Tips for asking questions at signings?

[IBNobody]

I plan to attend the SoS signing in Houston. This will be my first signing. I've come up with a good Cosmere question to ask, but I am not sure what the protocol is for asking. Do I just ask when it is my turn for a signing, or is there a general Q/A session? Does anyone have any tips?

[Bort]

I must admit, I was wondering the same.

 

I was going to ask Brandon to sign my copies of WoK and WoR, so I was thinking I might just stick my questions on post it notes and put them in the front covers.

[navybrandt]

I recommend posting your potential questions here, in case some people already know the answer or can recommend a better way of wording it. They also know how likely you are to get RAFO'd and can help you avoid "wasting" a question. Finally, if you can, be sure to post the question and answer here when you're done. Good luck!

[Bort]

I've already sent a tweet to Brandon and Peter asking it they would mind if I recorded the Q&A sessions.  If they say yes, I intend to transcribe it for the 17th Shard.

 

The questions I'm going to ask are both about Stormlight Archives, mostly because they are the books I'll be looking to get signed.

 

1. Did Nazh retrieve Jasnah's belongings from the bottom of the sea by travelling to Shadesmar, picking up the relevant beads, and transporting them to a place that would be land in the physical realm?

 

2. Did Shardplate always use gemstones, or were they added later, like Shardblades had gems added after the Recreance to allow for bonding?

 

3 (Potentially. The first event I'll be going to is a Shadows of Self signing, so I may be limited to Scadrial questions. If so, I'll be asking this one). Did Wayne steal a returned horse or Ryshadium, or was he just boasting about stealing a horse that belched in perfect pitch?

[WeiryWriter]

I plan to attend the SoS signing in Houston. This will be my first signing. I've come up with a good Cosmere question to ask, but I am not sure what the protocol is for asking. Do I just ask when it is my turn for a signing, or is there a general Q/A session? Does anyone have any tips?

 

There is usually a 20 minute or so General Q&A, but that has generally been full of more generic "What got you into fantasy?" "What are you working on?" "Movies?" type questions.  Sometimes a cosmere question or two gets asked, but he does ask that people avoid mentioning spoilers at that point.  You'll have a better opportunity to ask it during the signing line.  Brandon does try very hard to have a conversation (even a short one) with everybody that goes through the line.

 

I must admit, I was wondering the same.

 

I was going to ask Brandon to sign my copies of WoK and WoR, so I was thinking I might just stick my questions on post it notes and put them in the front covers.

 

Do you specifically want the answers written into your copies of WoK/WoR?  If you don't you should just be able to ask Brandon while he is signing your books, especially as you plan on recording stuff.  Generally post-it notes are used when people want personalizations in their books.

 

I've already sent a tweet to Brandon and Peter asking it they would mind if I recorded the Q&A sessions.  If they say yes, I intend to transcribe it for the 17th Shard.

 

The questions I'm going to ask are both about Stormlight Archive, mostly because they are the books I'll be looking to get signed.

 

1. Did Nazh retrieve Jasnah's belongings from the bottom of the sea by traveling to Shadesmar, picking up the relevant beads, and transporting them to a place that would be land in the physical realm?

 

2. Did Shardplate always use gemstones, or were they added later, like Shardblades had gems added after the Recreance to allow for bonding?

 

3 (Potentially. The first event I'll be going to is a Shadows of Self signing, so I may be limited to Scadrial questions. If so, I'll be asking this one). Did Wayne steal a returned horse or Ryshadium, or was he just boasting about stealing a horse that belched in perfect pitch?

 

Recordings are always nice, and having someone who is not me doing the transcription is even more nice.

 

I don't think I recall any of those questions being asked before (the Shardplate/gemstone might have been RAFO'd but I can't find anything at the present moment).  As for #3 I have never heard of people being restricted to asking about a specific series at any of Brandon's signings.

[IBNobody]

There is usually a 20 minute or so General Q&A, but that has generally been full of more generic "What got you into fantasy?" "What are you working on?" "Movies?" type questions.  Sometimes a cosmere question or two gets asked, but he does ask that people avoid mentioning spoilers at that point.  You'll have a better opportunity to ask it during the signing line.  Brandon does try very hard to have a conversation (even a short one) with everybody that goes through the line.

 

 

Great! That'll be the perfect opportunity. Thank you.

