Brandon Sanderson

Tor has donated a few of my books for auction at Genre for Japan, a charity drive to support the British Red Cross's Japan Tsunami Appeal. The auctions include a THE WAY OF KINGS audiobook, hardcovers of THE GATHERING STORM and TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT, and a Mistborn boxset. You can go to those links to bid (in UK pounds); bidding and auction rules are here. There are over 130 other items up for auction as well, so check it out. A couple of years ago, I was an instructor at the Writing & Illustrating for Young Readers conference in Utah. I'm unable to do it again this year in June due to my Europe tour (more on that later as details are finalized), but it's a valuable experience if you want to break in to creating books for children. Instructors this year include Louise Plummer and Holly Black, among others. The workshops are filling up fast, so it's a good idea to register quickly. Audible.com is once again putting on its Tournament of Audiobooks, and TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT is one of the competitors. The first round is underway, and so far TOWERS is narrowly beating out AMERICAN ASSASSIN. If you want to vote, click on the Best Sellers tab. (THE GATHERING STORM won last year's tournament.) Suvudu has Vin up against Jon Snow in the semifinals of this year's cage match. Since Jon Snow hails from George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, he's probably going to win. Which I'm perfectly fine with, as George is a true master of a writer. Besides, I really have no interest in seeing both Vin and Perrin winning their semifinal matches (Perrin will be pitted against Quick Ben from Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen, who is no pushover) and facing each other in the final. Ta'veren Tees is having a contest where customers can win free Wheel of Time shirts. See their contest rules here. This week's Writing Excuses podcast episode features Larry Correia and Robison Wells joining Dan and Howard to talk about writing action scenes. The most recent WARBREAKER annotation covers more on Siri and Susebron's relationship. And I have a new batch of Twitter posts up. Source

Back in January I posted about nominating and voting for the Hugo Awards. Well, if you're eligible to nominate (you needed to be a registered Worldcon member by the end of January, or have been a member of last year's Worldcon), the nomination deadline is tomorrow night. If you didn't register quickly enough to nominate, now is a good time to register so that you'll be eligible to vote on the final ballot, which should open fairly soon. The convention itself will be in Reno, Nevada from August 17th through 21st. If you want more details, read my earlier post. For now, here's a reminder of what I've been involved in that's eligible for a nomination. ELIGIBLE IN CATEGORY: BEST RELATED WORK Writing Excuses Season Four ELIGIBLE IN CATEGORY: BEST NOVEL Towers of Midnight The Way of Kings Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens OTHER CATEGORIESI have a vested interest in a few other possible nominations. My editors Moshe Feder and Harriet McDougal are both eligible in the Best Editor (Long Form) category. Cover artists Michael Whelan, Darrell K. Sweet, and Todd Lockwood are eligible in the Best Professional Artist category. Howard Tayler's Schlock Mercenary book Massively Parallel is eligible in the Best Graphic Story category. Dan Wells's books I Am Not a Serial Killer and Mr. Monster are eligible in the Best Novel category, and Dan himself is eligible for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (not a Hugo, but nominated on the same ballot). If you're eligible to nominate and haven't done it yet, consider doing it now. And if you've already nominated and happen to want to revise your nominations, you can submit a new ballot that will cancel out the old one, which is rather convenient. Source

Over at Suvudu, Vin is up against Zedd from Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series. Here's how I think the match would go down. Vin crouched behind the earthen bank, the scent of burned wood pungent in her nose. A stump smoldered nearby, specks of red flaring alight in the breeze. The aging man with the white hair stood with hands clasped behind him at the center of the field; scarred patches of ground lay blackened where his wizard’s fire had fallen. She stilled her breathing, resisting the urge to puff in and out. He would hear that, this strange old man with the ability to draw fire and lightning into his hands. He didn’t carry a bit of metal on his body, and had stopped her coins in midair when shot at him. He’d nearly stopped her as well, the air seeming to grow thick around her as she’d scrambled away. She’d barely gotten out of that with her life. “Well,” the aging man said. “You might as well come out. Neither of us find this an ideal situation, but it is what it is, and we must accept it.” She knew very little of this man. Indeed, she couldn’t quite remember how she’d come to this place, this quiet and darkened forest. She felt eyes in that darkness, watching; she could hear them stirring, the watchers, yet none of them spoke. The white-haired man strolled forward. “I do feel bad that I have to kill you. Unfortunately, in order for me to live, you must die. Objectively, you can see that I must not hold back, as I must seek my own self-interest first. Certainly that is logical.” Whoever this old sorcerer was, he did like to talk. Vin crept quietly around the perimeter of the clearing, burning tin, pewter, and steel. Light on her feet, alert and anxious to move, she kept to the shadows, watching for an opening. Perhaps . . . It seemed her only choice. “Perhaps we should join together,” she yelled out. “Fight against those who are watching.” He spun and did that thing with his hands, where he seemed to gather in heat from outside and fling it toward her. She ducked in a roll, sweating, as the fire took a tree behind where she’d been crouching. She had one bead of atium, powerful enough to let her see the future for a few short seconds. But she’d have to be close to use it—very close. “I think not,” the man said. “They have taken no move against me as of yet.” “They’re in concert together,” Vin said from in her hiding place. The old man gathered fire again. “I think,” Vin called, “they’ll wait for us to weaken each other and then attack us as one.” The old man froze. “As one?” “Er . . . sure. Yeah.” “Communally?” he said. “I’ll bet.” His eyes opened wide. “COMMUNISTS!” he yelled. Then, incredibly, he climbed up on a stump and began to address those watching. “Hear me, socialists! Your foul ways have no grounding in rational thought, and only seek to divest men of their rights! You will listen, now, as I explain—at length—why capitalism is the only method by which truth can be found and expressed.” And with that, he launched into a long-winded speech about something he called "objectivism." Vin didn’t listen to much of it; she just crept her way forward, behind his back, and he blathered on and on. Was this really the best time for a lecture? She shook her head. Right as he was getting into a definition of something he called "positive rights," she Burned atium and leaped forward, driving a glass dagger into the back of his neck. He tried to dodge, but the atium let her see the direction he’d go, and her mind adjusted immediately. “Urk,” the old man said. “And thus we see that this young lady’s rational egoism is victorious in the end, and that is proof of everything I’ve been saying. And, unfortunately, I appear to have just proven Wizard’s First Rule. . . .” He slipped and fell to the ground, eyes wide, glassy, dead. “‘Wizard’s First Rule?’” Vin asked. “I mean, really. Is it too hard to say ‘The First Rule of Wizardry’ or ‘Wizardry’s First Rule’? The way you say it sounds stupid. That’s always bothered me.” With that, she slipped off into the darkness. There you go. If you think this is the way the match would play out, go cast your vote. The poll closes tomorrow. Source

Tracy Hickman and Dave Wolverton once again joined Dan and Howard for a podcast episode of Writing Excuses at the recent symposium on Life, the Universe, and Everything in Provo. This time they covered rewriting. The most recent WARBREAKER annotation is almost all about spoilers from chapter 47. As WARBREAKER is the book I've released for free online, I conveniently have a link to the full text of each chapter at the bottom of each annotation page, and vice versa. So if you want to read chapter 47 before reading its annotation, that couldn't be easier. There's also a new collection of Twitter posts up, covering most of the past week. Delicate Arch plays an important role. Source

