Q&A with Brandon Sanderson

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Hello! Im not quite as... deep into the workings as some here, but hoping my question makes sense(And I´v atleast tried to find the answer elsewhere but not succeded;). Anyway, just one question!

Regarding the mixing of Feruchemy and Allomancy.

A coinshot able to store weight can, as you showed us with Wax push in a ridiculously powerful manner, as the weight/mass is the largest factor wich controls the push strength.

I´m wondering if the same can be done with soothing(or rioting). If you where to increase your identity, that may/should increase your emotional imprint(or whatever you might call it), would your soothings/riotings become wastly more powerful in a simular way as weight makes steelpushing more powerful?

And if it does, is this how the lord ruler improved his Sooting in such a spectacular fasion?

Well, the Lord Ruler--don't forget--could compound any Allomancy he wanted. That creates some crazy effects. As for what you discuss in your first question, I don't want to touch too much on Identity yet as I am saving it for later books. Talking too much here might undermine my ability to reveal interesting and cool things in books when the time is right. I like your theory, and it has merit, but I'm not going to give you a yes or a no as it delves too much into what Identity, as an attribute, can do.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Hello Brandon. Thank you very much for doing this Q&A. I am beyond excited to be able to have my questions answered by my favourite author. You're awesome!

Anyway, if it isn't too much trouble, would you be able to answer these questions?

1. You've confirmed that several Heralds have appeared or been mentioned in the modern (non-prelude, non-vision) parts of The Way of Kings. Have any members of the Knights Radiant (the one from the days of Urithiru, not near-Radiants like Kaladin) appeared in the modern parts of The Way of Kings? And if you have to RAFO me, could you give me a hint about the Heralds?

I can answer that--no, no Radiants from those days have appeared on screen in TWoK.

2. When Shallan is appealing Jasnah, Jasnah reveals that she has heard about Shallan's step-mother, Malise Gevelmar. Has Malise Gevelmar ever met Jasnah or one of her associates (excluding Shallan)?

No, she has not. You'll learn more about Malise in Book Two. She really is just a rural lighteyes of not much consequence. Shallan's mother, however...

3. Do all Shards have some sort of Shard-induced weakness, like how Ruin and Preservation can't see metal?

Yes.

4. Can you give me a hint about Nafti, the Uvara girl that Derethil brought with him when he left the Great Abyss?

There is more truth to that story than some may think.

5. Do any characters from Nalthis appear in The Way of Kings?

I can't thank you enough for taking the time to answer our questions! I look forward to your responses.

RAFO Thanks for reading!

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Hey Brandon, its really great that you're doing this and I've just got one question:

Are any of your book's locations (barring legion) based on real-life places? If so, where? If not, what propels your creative drive to make new worlds?

Thanks loads for answering

My pleasure.

All of the keeps in the Mistborn series are based on real structures I've visited. The mists are based on a trip to Idaho, were I drove through a fog bank at high speeds.

Warbreaker's setting was inspired, in part, by a visit to Hawaii.

Much of Roshar is inspired by tidal pools and coral reefs.

Brandon

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Hi Mr. Sanderson. Thanks for doing this!

Just a couple questions here. I'll be brief.

1. In what ways do you feel that finishing the Wheel of Time helped to prepare you for The Stormlight Archive and how did it change your writing in general, if at all?

I gained three things, I feel, by working over the years on the WoT. (And, in particular, by studying RJ's work in depth.) I learned how to better balance lots of different viewpoints, I got a better grip for foreshadowing and subtlety over many books, and I gained a deeper understanding of how to write a really sold third person viewpoint.

2. I love Wax as a Skimmer and a Coinshot. Is that your favorite Twinborn combination? If not, what is?

It's certainly one of my favorites. However, some of the characters in the modern day trilogy have some really neat combinations as well.

3. Having to do with Legion, if you could take a picture of any historical event what would it be?

Thanks again for doing this. I look forward to all the answers!