[ParadoxicalZen]

3 (Potentially. The first event I'll be going to is a Shadows of Self signing, so I may be limited to Scadrial questions. If so, I'll be asking this one). Did Wayne steal a returned horse or Ryshadium, or was he just boasting about stealing a horse that belched in perfect pitch?

 

I have about 15 questions already and i've barely even scratched the top most atom of the tip of the iceberg. This is going to be storming tricky to narrow down.

 

Spoilered for size and minor cosmere spoilers

 

The scene where Vin goes to meet Hoid in HoA and backs off last minute. There’s a WoB where you talk about Slivers having a kind of residue from coming in direct contact with a physical manifestation of a Shard’s power and how other people can detect it…so is it possible Hoid is or is comparable to a Sliver?

 

Did Jindo separate from MaiPon around the same time Devotion and Dominion were killed and if so, was it linked to their deaths in anyway?

 

Did Devotion and Dominion die near simultaneously or was there a gap between?

 

If a Shard’s original body is damaged in anyway (via another Shard or Sliver using a Shardpool), will it affect the Shard itself?

 

What kind of Gemstone is in the Moon Sceptre from TES and what are its properties?

 

Was the shardbearer Kaladin killed really Helaran?

 

How far between Mistborn and Warbreaker, roughly?

 

What was Vo’s wife called (please say it was Edgli)?

 

Is there any correlation between Austre’s monks and Vorinism? / Were the Iridescent Tones splinters of God king level?

 

Can you tell us a little bit more about Cusicesh? (I really want to know more!)

 

Is Yolen the only Shardworld with a Dragon on?

 

Is Raoden still kicking around circa WoK?

 

Does Nazh use any form of magic system we’ve seen?

 

Can you give us the name of the Fabrial magic system?

 

Do Oathgates tune into the Cymatic frequency of the Silver Cties?

 

Does Harmony know a lot more about Hoid now?

 

How does Hoid know the two people that get married in AoL?

 

Major RAFO bait, but was Hoid the one that purposely shattered Adonalsium? / Were the 17th Shard the ones that planned to destroy Adonalsium originally but failed?

 

Why would Hoid be tempted by Endowment?

 

Can you tell us any of the other anagrams/word puzzle Hoid told Dalinar, if there any? 

 

Can you give us the actual name for the Shard that wants to hide and Survive? (is it something like Evolution/Adaptation?)

 

Magic: The Gathering Q's

 

If Wizards gave you the chance to either write an Encyclopaedia for their planar multiverse or write the Lore books for the magic blocks, would you do it? (obviously after Cosmere books and stuff)

 

If you could choose five Cosmere and/or other characters from your books to be planeswalkers, who would it be? / Alternatively, what five characters/objects from your stories would you like immortalised in Card form?      

 

Bolded ones are my main ones...but even now this is getting rusting ridiculous...must stop reading question provoking WoBs D:

Edited September 27, 2015 by ParadoxSpren

[Oudeis]

About Vin and Hoid, he's said once that she was simply too observant for her own good. Not sure if he'll expand on that.

 

Do we already know the Moon Sceptre contains a gemstone? Shai herself forged one; can she forge gems? Not Forged, but forged.

 

He recently tweeted that he was trying not to answer "tell me something about ____" in a tweet, but he was talking specifically about personalized books, so might be worth a shot!

 

Don't know if you know this... the 'two people who got married' are actually Sharders here on the forum; their cameo was a wedding present, I believe. Do you want the backstory in-universe?

[ParadoxicalZen]

I'll PM you to save digressing.

[Argent]

The scene where Vin goes to meet Hoid in HoA and backs off last minute. There’s a WoB where you talk about Slivers having a kind of residue from coming in direct contact with a physical manifestation of a Shard’s power and how other people can detect it…so is it possible Hoid is or is comparable to a Sliver?

 

If a Shard’s original body is damaged in anyway (via another Shard or Sliver using a Shardpool), will it affect the Shard itself?

 

Brandon actually said he won't be answering questions about why Vin avoided Hoid in that scene. It is, however, a literal RAFO - we are scheduled to find out in, I think, Bands of Mourning.

 

As for Shards and damage to their original bodies, recall that Vin actually vaporized when she took on the power of Preservation. She didn't have a body when she was a Shard. Sazed also goes on about how a Shard's body and power are really the same thing. So I don't think this question applies.

[Bort]

I have a theory on why Vin decided not to approach Hoid.