This weekend I'll be Guest of Honor at Vericon at Harvard University. Other guests include Austin Grossman, Holly Black, Catherine Asaro, Sarah Smith, Ellen Kushner, and Delia Sherman. My schedule is below, and the full schedule is here. All of us will also be signing at the Harvard Book Store at various times on Saturday. You can come to the signings without paying to register for Vericon, but all of the readings and panels will take place in Sever Hall for registered con-goers only. The whole con is $25 for students (with current ID from any institution) and $35 for non-students; Saturday only is $15 for students and $20 for non-students. Tor.com has also revealed the cover art (below) for the Mistborn book that's coming out in November, THE ALLOY OF LAW. There's a short summary too. I may talk more about this later, but let me say that I love the art that Chris McGrath did for this. Vericon, Harvard University, Cambridge MA (my panels) FRIDAY7:30–8:45 p.m., Sever 113Young Adult Literature Panel: A panel about writing young adult literature featuring Holly Black, Catherine Asaro, Sarah Smith, and Brandon Sanderson. SATURDAY10:30–11:15 a.m., Sever 102Brandon Sanderson reading and Q&A. 11:30–12:45, Harvard Book Store1256 Massachusetts AvenueCambridge, MA 02138A guest signing featuring Brandon Sanderson, Delia Sherman and Ellen Kushner. (Delia & Ellen will arrive at noon.)</p> 2:30–4:00 p.m., Sever 113Collaborations in Writing Panel: An exciting panel on collaborations and what they add to writing. Brandon Sanderson, Holly Black, Austin Grossman, Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman will talk about work they've done collaboratively with each other and with other excellent authors.4:30–5:30 p.m., Sever 113Brandon Sanderson Guest of Honor Speech Source

There haven't ever, so far as I know, been official Wheel of Time T-shirts. A lot of people have asked where they can get them. Finally we have a place: Ta'veren Tees. I've got a few of the shirts, and they're awesome. (Particularly the Far Dareis Mai one.) Their press release follows. OFFICIAL WHEEL OF TIME® T-SHIRTS TO BE SOLD BY TA’VEREN TEES Fans of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time® series now have a way to wear their love for the WoT on their sleeves—literally. Ta’veren Tees is the exclusive provider of Wheel of Time® apparel officially licensed by The Bandersnatch Group, Inc. Located at www.taverentees.com, Ta’veren Tees is the first and only to sell T-shirts dedicated to the characters, themes, imagery and sayings found throughout Robert Jordan’s epic series. The initial store opening features six designs; two for women, two for men and two unisex. More shirts will be rolled out and added to the inventory over the coming months, but don’t be fooled by the site name—shirts won’t skew only towards the series’ three famous ta’veren. Whether you’d like to throw a spear with the Maidens or secretly call yourself a darkfriend, you will find something to wear on taverentees.com. “With the first designs, we want to make sure we address the wants and needs of both male and female Wheel of Time® fans. We think that fans will be very happy with the first six shirts and the ones we will release in the near future,” said Jeffrey Daniel, co-owner of Ta’veren Tees. “It is important to us to take the Wheel of Time® world that Robert Jordan beautifully created and show our admiration for the series that we all love,” said Sophie Decaudin, Ta’veren Tees co-owner. “This is something that hasn’t been done before, there was a need for it, and we are excited to meet that need head on.” By creating these shirts, Daniel, Decaudin and Co-owner Kiley Kellermeyer hope to provide yet another avenue for WoT fans to express the love and devotion they feel towards the amazing world and spell-binding characters Jordan created. “These designs are not only colorful, but reflect the themes and characters in the Wheel of Time® books,” said Harriet Rigney, editor of the series and widow of James Rigney, the author. “They may not be able to stop cold steel, but they are extremely fashionable.” “We also salute Jeffrey, Kiley and Sophie for the design and layout of the Ta’veren Tees website,” she continued. “It’s a clean, uncluttered format that’s easy to navigate and I’m sure the fans of the books will enjoy visiting often.” “Sometimes playful, often insightful, Ta’veren Tees are a welcomed addition to the line of products officially licensed by The Bandersnatch Group,” she concluded. Source

This week's Writing Excuses podcast episode covers e-publishing. This one was recorded at Life, the Universe & Everything, and Tracy Hickman and Dave Wolverton/Farland join Howard and Dan. I was at ConDFW that weekend. There's a new Twitter posts collection up, covering the first half of this month. And the newest WARBREAKER annotation covers Vivenna learning from Vasher, among other things such as why I developed the Awakening magic system. Source

I blogged briefly yesterday about the Suvudu cage matches. I thought I'd dig into it a little further today, as I consider Monday updates (normally) to be more "Here's what's going on" updates. I prefer to move more in-depth posts to other days. So, the Suvudu cage match. First off, I'd like to say that I'm impressed by the improvements made to the format this year. For one thing, the editors made a conscious effort to even out the power level of the combatants. That goes a long way toward making the matchups more interesting, I think—no longer do we have to suspend disbelief to epic proportions in order to pretend that Jaime Lannister would somehow ever NEED to fight Cthulhu, and somehow find a way to win. There are still some things to gripe about here, as there is still great power-level variety in the matchups. All things considered, this is a good group to battle it out, but do Gollum and Tasslehoff REALLY belong in this? I don't think they match the others. And what about Pug, Allanon, and Zedd? Three full-blown, deeply trained wizards amid a bunch of melee fighters? Fantasy novels aren't D&D. (Well, hopefully most of them aren't.) There's no reason to force power balance between the arcane and the non-arcane. But anyway, at least there aren't any Elder Gods running around. So, what are my thoughts? Basically, thinking of it rationally, Pug and company should end up dominating. Maybe Beowulf too. I mean, really. Beowulf is the proto-hero that almost all of the rest are (tangentially) based upon; the guy was practically indestructible. The others are arguably demi-dieties, and would be better off playing hardball with people like Rand and Gandalf than ending up fighting people like Tally or Druss. (Who, don't get me wrong, are both totally awesome—but they're going to have trouble with people who can teleport, call down the powers of the elements, and all-around warp the fabric of reality.) Questions like these make it a little hard for me to figure out just what's going on here. Is it just supposed to be a popularity contest? If so, Jacob Black wins and we can all go home. (Sorry, but it's true.) If it's not supposed to be a popularity contest, and we're supposed to consider each pairing realistically, why don't we have more information on the matches? How far apart do the combatants start? It's a "cage match" by Suvudu's title, but are they really fighting in a standard-issue wrestling cage? I mean, come ON, guys. We're nerds here. We can't make subjective judgments about fictional characters completely outside of canon if you don't at LEAST tell us how the fights are set up. Do people with followers get to bring some along? What about Perrin—one of his basic powers is calling on wolves for help. So can we assume he's got a pack of them with him? Do the sf characters have guns? Can Vin assume everyone she'll fight will have metal on them, or can we assume they will each know the person they're fighting and be able to prepare? Okay, yes, I'm overthinking this. But don't tell me you weren't too. Anyway, here's my input on the two matches I've got some responsibility for: Perrin against Tasslehoff. Really. We're doing this? Okay, well, here's what we've got. Perrin is an extremely skilled fighter whose very nature (being ta'veren) causes probability to warp around him and bring to him the things and people he needs at the moments he needs them. He has a power-forged hammer, the allegiance of tens of thousands of trained soldiers, and the ability to call upon hundreds of wolves if he really needed to. He is a berserker on the battlefield, and has the power to move in the world of dreams, where he has near-absolute control of his surroundings. He is guarded by Aiel warriors and two powerful Asha'man who can wield the One Power that made Rand such a force in the previous tournament. Tasslehoff has a stick that throws rocks. Okay, I'm underplaying it. Tas is a clever, brave little guy. (Actually, I think he may be immune to fear or something.) He's prone to have a few tricks up his sleeves, magic items stolen here or there. But he's also got a childlike view of the world, and has nowhere near the ruthlessness that Perrin has been forced by fate to learn. Tas can't win this fight. I declare that this battle plays out like so: Tas defaults on his match by not showing up. He's off picking Jon Snow's pockets. Perrin wins. (And Wheel of Time fans, don't prove me wrong. We'll never live it down if Perrin loses to Tasslehoff.) As for Vin and Logen Ninefingers, this is a far more even battle. To put the duel on better footing, I'm going to say that this is Vin before certain events toward the end of MISTBORN 3 that would make the fight wildly unfair. Also, I'm going to remove atium (which would let her see the future and win any battle she wants) from her repertoire for now. (If she has to fight Zedd, all bets are off.) So, she's a very, very talented Mistborn, capable of greatly increased strength, greatly increased speed, near-infinite endurance, supernatural sensory abilities, the capacity to change a person's emotions at will, virtual immunity to metal weapons, the power to kill at range with coins shot at high speeds with expert precision, the ability to ignore many wounds and heal at an accelerated rate, and telekinetic powers that allow her to vault long distances and remain in the air when needed. Okay, so maybe it's not much of a fair fight. (This is what I was talking about.) Logen is a toughened warrior, very careful, but also capable of turning into a crazed berserker who doesn't feel pain. But that's not enough to face Vin. She's out of his league. This fight goes on for a while, but he can't get to Vin, who hovers outside of his range and flings back any weapons or arrows he uses against her. She pelts him with coins, then takes his head off with a six-foot-long koloss sword. Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/967/Suvudu-Cage-Matches

