zmunkz

I would think Jasnah will get a nice increased role, making up for her detour in WoR.

lol. I do this sometimes, maybe I have whatever he has too, I just haven't had any super smart days yet.

I am not a student (in the strictest sense!), but juggling work and home life is a similar challenge... and I certainly had my share of split commitments when I was in school. The first thing you need to think about is what suits your own writing style. For me, I need a block of time to get the juices flowing... at least an hour (two is better). I also do my best work in the evenings, not the mornings. You will need to identify the habits and timings that will actually allow you to get words down on the page. Once you have that, I would suggest you block out some time during the week... say, every Monday and Wednesday from 8pm-10pm. Think of it like a class of its own, or a work commitment, or something like that. No matter what else comes up, you'll put things aside during those times and focus on writing. Finding time to write is really just a motivation challenge. If you are driven enough, you'll make it work. Same as going to the gym, or finding time to play the guitar, or whatever. Structure helps when you are moving into a new environment, but then you'll find your own flow. Best of luck to you!

Nice quiz. I got 63% Elsecaller, and 56% Truthwatcher. I don't really know what either of those orders are yet, lol.

Wow, thanks for the link. Great scene, although as Brandon says, not to be taken as canon.

Welcome! My first of his books was Way of Kings (just because it had a lot of reviews on Audible) and it totally blindsided me. Since then I've been reading my way through all of his works. If you like Epic Fantasy, WoK is the place to start. If you like a bit more of a heist / dark-lord-trope-reversal, check out Mistborn. If you want a good stand-alone fantasy book that doesn't commit you to an entire series, try Elantris.

I've been thinking about this (more than I should). We see multiple times in the books how they plunge shardblades into the ground, or into tables, etc, and the blades never slip down to the hilt. Sanderson also describes the slight tug as the blade passes through Parshendi. The latter case shows us there there is some coefficient of friction between shard material and regular matter, and the former case seems to indicate the friction grows exponentially the more the blade is enveloped by something. Otherwise you would expect the sword to sink under its own weight, or certainly the thrust of someone jamming it into the ground. This has implications for tool-based cutting and drilling. It makes me wonder if an arrow would actually work, for instance. **EDIT The situation is even worse if the relevant factor is the owner's strength to keep blades moving/cutting. Eg., if the blades do not continue cutting on their own, only when pushed or driven by someone. Are there any instances in the book when a blade is thrown and still cuts?

I wonder if shard could take the form of a cutting wire (or net), like in that weird movie Cube. Tie the shardwire between two horses a few hundred yards apart and charge across a battlefield.

Oh I see, so each part would require a different person and their spren working in unison if you wanted multiple shard parts. But mounting a single shard tool on normal construction is feasible, right? Soulcasting probably makes small part manufacturing pretty quick and easy, so we could build some very steampunk-esque weapons that only required one actual shard part. Along the bow idea, a mechanical crossbow only needs the bolt to be shard to work. I wonder if shard material cuts through everything no matter what (like a lightsaber), or only when it is honed to an edge. This would affect how shards could be attached to non-shard materials. Considering you can hold a shardblade's handle without plate, I assume only honed edges get the magical cutting ability...

Wow, a shard arrow is a scary thought... a shard shrapnel grenade is even scarier. Might be a n00bie question, but what is the multiple-parts problem? I've read through WoR (though not so recently) so maybe I'm forgetting about something...

Welcome! Yeah, Hoid is the man. I have no idea how Brandon writes his dialogue... even more witty than GRRM/Tyrion.

Welcome! Out of curiosity, did you listen to Stormlight, or read it? Way of Kings was my first Sanderson book, and I listened to it on Audible... but I found I missed out a lot by not having the maps and drawings. On re-reading, I went with a print edition and liked the story even more that time.

Brandon speaks about plotting in a lecture given at JordonCon 2010, which I have mirrored on YouTube here. He goes over a few different ways to look at plots, as well as his own method of building towards character moments. The quick version is, instead of thinking of "plot elements" (which to me sounds like you are saying "things that happen") you want to try to think in terms of character moments. Emotional highs, emotional lows, and moments of decision. A great example of this is in Way of Kings ***spoilers aheaThis post has been reported for attempting to skirt the rules you can see Kaladin slowly drifting down until his moment of decision before jumping into the chasm, then he hits a character moment of "I still care, I'm going to fight back" and proceeds to unite bridge 4. The moment Brandon wanted to hit was that decision. Working backwards, what needs to happen so that will be impactful? Well you need your character on the edge of total defeat. What needs to happen to get there? He needs to show a few bridge runs as desperately hopeless. So this is exactly what Brandon did. Doing it as well as him is another matter. You might actually have a problem with your larger narrative (at least I had this problem in my first novel) if you've outlined/planned it entirely in terms of "the things that happen." It is hard to squeeze character moments into a plot sequence that was not written with them in mind. I find things work much better for me when I design my plot around these character moments, much as Brandon describes. Hope that helps.

Indeed it does evolve around you. Right around, and on its merry way.

Agreed, I think it is a cool part of the world building. When I interact with people on fantasy writing forums, I am always surprised that a lot agree with @Reller on this. Part of it is visceral and emotion, since studies have shown that actual swears activate different parts of our brain and induce a different kind of reaction, which invented swear words can't do no matter how clever they are (at least at first, until you assimilate them. C.S.Friendman used Vulking in place of... well you know... and it sounds close enough that it translates pretty quickly).

Ahh, I breathe stromlight again! Thanks @chaos, it worked. Hope you feel better. zmunkz2 can be merged or deleted, as you see fit. Thanks again!

Wow, that's a great interpretation. I would agree, it is way too correlated to be coincidence.

Hmm, yeah I guess you are right, I forgot about some of that. Did she say any words that would start to bind her to the rules of the radiants? Seems like she had the blade despite making no real commitment?

I agree with others on the rest of your quote, but one comment on this bit. Shallon actually had her Shardblade BEFORE she bonded with pattern and started weaving. WoK ch45 "Shadesmar" / pp643: This is well before she says any words. (I think)

Interesting. What do we think Nightforms means? Is that maybe the Parshendi word for their Voidbringer form? This seems to suggest these Nightforms represent a challenge to the gods, and one that is expected to return. damnation, I really need to re-read WoR...

As in ... Bed / Wed / Behead? Or as in ... who do you like more?

Sadeas. I actually find him to be a fascinating antagonist. Sorry if this is repeated... TL;DR. Would you rather have to fight a full Shardbearer or a Wind Runner?

Welcome, fellow newbie! Oh, I can jump on this wagon too (or at least chase behind it). I have an undergraduate degree in Physics.