Delusions of Grandeur
For no particular reason, in my own head I have declared myself the Elantris expert here at 17th Shard. (I know: pride goeth before the fall, right?)
There's something about Elantris that has always drawn me. I think I've read it at least twice as much as any other Sanderson novel (and I'm reasonably sure that I've read the Mistborn trilogy four times). I feel like it has so many keys to the Cosmere that are so subtly planted that people don't even think they're there. Plus, it was my first Sanderson (I'm in the strange, middling position in this community of having been introduced to Brandon's public work since the beginning, but having absolutely zero experience with his unpublished stuff.)
The Plan
So, anyway, when I discovered that the 17th Shard existed, and had a wiki that was all tabula rasa and ready to be filled, I knew where I would start. A few months ago I began the Great Elantris Reread. The plan was to make sure that our wiki had academic-level accuracy and documentation; I wanted my new Sanderson home to be the envy of all other Cosmere resources. And I would make sure that the Elantris entries would match that quality.
It's definitely going slower than I'd hoped, but I'm getting lots of good stuff. The project is basically divided into three parts:
1) Reread: it's all about ignoring the plot, and writing down any objective data on character, location, timeline, magic, etc. It is definitely a strange way to read a book (although it helps if you've read the book enough to be able to ignore plot). Included in the reread are Brandon's Annotations
2) Note Shuffle: I then compile my notes into a biiiig document (which I'll make available as soon as I'm done with Part 2, a la Zas' Brandonothology)
3) Wiki Entries: using that document, I create some kick-butt, detailed wiki entries.
Where I'm At
1) 66% (406 of 615)
2) 42% (261 of 615)
3) o% (waiting until 1 & 2 are finished)
So that's where my current project is at. Let me know if there are any Elantris questions/people/etc. that you'd like me to dig deeper into. I'm shooting to have part 1 (at least) done by the end of March.
Day 1
a winter morning
yields to autumn winds, and spring
falls further away
For today's poem, I went with a haiku (because it was a long day) about the obnoxious weather. I know, how pedestrian could I get, right?
We woke up and there was snow covering the ground (not to mention falling from the sky), and the rest of the day was full of crisp winds! It only began feeling like spring right before sunset. Nature's little April Fools joke, I guess.
Day 2
Strange that
a lifetime spent
imagining magics
would draw a veil over wonders
right here.
Before I delve into the writing/editing of roughly 95 Elantris wiki entries, I've decided to reward myself for the good work I've done so far. So, I'll be reading the Alcatraz series as well as finally reading the end of the Wheel of Time series. (This reward inspired by a conversation here.)
Alcatraz
I once half-listened to the audiobook of the first novel, and really enjoyed it. So, there's that. (I'm also reasonably sure that the characters' voices in my head will inevitably be those of that narrator.) But I remember enjoying the world, the break-every-rule-of-writing style, and the general silliness, so I think I'll be in for a good time.
Wheel of Time
I'll be starting on book 9 with the WoT, since I've read the first 8 several times. 9 is where I always start to get foggy on what exactly happens in any given book; gun to the head, all I could tell you is the climax of the last chapter (I think) of each. I've read all the way through 9 (Winter's Heart) and 10 (Crossroads of Twilight) only once, and got so bored/frustrated that I couldn't bring myself to start book 11 (Knife of Dreams), so it won't be conquering completely new territory. But I'll be damned if I'm not gonna get the best of this series! I'll earn my silver sword and golden dragon yet!
Wow! A blag on a site with forums and a wiki! How am I going to decide what to write and where?
I think I'll use this as a platform to write about the progress I'm making with my 17th Shard-related projects (and maybe as a place to emote on future Sanderson books). Sound good? Let's do this.