There have been a couple of reader polls lately that my books did well in. SFFWorld polled its forum members for readers' favorite books of 2010, and THE WAY OF KINGS came out on top, with TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT in second. In addition, Tor.com held a poll to determine the best science fiction and fantasy novels of the decade, and MISTBORN: THE FINAL EMPIRE came in at #9. They've since posted an appreciation of the novel by Jason Denzel from Dragonmount. TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT at #11, THE WAY OF KINGS at #12, and THE GATHERING STORM at #15 also contributed toward me managing to accrue the most votes of any author, spread among seven books. It's a surprise and quite an honor. I'm glad so many people are reading and enjoying the books. Another poll that's currently ongoing is the Locus Poll and Survey. (Locus is the newsmagazine of the science fiction and fantasy field, and is a fantastic resource for anyone who wants to keep up with the industry.) You don't have to be a subscriber to fill out the survey and vote in the poll, but subscribers' votes count double. None of my books are listed as nominees, but they accept write-in votes. Voting on the long list of nominees for the David Gemmell Legend Award is finishing up at the end of the month, and THE WAY OF KINGS and TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT are both on the list. If you haven't voted yet, give the full list of nominees a look. (Multiple votes don't count.) Suvudu is doing yet another cage match where they pit characters from different series against each other and have them fight (usually to the death). This year both Perrin Aybara and Vin are in the pool of contestants. The writeups Suvudu does for these battles can be interesting, and often don't align with how the readers vote. Anyway, if you're interested in this sort of thing, take a look at the bracket. In this week's Writing Excuses episode, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and I are once again joined by Sherrilyn Kenyon. We discuss perseverance—sticking in there in your writing career. Sherri has some great examples from her own experience, so check it out. The newest WARBREAKER annotation covers the shortest chapter in the book. I considered making this the longest annotation, but decided against it. It's still much longer than the chapter itself. Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/966/Reader-Polls--Updates

First some updates. This week's Writing Excuses podcast episode features Sherrilyn Kenyon talking about how to make your readers fear for your characters. The newest WARBREAKER annotation is on a climactic moment in the Siri/Susebron relationship. And there's a new batch of Twitter posts up, covering the past month. Review of THE WISE MAN'S FEAR by Patrick Rothfuss In case you haven’t heard, today is the release day of the long-awaited sequel to The Name of the Wind, a delightful debut fantasy novel by Patrick Rothfuss. I’ve had the privilege of reading the book, so I thought I’d post a heads-up here for those of you who read my blog, along with a review. (Of sorts.) Also, a reminder, I did an interview with Pat (and he kind of interviewed me back) for Amazon. You can read it at this link. PART ONE: A REVIEW OF THE WISE MAN'S FEAR All right, so the review of Wise Man’s Fear will focus on one question: Is it as good as the first? The answer is . . . yes, and I feel that it’s quite a bit better. (That is saying a lot.) There's the review. I figure that those of you reading this blog will either: Have read Name of the Wind and liked it, so that review should be more than enough for you. Have read Name of the Wind and didn’t like it. If so, I respect your opinion, even though you’re obviously a crazy person.<li>Haven’t yet read Name of the Wind, so giving you an extensive review of the second book would really just be a big confusing spoiler. PART TWO: GO BUY IT This is a very, very good book. If you liked the first, might I suggest that you go out and purchase yourself a copy this week? Pat may not mention it himself, but first-week sales are very helpful in giving a book good momentum. It will determine how long the book stays on shelves, how good its placement is in weeks to come, and how aggressively the sequel will be ordered by bookstores. As I always state for my own books, if you’re not a hardcover buyer, don’t feel guilty not going out to get it—as authors, we like you to consume books as you prefer to consume them. Library, hardcover, ebook, paperback . . . your call. However, if you ARE intending to read Wise Man's Fear in hardcover, buying it early rather than late is always a nice sign for the author. Also, I’ve got a selfish reason for wanting Pat to sell well. I’d very much like to have a nice, friendly rivalry going with the chap. The Way of Kings hit #7 on the New York Times list. If Pat can hit in the top five with this book, it will give me something to shoot for. (Honestly, I’m hoping he hits #1. It’s well within the realm of possibility for this book, and he deserves it. It will help the entire genre if this book sells well, as it will prove that big epic fantasy books by newer authors are still viable, and will also prove that excellence will be rewarded by the readership.) PART THREE: A LONGER REVIEW (KIND OF) Okay, so, I’m off on a tangent again. Let’s bring this back into focus. I’m going to assume that some of you haven’t read Name of the Wind yet. I often suggest it to people; it’s become—alongside Tigana, Eye of the World, and Dragonsbane—one of my top recommendations for fantasy readers. Often, however, people ask why they should read the book. Why do I recommend it? Because it’s awesome. Why is it awesome? This often stops me. Why IS Pat’s writing awesome? Well, the books have an absolutely wonderful magic system. One part science, one part historical pseudoscience, one part magical wonder. It’s the type of magic system that I’m always delighted to read, and ranks among my favorites in fantasy literature. But that alone doesn’t describe why the books are awesome. In many ways, Name of the Wind is like an old, familiar coat. A young man orphaned at a young age. Time spent on the streets living as a thief and a street rat. A wizards’ school. Those who have not liked the book have often complained about the familiar tropes. What I love about how Pat uses these tropes, however, is the realism he strives to impart. I view this story like a Batman Begins-type realism reboot of many classic fantasy tropes. We get to hear the legends of Kvothe, then read the truth, and make the connections of how things spiraled from realistic to fantastic. The way Pat does this is genius. In some places, you can barely pick out the tropes he is using—after one sequence in Wise Man’s Fear, I found myself laughing uproariously as I realized the mythological foundation for the sequence. There are familiar tropes, but they're taken and made so new and fresh that you have to peer through several layers of silk to see them for what they are. In other cases, there is delightful originality. Those things, however, also fail to describe why the books are awesome. Kvothe is a very compelling hero, very classical in that he’s widely accomplished yet marred by a single dominating flaw. (In this case, his temper.) He is witty, charming, and so wonderfully capable that he’s a delight to read about. (Particularly following much of the current fiction I’ve read, which seems to take the utmost pains to make certain I don’t like anyone I’m reading about.) He’s noble, yet brash, and is clever, but inexperienced. (Which makes him dense on occasion.) He lives. But even that is not what truly makes these books awesome. In the end, I think that if I distill why I’ve loved these books so much more than others, it’s because of this: They’re beautiful. Wise Man’s Fear is a BEAUTIFUL book to read. Masterful prose, a sense of cohesion to the storytelling, a wonderful sense of pacing . . . None of that is the reason for the awesomeness any more than a single dab of paint is the reason why a Monet is a thing of wonder. But if you step back to look and digest the piece as a whole—not thinking too much about the parts—you are left with a sense of awe. There is a beauty to Pat’s writing that defies description. Perhaps if Kvothe were here, he could write an appropriate song that would capture it. Brandon p.s. As this is of note to many of those in my audience, I feel that I should mention that this book contains a fair bit more sex than the previous volume did. Pat avoids graphic details, but there are events in the latter half of the book that some readers may find discomforting. Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/965/Review-of-THE-WISE-MANS-FEAR

