Guest Posted January 12, 2017 Posted January 12, 2017 24 minutes ago, StormingTexan said: I completely understand your sentiments Maxal. I am one of the ones that love the fact he has several series going at one time but I know it drives others crazy. Brandon has said numerous times he writes best when he can switch back and forth. Heck it may even take longer to get SA books if he abandoned what he has found to work best for him. I love Brandon's transparency personally. It is one of the things that makes me feel like Brandon really cares about his fans. It is frustrating for me though to never see a Nightblood status bar I know and I respect that, I really do, but I am a pesky selfish fan I want my own personal clone of Brandon to write stories purely for my personal benefit I love Brandon's transparency and his generosity, but as I said: double edged knife. It is amazing when he gives us the update we needed to keep our interest high, to keep us on our seats, to make us gleefully await the next book, but it can also dispirit us when we find our favorite project is not on the list (Nightblood in your case) or that the next book isn't quite broaching he story arcs we so desperately read about. It is great to know, but sometimes, it isn't great. 1 minute ago, WeiryWriter said: Where exactly are you getting the "4-6 months" number? Oh from the progress bar. Last winter/spring it remained practically still for several months. It might not have been 4-6 months, this is a rough estimate (I am taking the January-June time period and I subtract 2 months for the work which was done in this period), but it coincides with the time frame Brandon used to work on Arcanum Unbounded or maybe there was something else toss in there as well. There was very little progress being made on SA3 during the first half of 2016, so much I heavily doubt he could finish the first draft before the end of the year. Luckily, I was wrong and he pulled it of My point was, the very selfish reader that I am wished he had used the first half of 2016 to work on SA3 in order to wrap the first draft during the summer or a bit earlier which would have yielded an earlier release. I understand his reasons for working this way was due to his personal disappointment in not being able to deliver SA3 in 2016 like he promised: he thus decided to give us the Lift novella instead which I did love reading. I however would have traded the Lift novella for an earlier release of SA3 any day, but this is just me and as I said, this is very selfish of me to say so.
WeiryWriter he/him Posted January 12, 2017 Posted January 12, 2017 1 minute ago, maxal said: Oh from the progress bar. Last winter/spring it remained practically still for several months. It might not have been 4-6 months, this is a rough estimate (I am taking the January-June time period and I subtract 2 months for the work which was done in this period), but it coincides with the time frame Brandon used to work on Arcanum Unbounded or maybe there was something else toss in there as well. There was very little progress being made on SA3 during the first half of 2016, so much I heavily doubt he could finish the first draft before the end of the year. Luckily, I was wrong and he pulled it of My point was, the very selfish reader that I am wished he had used the first half of 2016 to work on SA3 in order to wrap the first draft during the summer or a bit earlier which would have yielded an earlier release. I understand his reasons for working this way was due to his personal disappointment in not being able to deliver SA3 in 2016 like he promised: he thus decided to give us the Lift novella instead which I did love reading. I however would have traded the Lift novella for an earlier release of SA3 any day, but this is just me and as I said, this is very selfish of me to say so. Okay there are a bunch of factors that went into progress slowing down during the early parts of 2016, which he actually talks about in the State. A lot of February/March was spent on tour, which he has said hampers his ability to write (and he ended up writing the novella Snapshot during March as well, but that was mostly while he was traveling abroad). He only spent May writing Edgedancer and the AU essays.
king of nowhere Posted January 12, 2017 Posted January 12, 2017 well, we know that brandon is a potted plant, so we could try to plant some cuttings and see if they grow? 1
Guest Posted January 13, 2017 Posted January 13, 2017 3 hours ago, WeiryWriter said: Okay there are a bunch of factors that went into progress slowing down during the early parts of 2016, which he actually talks about in the State. A lot of February/March was spent on tour, which he has said hampers his ability to write (and he ended up writing the novella Snapshot during March as well, but that was mostly while he was traveling abroad). He only spent May writing Edgedancer and the AU essays. Oh yes thanks for the additional details: I had forgotten some of them, it's been a while since I read the State. This is where I feel the frequent updates are a double-edged knife. They are amazing and I have read each one of them, but they always shed complete light on what the author is working on and yes, selfish fan that I am, I had trouble swallowing /accepting the fact last spring wasn't completely dedicated to writing SA3. 1 hour ago, king of nowhere said: well, we know that brandon is a potted plant, so we could try to plant some cuttings and see if they grow? I call dibs to have my own personal Brandon pot plant. I know exactly where I'll put him, though I do hope he is one of those low maintenance impossible to kill plant like this tree plant we have been trying to kill for years, but that keeps on getting bigger We did everything to kill it: we left it outside until very late in the season. It froze once It lost nearly all of its leafs once. We almost never water it and yet: it is still living and growing. It looks very green to me right now.
