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  1. I would like to announce that I bought my first Terry Pratchett book today, as well as two more collections of Glen Cook books. I also asked my girlfriend to marry me, and she said yes so that's cool too.
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  2. I believe that Miles is a Savant Compounder, or he's constantly burning metalminds to the point that he's a savant. Allow me to explain myself. First, we know that Savants are people who by constantly flaring their metals have their physiology changed. Spook became a Savant by the Hero of Ages, and we see interesting abilities: using spectacles, he can see through cloth, he can read lips, and his senses are so keen to the point that he's on par with an atium burner/ninja. Next, we know that Miles compounds his metal minds constantly. He has thirty-some metal minds, from bracers piercing his skin to slivers of gold hidden in the muscles of his arm. He can recover from wounds remarkably fast; exploding is only a minor inconvenience, and he can't feel pain. At some point in Alloy of Law (don't know exactly where; I don't have my copy) Wax describes compounding as being 'hard to stop once you've started'. This sounds similar to Spook's experience when his tin supply is taken away. Also, Miles states that he doesn't need to breathe anymore; he would stop his heart if he could. Gold metalminds store health, not breath. Miles also doesn't feel pain. Is he so used to pain he doesn't feel it, or is this an effect of being a savant? I also recall a quote from Brandon saying something along the lines of compounding working because it tricks Allomancy into thinking the metal your burning is a new metal that releases the Freuchemical charge. So, if metalminds are a 'new' metal, I propose that they can be burned to the point of being a savant; Miles is such a savant.
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  3. Alright, so I don't believe anybody has done this yet, so I'll go ahead and post it. I've organized the Death Cries into various categories in the hopes that we might make a little more sense out of them. And with that sad little intro behind us, let's move on! Please note, this now includes spoilers for Words of Radiance, especially the Confirmed section. Continue at your own risk. Original quotes, mostly in order, complete with chapter name and notations. Sorted by time pre-death Sorted by notation comments on usefulness. Recognized Events. Confirmed Events. I plan to add to this list as I get more time and see more connections. For now, speculate on what we have.
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  4. Since the original thread has gone a bit downward and the up-to-date components were a bit spread out, I've decided to re-post Turos's Alethi font and my own Alethi Transliterator. The font can be used to write in the Alethi alphabet on a computer, while my program transforms a plain-text file from written English to what is essentially phonetic English, but conforms to Turos's font conventions. How to use the font: Font download: AlethiTS Font.zip If your are using a non-Windows operating system and .tff fonts don't work on your computer, let Turos know what file type you need and he'll make one for ya. As a bonus, for people who want the entire sentence to fit on one center line, Turos has included a second font that adds the center line to the space character called AlethiTS_lined.ttf Version 2: AlethiTS Fontv2.zip The .zip file contains a ReadMe describing the font conventions and how to start using the font. How to use the program: Download: AlethiTransliterator_1_9_5_2.txt You have to change the extension from .txt to .java, since the forum hates .java files for some reason. You can run it using any java compiling program. I found this site, Turos wrote up this set of instructions, or you can just email me at [email protected] with the plaintext and a request to do it for you. Use: Place the text you want to transliterate into a .txt file. Run the program and then type in the file name (i.e. Example.txt) when prompted. A new file called Alethi_<YourFile>.txt will be created in the same directory as the original once the program terminates. I've also included a functionality to keep certain portions of text untouched: a <safe>[...]</safe> tag that protects the text within the tag from being touched by the transliteration aspect of the program. This way, particularly tricky words or proper names can be cordoned off and search-replaced manually. It's currently set to leave the tags in the final text, where they can be easily found and removed after manual transliteration. Ex. -"<safe>Wow, Xanthophyll is not necessarily the most transmorgraphical name to pronounce, is it?</safe>" becomes: -"<safe>Wow, Xanthophyll is not necessarily the most transmorgraphical name to pronounce, is it?</safe>" as opposed to: -".uau zanTofyll is not nesesarilee Te most transmorgrafikal neym too pronouns is it" Due to how this is implemented, '<' (outside of the <safe> and </safe> tags) and '*' are currently reserved characters. Use them and bad things will happen. This is still a work in progress, so I encourage feedback, though the school year may slow down the speed of my responses. Last Updated: September 2, 2012 -Fixed 'x' at the beginning of words. Should really have caught that one. . .
