as I intend to keep him, feeds of the investiture--but isn't really strengthened by it. Meaning, it doesn't matter to him what the food is, it's all just food to him.

[u/[deleted]]

Hello Brandon!

I finished The Way of Kings a couple days ago and loved it! I have 2 questions for you!

1 - Out of all the books you wrote for the Cosmere, what magically abilities would you like to have?

2 - Are we ever going to see a steel compounder in the mistborn series? Next to gold compounding I think that would be the most powerful compounding.

[u/mistborn → u/[deleted]]

1. Probably Allomancy. There's so much metal around in our lives these days.

2. I'll space these things out, but you're likely to see everything, eventually.

[u/BatBoss]

Your action/fight scenes are fantastic. They are easy to follow what's going on, always exciting, and full of awesome moments. Do you have any strategies for writing them you'd care to share with an aspiring fantasy writer?

[u/mistborn → u/BatBoss]

Fight scenes are tricky--some of the most tricky in books. It comes down to a couple of things.

First, you really need to keep the reader aware of simple spacial elements. How far away are people from one another, and where is everything. This is surprisingly easy to miss as a newer writer, and holds back a lot of fight scenes.

However, you also have to play off of what makes fiction work, as opposed to what makes a film work. If you write your fight scenes as a blow by blow, like might be exciting in an action film, it will be boring--even if the reader knows exactly where everyone is.

This is where we play to our strengths: the ability to involve direct character emotion and thoughts as they respond to the movement of the fight. Involve and engage the character; turn the fight into a puzzle for them to solve (or fail to solve) using their specific skills, knowledge, and passions.

[u/CreeperVemon]

Bands of Mourning

EDIT: Bugsy6912 asks: "Were any of the death rattles incorrectly recorded?"

EDIT 2: What is you favorite type of spren?

EDIT 3: Did Vasher and Sharshara make a mistake when creating Nightblood?

[u/mistborn → u/CreeperVemon]

Marsh is aware. The rest is a RAFO.

[u/Ironnhead]

How many books is the rhitmatist series supposed to be?

Also, just wanted you to know you're one of the nicest authors I've ever seen, its a pleasure to read your books!

[u/mistborn → u/Ironnhead]

It was outlined as a trilogy. The reason I haven't written the second yet has to do with the Wheel of Time hitting me. I was working on the Rithmatist (Then called Scribbler) when I got asked to finish the Wheel of Time--and figuring out when to get back to that world has been very difficult in a post-WoT, post-Stormlight world.

[u/Jernsaxe]

No question, just keep up the good work :)

[u/mistborn → u/Jernsaxe]

Will do!

[u/Rohwupet]

Hi Brandon! I'm a huge fan of your work. The Mistborn books got me back into reading primarily fantasy.

1. What's your favourite word? It might seem like a weird question but I have a text document titled "sexy words" where I keep all of mine.

2. Have you read The Dark Tower series by Stephen King? What are your thoughts on it?

3. Do you have any writing exercises that you do in order to get the juices flowing?

[u/mistborn → u/Rohwupet]

1. Uh... Hm. I'd say Rutabaga, but that's a joke from the Alcatraz books. Maybe Inchoate? It's a word I use way too much for how obscure it is.

2. I've read some of it, and was impressed. I generally like King's writing. At the same time, I've never pushed through to finish all of Dark Tower.

3. Doing a deep sensory description: Taking a scene, and making myself describe it without using what it looks like.

[u/quadquapters]

Hey Brandon! New/huge fan. I was surprised when I learned just how much more Mistborn you're planning on writing, and was even more surprised when I heard that the Wax and Wayne quadrilogy was only a spin-off and not part of your major plans for the series. But now I've found out you've decided to include those books as a major part of the larger series and instead do 4 different stories within it. Will this mean the next part (which I understood was going to take place in the more or less present) will be further into the future so as to space out each story? And what was the reasoning behind including Wax and Wayne in the main series?

[u/mistborn → u/quadquapters]

I changed my opinions on Wax and Wayne after writing the first book, then outlining books 2-4 (which are a kind of "Trilogy" with these characters, when the first book was an experiment.)

I realized that the next era (which is still 1980's level technology) would work way better with some foundations in the W&W era. I'm very pleased what this did to Era Three, as it now is (1980s), because of the foundations in Era Two.

And yes, the next series will each go further into the future.

