Hello, thank you for replying. I felt it best to leave the letter without summary so that we might not miss each other's points that have been stated within the missive. Although I can see that you might have portrayed my letter as a bit simplistic and do not agree with my thoughts, I hope that people will just read the section(s) that they wish to take the time to discuss.
Hello, thank you for your reply, I am glad that you welcome some conflicting ideas that we can discuss. It may look like a lot of criticism, but as I mentioned in the letter, I would have a letter of praise twice as long, but I fear I would only be retreading old ground that Sanderson has already received from the forum.
Sexuality: Thank you, I appreciate your views. I welcome talking with people of all backgrounds and environmental upbringings. As I hope to convey in the letter, the sexuality I talk of hopes to inject not the smut of strange fanfiction, but as another element of Sanderson's art. "What you put into your book is pushing your artform and your art is capturing the human nature. If you want to see under the skin of what makes a human graceful, an artist draws nude pictures; if you want to see beneath the skin of what really makes a human tick, you write in their deepest primal urges."
Religion: To be more specific, what I mean is that the side of good tends to connect to a religious aspect e.g. Mistborn the Church of the Survivor, Saze/Preservation, Elantris: Elantrians/Shu-Koreth, Stormlight Archives: the Almighty/Honor. The only character on the side of good that I can see not a part of this is Jasnah which is why I love her so. Yet she still is only a side character at the moment and one we have not seen for some time.
Death: Again, just a differing of perspective that we have, thank you though.
Genre: I agree with you that there are conventional fantasy themes that are overdone (one of them is sexual modesty but we have covered that), Sanderson rebelling and exploring alternatives is what drew me to his cosmology. I would have to disagree that traditional fantasy that things just worse with time and the world does not progress from its era. Brandon himself acknowledged this when commenting on Elantris: Lord of the Rings has the elves leaving for the West and the time of Men coming about, WoT progresses into technological advancement etc. Elantris was interesting as it did the opposite, it was the resurgence of magic to a near magic-less world.
Hi, it's is understandable to be emotional, we all care deeply about these books and invest much of ourselves in them.
Sexuality: I think it might be a bit cruel to label GRRM as a perverted creep - while his sexual scenes might be a shock to the average consumer base of fantasy, the political intrigue set within a fantasy world is what drives the story forward and keeps readers interested. I recognise and thank you for clarifying your position on GRRM in a later post. As I mentioned, "While in the last 15 years sex has been rising to the pages, it just seems to be making a big splash when surrounded in an ocean of meekness. I’m not asking you to go as visceral in sexual details as GRRM, for that is his style and how he plays with sexuality. If I wanted to see more of that kind, I would go read more GRRM.". On the contrary, I believe if Sanderson wanted to create a feeling of disgust or pity at a horrible situation, he might well have a scene with someone defecating. It is less of a taboo subject and so one he can broach with less fear. Black humour such as Tyrion Lannister shooting his father with a crossbow while the old man is on the toilet is a contemporary example.
Religion: As we know there was a basis for a near omnipotent (in the balanced sense) god in Adonalsium, religion of course deserves its place in the world. However, as we have seen with Jasnah, that does not mean it has to take the lead role in governing the charge of the heroes. In worlds were Shards are actually 'dead' or absent such Threnody, we can expect agnostic/atheist ideas to be more commonplace. As for Dalinar, he can be seen as the born again theist, for when we come to him in the current timeline of the books he is staunchly in the ideas of preserving the tenets of the Heralds and deceased Almighty. I do not expect his role in the Archive to end with him not leading from this theological basis.
I hope not to impose my thoughts upon people - I hope to discuss as we are now and if I make some people think and compare a different viewpoint to their own, it is just a happy side effect.
Thank you very much for the welcome and openness, I look forward to talking with people of all different beliefs on Sanderson's work.