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  5. What kind of spren would be interesting if they existed on Roshar? I'd say: Paranoidspren-Can only be seen if you are being paranoid, and only seen in your peripheral vision ^^ Cavityspren-Like rotspren, but specific to cavities Messagespren-wherever a message is written or drawn, messagespren will hover. Let's say you wrote down a bunch of random letters. No messagespren are attracted, but let say your random letters are a code that you can understand, BAM!, messagespren show up. They would also hover around pictures that the artist specifically made to portray a specific message. Dizzyspren-Appear to be little birds that circle the victim's head xD Ideaspren-These look like little bulbs of glass with light inside and they show up above someone's head when they have an epiphany. Quantumspren-They specifically appear when a cat is in a box... Slangspren-These spren are unique in that they show up when slang words are used, but only as long as the slang hasn't been accepted into society as an official word. They look like disembodied mouths with tongues that try to mimic the vocal movements of the slang word. Pop-upspren-For a more modern Roshar, the spren pop up in front of your computer screen whenever you get a pop-up while browsing the web. They are brightly colored and annoying. Pop-up-blockerspren-These guys appear when your pop-up blocker stops a pop-up from appearing or automatically closes a pop-up. They look like needles that will interact with pop-upspren by stabbing them and making them wither away. Insidejokespren-These are very useful in conversation, allowing someone who is not privvy to the joke to not have to wonder what on earth the others were talking about. Echospren-When sound echoes, echospren fly along the vibrations and bounce off surfaces where the echo is loudest. They look like vibrating sheets of translucent yellow goo. Antisprenspren-These spren appear all around people who are currently annoyed by any spren or spren in general. The more annoyed you are at spren, the more show up. Its not too rare a sight to see someone running down the street recklessly and in a raging fury, covered in a cloud of antisprenspren. Also incorrectly known as passiveagressivespren or shadenfreudespren.
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  6. So, I wrote a Mistborn short story. Really short, less than a thousand words. I'll post it here, but I've already put it up on Fanfiction.net. I'll leave a link to it there at the bottom. Warning: If you're looking for something happy, you're in the wrong place. --- The village burns. The koloss rampage through it. I send my family to safety, I hope. My oldest, Barest - a better lad I've never seen - carries his sister, Kaile - the brightest star in my sky, who sobs and screams, tearing my soul in pieces – and pulls himself onto our old horse, even as tears stream down his face. My wife, my darling, Yillen, embraces me for what I know is that last time. "I love you," I whisper in her ear, for any greater assurance I could give would be a lie. She climbs onto the horse behind our boy – now a man, but so young – who takes the reins. He gives me one last look, full of fear and pain but that same strength and wisdom that he will need, and kicks the horse into a run. And with not a moment to spare, as I can hear the wall of the barn shatter to splinters. They are here. Mustering my courage, I pick up my trusty shovel, which I have used to tend my crop against this wretched, drowning ash, and prepare to meet them. There are two of them, one about five feet, the other seven. The taller one lifts a sword as long as I am tall, and, miraculously, I duck out of the way, swinging my weapon at the one whose head I can reach. I can feel the crunch as its skull gives - a more awful sensation I cannot name – and it falls to the ground. But in that moment the other backhands me, sending me flying, smacking me into the side of the barn. I fall to the ground but don't feel it, the numbing pain in my head too demanding for anything else. As my head starts to clear, I sense a massive presence above me. It's the koloss, now calm, the burning rage now gone from its eyes. How long have I been unconscious? It carries something in its hand, some kind of blue fabric, dripping red. A smell of dead flesh fills my nostrils, and I realize that it is not fabric. A quick glance spots the corpse of the other koloss. Stripped of the hanging flesh it looks so…human. The koloss casts the skin aside and bends down over me, my mind not ready to react. It takes something, tiny in its massive hand, and reaches toward my side. Pain courses through me from under my arm, my back arches as I scream, every muscle tightening. The monster rolls me onto my stomach and another surge of agony lances from my shoulder blade; then another from my stomach, and again in my shoulder. My soul is burning; hot and cold in the same instant. My mind and heart fight but to no avail, my life flashing uselessly before my eyes. Every memory of childhood, parents, friends, and the dearest of all, children and wife, blindingly clear before vanishing. I know I am crying. … Human. I…am…human. Stand. See other koloss. Taller. Stronger. Big sword. See sword on ground next to dead thing. Pick it up. I think…I see something. In head. See humans. See horse. They run. Can tell which way they go. I and other koloss. We run. Catch horse. Kill small humans. Take horse for meat. Don't eat humans. I am human. --- FF.net copy You don't need to go there, but reviews/views on it would be appreciated, as well as responses here.