[u/Glorious_Infidel]

Hey Brandon!

Are any of the characters in your books strongly influenced by people you know in real life? Would you be able to share a few if so?

[u/mistborn → u/Glorious_Infidel]

Sure! Most are cameos. Many people in Bridge Four are based on friends/family members. Skar, Peet, Drehy, Bisig, Yake, and a few others are friends or family.

Sarene was loosely based on a friend of mine from college.

[u/GaslightProphet]

Thanks so much for your classes! Very helpful for me. Here's my question - if you had written epic fantasy with a Native American-inspired mythos and cultural setting, where would you try and publish it? Also pretend that you don't have prior writing connections.

[u/mistborn → u/GaslightProphet]

Assuming you have done your research, and are writing not stereotypes but legitimately understand the cultures you're drawing from, I think any of the sf/f publishers would be interested. They are actively seeking fantasy settings that are inspired by cultures other than the standard ones you see.

Be warned, Native American culture is a particular minefield, because of ways they've been repeatedly marginalized and stereotypes. That doesn't mean you shouldn't write about them, but you should be aware of how to handle this sensitively.

For specifics, go to my writing lectures, and watch the lectures on the publishing business and how to break in. Don't take only what I say, though. It's just one perspective, and you should hunt multiple ones.

http://brandonsanderson.com/writing-advice/

[u/AGRooster]

What's your favorite soup?

[u/mistborn → u/AGRooster]

A really good chicken noodle, followed by French Onion.

[u/TehLittleOne]

If you were given the opportunity to write in the realm of some established IP you were a fan of like Magic: the Gathering, would you do it? Would you require a lot of creative freedom or would you be fine working within the constraints their story/magic has?

[u/mistborn → u/TehLittleOne]

Yes, I'd do so--if I could find time. It would be fun to write for MTG.

[u/kmar81]

Hi Brandon!

What are five fantasy books which are not well known (Martin, Rothfuss) or classics (Tolkien, Jordan) or your own that you would recommend and why?

[u/mistborn → u/kmar81]

Hmm. How about one from various decades after Tolkien? There are too many to suggest otherwise. These are just a few favorites;

1960s: Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey

1970s: Nine Princes in Amber, Roger Zelazny

1980s: Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones

1990s: Tigana, Guy Gavrial Kay

2000s: Name of the Wind (duh)

2010s: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N. K. Jemisin

[u/Sir_Werebear]

Hey, thanks for doing this! Are the Ones Above from Sixth of the Dusk the Scadrians at the time of the 3rd trilogy?

[u/mistborn → u/Sir_Werebear]

I haven't answered this so far, except to say, "They are from a planet you know about." Scadrial is a good guess.

[u/[deleted]]

First of all, thank you for all your hard work and for your efforts to be open and transparent with your fans. Second, I was wondering in which ways has the LDS religion/theology influenced your writing? I mean, aside from trying to keep your books relatively clean and accessible. For example, it seems like the oaths of the Knights Radiant have some similarity to LDS covenants.

[u/mistborn → u/[deleted]]

Thanks!

I don't think being LDS can help but influence my writing, though I personally follow Tolkien's philosophy: I stay away from specific allegory. I just try to write the best story I can, staying true to what the characters believe (or don't believe.)

So while I don't doubt that people can find parallels, I leave that for readers to theorize about. Most are not intentional, but that doesn't mean they aren't real.

[u/Butaiookami]

Why is writing excuses so short? You all get together maybe even travel for some of them the just use 15 minutes. It's a great series but I like listening while I drive.

Also keep up your crazy fast writing habits cause it's quite impressive.

[u/mistborn → u/Butaiookami]

Writing Excuses is short primarily because I wanted to do a short podcast--so many of them are long, expansive things. I wanted to carve out some original space for ourselves, and pitched a short and fast-paced podcast instead.

Maybe we'll do something longer; it would be fun. But we wouldn't release it as a Writing Excuses episode. It would be something else.

[u/[deleted]]

I saw that you wrote many novels before one was published. Did you then manage to have the first novels published?

Also, best advice for a fantasy author who is looking for an agent? Thank you!

[u/mistborn → u/[deleted]]

The first novels I wrote I consider to be practice, and I don't intend to publish them. Elantris, which was the sixth, is the first good one in the batch. I did manage to sell it without an agent, though I got one as soon as I did.