Hi there, thank you for your comment. I agree that the letter does look to be as if coming from a lecturer and so people might respond to the content more heatedly than the content itself might warrant. It was not my mission in writing this letter to set demands towards Brandon, but to let him know that there is an opinion that is open to changes within his work. The instructing quality of it might come about from me attempting to prove that there is a way to write sexuality without creating a guilty conscience. Thank you again for your words and advice.
Hello, thank you for your comments. I too am hoping that the scope of an epic series such as Stormlight will encourage Brandon to space his deaths more widely. As I mentioned "I’m not asking you to go as visceral in sexual details as GRRM, for that is his style and how he plays with sexuality. If I wanted to see more of that kind, I would go read more GRRM." However, GRRM does not claim the monopoly on sexuality of characters in fantasy. He would be at the extreme end of the scale which would never work with Sanderson's works. I can feel the potential that Sanderson has for working with sexuality, as we saw with sexuality in Warbreaker where Sanderson played with our the fear and creating endearment. I hoped to offer any encouragement if he might be tempted to take those steps.
Hello, thank you for your kind words. As I mentioned above with Binnut: I agree that the letter does look to be as if coming from a lecturer and so people might respond to the content more heatedly than the content itself might warrant. It was not my mission in writing this letter to set demands towards Brandon, but to let him know that there is an opinion that is open to changes within his work. The instructing quality of it might come about from me attempting to prove that there is a way to write sexuality without creating a guilty conscience.
Indeed, I too appreciate GRRM for more than his depiction of sexuality as I hoped to express to strumienpola: I think it might be a bit cruel to label GRRM as a perverted creep - while his sexual scenes might be a shock to the average consumer base of fantasy, the political intrigue set within a fantasy world is what drives the story forward and keeps readers interested.
Religion: As I mentioned to strumienpola: As we know there was a basis for a near omnipotent (in the balanced sense) god in Adonalsium, religion of course deserves its place in the world. However, as we have seen with Jasnah, that does not mean it has to take the lead role in governing the charge of the heroes. In worlds were Shards are actually 'dead' or absent such Threnody, we can expect agnostic/atheist ideas to be more commonplace.
Although Hoid's complete motives are largely up for debate, I admire his interventionist attitude. His scorn for the Shardholders as consciousnesses of the people he once used to know are refreshing when most worlds in the genre have a respect for at least one overarching figure e.g. Eru Iluvatar, the Light. In this regard, he shares something of Jasnah.
Hi, thank you for your welcome and understanding. Please feel free to voice any opinions on the topics if you wish to and I would be happy to talk about any fresh points.
Hi, thank you for your reply. However, I would hope that it is not the end of the discussion as there are many replies below. I agree wholeheartedly about making demands of writers, as I mentioned to Binnut: I agree that the letter does look to be as if coming from a lecturer and so people might respond to the content more heatedly than the content itself might warrant. It was not my mission in writing this letter to set demands towards Brandon, but to let him know that there is an opinion that is open to changes within his work. The instructing quality of it might come about from me attempting to prove that there is a way to write sexuality without creating a guilty conscience.
However, as to the first clause of that tricolon, I do disagree. As an artist, I feel there is a creative integrity to hold to yourself to keep pushing what you know and are capable of. As Sanderson has expressed that he wants to reverse and push the bounds of what has been done in the genre. I hope to convey to him a way of fulfilling might be a diversity of sexual and religious experiences. Realism: As there is already a healthy dose of violence within his books, a proportional amount of sexuality would not be amiss. Part of it is that I view of all these three factors an inevitable part of life. I would mark it as strange to censor any one of them out.
Hello, thank you for your welcome and understanding. As to the matter of what his task is as an artist is, the definition is always up for contention. However, I do believe that to relate and expound emotions is a kernel of truth in writing. What may be more accurate is that it is part of his overall task, but a large part at that. As a novelist, interaction between characters is paramount. You could write a book detailing the biogeography of Roshar and I would read it, but that is not an epic story nor a novel; it is a reference book. The 'expounding' is all the more important in fantastical fiction, as fantasy is escapism. We look for that burst of emotions, whether it be excitement or dismay, in the time we set aside for reading. Sanderson is already an expert at this as is clear in our fond reception to character pairs he has created. However, even an expert looks to do more and I hope my suggestion to him might stir some more ideas.