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  7. Hello everybody! I'm Nicrosil. But, you could probably already tell that. I was introduced to Brandon Sanderson from a friend around January, found the 17th Shard a few months ago, and finally made a profile. Nothing really special about me. I do like to write, especially world-building, so Brandon is something of an inspiration to me. I mean, the rate the man churns out magic systems! It takes me months just to come up with something somewhat clever! I've read the Mistborn trilogy, Alloy of Law, and Way of Kings. I hope to get Warbreaker and Elantris on my next stop to the library. Hopefully I'll be able to get Legion and The Emperor's Soul soon. Not much else to say, I guess...
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  8. That is very true. But this actually seems as if it may be realistic. A new prince that once did presumably little (maybe if he did a lot, have him remember some of the things he did with his father? However, some people don't like flashbacks, so I dont know if that'll work…) may take a while to grow accustomed to taking charge. However, if that is what happened, then you may want to change the portion where he took charge in the council. Just a thought. However, Jdid enjoy this book and can't wait for the next chapter!
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  9. JamesW, that's awesome... you'll love Pratchett!
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  10. First, are you writing in the real world, or the future of the real world? Because the word "Taser" technically refers to the electroshock self-defense weapon sold by Taser International. Similar to Band-Aid or White-Out, the brand name has come to encompass the item itself, rather than just a specific brand of that item. So while all such electroshock weapons are usually referred to as "tasers," only Taser International actually makes them. This is also why your spellcheck thinks it's wrong. Regardless, it's "taser/tasered/tasers," with an S.
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  11. I felt that your voice went from being crisp and active to being very passive and past tense. Your description is telling me about where he is instead of showing, but I want his view points. Is he awed by the size of the library, etc? I agree with what Akoebel said about the librarians, they were so disrespectful that I was expecting him to have her executed. The unfamiliarity also threw me for a loop. Maybe have the librarian know him somewhat well and tease him? "A magic sword, my Prince? Really? You don't have anything better to occupy your time these days?" "A little light reading about magic never hurt anyone, Trethlee(librarian)." "Not everyone is a Prince, Lord Fen." Fen still feels weak, I thought he would be more self confident in researching the blade of light. He's having trouble coping with all the changes in his life, but this is something he can more easily control.
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  12. Fun stuff! Like a schizophrenic Watson with a host of hallucinatory Holmeses.