Fedcomic he/him Posted January 13, 2017 Posted January 13, 2017 (edited) 20 hours ago, maxal said: However, seeing the progress bar remaining still for almost half of last year when it was supposed to be the highest priority project did create negative feelings into a few fans. It is dangerous to be as open as Brandon is: on one side it is amazing to see his entire process, but on the other side it allows us to point at him and say: "Why aren't you working on it when you said you would?". It is a double-edged knife. For my part, I wish the 4-6 months he spent on Arcanum Unbounded had been used on SA3 instead in order to get an early summer release as opposed to a late fall one. I however understand this is an incredibly unpopular opinion and it might not have fit into Brandon's writing process, I cannot say, but from my very personal reader's perspective, this is how I would have preferred it. 16 hours ago, maxal said: Oh from the progress bar. Last winter/spring it remained practically still for several months. It might not have been 4-6 months, this is a rough estimate (I am taking the January-June time period and I subtract 2 months for the work which was done in this period), but it coincides with the time frame Brandon used to work on Arcanum Unbounded or maybe there was something else toss in there as well. There was very little progress being made on SA3 during the first half of 2016, so much I heavily doubt he could finish the first draft before the end of the year. Luckily, I was wrong and he pulled it of My point was, the very selfish reader that I am wished he had used the first half of 2016 to work on SA3 in order to wrap the first draft during the summer or a bit earlier which would have yielded an earlier release. I understand his reasons for working this way was due to his personal disappointment in not being able to deliver SA3 in 2016 like he promised: he thus decided to give us the Lift novella instead which I did love reading. I however would have traded the Lift novella for an earlier release of SA3 any day, but this is just me and as I said, this is very selfish of me to say so. Maxal, I'm with you in wanting Stormlight 3 to get here ASAP. And the waiting is a killer. I read lots of other stuff, but when my brain gets that Stormlight itch, nothing else really scratches it. Two thoughts that might ease the agony of a fellow fan. First, I don't think the time he spends away from SA3 makes SA3 come slower. More likely, the time off actually makes the book come faster.* Think of this from a health standpoint. It's obvious that we shouldn't begrudge him sleeping or eating, because we know if he doesn't do these things his body will cease to function and then we get dead Brandon and no book . Just like the body, the mind has to recharge and refresh. So when Brandon is touring, or writing a novella, or just playing with his kids, think of this as his Rocky training montage-- time in which he is getting his brain in the shape it needs to be in to punch out big awesome complex epics. ADRIAN!!! * {Note: I am not making this claim universally for all authors at all times.} Second, a careful look at his schedule shows that Brandon didn't spent as much time away from SA3 in 2016 as you might think from just watching the progress bar. January : Revising Oathbringer. My guess is that at this point he was thinking of the progress bar as showing progress toward a complete first draft, and so the progress bar probably didn't move a lot even though lots of important work was getting done. More importantly, notice why he starts revisions at this stage: so his editor and readers can get a chunk of the manuscript earlier and thus his fans can get the book earlier. February: Touring. Notice that he did readings from Oathbreaker while on tour, even though he wasn't finished with the first draft. Reading out loud is one of the best ways any writer can get a fresh look at their work. So at a minimum we can say that he's trying to get keep forward momentum on the revisions he started in January. March: Touring in Arabia. Personally, I would rather read sprawling epics from someone who spends time in places like the UAE than someone who never leaves Orem, Utah. So to me this looks like time spent filling the creativity well. Plus, he wrote Snapshot-- because, as he says, it's "difficult to work on a main project (like Stormlight) while traveling." Understandable. April: Writing Oathbringer. And updating people about SA3 progress on Reddit. Note: if you're not getting enough info from the progress bar, the tweets, FB, blog posts, etc., you may want to start following him on Reddit. Speaking for myself, it makes the waiting easier. Your mileage may vary. May: Writing Edgedancer-- a nice big chunk of Stormlight to tide us over until we get SA3. Great! For my part, I would not trade this away to get SA3 one month earlier. YMMV June - August: Just writing Oathbringer. Terrific! September: Alcatraz Release & Writing Excuses Cruise. Sounds like not much happened with Stormlight here. And you'll notice, if you read his SotS, that because he didn't get a lot of work done on the cruise, he's decided not to go next year. So, he is passing up opportunities to do things that he loves (and which are of great benefit to other aspiring writers) because he wants to get books out faster to fans like you and me. October: A "few good weeks of writing" Oathbreaker-- great!-- and then a tour of Europe. Again, I think when an author like Brandon is traveling (especially out of the country), his story engine is ingesting raw materials. Time well spent. The other thing he did in October, which doesn't get talked about at allin the SotS is he signed a ginormous movie deal which will put Stormlight on the silver screen. Awesome! November: We know from his 5th Reddit update that this was a big month for progress on Stormlight. Yay! December: Finished the first (and second) draft of Oathbringer. Extra super mega yay! Final thought: Remember the saying about watched pots? Yeah... I really love Stormlight. I'm going to love reading book three later this year. But once I've read it, I'm going go get a bunch of other books to read-- and to do my best to stay away from the Progress Bar. Because obsessing just makes the waiting more painful. (Remember that, future me! Stick to it!) Edited January 13, 2017 by Fedcomic 1