While I was at the Utopiales convention I sat down for an interview with the great folks at Elbakin.net. (They're the same ones who gave MISTBORN an award; see pictures in my convention report.) Well, they've now posted the interview in French, and it covers a ton of different topics. (There's also an English version for those of you who don't read French.) Kevin J. Anderson joins Dan, Howard, and me in the latest podcast episode of Writing Excuses to discuss writing in other people's universes, something Kevin and I have a bit of experience with. If that's something you're interested in learning about how to do, give it a listen. This week's WARBREAKER annotation is a long one about Vivenna starting to work with Vasher. Check it out. Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/964/French-Interview--Updates

We've got another Writing Excuses video up for you. This week's podcast episode covers using holidays in fantasy and science fiction, and Mary Robinette Kowal and Dave Wolverton/David Farland one again join Dan and Howard to discuss the topic. Moses Siregar III of Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing filmed it, and the video is up . There's also another WARBREAKER annotation up. This one covers the end of Vivenna's stint on the street and talks about how being a Drab affects her. It also discusses Nightblood's powers. Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/962/Another-Writing-Excuses-Video-and-WARBREAKER-Annotation

This week's Writing Excuses podcast episode covers film considerations, and Mary Robinette Kowal and Dave Wolverton/David Farland join Dan and Howard to discuss the topic. Appropriately, this episode was also filmed by Moses Siregar III of Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing, and the video is up . The most recent WARBREAKER annotation covers Siri bullying Treledees and getting her hair color under control. It also explains something about the God King's tongue that's a big spoiler to anyone who hasn't read the book. There's another new Twitter posts collection up. Note that I've changed my Twitter name from @BrandonSandrson to @BrandSanderson. There's a 15-character username limit on Twitter, and I hope this one will look less like an error and will lead to fewer people trying to reach me at @BrandonSanderson. Today's the last day to register for Worldcon if you want to nominate for the Hugos. Read my previous post if you want to know why that matters. Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/961/Writing-Excuses-Video--Updates