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  13. As I write this, my novella LEGION is being uploaded to the various ebook stores. It should now be for sale everywhere at $2.99. Check out the beautiful cover of the ebook version by the talented Isaac Stewart (also known for his work on the maps and symbols for many of my books). Read the beginning. Buy it here (DRM-free): Kindle (US)(UK) Nook iBooks (US)(CA)(UK)(AU)(IE) Kobo Dragonmount Subterranean hardcover (+free ebook, see below) LEGION is a slightly different type of story for me. It's about a guy whose hallucinations give him useful information about the world—each one an expert in some area, they let him be a one-man army of experts. In the novella, this man—Stephen Leeds—is hired to track down a missing piece of technology: a camera that can take pictures of the past. When I originally had the idea, I pitched it to Dan Wells, my friend who writes psychological thrillers. It seemed more his type of story than mine. He knows abnormal psychology far better than I do. He liked the idea, and we were going to coauthor it for a while, but then life got in the way. (As it always seems to do in cases where Dan and I have a project together.) Eventually, I found myself on an overseas flight with an itch to write a novella. And so, LEGION started to come out. Being me, I took the psychology away from real-world diseases and created my own, a psychological "magic system" (if you will) that I could then play with as I desired. I'm very proud of the story, and from the beginning, it was my intention to get it out there as an affordable ebook. Clocking in at around ninety pages, it's in that difficult length that print has trouble dealing with. Once upon a time, there would be few options for LEGION. We could release it as a standalone in stores (and we did this for collectors with the hardcover from Subterranean Press), but it looks very slender in that format. This makes pricing tough, as the costs to produce and distribute such a thing in hardcover don't go down that much when the page count shrinks. Another option would have been the sf/f magazines. This story, however, is more techno-thriller than science fiction. Oh, it does have some science fiction to it—but that's not the theme of the novel. I suspect the magazines still would have considered it, but there are very few slots for novellas in them, and they generally can only take the shorter ones. For me, ebooks and novellas are a very exciting combination. You can price the novella cheaply—in this case, $2.99—to reflect the length, but can also get large distribution and reach a lot of people. I hope to be doing more of these in the future. I actually like the novella format. (You can see from the two I've posted here on my website and on Tor.com.) It's the short form of fiction I have made work for me the best. It lets me tell some stories I want to tell without always having to dig into a year-long novel process. I hope that you are willing to check out LEGION and give it a read. This novella (and THE EMPEROR'S SOUL, which comes out in November) are experiments for me. If you enjoy them, and want to see more like them, let me know. Thanks for reading. Brandon Note: If you buy or already bought the Subterranean Press hardcover and want a free copy of the ebook, email your hardcover receipt or a picture of yourself holding the hardcover to [email protected]. We'll get the ebook to you within a couple of days. Source
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  14. The most recent Writing Excuses episode is entitled "Pantsing." In it, Howard, Mary, Dan and I talk about discovery writing (a.k.a. "seat-of-your-pants" writing). Check it out. I'm doing two events on Saturday at this weekend's Roundup in Park City. First at 12:00 noon, Pemberly and I will join Howard and Sandra Tayler to present a panel discussion entitled "Writing, the Family Business." We'll talk about what to do when a writer in the family becomes the family business. Next at 2:30 p.m. I will do a writing lecture and Q&A. I'll poll the audience at the beginning of the hour and then talk about what you most want to hear (related to the craft of writing). Howard will then be doing a class called "Writing Humor without Comedy" at 3:30 p.m. There are also many other presenters and panelists this weekend, plus opportunities to meet with agents and editors. If you're interested in writing, consider coming up. What: League of Utah Writers Roundup 2012 When: September 14–15, 2012 (I'll only be there on Saturday) Where: Yarrow Hotel and Conference Center 1800 Park Ave. Park City, UT 1-435-649-7000 Complete Schedule Register Here (required) Source
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  15. Finished TGH yesterday. When I read the end of chapter 10 with the Myrddraal spiked to the inn doors my first thought was "Inquisadraal, how freaking awesome would that be." My immediate second thought was "Are you mad man! That's not awesome it's absolutely terrifying; no force in the Cosmere or Randland could stop a beast like that."
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  16. Yup. In fact, I upvoted you. You know who your true master is. (Spoiler alert: it's me). Join me, and we shall rule the galaxy! Man. All this upvoting this early in the thread. It's like, I Would Like To Announce -- Episode II -- Attack of the Upvotes. Obviously, the rest in the saga will be I Would Like To Announce -- Episode I -- The Phantom Upvotes I Would Like To Announce -- Episode III -- The Revenge of Chaos I Would Like To Announce -- Episode IV -- A New Upvote I Would Like To Announce -- Episode V -- The Downvotes Strike Back I Would Like To Announce -- Episode VI -- The Return of the Upvotes I'm sure by Episode III, I will be back on top. EDIT: Oh, I should probably upvote announce something. I would like to announce that I simply can't wait until my new mouse comes in tomorrow. My MX Revolution started registering most clicks as double-clicks, which is endlessly infuriating.
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  17. Every time you drive the ShardCar you need to listen to "Don't Stop Believing". Journey before destination. (ba-dump ching)
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  18. I'd agree with everyone that five is a good number. Particularly now, when school is starting, many of us will have less time to write and critique, and while I might be able to keep up with five a week, more would be too much.
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