Guest Posted January 13, 2017 Posted January 13, 2017 13 minutes ago, Fedcomic said: Maxal, I'm with you in wanting Stormlight 3 to get here ASAP. And the waiting is a killer. I read lots of other stuff, but when my brain gets that Stormlight itch, nothing else really scratches it. Yeah the wait is awful. While I perfectly understand why it has to be this way, it doesn't change the fact it remains awful, especially since every single one of those updates have give me reasons to fear for book 3 as my most anticipated story arc won't be featured in any level of importance. The updates have been great for the majority of fans, but not for I because of who and what I am mostly interested in reading. They have been a killer, each and every one of them. The last one hurt really bad: I swear my heart constricted into a tiny ball of angst when I realized all this wait wasn't going to concretize into what I had hope to read so badly. So huh, the wait is awful. I'd rather be done with it, so I can finally move on from SA and start enjoying more all of the other amazing books out there and perhaps find the story arc I have wished to read in SA into another book. 25 minutes ago, Fedcomic said: ... This is an amazing resume! I guess where I was disheartened, last spring, was seeing Brandon spend so much time touring which is great amazing for all of the reasons you have listed, but it is hard not to see it as "time taken away from SA3" when you are a pesky fan such as I am. It is hard, 3 years after the release of the last book not to grumble at the slow progress. Had it been only 2 years, I wouldn't have grumbled, but it was 3 years. I know it is unfair to think of it this way, but those few months of touring happened after he spent the entire fall touring which meant little progress were made on SA3 into the time period preceding it, outside the nanowrito spree which was amazing. I also understand these breaks are salutary and the book would have likely not gotten written faster anyway, so again, double-edged knife. I do not expect other fans to feel this way, these merely are my personal comments. I understand the majority are just as thrilled in getting an additional Mistborn book or the Arcanum Unbounded than getting SA3: it just isn't my case. YMMV. Where my millage vary the most from the majority of fans is probably for the time frame he used to work onto the Lift novella which turned being longer than anticipated. Do not get me wrong: I love the Lift novella. I gave a whole-heartily positive review, but I would have rather not get it or get it later if it meant getting SA3 a few months earlier. I am always happy to get additional novella, but at this point in time, I wasn't willing to further delay SA3 just to get them.
Mason Wheeler Posted January 13, 2017 Posted January 13, 2017 (edited) 2 hours ago, Fedcomic said: The other thing he did in October, which doesn't get talked about at allin the SotS is he signed a ginormous movie deal which will put Stormlight on the silver screen. Awesome! ...except that everyone who looks at that seems to immediately respond with "huh? What in the world were they thinking?!?" because Stormlight would be horrible as a movie; there's just way too much stuff for 2 hours (or even 3!) to even come close to doing a Stormlight book justice. It really needs to be a TV series; ideally I'd like to see Mistborn: The Final Empire or possibly Warbreaker as the first Cosmere movie. But The Way of Kings? Oh rust and ruin, no! Edited January 13, 2017 by Mason Wheeler 2
Fedcomic he/him Posted January 14, 2017 Posted January 14, 2017 On 1/13/2017 at 9:20 AM, Mason Wheeler said: ...except that everyone who looks at that seems to immediately respond with "huh? What in the world were they thinking?!?" because Stormlight would be horrible as a movie; there's just way too much stuff for 2 hours (or even 3!) to even come close to doing a Stormlight book justice. It really needs to be a TV series; ideally I'd like to see Mistborn: The Final Empire or possibly Warbreaker as the first Cosmere movie. But The Way of Kings? Oh rust and ruin, no! If I were making movies, I also would have started with one of the shorter Cosmere works. Stormlight is indeed super-gigantic, I agree about it working as a TV series. But nobody asked me, because I don't make movies. So I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping this will be good. There's certainly a lot of good stuff to work with. I'm hoping they don't try to do the whole book-- just a single story. (Kaladin's would be great!) There are reasons to be optimistic about the movies. For example, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and associated TV series) seem to be doing a good job of balancing the smaller stories and the bigger arcs. Sure, there are some misfires, but on the whole it's very encouraging. And if they can make a single good standalone movie (Avengers) out of 50+ years of continuity-violating stories, why not a Stormlight movie that tells a single great story that can stand on its own? Stranger things have happened. I mean, holy cow, they made a good movie out of the freaking GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. So anything is possible.