Wow, tough question there at the end. Hmmm.... So many choices. Sermon on the Mount, perhaps?

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions from your fans.

Here's my question:

Did Cultivation come to Roshar with Honor, or was she already on Roshar when Honor arrived?

Good question. They came together.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Hi Brandon! So glad you could come! I only have a few—or a lot of— questions:

Is JeksonsonVallano important?

Is JeksonsonVallano SzethsonsonVallano's brother?

He is the same person as Szeth; I just changed the name. Sorry, no hidden truth there.

What did Jek and Szeth do to become Truthless?

This will be answered in his book, during his flashback sequences.

Does SzethsonsonVallano's Surgebinding require HonorSpren like Kaladin's?

No, it does not. (Hm....) Gold star to you.

Can people from one are of the cosmere Ruturn to the place from the cosmere where Awakeners are from (forgot the name)?

Meaning, can they travel to Nalthis, where Warbreaker takes place? Yes, they can.

Are Surgebinding and Awakening related?

All of the magic systems are related, and these two do share some defining fundamentals.

Is there a way to harvest BioChromatic Breath from a planet, if it holds any? (If a person dies, and their body turns to dusty he dust of the earth, then doesn't the earth—or sharever planet they have—therefore hold thousands, if not millions, of BioChromatic Breaths?)

Possible. It would be the same thing as harvesting the nature of Preservation or Ruin, which--on Scadrial--took the form of nuggets of metal.

What is your favorite world of the cosmere?

Favorite world? Probably Roshar, as it's the most unique.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Alrighty then for some questions:

1. Could a shard blade holder potential drill a hole through the planet by using his blade like Dalinar?

Uh... I think that you'd hit the core and that would not be a good thing for you.

2. Would a breath imbued object stop a shard blade?

RAFO

3. Is there any ramifications to the holder of a shard blade for using a blade in a manner that it wasn't intended?

Depends on the type of Shardblade. (You have seen three different kinds in TWoK.) For most, no. For some, most certainly.

4. Is it possible for a non-native being to use a shard blade?

Yes.

5. Is Hoids base magic system Lightweaving?

RAFO

6. Are there any ramifications beyond leaving one's world behind when they world hop to other worlds? IE physical ailment, aging, time travel lag X1000

Yes.

7. Is there a magic system that best allows people to world hop between worlds?

Yes, but it isn't needed. Some do help more with understanding how to traverse the Cognitive Realm.

8. Are there any world hoppers that we should recognize as world hoppers in anything other than tWok beyond Hoid?

They aren't recognizable, and aren't intended to be, as of yet. There are some around, however.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

And I'm gonna go ahead and ask completely oddball questions, because I am me and therefore must.

1: Are there any plans for a world where the magic system operates through devices that transform and empower individuals with spectacular abilities? Like...say...a belt with an ornate buckle...a bracer..things like that?

Yes.

2: I've heard tell of an upcoming book where the magic is based on forging. This excites me greatly, and I was wondering if you could give us just a smidge more information regarding it? Either the world, the magic itself, or how it impacts said world? Though something like the Shard behind it would be awesome too..

Sure, the story is The Emperor's Soul, and it actually takes place on Sel. (Same planet of Elantris.) The magic system works by using a carefully designed stamp to rewrite the past of an object--creating a 'forgery' of its past, and that changes what it is in the future. Rewrite the past of a beat-up chair so it was owned by someone who cared for it, and suddenly it's polished and maintained. It's not illusion; it's an actual transformation.

It works on the same mechanics of AonDor and its kin, using written characters to access the Dor and channel its power.

3: What's your opinion on golems/constructs/robots? The Lifeless are a somewhat similar concept, but I was curious as to whether there's a world in the Cosmere that might have a more classical take on ye ol' fantasy standby guardian, or are Awakened suits of armor as close as we can get? Is the Future Mistborn trilogy going to have Anti-Allomancer Alluminaughts?