On the hypothetical moral question of killing the rest of the world instead of killing your family, it is an interesting question. However, that is all it is, a moral quandry for characters and readers to ponder. I would certainly believe that some parents would make that devasting sacrifice of turning the gun on their own children, yet again some people would regretfully say goodbye to all the strangers of the world to live on earth with their family for the rest of their days. What I hoped to illustrate was that Sanderson leans more heavily on favouring the deontological decision for his heroes.
Religion as a social construct: Not at all, religion has been very useful beyond sexuality, whether that be in the organisation and governing of society, advancing artistic and technological endeavour or giving a structure of morals to follow, etc. To look at the issue of sexuality from a theist's view, the question would be why did God command that sex should be within a devoted relationship, specifically for married couples. God wanted it so children could be raised in a stable environment, you can have twice as much time to raise a child than an accidental pregnancy outside of marriage; if you have said marriage vows, the likelihood of catching an STD would go down dramatically, preventing infertility or affected children that would not be able to spread out across the world and spread God's message, etc.
As for a sci-fi fantasy blend, as I expressed in my worries, there will be a point where this plausible but then will inevitably progress into a recognisable sci-fi world.
Hi, thank you for your reply. I direct to my response to Twi, but also would add that in human history there has never been a perfect artist. Sanderson is a master, Michelango was a master yet as we are only an individual, we will never reach objective perfection. Offering my opinions to Sanderson I think more as some source material that he might read, a perspective from yet another individual. Maybe he might mull these ideas over, develop or reject the ideas that would strengthen his resolve that what he is doing is right.
As we might discuss a theory amongst each other as friends arguing the finer moments of a TV show so we increase our involvement and enjoyment of said universe further, I live in the hope that I might gain some perspective on these ideas from the master source, Sanderson himself.
Hey, thank you for covering new ground from the letter.
Religion seems to be the first paragraph of choice. I am glad indeed to share your love of Jasnah, she is refreshing. As with Lightsong, he is another of my favourite characters, as he is for many drawn by his his cynical humour and wit. What did disappoint me and reflects back to my point was I felt it unnecessary for Sanderson in the end to prove that Lightsong really is a god by his predictions of viewing the paintings are true and justify the Returned as figures in the Hallandren pantheon. Lightsong proves noble and true which in my opinion has been done already often. Dalinar I mentioned in response to stumienpola.
Fantasy as a phenomenon: Indeed, fantasy is a global phenomenon and Asian influences are obvious. Fantasy is global as the need to explain and the desire for escapism are intrinsic part of the human psyche since time immemorial. Just as in the same way sexuality is intrinsic part of the human psyche since time immemorial which was the point that I was addressing here. The majority of Sanderson's societies come from the West (the notable exception The Emperor's Soul), the same as much of the genre. Asian influences are underlying to the basis of Western medieval/renaissance society. Still, I can apply the example that you gave and it compounds on my points that sexuality is a thick thread woven throughout the tapestry of all societies: the premise of One Thousand and One Nights is a ruler who has sex with a virgin every night only to execute her in the morning and although I am not familiar with Chinese literature, I imagine we would be able to recognise elements of sexuality even within a supposedly reserved society.