 

Cosmere spoilers-ish.

 

In WoR, it is revealed (kind of) that Hoid has allomancy, the Illumination surge (or something similar), and has attained at least the second heightening (perfect pitch). I believe it has also been said that he has feruchemy, which is what he somehow uses to find out when and where he needs to be, but I could be wrong on that. It's unimportant for this theory at least.

 

There is also a theory going around that Hoid can use a coppercloud to mask the extent of his investiture. Since Vin can pierce copperclouds, is it any wonder that she detected something odd about Hoid? All of his investiture, whether native or something he picked up later, like Breaths, would give him a very strange aura to someone burning bronze. Especially if they could see through Hoid's defenses to keep such things hidden.

 

 

Do you specifically want the answers written into your copies of WoK/WoR?  If you don't you should just be able to ask Brandon while he is signing your books, especially as you plan on recording stuff.  Generally post-it notes are used when people want personalizations in their books.

 

 

Recordings are always nice, and having someone who is not me doing the transcription is even more nice.

 

I don't think I recall any of those questions being asked before (the Shardplate/gemstone might have been RAFO'd but I can't find anything at the present moment).  As for #3 I have never heard of people being restricted to asking about a specific series at any of Brandon's signings.

 

I was planning on actually asking the questions, but my memory is awful (I'm definitely no Lightweaver, lol), so post-it notes are a good compromise. Brandon sees the questions, even if I completely forget them.

Edited September 28, 2015 by Bort

[ParadoxicalZen]

Brandon actually said he won't be answering questions about why Vin avoided Hoid in that scene. It is, however, a literal RAFO - we are scheduled to find out in, I think, Bands of Mourning.

 

As for Shards and damage to their original bodies, recall that Vin actually vaporized when she took on the power of Preservation. She didn't have a body when she was a Shard. Sazed also goes on about how a Shard's body and power are really the same thing. So I don't think this question applies.

 

Drat, i'll avoid that one.

 

I was thinking of the WoB which asks is Saze's old body was still around somewhere and the WoB it what in some kind of inbetween state.

[Necarion]

I'm attending the Shadows of Self signing tour in San Francisco on 9 October 2015, and was hoping I could get some opinions on the questions I hope to ask. I suspect some have been answered, and since time will be limited, I'm curious how the community would prioritize these questions.  I'm still not 100% certain of the Spoiler protocols, so I'll mask them just in case.

 

Could an Archivist transfer his Copperminds to a pupil by committing Hemalurgic Suicide?

 

Is there a limit to the amount of useful energy than can be extracted from an End-Neutral magic system? For example, using Skimmers storing/tapping weight on opposite sides of a generator (A "Terris Wheel"); a Lifeless turning a crank, etc.?

 

Would an aluminum bullet deflect when shot out of a speed bubble?

 

Is the allomantic shielding effect of Aluminum line-of-sight only? If so, would a soother station located under ground be more effective against aluminum lined hats?

 

Probably been answered:

Does Pushing/Pulling conserve momentum?

 

Do the various Heightenings allow detection of any innate investiture?

 

Thanks!

[Kurkistan]

Could an Archivist transfer his Copperminds to a pupil by committing Hemalurgic Suicide?

Yes.

 

Would an aluminum bullet deflect when shot out of a speed bubble?

RAFO. It's "an excellent question" though.

 

Probably been answered:

Does Pushing/Pulling conserve momentum?

 

Do the various Heightenings allow detection of any innate investiture?

1. Probably? Brandon likes to talk about how Iron/Steel follow the laws of equal and opposite reaction. What from the books has implied otherwise to you?

2. WoR Spoilers

Probably. See: Vasher being able to detect Syl with what's likely his "life sense". We haven't gotten this answered directly yet to my knowledge, though.

 

P.S. Our spoiler policy is here/here. This section (Events and Signings) is generally fairly spoilerific because people are asking/answering cutting-edge questions, but it shouldn't necessarily be, so you're right to try and toe the line and use spoiler tags for things. The problem is, you need to label the Spoilers from the outside so we know what we'd be spoiled for by clicking the button.

 

In this case, I'd say you were probably safe not spoiling stuff (I may be overruled here...  ) because all of your questions were pretty mechanical and didn't really touch on plot details. Either way if you do put stuff in spoiler tags be sure to have something indicating what those who click are getting into.