Ha. I am fascinated the idea of golems, and when I play an RPG I'm often trying to make golems of one sort or another. However, I worry that the idea is a little overdone in fiction, so my takes on that sort of thing come in more unusual flavors.

4: Unrelated to the Cosmere, simply from one guy who fancies himself a writer now and again to a wildly successful author I respect deeply; I run a forum RP here on the site called Seeking The Eternal Conflux, and it would pretty much make my year to hear your opinion on the concept and Races I've constructed thus far, and whether or not it's a foundation for a compelling story.

Looks pretty good to me. I like how you've got a major goal in finding the intersection of the laylines. I think that alone gives a good foundation for a story. With the races, I was worried at first because the first race looked like it might be just an "Orc with a new name" type race. However, they grew very diverse from there, and I found them interesting to read about. I'd say it looks good to me. Nice work.

That's all from this chunk of psychic crystal, thanks again for all the wonderful reads so far, Mr. Sanderson. I'm practically salivating waiting to get my hands on Stormlight 2.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

I'll be quite brief, as its getting reasonably late over here. I would first like to express my intense gratitude for such a prestigious author to answer the questions of some of us insane folk, and I just know that this'll get us all pulling up all sorts of obscure references from this Q&A at least until Stormlight 2, and most likely will fuel discussion for months!

I have only a few simple questions that are mostly a matter of clarity, and a few that are needed to fill gaps in our knowledge, or to clear a current discussion; here goes:

[*]So, firstly, is the Cognitive realm the only way to access the Spiritual Realm from the Physical Realm, and vice versa?

No.

[*]Can magic systems from one world work in any given other?

For some, it will take quite a bit of work, but it's possible to get them each to work. Sel's magics are regional, and so they are going to be tough. Scadrial's magics are the easiest.

[*]Does the Spiritual power used in any given magic system come from the supporting Shard itself, or through it from the remains of Adonalsium and the Power of Creation?

From the Shard in most cases. But it's also often built into the world innately, and so the Shard (if someone is holding it) doesn't always have control over who can or cannot use the magic.

[*]Lastly, less pressingly, do Spirit Points (hemalurgic spots) apply to ever magic system, and through the Cosmere at large? Ie. could Hemalurgy be used to take any other magic systems aspects, and do other magic systems also have these 'Points', such as Body Focuses, that work in similar ways?

Thankyou so much for taking the time to answer even some of these question! And keep up the great work, I can't wait for Stormlight 2!

Hemalurgy crosses magic systems. You could steal things from people on other worlds, if you knew the right places for the spikes.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Hello Mr Sanderson and thank you so much for coming!!! Mistborn was the book that made me start to love fantasy, and TWOK is one of my absolute favorites, so I'm incredibly honored to have this chance to ask my favorite author some questions.

faves

1. Where did you get the idea for your Adonalsium mythos? Did it develop in your head for a while, or did you have a sudden flash of inspiration.

Over time, particularly when building Dragonsteel as a novel. I was planning it as I wrote Elantris. Hoid has been around forever, long before Adonalsium became the central plot of his story. I have an old short story from the early, early, early days where he's on a planet trying to figure out how the local magic system works.

2. How did you portray Jasnah's aitheism so well? As a staunch aitheist myself, I think you did an absolutely brilliant job. Honestly, It made me happy that a religious person was trying to understand my mindset. Anyway, who did you ask to get such accurate ideas of aitheist thought?

I found some really good atheist forums. Not the 'hate on religion' type atheist forums, but the kind with some serious depth. People asking one another about morality, talking about how they felt when people reacted to them being an atheist, and expressing their philosophy. I gained a great deal of respect for them during these readings.

From there, I went and chatted with some atheists I know to gauge if I had a good handle on things. It was important that I get this right, as it's different enough from my own worldview that if it went wrong, it would have gone VERY wrong and I'd have ended up with something insulting.

3. What is your favorite of your own books?

I can never answer this. It's like trying to choose your favorite child.