Hugo Award nomination season began this month, so I thought I'd let you know what categories my works are eligible in. If you don't know what the Hugo Awards are or how nominating and voting works, I also talk about that below. If you want to nominate, the registration deadline is January 31st. (You can also use this list when considering nominations for any other award that's out there, but for the purposes of this post I'm focusing on the Hugos.) ELIGIBLE IN CATEGORY: BEST RELATED WORK Writing Excuses Season Four The Hugo definition for this category is: Awarded to a work related to the field of science fiction, fantasy, or fandom, appearing for the first time during the previous calendar year or which has been substantially modified during the previous calendar year. The type of works eligible include, but are not limited to, collections of art, works of literary criticism, books about the making of a film or TV series, biographies and so on, provided that they do not qualify for another category. Season four of the Writing Excuses podcast that I host with Howard Tayler and Dan Wells ran from January 2010 through August 2010, starting with this episode. If you have not listened to it, you may download the episodes to consider why it might be worthy of a nomination. Transcripts of every episode in the season are also available here. (Thanks to Mike Barker.) ELIGIBLE IN CATEGORY: BEST NOVEL Towers of Midnight The Way of Kings Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens All three of these novels were released in 2010 by major publishers and are longer than 40,000 words, so they are eligible for nomination. You may be interested to hear that no Wheel of Time novel has ever gained enough nominations to make a final Hugo ballot. Nor has a Wheel of Time novel ever made the short list for one of the traditional genre awards such as the Nebula or World Fantasy awards. (Though The Gathering Storm did make the short list for the second David Gemmell Legend Award, last year.) Guy Gavriel Kay spoke about this at the World Fantasy Awards ceremony in 2007, shortly after Robert Jordan passed away. I recommend that every fantasy fan read his speech. He doesn't posit that Robert Jordan should have necessarily been nominated, but he believes the contribution that bestsellers like the Wheel of Time make to the genre as a whole should be recognized. OTHER CATEGORIES I don't have works eligible in other categories this year, but I do have a vested interest in a few other possible nominations. My editors Moshe Feder and Harriet McDougal are both eligible in the Best Editor (Long Form) category. Cover artists Michael Whelan, Darrell K. Sweet, and Todd Lockwood are eligible in the Best Professional Artist category. Howard Tayler's Schlock Mercenary book Massively Parallel is eligible in the Best Graphic Story category. Dan Wells' books I Am Not a Serial Killer and Mr. Monster are eligible in the Best Novel category, and Dan himself is eligible for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (not a Hugo, but nominated on the same ballot). WHO NOMINATES FOR THE HUGO? Recipients of the Hugo Award are nominated by and voted on by members of each year's World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon). There are two types of members: Attending and Supporting. Attending means what you'd expect: you get to go to the convention. Supporting is a type of membership that may be unfamiliar to you, but it's generally for people who will be unable to attend the convention for one reason or another but still want to financially support it. Supporting members can nominate and vote for the Hugos and can also vote on where a future Worldcon will be held, and they can pay to upgrade to Attending at any time. Attending or Supporting members of the previous year's convention may also nominate for the Hugos, but cannot vote on the final ballot unless they become members of the current year's convention. This year, Worldcon will be held in Reno, Nevada, from August 17th through 21st. The name of this year's convention is Renovation. Anyone who registers before January 31, 2011 will be able to nominate for the Hugos. Attending memberships are currently $180 ($100 if you're age 21 or under, and $75 if you're age 16 or under) and Supporting memberships are $50 (rates will go up on February 28th). Nomination ballots will be accepted through March 26, 2011. HOW ARE NOMINATIONS AND VOTES COUNTED? Each person may nominate up to five works in each category (or individuals, if the award is for a person rather than for a work). All nominations are weighted equally; it doesn't matter which order you put them in. All nominations are totaled, and the top five go to the final ballot (or more if there is a tie for the 5th slot, or fewer if a nominee gets less than 5% of nominating votes). Voting on the final ballot is a bit different. It uses a weighted voting system called instant-runoff voting (sometimes known as an Australian ballot, since IRV is used in Australian parliamentary elections, but not to be confused with the older definition of Australian ballot, which simply means secret ballot). In this system, you rank the choices by order of your preference. This means that you can vote for the nominee you actually want to win, whether you think it has a chance of winning or not—there are no "wasted" votes. Vote splitting is also not an issue; if there are three separate Doctor Who episodes nominated for a Best Dramatic Presentation (short form) award, for example, the IRV system does not make it more likely that something else will win because Doctor Who fans can't decide which episode to vote for. See an example below. HOW MANY PEOPLE NOMINATE AND VOTE? This depends on the category, since eligible nominators are encouraged to nominate only in categories they feel they have enough experience with. Last year when Worldcon was in Melbourne, Australia, there were 700 nominations for Best Novel. So if each person nominated five novels, that could have been as few as 140 nominating ballots. (Except that The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi received 142 nominations, so clearly many people nominated fewer than five titles.) Julian Comstock tied with Palimpsest for fifth place with 62 nominations, so both made it to the final ballot. In the Best Related Work category last year, there were 259 nominations. The top nominee received 56 nominations, and there was again a tie for fifth place, with 29 nominations. (Writing Excuses received eight nominations last year.) The final vote totals exhibit similar differences. 875 ballots were counted for Best Novel, and there was a tie for first with 380 votes for both China Miéville's The City & The City and The Windup Girl. 548 ballots were counted for Best Related Work, and This is Me, Jack Vance! won with 251 votes. Here's a sample voting breakdown for the final ballot, from last year: Best Dramatic Presentation Short Form Doctor Who: "The Waters of Mars" (winner)172 172 204 212 350 Dollhouse: "Epitaph 1" 199 201 205 243 278 Doctor Who: "The Next Doctor" 144 144 173 203 FlashForward: "No More Good Days"123 125 127 Doctor Who: "Planet of the Dead" 70 70 No Award 59 The first column of numbers indicates what people ranked as their #1 choice. 199 people picked "Epitaph 1" as their favorite, and only 172 people picked "The Waters of Mars" as their favorite. Yet 199 was not above the 50% threshold necessary to win. So the instant runoff began: the lowest vote-getters were eliminated and those voters' preferences reassigned. Of people who voted "Planet of the Dead" #1, when that was eliminated, their #2 moved up to #1 and the votes were counted again; four had voted "Epitaph 1" as #2 and 32 had voted "The Waters of Mars" #2. "Epitaph 1" was ahead by a vote, but still didn't have enough to win. This process continued until eventually all but the top two were eliminated, and "The Waters of Mars" was declared the winner, even though it was behind in every round but the last. You'll also notice the "No Award" listing. If you're voting and think none of the entries on the final ballot deserve your vote, you can pick No Award. I know that No Award won in the Dramatic Presentation category in 1977, but this is rare. There are more details on the Hugo voting system here. TO SUM UP The Hugo Awards have been presented every year since 1953 (except for a gap in 1954). When I was growing up, I knew that a "Hugo award winner!" tag on the cover of a novel like Ender's Game meant it was going to be a good read. Anything that makes the final ballot is going to be significant and worth your attention. If you're interested in nominating and voting for whatever work or person you feel deserves a Hugo Award, consider registering for Worldcon by Monday next week and filling out a ballot sometime in the next two months. I will be attending Worldcon this year along with many other professionals and fans, and I hope to see you there. Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/960/For-Your-Nomination-Consideration--Worldcon-Deadline

This week's episode of Writing Excuses is one of those that was recorded during the Superstars Writing Seminar, and it's on alternate history. I was doing a panel at the time, but Eric Flint and Mary Robinette Kowal were there with Howard and Dan to shed light on the topic. Check it out! The newest WARBREAKER annotation covers Vivenna begging on the street. I also talk about influences from Les Misérables, which you may have noticed. And there's yet another collection of my recent Twitter posts up. Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/959/Updates--Tweets-January-17-20

In this week's Writing Excuses podcast episode, Dan, Howard, and I go over more dialogue writing exercises. By the way, we recorded seven great episodes at this past weekend's Superstars Writing Seminar, with guests Sherrilyn Kenyon, Kevin J. Anderson, Eric Flint, David Farland, and Mary Robinette Kowal, so you have those to look forward to. The next seminar will be in April 2012 in Las Vegas (the weekend and venue should be nailed down this week), and early bird pricing is available. The most recent WARBREAKER annotation covers more of Lightsong's bad dreams and the scene where he throws pebbles. There's also a spoiler discussion of the tunnels. I've put up another collection of Twitter posts, mostly about the Wheel of Time reread. I started THE GREAT HUNT yesterday. But I also include a picture of the advance reading copy of Pat Rothfuss's THE WISE MAN'S FEAR that he shipped over. Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/958/Updates--Tweets-January-10-17

In this week's Writing Excuses episode, we talk about fulfilling promises to your readers, and we give specific examples from our own stories and others'. The most recent WARBREAKER annotation covers Vivenna's character arc hitting rock bottom. I also talk about how to give your Breath away one at a time. Tor.com put out an open call for questions for me a while back, and today they put up the first batch of answers. Warning: contains spoilers for TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT, THE WAY OF KINGS, MISTBORN, ELANTRIS, WARBREAKER, and ALCATRAZ. Don't look at the post unless you've read those books. There are a lot more questions where those came from, and I'll be answering them a few at a time. I'm still toward the beginning of my Wheel of Time reread, and I'll be at it for the next few months. I'm posting my thoughts on Twitter and Facebook as I go, and archiving them here on the site. A new page of tweets from the last few days is up. Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/957/Updates-Tor.com-QandA-and-Tweets-January-6-10