Sexual Personal Experience: Dalinar and Navani are a couple that do have the potential to do interesting - the relationship is considered taboo and I hope that they do not need to marry to consummate their relationship. However, from the outside world looking in, there are factors that do downplay the excitement of the relationship. Both are widowed and both have done their duty to produce children. In a way, it gives a free pass to do more than anyone else in the novels. Their role in sexuality is assumed to be done, much as Navani feels ignored by society as she is a relic of past royal tenure. So society is meant to just ignore their sexuality. Dalinar and Navani both declare to each other when they kiss they don't care what people think of their relationship from now on, but after Dalinar declares to Elhokar he is courting his mother, society supposedly forgets that it was meant to be a big taboo. I think that there would have been real opportunity for Brandon to milk the scandalous possibility of sex in a country where high necks and covered left hand are the norm. In reality, crude pictures of Dalinar and Navani naked and humping each other would have been among the circulated papers, whores dressing up to match Navani as funded by Sadeas. Instead there is the campaign to slander Dalinar's person with criticism of his visions swamps the chance to explore the sexual scandal over multiple books. I feel like Sanderson might have held back here. On another point, I think we can presume that Dalinar and Navani have not actually had sex yet, due to Dalinar's embarrassment when Navani pushes for them to share rooms in Dalinar's quarters. As for MeLaan and Wax, as indeed I did state in my letter, the two are just meant to be kissing, which in reality would turn out to be unlikely.
Blushweaver and Lightsong: The reference to Lightsong having a sexual relationship with Calmseer makes it all the more disappointing that we did not see the relationship consummated between two in book characters whose chemistry and natures we have actually seen acted out on page.
Genre: The problem with making Scadrial eventually a sci-fi world is that eventually the entire Cosmere has to become a sci-fi universe e.g. flying cars on Roshar. The hinted at visitation between planets in Sixth of the Dusk and the nature of Worldhoppers just make it a countdown until technology from Scadrial infects all worlds. The ideal solution would have been to have Scadrial outside of the Cosmere.
Hello, thank you for your words. I will refer you to my response to CaptainRyan: Not at all, religion has been very useful beyond sexuality, whether that be in the organisation and governing of society, advancing artistic and technological endeavour or giving a structure of morals to follow, etc. To look at the issue of sexuality from a theist's view, the question would be why did God command that sex should be within a devoted relationship, specifically for married couples. God wanted it so children could be raised in a stable environment, you can have twice as much time to raise a child than an accidental pregnancy outside of marriage; if you have said marriage vows, the likelihood of catching an STD would go down dramatically, preventing infertility or affected children that would not be able to spread out across the world and spread God's message, etc.
In short, I cannot see in the letter that I say the definition of religion is to suppress STIs. It would be silly of me to say.
Hello, thank you for the reply. I was considering whether keeping the letter to myself, but it seems unlikely Brandon would be unable to reply to a letter and topic of this length when he is so prolific in his writing and some time has passed since I sent it to him. I think it does make for interesting reading here though as it generates a good deal of discussion and exploring opposing ideas.
As for the demanding nature of the letter, I will refer you to the response I give to Binnut: I agree that the letter does look to be as if coming from a lecturer and so people might respond to the content more heatedly than the content itself might warrant. It was not my mission in writing this letter to set demands towards Brandon, but to let him know that there is an opinion that is open to changes within his work. The instructing quality of it might come about from me attempting to prove that there is a way to write sexuality without creating a guilty conscience.
As for the moral quandry, I will refer you to the response I give to CaptainRyan: On the hypothetical moral question of killing the rest of the world instead of killing your family, it is an interesting question. However, that is all it is, a moral quandry for characters and readers to ponder. I would certainly believe that some parents would make that devasting sacrifice of turning the gun on their own children, yet again some people would regretfully say goodbye to all the strangers of the world to live on earth with their family for the rest of their days. What I hoped to illustrate was that Sanderson leans more heavily on favouring the deontological decision for his heroes.
Sexuality: Thank you for raising some new points here. I suppose it starts with my premise that this an adult series and is marketed to adults, given their label on the back. The violence in them is indicative of this. Reading books of the young adult variety might be more appropriate if you would wish to share fantasy with younger relatives if they are not ready to know about sex. With Elend and Vin, as I mentioned in the letter, it is pointedly made known that they have not had sex before marriage as they sleep in separate rooms despite a year or two in a relationship clearly desiring each other. Sex is mentioned after marriage as in the tent. In regards to nobles raping skaa, this is one of the details that makes up the gritty world that is Mistborn. Unfortunately, it feels only like a passing mention, another detail to paint a grey world. Dealing with the implications of the trauma that these instances of sexual violence causes would have been interesting. From a character viewpoint, that does not mean them being raped as that would be obscene. But talking through the fact that you are a product of rape, the self hate that it must cause, I would welcome for Sanderson to explore.