4. Any advice for an aspiring fantasy writer? Besides the obligatory "Read a lot and write a a lot!!!" Characterization advice is especially appreciated.

Well, I do have my lectures on this topic. Go to writeaboutdragons.com and listen to the characterization lecture. I think you'll find it helpful.

Do remember that your characters should have passions, goals, and flaws that are distinct from the plot of the story. They can sometimes align, but a character should have a life and passions outside of what happens TO them.

5. What has turned out better for you, starting with the characters, the plot, or the world when you are beginning the writing process for a book?

Any time I have the characters from the get go, I feel like I'm leaps and bounds ahead. Having a very strong ending in mind before outlining is also very, very helpful.

6. Out of all your magic systems, which one would you choose to be a user of?

I'd be a Mistborn if possible. So many fun interactions. Not quite as powerful as some of those on Roshar, perhaps, but very fun.

7. Will you ever go into more detail about the dead original shardholders? I'd love to know what kind of people Tanavast, Ati, and Leras were.

They will all be characters in the Dragonsteel series.

8. I am currently trying to write a book in which the world is drastically different from earth. Do you think it is too ambitious to start out with such a complex setting?

No, not at all. Just don't try TOO hard to describe every aspect of it. It's good to be ambitious. However, be careful to keep you number of viewpoints down for your first few attempts--that will spiral out of control faster than worldbuilding will. Don't feel the need to explain too much, keep the focus on the characters, and you should be fine.

9. Please bring back Kelsier!!!!!

Wow. 9? That's waaaaay more than I planned...

Thanks!!! I really appreciate you taking time out of your schedule to do this.

-Yamato

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Easy question:

How extensively do you outline?

Be honest!

Depends on the book. Alloy of Law had a few pages. The Way of Kings had hundreds of worldbuilding notes. The outline for Book two sits open on my computer right now at...12 pages single spaced. It's maybe 2/3 done.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Hello! Thanks for doing this!

I assume you've answered everyone else's articulate and thought-through questions. Since those questions have all been asked, though, you'll have to forgive me for asking some baseless ones.

Baseless Stormlight Questions:

1) Could a Shardblade sever a Nathel Bond? Could it slice a Spren?

RAFO

2) Could a Shardbearer materialize his or her Shardblade inside another person? What about something inanimate like stone?

RAFO

3) Are the Heralds native to Roshar?

RAFO (Man, you're good at asking those, aren't you?)

4) What's up with those fish in the Pure Lake?

Haven't you always wanted magic fish?

5) Between the Parshendi and the Alethi harvesting gem-hearts, how long has it been since a Chasmfiend got to finish pupating?

Aha. I wondered if someone would ask that. Much like whaling in our own world, there is a big ecological price building for what is going on here. You are right to worry about this.

One baseless Mistborn Question:

1) Does Sazed's biological body still exist somewhere? If so, does that body still possess Feruchemical abilities?

Yes, it does exist, though kind of...blended-in, so to speak, as happened with the others when they ascended. Yes, it still has his abilities, though they are kind of moot now.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Hey Brandon,

Can we expect to see a fight between a Windrunner, an Awakener, and an Allomancer in one of the Stormlight books?

Thanks for the amazing books!

Matt

I've said before that it's unlikely that the Stormlight books will ever delve strongly into the connections between worlds. There will be some cool things happening for the cosmere-literate, but this series isn't focused on those concepts. I want it to maintain its plot cohesion for those who aren't aware of all of the behind-the-scenes stories.

Epilogue to Book Two should excite you, though.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

1. Where did humanity originate in the cosmere?

The first planet with humans on it was Yolen.

2. Is there a chance that any dead protagonists will miraculously come back (IE Vin, Elend, Lightsong) to help fight later battles? You have shown Kelsier having influence after he died, and Sazed makes a statement about keeping in touch with Vin and Elend.