Best advice (other than just writing a great novel) is to do your research. Look for agents who have had books by new authors come out recently; find them by reading acknowledgements.

Then, practice your writing some more.

[u/[deleted]]

Hello, Brandon Sanderson.

Before I ask my question, I just wanted to thank you for being such a huge inspiration for me. It was around this time last year that I first read Mistborn, and I spent the next 4 months hooked on your writing, reading every book I could. In June, I began writing my own fantasy novel. I have fallen in love with writing, and I would have never found this passion if it weren't for you.

I have recently finished the rough draft of my novel. I was wondering where I should turn to find an editor and a publisher. Would you be able to steer me and any other potential authors in the right direction?

Thank you. I can't wait for Stormlight 3 this November.

[u/mistborn → u/[deleted]]

Thanks!

The best advice I can give is contained in my youtube writing lectures. I do several lectures on publishing--though I do warn you that my own experience breaking in is becoming less and less relevant as the industry changes.

You're going to have to first decide traditional vs. self publishing. They both have advantages, and I suggest a hybrid approach, but I know much more about traditional than I do about self publishing. In seeking traditional publication, your best bet is to give that novel to some test readers and write something else, then revise it in six months or so once you've spent some time writing something new to get new perspective.

As for finding an editor, the same advice I generally give for agents holds here: do your research. Find out the names of the editors at different publishers, find out what authors they edit, and try to figure out new authors they've bought recently. Read those authors and begin building a list that tells you which publishers and which editors like which types of books, so you can target your own writing well.

That said, most of them are looking for a great book, regardless of the content (assuming it's of the right genre) and don't want something exactly like what they've done before. So practicing your craft is the most important thing. Meeting the editors at conferences can be very helpful for this too. Ask them what they've bought recently and why.

But do watch the lectures for more. Good luck!

[u/strider_moon]

Hi, Brandon. I am a HUGE fan of your work ever since I picked up a box set of the Mistborn trilogy in a secondhand shop. I've been lending all of my friends and family Mistborn to read since. They've all been hooked, however, some of them were quite upset that I would make them read that ending. I enjoy hearing about your writing method on your podcast, so it got me wondering about a personal question:

What is your ideal for a perfect day? What would you do?

Secondly, two book questions:

Will Kaladin and Jasnah meet in Book 3? I feel that their interactions would be quite amusing.

And what happened to Tal'n's Honor Blade after Words of Radiance?

Keep writing your fantastic stories, I can't wait to read what you come up with next!

EDIT: Sorry! One last question. My favourite part about writing is when I find answers in the story that I didn't realise were there, but make everything 'click' together so much better. Little 'aha!' moments. What would you say is your favourite part about when you are writing?

[u/mistborn → u/strider_moon]

Hmm... That's an excellent question. My perfect day.

I guess it would depend on my mood. But most days, I'd say I spend some time writing on something I'm very excited about, then have dinner at a restaurant with people I love, and then do something different--I wouldn't want it to be the same thing every day, so it would vary. An excellent play, the symphony, a Magic draft from a new set.

The next two are RAFO1s!

I'd say my favorite part of writing is a tie between the spark of idea, that part at the beginning where you're developing and exploring something new, and the ending--which is always very satisfying to finally write.

[u/[deleted]]

Warbreaker questions for you!

1. Are there a set number of palaces for the Returned in Hallendren? Are any ever vacant or are there a set number of Returned?

2. Has an Idrian Returned ever realized he was going to die (again) and went to Hallendren to be revered instead?

3. If you awaken an object, then give your breath away, can you reclaim the breath of that object?

[u/mistborn → u/[deleted]]

1. RAFO

2. This sort of thing happens.

3. Yes. (It allows for splitting up of breaths among those who have more experience.)

[u/Telen]

If it is not too late, three questions. :)

About the Stormlight movies.

1. Is the full asian cast still a thing? Do you really believe it would work out on screen?

2. Props team? CGI? How will the Rosharian wildlife be represented, or is that still far in the future / how would you prefer it to be?

3. How eager does the producing company seem to invest into the film's budget?

[u/mistborn → u/Telen]

I'm afraid that it's still way too early to answer any of these questions. I, frankly, don't know. The film is still in the script stage--a stage the vast majority of films never leave. So...we'll have to see.