[Necarion]

 

1. Probably? Brandon likes to talk about how Iron/Steel follow the laws of equal and opposite reaction. What from the books has implied otherwise to you?

Nothing implied otherwise. But there are some interesting implications if it is rigid (i.e., Momentum conserving but not Energy conserving), and some very interesting implications if it is not.

 

Thanks for the feedback on posting spoiler information. Should I have said something like "general cosmere mechanics" before posting the spoiler tag?

 

New Cosmere personalities question:

Of deep philosophical significance: have any of the other 15 Shards bought Hoid a drink?

 

Thanks!

[Robot Aztec]

 

Is the allomantic shielding effect of Aluminum line-of-sight only? If so, would a soother station located under ground be more effective against aluminum lined hats?

 

rmedember brandon is a nicest guy ever and you will do fine at signing have fun :)

anyway can you please ask also if duraluminium hat is suepr easy to push emotions thru? it makes sense a opposite metal makes it super easy

[Elbereth]

I'm going to the SFO signing. I plan to ask:

1. If you flare cadmium or bendalloy, does the size of the bubble or the ratio of time inside and outside the bubble change?

2. We know that if a mistborn burns both of those metals, they cancel each other out. But will there still be a barrier between the inside and outside of the bubble?

I have about 15 more, but those are the ones I chose. The first might have been answered, though.

[IAmTheBeard]

I'm going to the SFO signing. I plan to ask:

1. If you flare cadmium or bendalloy, does the size of the bubble or the ratio of time inside and outside the bubble change?

2. We know that if a mistborn burns both of those metals, they cancel each other out. But will there still be a barrier between the inside and outside of the bubble?

I have about 15 more, but those are the ones I chose. The first might have been answered, though.

Both of these questions are pretty much answered in Alloy of Law. Wayne is mentioned as flaring his metals to get extra time. (It happens multiple times, but the most explicit one is the first scene with Wayne.) In the same scene where Marasi admits to Wayne that her bubble is bigger than hers, implying that there should be a gap between the two bubbles, she explicitly says that "nothing happens" when you burn Bendally and Cadmium together. If there was a region of slow time there, they probably would have noticed that. It still might be worth asking, though, as Marasi was rather down on the whole Pulser thing, so she might have been excluding that information. It'd just be for confirmation. (Note that a lot of people on here assume the answer to be the opposite of what we have in the books.)

[Kurkistan]

For your bubble-loving needs, here are all of our WoB's on the subject (go to the bottom of the OP).

 

@Beard

 

We assume that the bubbles overlap instead of just cancelling out entirely because we have Word of Brandon to that effect.

Edited October 9, 2015 by Kurkistan

[Elbereth]

Thanks. That was a very interesting read when I should have been reading HoA, which I'm hoping to finish (along with Alloy of Law) before tomorrow.

We assume that the bubbles overlap instead of just cancelling out entirely because we have Word of Brandon to that effect.

What I meant was, if a Mistborn burned both metals, meaning there was no overlap, would there still be a barrier?

However, I won't be asking my first question given the info in that link, seeing as it was rather exhaustively answered.

Edited October 9, 2015 by Limelleth

[Kurkistan]

Thanks. That was a very interesting read when I should have been reading HoA, which I'm hoping to finish (along with Alloy of Law) before tomorrow.

What I meant was, if a Mistborn burned both metals, meaning there was no overlap, would there still be a barrier?

 

However, I won't be asking my first question given the info in that link, seeing as it was rather exhaustively answered.

 

Yup, exhaust[ing], that's an excellent word for that thread. Glad you found it interesting.

 

-

 

Ah, I see what you're saying now. So if the two bubbles cancel perfectly over the exact same space, such that the mistborn is just standing there burning valuable metal in normal time, is there a bullet-deflecting, person-jostling, Investiture-interrupting barrier still around him? Excellent question, and I look forward to the answer.

 

If you'd like my guess: I'd say that deflection/jostling won't happen at all because the jostling is proportional to the compression-factor of the bubble: no compression-factor, no jostling, then, would seem to follow. Similarly I don't think there'd be any visual "shimmering" effect.

 

The Investiture-blocking, though, is a more subtle question. Myself I'd say it should still block Investiture (emotional allomancy, Allomantic steel, etc.) from going past the bubbles, but I can't say for sure.

[Elbereth]

Thanks for letting me know. I look forward to tomorrow!