I don't want to be unsympathetic to people's love for these characters, but I feel that as a writer I must resist the urge to bring back characters in this manner. I feel it would undermine my storytelling. I never want to get to the point where people read and the tension of a character being in danger is ruined by the thought, "Well, even if they die, they'll probably just be brought back in the future."

I'm not saying I won't ever do it, but I want to be very sparing. I like how Robert Jordan did it with a certain character's return in TofM. It was foreshadowed, built into the story itself, and relevant.

There are characters--in the 36-book-cosmere-superoutline--who return when thought dead. Some have not met their perceived end yet, while others have. So it's going to happen, but I want it to be very rare.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Hi Brandon. Thanks for taking time to do this. I'm a fan of everything you've written, but the Alcatraz series is my favorite, and I've managed to get a few of my family addicted to it as well.

What are the chances that you will eventually write a fifth Alcatraz book?

Does Alcatraz ever actually end up tied to a stack of encyclopedias, about to be sacrificed by evil librarians?

What is your Smedry talent?

I bought the rights to the Alcatraz series back from Scholastic earlier this year, and they were given a 'sell-off' period to sell the rest of their stock. I now own the rights again free and clear, and will probably be putting out an omnibus ebook. (Perhaps a print one with Tor as well.)

I can now write the fifth book (which Scholastic did not want.) It was always planned as the book where he ends up on that stack of encyclopedias. I'll do this sometime next year, hopefully.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Hello Brandon (and Peter)

Thank you guys so much for giving us the opportunity to take up some of your time. Hopefully it isn't too onerous.

1) Would you (and the other Writing Excuses crew) considering putting a ticker up on the website indicating what books you guys are reading? Given how useful the podcasts are, I suspect that an insight into what you four read would be equally fascinating.

This is an excellent suggestion, and I will bring it up with the others. We're doing a new website soon, so that might be a good thing to include.

2) What question do you wish that readers would ask you but that no one has?

Surprisingly, I get this exact question every few months or so. (Mostly in interviews.) I can never come up with something.

3) Could an iron twinborn "fly" by drastically increasing his weight, pulling hard on a counterweight so it flew above him, then decreasing his weight drastically and pulling himself up by the counterweight, and repeating?

It's plausible. It's kind of a 'Thor-like' way to fly, isn't it? (For those unaware, he throws his hammer and it carries him with it, and STOP THINKING.) I played with this idea, but the trick is not getting hit by the counterweight as you pull it to yourself. If you could stop that, you might be able to manage it, but it felt pretty hard to pull off to me.

4) It seems that certain colors and numbers appear frequently in specific cosmere books, like the number 5 in Warbreaker or red and blue in Elantris. Do these colors or numbers happen to refer to a specific shard, and if so, would they be consistent across the cosmere?

Certain colors and numbers are important in reference to certain shards.

5) And finally, to speak non-canonically, would burning copper mask someone channeling the one power, and would burning bronze allow one to detect when someone was channeling? **wait, that's probably too Wheel of Time-y**

Uh... You should ask Kelsier. He probably tried it when he hung out with Moiraine.

And it's only fair that I say thank you for answering some questions. Specifically, how about thanks in the following forms:

1) Thanks for posting drafts of Warbreaker online, free. It's been ridiculously fascinating to see how one author does it.

2) Thanks for caring about your work so much. Giving out a free digital version of Legion to those who bought that hard copy shows a lot of chutzpah

3) Thanks for the bonus content. The annotations are utterly delicious. And I must say, I love the digital version of Warbreaker that has them in it. I hope you do that for other digital releases (when possible, of course).

4) Thanks for taking an interest in would-be writers. I suspect you could have written another book or two in the time its taken you to podcast seven seasons of Writing Excuses, numerous essays and blogs, and the time you've taken to talk to individuals about it.

5) And since my fifth question was very Wheel of Time-y, how about my fifth thanks is the same? Thanks for finishing that series. I know it took a lot of time away from your own projects, yet you treated it like a labor of love rather than just a career opportunity.