Religion: I will refer you to the reponse I give to CaptainRyan and Oversleep: "Not at all, religion has been very useful beyond sexuality, whether that be in the organisation and governing of society, advancing artistic and technological endeavour or giving a structure of morals to follow, etc. To look at the issue of sexuality from a theist's view, the question would be why did God command that sex should be within a devoted relationship, specifically for married couples. God wanted it so children could be raised in a stable environment, you can have twice as much time to raise a child than an accidental pregnancy outside of marriage; if you have said marriage vows, the likelihood of catching an STD would go down dramatically, preventing infertility or affected children that would not be able to spread out across the world and spread God's message, etc.
In short, I cannot see in the letter that I say the definition of religion is to suppress STIs. It would be silly of me to say."
In regards to Hrathen, I will now play the devil's advocate for the sake of discussion. Hrathen's religion is complicated, as it can be divided into what the consensual orthodoxy is vs his personal beliefs. For the first half of the novel he follows his task in the general modern mindset of Shu-Dereth that is common to Wyrm, the Dakhor and Fjorden - work to reason, dominate etc. He then wrestles with these ideas until the end of the book and ultimately develops a 'purer' idea of Shu-Dereth that he can convince himself to follow and still call Shu-Dereth. By adopting this now 'morally good' version of Shu-Dereth does he become a hero and therefore can let himself save Sarene, one of the leading figures of Shu-Korath. He did not need to become a hero as Sarene proclaims him to be, a sudden realisation does not have to mean 'coming to the light side'. On a personal level, I enjoyed Hrathen's redemptive arch.
As for death, I believe the points to be covered in my letter just that we have separate viewpoints.
Hello, thank you for your reply. As for the demanding nature of the letter, I will refer you to the response I give to Binnut: "I agree that the letter does look to be as if coming from a lecturer and so people might respond to the content more heatedly than the content itself might warrant. It was not my mission in writing this letter to set demands towards Brandon, but to let him know that there is an opinion that is open to changes within his work. The instructing quality of it might come about from me attempting to prove that there is a way to write sexuality without creating a guilty conscience."
To add to that, Brandon's work will be ever changing, as no artist can remain static as they journey throughout life. Offering my opinions to Sanderson I think more as some source material that he might read, a perspective from yet another individual. Maybe he might mull these ideas over, develop or reject the ideas that would strengthen his resolve that what he is doing is right.
Hello, thank you for your words. For the first part of your reply, I will refer you to the well used response I give further in this post:
"I agree that the letter does look to be as if coming from a lecturer and so people might respond to the content more heatedly than the content itself might warrant. It was not my mission in writing this letter to set demands towards Brandon, but to let him know that there is an opinion that is open to changes within his work. The instructing quality of it might come about from me attempting to prove that there is a way to write sexuality without creating a guilty conscience.
To add to that, Brandon's work will be ever changing, as no artist can remain static as they journey throughout life. Offering my opinions to Sanderson I think more as some source material that he might read, a perspective from yet another individual. Maybe he might mull these ideas over, develop or reject the ideas that would strengthen his resolve that what he is doing is right."
I admire your opinion on finding someone being sexually inexperienced before marriage an interesting comparision to the majority of today's youth. However, I would find it more revolutionary if it came from not from Brandon's familiarity with the situation itself. This is no fault of his own, just his happenstance. That is why I would find it so interesting to see Brandon attempt the challenge to write a fully fledged pre-marital sexual relationship. However, the main point I would address is that fantasy writing has not first caught up to exhibiting what the sexuality of today is in the West. GRRM went in the extreme end of this direction, sexual licentiousness that is not realistic beyond lifestyle of celebrities (his nobles) or the unwholesome quirks (incest).