<style type="text/css"> div.brantweets p {min-height:58px} div.brantweets img {float:left;border:0;margin:5px 5px 0 0;height:48px;width:48px} p.brtw {background:url(http://brandonsanderson.com/images/Llama_Face.png) no-repeat 0px 5px;padding:0 0 0 53px;} </style> <div class="brantweets"> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22003950412636160'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Happy New Year, all. It is official—I have begun working on A Memory of Light, 14th and final book of the Wheel of Time.</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22004713016786944'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> I have updated the progress bars on my website with this year's tasks. I'll try to be better about keeping them current.</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22011643806351360'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> The first step is to re-read the entire Wheel of Time. TofM had some small continuity errors—mostly me forgetting who knows what.</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22011799251451905'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> We fixed them for the paperback, but it is a sign that I'm starting to forget details. That means I need to re-read Mr. Jordan's work.</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22016101227433984'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> By the way, I did get a Nook for my birthday. So I'm in the process of getting ecopies of the WoT uploaded.</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22017227377090560'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Since people are asking, the continuity errors were things like Grady telling Perrin about the Cleansing as if for the first time, but…</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22017426426171392'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> …there's a line in KoD where Perrin notes that they'd mentioned it to him. We don't see the conversation, but it's there in narrative.</p> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/1180230868/38369_519984207404_208301193_31055653_2091145_n_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/AJZaethe/status/22016877073010688'><b>AJZaethe</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Need a devout reader of the Wheel of Time to watch over what you are writing So they can be like. "He died in book 5." "oh"</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22017696031838208'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @AJZaethe The thing is, I had eight of those for TofM. They all missed these too. It was the time crunch that did it to us, I think.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/52408167/icon_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/bepeacock/status/22016233062797313'><b>bepeacock</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@brandonsandrson no biggie, but did you fix for ebook by chance?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22017759000920064'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @bepeacock Yes, it should be all fixed for the ebook.<br/></p></blockquote> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22021924657831936'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Yes, I will be live tweeting/blogging my re-read. Should have some fun things to post about the WoT as I go.</p> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/292299332/zinger_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/C3Zinger/status/22024051199315968'><b>C3Zinger</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson also the fact that min's veiwings aren't always around aes sedai when they are supposed to be</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22025516924014592'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @C3Zinger I'm working on the assumption (as she's said before) that she doesn't always pay attention to them, as there's so many of them.<br/></p></blockquote> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22025838736179200'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Some are asking if my tweets/blogs will have spoilers for WoT books. I'll try to keep those to a minimum. But there will be some.</p> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/a/1292975674/images/default_profile_6_normal.png' /><a href='http://twitter.com/verinSedai/status/22022045940318209'><b>verinSedai</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Ok, I'm stupid, but what is a nook? Sorry. unless it's some kind of kendil that doesnt' work for people like me.</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22026007162654720'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @verinSedai It's one of the ereaders on the market, the one made by B&N.<br/></p></blockquote> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22028786652422144'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Man, I love the EotW prologue. Some of my favorite writing in the entire series. Great insight into Ishy's personality pre-madness.</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22029268426956800'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> People like to talk of Rand's character development. Elan-> Ishy -> Moridin is almost as interesting to me. His outlook has evolved so much.</p> <p><img src='http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/1148350245/cd95a131-7e38-4db3-aa2c-9593f1a8707d_normal.png' /><a href='http://twitter.com/Skavoovee/status/22026681397026816'><b>Skavoovee</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson a little off topic, but do you have a general release date for Alloy of Law?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22029631985029120'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @Skavoovee No date yet. Fall sometime. I'd guess September, personally.<br/></p></blockquote> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22036178098196480'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> The first wind is in the Mountains of Mist; I've always assumed this was a nod to Tolkien's Misty Mountains. (more.)</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22036356624551936'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Look in The Way of Kings on the full map of Roshar for something similar.</p> <blockquote><p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/1119668231/Picture_2_normal.png' /><a href='http://twitter.com/Terez27/status/22062620383121408'><b>Terez27</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson lol, I remember it. Shinovar, wasn't it?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22065611597156352'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @Terez27 Yup, that's it. I'll tell you, I had to stretch a little to find one that sounded right but still had mist in it.<br/></p></blockquote></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/66851700/david_twitter_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/davidalpert/status/22035920077201408'><b>davidalpert</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson pls tweet if you can use actionable support for the #wheeloftime #movie; I'm sure the WoT twitterverse will do what it can.</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22036582714314752'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @davidalpert I will. Right now, I don't know that anything more can be done.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/208930662/twitter_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/GM_M_Moore/status/22034825833611264'><b>GM_M_Moore</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson First book I purchased for my IPad: Way of Kings. Excellent read. Thank you.</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22036691615219712'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @GM_M_Moore My thanks to you as well.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/1190007668/lfqBH_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/NightOwl4Music/status/22034406071861248'><b>NightOwl4Music</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson I figured that Moridin was the reincarnated Ishmael. Still wish I knew who killed Asmodean.</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22036761769148416'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @NightOwl4Music It's in Towers of Midnight.<br/></p></blockquote> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22039689976348672'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Reading this book, I'm reminded of how deeply Dragonsteel (one of my foundational, yet, unpublished works) was influenced by the WoT's start</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22040034286764034'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Actually, of the three fantasy epics I wrote during my early years—Dragonsteel, Elantris, & White Sand—Elantris was the least wot-like.</p> <p><img src='http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/376451367/mrb2_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/DoctorD71/status/22039570409324546'><b>DoctorD71</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Never did figure out what it is exactly that killed Lews Therin in the prologue. Thoughts after reread?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22040142504001536'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @DoctorD71 It's a toss up between getting consumed by holding too much power and getting struck by that bolt of energy from the sky.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/1172748826/image_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/daphil01/status/22039394701541376'><b>daphil01</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Elan? Where is that reference? Ishmael's pre-chosen name?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22040202277027840'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @daphil01 Yeah. In the prologue, it's what he's called.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/192797596/38791.36704_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/dragonmount/status/22037696142639104'><b>dragonmount</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson How would you compare Ishy's motivations from when he was Elan vs when he was Moridin? -JD</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22040423891476480'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @dragonmount Elan actually more selfish. He still thinks he will rule, that the DO will take over the world and create a new one.<br/></p><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22040602807894017'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @dragonmount Moridin has been through madness and touched the mind of the DO. He is far more fatalistic, and actually less selfish.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/916223415/cheese_normal.gif' /><a href='http://twitter.com/SheckyX/status/22036798351867904'><b>SheckyX</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Well, his Charlestonian background makes the "Two Rivers" the Charleston area, so the "Mountains of Mist" may be the Smoky Mountains, upstate from his home. (FYI: the Charleston area is defined by the Ashley and Cooper Rivers.)</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22040753224024064'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @SheckyX Nice note. I'd never known that.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/68660467/3130026223_caab2d1e6c_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/evanchooly/status/22036469870759936'><b>evanchooly</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson has it really evolved? he's still the megalomanical favorite/topdog he's always seen himself to be.</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22040987345883136'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @evanchooly No, he's really changed a lot. He's a fatalist now, as I mentioned to @dragonmount. He knows far more.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/315906265/mikeasicon_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/MikeLuoma/status/22040440920350720'><b>MikeLuoma</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson funny, was just handed Elantris by someone who found I'd read your WoT work…</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22041049396412416'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @MikeLuoma Hope you enjoy it.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/1090307428/hcff-icon5_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/Theoryland/status/22040266126921730'><b>Theoryland</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson - Have u considered using a hashtag for your wot re-read tweets? Would make it easier for fans to follow and participate.