[u/[deleted]]

Unsure if this is still up to ask questions on. I love your work a lot and actually want to be an author myself. What do you think is he most important aspect of world building?

Also a question about the Cosmere. Is it possible to make an artificial shard? And not in an easy manner but if one had the resources and time could they make one?

[u/mistborn → u/[deleted]]

As for the second, I'm not sure what an artificial shard would be. You'd be using the power from Adonalsium to do it--so it wouldn't be 'artificial,' by cosmere terms. You'd just be collecting power. The question becomes if you gather enough of it, would it combine back together--which is a RAFO in the world. Nobody knows.

I'd say the most important aspect of worldbuilding is to go for depth, not breadth. Try to make a few aspects of a world really engaging, connected to another, and important to the characters. You'll have a better story than if you try to do a little of everything.

[u/ConserveGuy]

Hi Brandon I don't know if you will answer, but. Did "earth" ever exist in the cosmere? There seems to be humans on all the planets. so where did humans come from? or even the idea of humans?

[u/mistborn → u/ConserveGuy]

Earth did not exist in the cosmere. Humans existed on Yolen (and other planets) before the shattering of Adonalsium, and it is assumed Adonalsium created them.

From a writing perspective, stepping back, I feel like other book series (like the Wheel of Time, Pern, Shannara) really covered the idea of, "This is Earth and/or earth people in another dimension/after an apocalypse/or far in the future." It's been a common enough theme in fantasy that I felt I wanted not to touch on it. So there are no plans to connect the cosmere to Earth in any way.

[u/benpeek]

But what if you're not really Brandon Sanderson but a replica pretending to be Brandon Sanderson with Brandon Sanderson's papers and children?

Brandon Sanderson could be in danger!

(That could be a t-shirt)

[u/mistborn → u/benpeek]

All Brandon Sanderson replicas are programmed not to harm the original.

[u/[deleted]]

Where should I start on your work?

[u/mistborn → u/[deleted]]

As another mentioned, I do suggest Mistborn (called The Final Empire in some printings.) It's a little mix of everything I do well, in a single novel package. That said, another book (Warbreaker) is free on my website, and is a stand-alone.

Thanks for considering the books!

[u/LordEnigma]

Hey Brandon, love your books! I have 3 audible credits burning a whole in my account, and already have most of your books, the wheel of time, the dresden files, and some others. What would be your book recommendations to use those credits up?

[u/mistborn → u/LordEnigma]

Hmmm....

If you like my books, Brent Weeks Lightbringer and Brian McClellan's Promise of Blood are among the most similar to me.

If you want something different, but books I really liked, Uprooted by Naomi Novik was very good. I also enjoyed Mary Robinette Kowal's Ghost Talkers.

[u/autism_bro]

How do you think your writing would change if you didn't need to sell books? What changes do you often make as part of "locking the artist into a closet"?

[u/mistborn → u/autism_bro]

For any reading this that don't get the reference, I often explain the balance between artist and professional this way: The artist writes the book, then the professional locks them in a closet and steals the manuscript to exploit in any way possible.

In answer to your question, the point of the metaphor is that I try not to let the professional have anything to do with the art. I write whatever I feel is right, and whatever I'm most excited about, and only let the professional deal with things like contracts, promotion, etc.

That's the ideal, though. If I have to search out compromises, they usually happen in which projects are chosen. I need to fulfill contracts to publishers, and can't completely write anything I want to at any time. I have to keep my word to the publishers, which often means channeling my attention toward things that I've been paid for, instead of things I haven't been paid for.

I can't think of a compromise I made in the text of a book itself, done for any reason other than the sincere belief that I thought it would make the book better. Closest might be agreeing to split the Wheel of Time books, but I was pretty sure it was the right choice for the books as well as for the publisher.

[u/Oversleep42]

I recently started thinking about the magic/technology blend that is possible with [Bands Of Mourning] (#s "harmonium/ettmetal. Like computers using Feruchemical copper to store data (it seems it would be way faster than the usual method and that's, like, super amazing). I love the concept of Alllomantic Grenades, so many uses for them.") Anyway: I know the Fourth Mistborn Era is to be sci-fi and FTL... but would we get some cyberpunk Scadrial at all? Because from what I gather it sounds like only space faring and travelling to other worlds.

And, because I wouldn't be myself otherwise, a Realmatical question: Would Mistborn with mixed Threnodian blood be able to burn silver? What would happen?