It is my pleasure. Thank you. I appreciate being appreciated.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Sorry if any of these have been asked before, but here are some things that are going around the Stormlight Archive forums:

1. Szeth mentions that Lashings don't work with shardplate (on?). Is there any way to get around this (As in, lashing with shardplate on, or lashing people with shardplate on), and, if so, does it have anything to do with the Knights Radiant and/or their ideals?

This has to do with the nature of the magics in the cosmere. They interfere with one another. Something that contains a lot of power--we call it investiture--resists the efforts of magic to influence it. A strong spirit can interfere as well.

2. Is Szeth bound to his Oathstone by anything but honor (not the shard. No loopholes here )?

RAFO

3. In one of the death sentence things it says something like three of sixteen ruled, but now the broken one reigns. Is this referring to the Shards on Roshar and if so, is the broken one Odium?

RAFO

4. Are Dawnshards the same thing as Honorblades?

...and, RAFO.

5. Are spren Cognitive aspects?

You guys are figuring this all out pretty well. I want to hold off on talking much about the nature of the spren because the characters in world are discovering this as the books progress.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Love Q&A's.

Two questions.

SPOILERS

In Mistborn 3, what spooked Vin off from meeting Hoid? (My theroy is Ruin's infulence, because he didn't want Hoid interfering(sub question that just occured to me. Was Ruin aware of Hoid on Scadrial?)

And

What would Hoid have told her if they had talked?

Ha. Well, by this point Hoid had been to the Well--getting there just before Vin--and had retrieved something from it. That should have been enough to get him to leave the planet entirely, but he got involved in events. (He tends to do that.) It's pie in the sky, but I would someday like to do parallel novel to the Mistborn series with Hoid in the background like they did in the second(?) back to the future move. I don't know that I'll ever be able to do it, but we shall see. I would answer this question there.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

This silly question has been burning in my head ever since I reread Warbreaker a few weeks ago:

Can male members of the Idrian royal family and or Returned grow out their facial hair at will? If so, can this lead to epic beard competitions?

Totally.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

The Way of Kings was named after an in story book, as is the would be Shallan's book if you don't change like you siad you might "The Book of Endless Pages", do you plan on naming all the books in the Stormlight Archive with in world literature?

That was the original plan.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

First time poster (and what better way to start than by asking the author of my favorite books some questions?)

Regarding Scadrial:

1. When Scadrial was closer to the sun, can we safely assume that the middle section of the planet was scorched clean of anything living? Could there have been some underground life thing going on? Anything cool or interesting sitting out there (like ruins or some lost technology)?

The middle section was scorched pretty clean. I know of a few interesting tidbits, but it's not technology. (The tech level before the Lord Ruler took over was nothing particularly special, early industrial era.) The cool and interesting things are on the southern continent.

2. What's up at the south end of the world (during the 'closer to the sun' phase)? Life there? Cultures? Allomancers? Assuming that there is some life down there, can we assume that we'll have some interesting 'culture clashes' in future books?

They will be known by the modern trilogy, so it's safe to assume that a discovery will happen soon. Either during the Alloy of Law era or soon after.

3. What's the closest that humans had gotten to the 'inhabitable' zone of the planet during the events of the first Mistborn trilogy?

There were groups who would go out there to escape the Lord Ruler, and the Final Empire in general. Survival was practically impossible. It's possible someone might have gotten across to the southern continent, but it would take a small miracle.

Regarding Roshar:

1. Dalinar ever getting an honorspren?

RAFO. (You knew I'd do that.)

2. Is there a functional/structural difference between modern-day Shardplate and the stuff the Radiants wore? Did the Radiants have to use infused gems to keep their suits going or could they just 'breathe in' Stormlight and feed the suit off of their 'inhaled' reserves?

Something is different. You will find out what.

Uhh...guess that's it. I'm sure I'll kick myself later for forgetting one, but I guess I'd never be done with this post at that rate.