</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22041162151895040'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @Theoryland Yeah, but I always forget to put in the hashtags…<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1186558560/Royal_Assassin1_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/SPAZinOL/status/22040220312543233'><b>SPAZinOL</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Anything I should know or that you want to say before I sit down to begin The Way of Kings? (I'm excited!)</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22041435633094656'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @SPAZinOL It takes a little longer to get going than my other books. This is by intention, but you should probably be warned. <br/></p></blockquote> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22044325193981952'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Reading the start of EOTW reminds me that there's an extra person in the cover art. (More obvious in the secondary, inside piece, I think.)</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22045173202558976'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> HCFFs already know who that person is, but it's a fun easter egg to know that there's a story behind that extra figure.</p> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/134228465/falling_water_scarf_2_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/lynnoliver/status/22041360278228992'><b>lynnoliver</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@brandonsandrson Listening to WoT on audiobook, first time through series. Book 1 seems heavily influenced by Tolkien so far. #ImANewbie</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22045530888601600'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @lynnoliverfhmg Yes, book one is very Tolkien influenced. Very. Book two less so. It's almost gone by book three.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/1119668231/Picture_2_normal.png' /><a href='http://twitter.com/Terez27/status/22041755809484800'><b>Terez27</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Elantris in a way reminded me of King's Eyes of the Dragon, with the fairy tale -like writing style.</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22045752607899648'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @Terez27 I love Eyes of the Dragon. Might be an unconscious influence.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/1119668231/Picture_2_normal.png' /><a href='http://twitter.com/Terez27/status/22042003466362880'><b>Terez27</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson @dragonmount Wait, what? Didn't he say otherwise in TGS? He was lying?? </p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22045987925131264'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @Terez27 What do you mean specifically. Lying about what?<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1168522038/Nightelf_normal.png' /><a href='http://twitter.com/Phidias516/status/22043941234810880'><b>Phidias516</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson is there any chance you might release Dragonsteel? Love your works, btw, reading the Way of Kings these days </p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22046106376478720'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @Phidias516 Dragonsteel will someday be rewritten and released.<br/></p></blockquote> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22046316225888256'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Ha ha. @LiterateKnits says: "See what you made us do. <a href="http://plixi.com/p/67703052">http://plixi.com/p/67703052</a> "</p> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/1172748826/image_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/daphil01/status/22044625145430017'><b>daphil01</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Just noticed Warbreaker was on Audible, why no Michael Kramer or Kate Reading? They are two of my favorites for audio.</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22046457091596288'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @daphil01 We were experimenting with different audiobook companies with that one.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/1033659396/SP_picture_me_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/Blacksmith3989/status/22044780758306816'><b>Blacksmith3989</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>Reading @BrandonSandrson's #WayOfKings on the train. Almost missed my stop. Gooooood book!</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22046514062827521'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @Blacksmith3989 Thanks!<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a1.twimg.com/a/1294350199/images/default_profile_1_normal.png' /><a href='http://twitter.com/Southpaw2014/status/22044870361219072'><b>Southpaw2014</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson has Demandred even been doing anything important besides building an army? (guessing it's in Murandy)</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22046601614729216'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @Southpaw2014 He's been doing lots of important things.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/253911142/roger_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/ywag/status/22044961662836736'><b>ywag</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Probably RAFO, but will the voice from Tarwin's Gap battle in EOTW ever be explained?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22046663061282816'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @ywag Rafo. <br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1196590400/62348feb-e191-42dd-b9af-903c79e0eb51_normal.png' /><a href='http://twitter.com/mardy_cow/status/22045382372491265'><b>mardy_cow</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson HCFFs?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22046723270508545'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @mardy_cow Hard Core Fan Freaks (Self named.)<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/1208126521/ScannedImage-20_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/amysuefarmer/status/22045581400612864'><b>amysuefarmer</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Out of curiosity, why aren't you starting with New Spring? Useful continuity stuff there.</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22046859828662272'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @amysuefarmer I like reading New Spring when it was released. Feels better to me there.<br/></p></blockquote> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22047050354925568'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Mr. Jordan wrote a large chunk of EotW with a fourth Two Rivers lad going along with Perrin, Mat, and Rand. Was to be a major character.</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22047626132197376'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Harriet talked him out of it, pointing out that the 4th lad never did anything useful. @theoryland, do you guys have a good thread on him?</p> <p><img src='http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/990673294/Bob-FlipFace_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/HonorGod/status/22046410539016192'><b>HonorGod</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson HCFF?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22049380915740672'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @HonorGod Hard Core Fan Freak (self named.)<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/412302983/leya_head_smaller_file_normal.JPG' /><a href='http://twitter.com/worddroppings/status/22048006501044224'><b>worddroppings</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>Please explain the not tWoK map?? RT @BrandonSandrson: Ha ha. @LiterateKnits says: "See what you made us do. <a href="http://plixi.com/p/67703052">http://plixi.com/p/67703052</a> "</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22049621517803520'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @worddroppings They're comparing to Tolkien, I think.<br/></p></blockquote> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22049996874448896'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> By the way, HCFF stands for "Hard Core Fan Freak" for those asking. They're self named. It's what many uber-wot-geeks call themselves.</p> <p><img src='http://a1.twimg.com/a/1294350199/images/default_profile_1_normal.png' /><a href='http://twitter.com/Southpaw2014/status/22048127909367808'><b>Southpaw2014</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson one thing I'm a little confused about, if someone kills Rand, would that majorly affect Moridin because of the connection?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22050886343729152'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @Southpaw2014 Everything about the connection, or supposed connection, is a RAFO, I'm afraid.<br/></p></blockquote> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22051399936245760'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Ha. Thom showing up at night, and people grumbling, makes me smile now knowing about the unwritten prequel involving his arrival. #wotrr</p> <p><img src='http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/336669984/Image069_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/JeffEdde/status/22049325198610432'><b>JeffEdde</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Interesting. In EotW, Rand uses Light & Power. Is it significant that he uses Light & Power again in ToM?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22052696303341568'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @JeffEdde Yes.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1142736455/c51458d5-79ae-4c1d-9dd1-0ebf65d40674_normal.png' /><a href='http://twitter.com/Darth_Andrea/status/22049712978796545'><b>Darth_Andrea</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Gotten the right place in the novels to insert it?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22052966580092928'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @Darth_Andrea I'm not sure, honestly. Might be too spolierish. Might be because he wanted to leave it open in case he changed something.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/933151616/untitled_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/skylatron/status/22051758649901057'><b>skylatron</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Weren't there 2 other planned prequels that never made it? Will they ever see the light of day?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22053046510952449'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @skylatron Yes. But they probably won't be published, I'm afraid.<br/></p></blockquote> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22055334558310400'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> First laugh: "She asked the Wisdom for directions this morning," Ewin said, "and called her 'child.'" Rand and Mat both whistled… #Wotrr</p> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/579912323/ray_1_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/drelle64/status/22051976296534016'><b>drelle64</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson say something about the Way of Kings… PLEASE.</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22055479324704769'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @drelle64 Do you want something specific? I'll be focused on WoT for the next while then will go back to Stormlight.<br/></p></blockquote> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22055914840260608'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> I've asked Harriet if she could dig up any of the old manuscript with the Fourth ta'veren in it, but she's not certain they have any.</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22056380286369792'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> She said she thinks he was Dannil, but couldn't remember for certain. Many think he was Ewin—a good guess and a possibility. #wotrr</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22057457454948352'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Cover art was commissioned when he was still a main character, and it was too late to change it when he was removed. #wotrr</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22060283644088320'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> People can't find the nod to Tolkien/Jordan in TWoK. It's possible Isaac didn't get it on the map. It's in the text, though. Rysn Interlude</p> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/663953283/southpark_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/greywanderer/status/22053989889609728'><b>greywanderer</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson I wrote an epic review of WoK. Check it out if you get a chance. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/106595963">http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/106595963</a></p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22060444831186944'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @greywanderer Thanks! Looking it over now.