I had not given thought if Adolin is a virgin. I see that there are two notable threads, on from here and one on reddit that have a spectrum of conflicting opinions: https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight_Archive/comments/4ss9pm/wor_how_far_has_adolin_gone_with_his_many/
After I have skimmed through these, I come down on the side that in all likeliness Adolin would not be a virgin. The amount of opportunity, his high status and his inability to be tethered throughout his dozens of flings, would lead to some ladies employing more direct tactics in an attempt to seduce and hold him. Due to the appearance of Vorin propriety, such attempts would be done well behind closed doors. Hence his blushing when having to kiss Shallan outside. By the age of 22 with the number of his potential partners, the 'reputation' the soldiers give him seems warranted. Further, he did seem to consider or at least be willing for the rescued whore's offer of sex despite his father's Codes making him need to decline. Renarin seems better placed as the shy, less desirable second son.
@StormyQueen 's reply: "Welcome to the Shard @Rockobar *waves*. I must say, you have certainly entered with bang. Also, upvote because I don't think you deserve all those downvotes, you stated your opinion, and, even though I don't agree with it, I can respect the fact that you did so in a respectful manner. Anyway, welcome! Now onwards to my points (this sounds like a debate now...) which turned out waaay longer than I expected. Whoops.
Overall, I would say that you are asking Brandon to be un-Brandon. Every artist has a hallmark to their art, and I think that if Brandon were to do some of the things you talk about, it would ultimately diverge his writing from his personality in his writing, as well as the story that he wants to tell. You refer to the upbringing and how it resulted in this view which is obviously misguided, but if we did not have authors of different upbringings and views, what would be the point in reading. If every story was the same in the outlook it presents, would you be interested in reading it? I know that I wouldn't.
Firstly, on the topic of sexuality. I am personally very grateful for the fact that there is very little sexual scenes in the Cosmere. As an asexual myself, I find it refreshing to see a modern, adult fantasy series that doesn't involve some kind of explicit sex. Half the time when it occurs in a book, I'll roll my eyes skim the section to see if there is anything important and move on (I skipped pages and pages of Game of Thrones, rolling my eyes as I did). I would personally prefer to read about something that actually influences story and character in books (which are already getting very, very long) rather than a sex scene for the sake of a sex scene. "Raw primal desire" as you put it, is not the sole form of what makes us human. Humans are a complex being, as you have pointed out, and while it is a factor in who we are, I personally believe that humans are so, so much more than lust that they feel, and not every part of human life can, or indeed should be included in a book, simply because it does not have enough relevance to the story to warrant being included. Also, I would say that doing this makes the books more accessible to people of younger years
On your point on religion now. Religion is something that has been a foundation of human society for milenia, and has had a profound impact in culture throughout much of the world, from creating the backbone of morality, to societal structure. Violence and peace can both result from religion, and it is a vital part of a culture. I would also say, particularly on your points on the diagram is to wait and see, because I think it will be an interesting ride, because we're only 2 books in.
Now, onto genre. I must say, we have highly different opinions on this, because the mish-mash of genres is something that really appeals to me. Fantasy owes a lot to Grandpa Tolkien, but far too often, I believe, authors get stuck in a rut of making very fantasy fantasy (hopefully that makes sense). I know very few fantasy trilogies that show an obvious growth of society, over time, as culture is not static, but is a very fluid concept that is always changing, as does technology. I find that it is extremely refreshing to see this in a fantasy book. Also, on a bit of a side note, I love how I have no idea what genre Mistborn era 2 (1.5?) in that it's a strange cross between fantasy, sci-fi, western, crime, thriller and probably a few more chucked in there. Life is rarely so black and white.
So, whilst I disagree with many of the points that you have made, I think it is great that you put your ideas out there, even though they might not be very popular ideas (especially on your first post). I hope I didn't sound too aggressive in my writing (sorry if I did), but I would love your thoughts on my thoughts on your thoughts (yay for overly confusing sentence). See you round the shard!"