Thanks for reading!

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Hey Brandon,

Okay, I have two questions I have thought about for some time. One is to satisfy my inner nerd, and the other pertains to your writing.

1) After reading The Way of Kings, I couldn't help but to wonder this: hypothetically if there were two equally skilled combatants in every way, one armed with a Shardblade and the other with a Lightsaber, and take magic and the Force out of the equation (except for the weapons themselves), who would win? And yes, the Shardblade would have already been summoned and the two are just squaring off in a dual. Have fun with it.

A lightsaber is actually a little more easy to wield than a Shardblade, I would guess. Shardblades were designed to fight something larger than another person; you don't actually need all of that size when fighting someone. So that gives a slight edge to you average Jedi. If it's someone like Szeth, who has a more modestly sized Blade, then I don't honestly know.

2) I am formerly a Sergeant in the United States Army Reserves. Having read all of your work except for your Wheel of Time additions, I couldn't help but to see that you have a good grasp of leadership displayed in your writing. When I finished reading the scene in The Way of Kings about Kaladin ordering Bridge Four to carry their bridge into battle in a way that would protect them, but ended up causing defeat for the rest of the army, you wrote a well described contrast between an NCO and a high ranking officer (not saying an officer would act like Sadeas by the means of using bridge men like he does), and how the two types of leaders look at battle. I was wondering, do you draw from your own experiences, or study others, or something entirely different you use when you write leadership roles in your characters and how they act in different situations utilizing that trait?

Thanks for taking the time to answer questions!

That's very flattering to hear. I've made a study of leadership in many different areas, the military being one of them. It's a topic that fascinates me, and I try hard to get it right. I wouldn't say I have any practical experience in it, unfortunately--just a lot of study, questioning, and curiosity.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

One question really quick: What are the smoke-y spren that appear around a dead chasmfiend?

They are in a symbiotic relationship with the chasmfiend, and are part of what allow the creatures to grow to the size they do with an exoskeleton. (Along with a high-oxygen, lower-gravity world.)

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Brandon, I'm a huge fan of yours. Originally I found out about you after you were chosen to finish The Wheel of Time, and since then you've become my favorite author. I have a few questions regarding mistwraiths:

How intelligent is a mistwraith? Could you raise and train mistwraiths like dogs or horses, controlling what forms they take by the bones you give them? Would you be able to train yourself a horsewraith steed by giving it only the bones of a horse?

This is feasible. One thing to keep in mind is that mistwraiths are people who have a blockage between the physical and the cognitive realm, messing with their ability to think. Think of them as mentally-stunted people. There's enough there to train, but then you have to dig into the ethics of it...

What would happen if you gave it a spike imbued with steel allomancy? I'm assuming that wouldn't be enough to grant it sentience but could it then use steel powers? Can you give allomantic powers to a kandra?

Whether or not any of my questions get answered, thanks for doing this.

Hemalurgy can give allomantic powers to a kandra. The process to do so is not known to anyone but Harmony.

[Brandon Sanderson Nightwatcher]

Hi Brandon, thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. Here are mine.

1. Is Honor the only one who created people on Roshar?

RAFO

2. Since we generally don’t see inhabitants of your worlds refer to their planets by name, where do the names come from?

From world-hoppers, Shards, and those who know about the cosmere.

3. You said that a person can have more than one Shardblade--can they be dual-wielded?

Someone did exactly this in the original draft of Way of Kings, back in 2002.

4. You’ve already given some information about the origins of the custom of a safe hand (feminine arts being those that can be done one-handed) but why the word “safe?”

It grew out of the culture and linguistics somewhat naturally; nobody 'named' it that.

5. Shinovar seems more earthlike than the rest of Roshar; does this occur naturally or was it somehow changed to be that way?

RAFO

6. Will we see illustrations of Shardplate and/or blades in the next Stormlight Archive book?

Shallan will likely be doing some sketches from dueling grounds where Sharbearers fight.