A Minor Flaw With Brandon's Writing Style

[Bacon]

Let me first say that Brandon Sanderson is my favorite author. Full stop.

So, this is very much a nitpick and I have no intention to stop reading his work, nor would I suggest anyone do so for this reason.

But I could keep qualifying how huge of a fan I am forever. In leu of that, I'll just get right to it. through reread after reread of his various series, I noticed a pattern.

As far as I'm concerned, he is easily top of the fantasy world in terms of his settings, lore, plot progression, world-building, and ESPECIALLY magic systems.

But Brandon's characters, especially in multi-book series, have always struck me as a little weak. And I could never quite put my finger on why.

But I think I figured it out.

Brandon is famously an outline writer. If he has a series, he starts by planning out the entire series. That means after book 1, the world, people, etc need to be in a specific place, both emotionally and literally. Same for book 2, 3, and so on.

Within the context of a single book, he plans out something similar where everyone and everything needs to be in a specific place a the end of act 1, another specific place by the end of act 2, and so on (or the end of a part in regards to Stormlight)

But then, he discovery-writes the character interactions. Overall, I like this method because it makes the characters seem defined by more than just their role, while moving the plot forward. But it's a bit of a double-edged sword, too.

I've noticed that while macro character changes are retained, micro character changes are sometimes abandoned by the start of the next act, or part, or ESPECIALLY book.

I first noticed this with Shallan. She'll have a very deep, personal revelation in one chapter, and then she will seem to have forgotten all about it by the next time we see from her perspective. This effect is typically more obvious from one part to the next. And it's just blatant (once I thought to look for it) between books. How she views other characters, and especially herself by the end of certain scenes, just don't seem to #Stick. 

I now believe that's because those particular character moments and realizations weren't pre-planned, and so they unfortunately got dropped in the midst of trying to juggle so much else in such a complicated story. Brandon is usually good about maintaining world lore things. The hard facts Shallan knows and the things she can do with her powers are stable. But her mental state is not. Originally, I chalked this up to her own personal mental issues. But I think it makes her seem a little more mentally unstable than seems to be intended. And the same can be seen for other characters as well.

Take Kaladin. By the end of book 1, he is a whole new person compared to when he started. He knows more about the world, about his powers, he's literally stronger, he has all these things changed about him. At the start of book 2 though, he's just as strong as where he left off at the end of book 1. He's just as knowledgeable, his relationships have maintained, etc. But I would posture that aside from his powers, aside from his relationships, aside from his status in society, and only in regards to his own mental state and self-actualization, he's closer to the Kaladin in Chapter 1 of Way of Kings, than the Kaladin we saw at the end of the book.

The same is true for Vin in Mistborn. She's stronger, more capable, etc. But her own mental state and especially how she regards her relationship with Elend, degrades from the end of book 1, to the start of book 2. And then again from the end of book 2, to the start of book 3. This is mostly explainable by the sheer trauma she experiences at the end of literally every book, but I think this trend plays into it as well.

I can keep going with other characters, but this post is already long enough.

So what do you think?

Have you noticed this in his writing?

Am I just totally off-base?

Edited October 1, 2020 by Bacon

[Chasmgoat he/him]

Very good observations. I never noticed this, but I am now going to look for it while I read. I see what you mean with Kaladin and Vin.

[E-Harmony he/him]

I made a video on my Channel discussing what I think are Brandon’s weaknesses as an author and this is actually one of the main issues I have with his writing.

Just like you, let me disclaim that he is one of my top 3 favorite authors and he’s the reason I got back into reading.

But yeah it’s a trend. Vivenna all throughout Warbreaker, Wax from end of SoS to beginning of BoM, Kaladin from Book 1 to Book 2, Shallan constantly, Vin as you mentioned.

Another thing that bothers me with his character work is that it’s overly explained, like pages and pages of characters overthinking, and maybe that’s Brandon’s style of thinking (like considering every possible avenue) imprinting on the way he writes characters inner thoughts.

To end on a positive note, what Brandon does well is create fantastic characters that have great arcs, are relatable, and he makes sure to tie character into every aspect of his story. It could just be done a bit cleaner and more efficiently in my opinion. I agree 100%!

Edited October 5, 2020 by E-Harmony
Misspelled word

[Gak he/him]

SoS? BoM?

[E-Harmony he/him]

25 minutes ago, gak said:

SoS? BoM?

Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning

[Singer she/her]

If this is something Brandon is doing unintentionally, then for sure it is something he should and can work on as an author.

And if it is bothering you and other readers it is totally a legitimate criticism.

I suspect that sometimes, though probably not always, it is meant to be normal human regression. Especially with Vin and Kaladin, no one is permanently better from depression or a lifetime of abuse after only one break through moment or event. Regression is part of progression, if that makes sense.

That having been said, I'm sure that isn't what is happening for all of these. I'll be watching for it on future read-throughs and see where I think it is intentional regression and where it looks like accidentally dropped character growth!

[+Bliev she/her]

12 hours ago, Singer said:

I suspect that sometimes, though probably not always, it is meant to be normal human regression. Especially with Vin and Kaladin, no one is permanently better from depression or a lifetime of abuse after only one break through moment or event. Regression is part of progression, if that makes sense.

 

This is how I see it. We think growth is linear, but it often is not--it's not always in our nature to grow monotonically--particularly as many of his characters are truly traumatized. I'll also say that the time is likely relevant. So, how much "growth" can you expect from a person over the course of a month? Some of Brandon's books are only taking up that much time. So I think this is what is often being seen. 

I'll say this about this quote:

On 10/1/2020 at 5:37 PM, Bacon said:

I first noticed this with Shallan. She'll have a very deep, personal revelation in one chapter, and then she will seem to have forgotten all about it by the next time we see from her perspective. This effect is typically more obvious from one part to the next. And it's just blatant (once I thought to look for it) between books. How she views other characters, and especially herself by the end of certain scenes, just don't seem to #Stick. 

 

I think this is actually her character as is meant to be written. She dissociates so much that we are supposed to feel this disconnect and frustration because she can't put it all together. 

Overall, though, I think Brandon cares more about plot on a micro scale and character on a macro scale--meaning each book is meant to move swiftly through the plot points and keep a reader engaged, and at the end of a series (e.g., SA), the character growth will be obvious. This isn't to everyone's taste. I've always liked plot-driven, dialogue-heavy types of pieces, particularly with witty word play (e.g., my adoration for the GOAT Jane Austen), but some people prefer more exposition and character unraveling. I think that's completely fair as a critique. This is particularly the case for his non viewpoint characters who can seem shallower, when it's more likely that he just isn't telling us or showing us what they're thinking, intentionally.  

[Eggdogg]

Kaladin is the only character that I've felt frustrated with beyond the pages.