Thank you for your thoughtful reply StormyQueen.
Sexuality: It is indeed an unusual position you have and would make for one of the most insightful into the topic of sexuality in fantasy. I would be interested in hearing more on your perspective of reading fantasy as someone who does not have the "raw primal desire". I am not hugely familiar with asexuality, but I can only presume it is sexuality 'turned off' from birth. I can only say that when I say "realistically", that I hope to cover as wide an area as possible. I would not be able to add much more on the topic than what I have in the letter would be my guess, but for what I mentioned in this post earlier on reading with younger children: I suppose it starts with my premise that this an adult series and is marketed to adults, given their label on the back. The violence in them is indicative of this. Reading books of the young adult variety might be more appropriate if you would wish to share fantasy with younger relatives if they are not ready to know about sex.
Religion:
I will refer you to the reponse I give to CaptainRyan and Oversleep: "Not at all, religion has been very useful beyond sexuality, whether that be in the organisation and governing of society, advancing artistic and technological endeavour or giving a structure of morals to follow, etc. To look at the issue of sexuality from a theist's view, the question would be why did God command that sex should be within a devoted relationship, specifically for married couples. God wanted it so children could be raised in a stable environment, you can have twice as much time to raise a child than an accidental pregnancy outside of marriage; if you have said marriage vows, the likelihood of catching an STD would go down dramatically, preventing infertility or affected children that would not be able to spread out across the world and spread God's message, etc.
In short, I cannot see in the letter that I say the definition of religion is to suppress STIs. It would be silly of me to say."
@Stark 's reply:
@Rockobar Welcome to the shard. I think that there is a lot of value to the opinions you have expressed. I think what is causing the majority of the backlash against you is the tone you have taken in expressing it, and that you have shared what seems like the opener to a private conversation in a very public forum. I did take the time to read your full letter, which I fully admit is not something I usually do. No offense to many of the wordsmiths on the site, but many of us, myself included, tend to get overly verbose and lengthy in our replies.
I personally found your tone to be overly condescending, and maybe a little pretentious. In other situations, it may have qualified as what is currently being called Man-splaining. Telling an artist who has been successfully hitting some of the top laurels in their field that they are not doing it the way you like, and that you have some pointers for how they could do better is not, well, very diplomatic. I know it would put me on the defensive, and from the numerous reactions you've received, a lot of people seem to feel this was more an attack than a conversation opener.
I think you may have been better served to open a topic along the lines of "Things I'd like to see explored in more depth in the Cosmere" If you had posted there a few topics you'd like to see Brandon explore or expand on, like sexuality, or meaningful death (I'll give you, after a few of the latest entries in the Cosmere, I have been questioning whether death has lost all meaning in the Cosmere) or the place of religion, you may have ended up with a far more positive discussion.
It definitely does not help that some of these topics are sensitive, hot-button type subjects.
But at the end of the day, I think the core of the reaction you've received comes down to this: Unless you are the mentor/teacher of a given artist, or a contemporary colleague who has been asked specifically for advice, telling an artist how to art is not cool. Whether it be a writer writing, a sculptor, painter or actor.
That said, I really do hope to see some more of your thoughts and opinions in the future.
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Hello Stark, thank you for your reply, I shall forward you to my response to others concerning the demanding tone:
"I agree that the letter does look to be as if coming from a lecturer and so people might respond to the content more heatedly than the content itself might warrant. It was not my mission in writing this letter to set demands towards Brandon, but to let him know that there is an opinion that is open to changes within his work. The instructing quality of it might come about from me attempting to prove that there is a way to write sexuality without creating a guilty conscience.
To add to that, Brandon's work will be ever changing, as no artist can remain static as they journey throughout life. Offering my opinions to Sanderson I think more as some source material that he might read, a perspective from yet another individual. Maybe he might mull these ideas over, develop or reject the ideas that would strengthen his resolve that what he is doing is right."