king of nowhere Posted January 14, 2017 Posted January 14, 2017 on the other hand, some movie adaptation are mediocre to horrible, so I have mixed feeling about that. a bad adaptation may alienate potential fans.
Kaymyth she/her Posted January 15, 2017 Posted January 15, 2017 Not to mention the fact that the series isn't even half-done yet. Once Oathbringer comes out, it'll be slightly under a third. I intensely dislike the idea of starting movies up that early in a book series. Especially this one.
TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her Posted January 15, 2017 Posted January 15, 2017 On 1/13/2017 at 9:20 AM, Mason Wheeler said: ...except that everyone who looks at that seems to immediately respond with "huh? What in the world were they thinking?!?" because Stormlight would be horrible as a movie; there's just way too much stuff for 2 hours (or even 3!) to even come close to doing a Stormlight book justice. It really needs to be a TV series; ideally I'd like to see Mistborn: The Final Empire or possibly Warbreaker as the first Cosmere movie. But The Way of Kings? Oh rust and ruin, no! I fear a Stormlight movie will be like the Order of the Phoenix adaptation, which was basically just Harry watching a montage of things happening around him. For two hours. 2
Fedcomic he/him Posted January 15, 2017 Posted January 15, 2017 (edited) 6 hours ago, king of nowhere said: on the other hand, some movie adaptation are mediocre to horrible, so I have mixed feeling about that. a bad adaptation may alienate potential fans. Jim Butcher had his Dresden FIles books adapted... imperfectly, shall we say?... into a poorly rated TV cable series that died after a single season. And it was a huge boon to him and the book series because of the millions of people who became aware of his books-- a significant fraction of which became lasting fans. People who read books are in the minority. But everybody watches movies. So even movies that bomb typically have lots more viewers than hit book series have readers. And I don't worry too much about the number of potential fans turned off by a terrible adaptation, because most people who see a movie won't read the book regardless of how much they loved or hated the movie. But some people will pick up Brandon's books because of these movies. And as the rest of us know, once you get into these books, they hook you HARD. So I think we're going to see a lot of new fans. Edited January 15, 2017 by Fedcomic
Mason Wheeler Posted January 15, 2017 Posted January 15, 2017 5 hours ago, Fedcomic said: Jim Butcher had his Dresden FIles books adapted... imperfectly, shall we say?... into a poorly rated TV cable series You could say... *CSI glasses pull* ...they really butchered it! 4
Exalted Posted January 16, 2017 Posted January 16, 2017 On 1/14/2017 at 4:55 PM, TwiLyghtSansSparkles said: I fear a Stormlight movie will be like the Order of the Phoenix adaptation, which was basically just Harry watching a montage of things happening around him. For two hours. Or worse, like the Hobbit adaptation, which was basically just Bilbo watching a montage of things happening around him--but for eight hours!
Fedcomic he/him Posted January 16, 2017 Posted January 16, 2017 On 1/15/2017 at 4:34 AM, Mason Wheeler said: You could say... *CSI glasses pull* ...they really butchered it! 1
Capt. Goradel Posted January 19, 2017 Posted January 19, 2017 (edited) On 12/20/2016 at 9:12 AM, bleeder said: Yeah, with Kiin's family as the main characters, and we're finally gonna meet Wyrn. Kiins family are the main characters for elantris sequels??? They better get a new audiobook company. Kaise and Daorn's voices haunt my dreams. Edited January 19, 2017 by Capt. Goradel 1
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