<br/></p></blockquote> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22060696095162368'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> For those asking, I'm not allowed to talk about the prequels yet. It's unlikely they'll be written. If they aren't, I'll see what I can say</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22061585581219840'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Looks like the Fourth ta'veren was Dannil, in another form: <a href="http://bit.ly/h0iDIO">http://bit.ly/h0iDIO</a> (Look for Liandra's question.) #wotrr</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22063417233768449'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> If Mat could go back in time, he'd thump himself fawning over Moiraine in EotW. Then he'd fawn over Moiraine, but pretend he wasn't. #wotrr</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22065077393821696'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> "Strangers and a gleeman, fireworks and a peddler. It was going to be the best Bel Tine ever." #wotrr</p> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/724678818/f1_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/arsindelve/status/22060693926715392'><b>arsindelve</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson did you consider audio rather than print for the re-read?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22065224005722112'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @arsindelve I like the audio, but I need to be able to stop, back up, take notes, and write down quotes. Much harder with audio.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1162117353/normal_HP5-SP-2382r_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/Eiremauve/status/22061609794928641'><b>Eiremauve</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Can Rand get the most POVs in AMoL, please? (bambi eyes, clasped hands) We were severely deprived in ToM :'(. (grovels)</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22065380419698688'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @Eiremauve There will be more Rand VPs in the last book, I promise.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1200975332/image_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/ShimmerGeek/status/22062004273422336'><b>ShimmerGeek</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Loving The Way of Kings btw! My Christmas holidays have been a mix between playing Mass Effect and reading it </p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22065449327927299'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @ShimmerGeek Thank you.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/1080960813/66_453923d29c675_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/HBFFerreira/status/22065389064159232'><b>HBFFerreira</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson I was wondering: did I miss the replies of your Tor Q&A, or are they not out yet? (The Tor site is not very user-friendly.)</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22065809379557376'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @HBFFerreira I sent in replies, but they may not have posted them yet.<br/></p></blockquote> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22068455503036416'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Another thought: Cenn is right more often than wrong in these early chapters. Unexpected, as I think of him as a blowhard. #wotrr</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22068762832277506'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Lol. From @ltnolan0347: "Trollocs and Aes Sedai, Dragon's Fang and Padan Fain. Worst Bel Tine ever… #wotrr"</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22071355188973568'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> WoT statistics: Egwene appears for the first time about 7% into EotW. She is the first person to fold her arms beneath her breasts #wotrr</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22071603550486528'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> As much as we like to talk about Robert Jordan using that phrase, I think that's the only time it appears in EotW. #wotrr</p> <p><img src='http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/338376887/Tim_gun_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/Duponttc24/status/22067076709486592'><b>Duponttc24</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson any chance Neil Blomkamps next movie Elysium has anything to do with your awesome short Defending Elysium?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22071694717886464'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @Duponttc24 I'm afraid not. Sorry.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1162117353/normal_HP5-SP-2382r_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/Eiremauve/status/22067320088174593'><b>Eiremauve</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson I don't want my brother to have to re-write the last book, I'm already considered asking him to write certain scenes</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22071799390932992'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @Eiremauve I promise a lot more from Rand, then. How about that?<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/875753379/678ac563-68f4-43cd-be1a-38f8738ea49c_normal.png' /><a href='http://twitter.com/LiterateKnits/status/22067395623387138'><b>LiterateKnits</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson OMG! Got it!!!! p. 432 <a href="http://plixi.com/p/67715745">http://plixi.com/p/67715745</a></p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22071965321789440'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @LiterateKnits Sorry it's not on the map. It was on my list of things to get on there, but Isaac had to fit what he could.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/1116833929/weemee-3_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/FTHurley/status/22069095641907200'><b>FTHurley</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Wait, a fourth one? Was it an expanded existing character, or a fourth buddy that got cut out?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22072134226419712'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @FTHurley See my tweets. It was a fourth buddy that got cut.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/1179550504/jamie.gibbs_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/mithrilwisdom/status/22070560108322816'><b>mithrilwisdom</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Music to my ears! I've been hankering for the Way of Kings for months. Shame we didn't get the awesome US cover though.</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22072210877317120'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @mithrilwisdom I wish they'd used it, but the publisher has their reasons.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/1008846055/edsmash_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/Paaks/status/22071439364460544'><b>Paaks</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson how many TSA books are planned? I have heard 3, 5 and 10.</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22072369577197569'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @Paaks Ten.<br/></p></blockquote> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22073981079134208'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> Amusing that, after all they've grown, Egwene and Rand's interaction in EotW 3 has many similarities to their interaction in TofM. #wotrr</p> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/579912323/ray_1_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/drelle64/status/22072116916527105'><b>drelle64</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson As much as I love the WOT and certly it's worthy… Brandon… please talk about the WOK… that rocks… just say'n.</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22075883208572928'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @drelle64 I'll try. I generally divide my posts by which book I'm working on, though. I spoke a lot about Kings last year.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/585031611/15438_688481410686_11519910_39655647_614889_n_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/ChaseEmory/status/22072200236367872'><b>ChaseEmory</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson how far in is nyneave's first braid pull-age??</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22075931510177793'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @ChaseEmory I will watch and post when i find it.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/1134014324/EG_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/EGHornbostel/status/22072360580419584'><b>EGHornbostel</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Brandon, does Lan still sharpen his impossible-to-dull heron blade in the electronic edtion of EOTW?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22076054940160000'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @EGHornbostel I actually have Robert Jordan's original word files; I need to get the new ebooks.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/1079550469/Piano_smile_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/SpiralChaotic/status/22073741747949568'><b>SpiralChaotic</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Thank you for signing TWoK for my ex in Utah, so she could send it to me here in Georgia! 'Twas a great present!</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22076276953055232'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @SpiralChaotic My pleasure.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1165524221/2e040b76-94c0-4b5f-9d0b-42df292daae8_normal.png' /><a href='http://twitter.com/scribb/status/22074102785249280'><b>scribb</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson I feel bad as a UK reader, I got impatient and bought a US copy. You're too good to wait for the late release dates :/</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22076497716060160'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @scribb Eventually, we should be releasing at the same time in both places. UK is just playing catch-up a little for now.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/528271643/twitterProfilePhoto_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/feelieking/status/22074632999804928'><b>feelieking</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Do you like the UK covers to the Mistborn trilogy and tWoK? (I think they're beautiful) I have tWoK hardback pre-ordered </p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22076715903754241'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @feelieking I like the UK covers of Mistborn a lot, but prefer the US cover of KINGS. Not that the UK cover is bad, I just love whelan.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1162117353/normal_HP5-SP-2382r_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/Eiremauve/status/22074884603510784'><b>Eiremauve</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson (sheepish) And could no-one else but Rand have a POV when he's on screen, to make up for having only 3 pages in ToM?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22076929981022208'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> @Eiremauve Rand's lack of VPs in TofM was intentional. Much like his lessened VP role in The Dragon Reborn, and for similar reasons.<br/></p></blockquote> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22078342370959360'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/> And, here we have mention of Anla the Wise Counselor. For those not in the know, there is theorizing on her: <a href="http://bit.ly/f8s2T4">http://bit.ly/f8s2T4</a> #wotrr</p> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22082084151492609'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> I fully expect this re-read to take until April. I need to divide my time among reading, outlining, and studying the notes. #wotrr</p> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/1134014324/EG_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/EGHornbostel/status/22076936033402880'><b>EGHornbostel</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Quick e-book question though: how would you handle the smiley face parenthesis paragraph in Alcatraz in an e-book?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22082342218629120'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @EGHornbostel No idea. Ereaders can change font size. Maybe do it as an image?<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a1.twimg.com/a/1294350199/images/default_profile_1_normal.png' /><a href='http://twitter.com/Southpaw2014/status/22078346380705792'><b>Southpaw2014</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson was the lack of Rand vps in ToM intended to show his change from other characters vps?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22082546674176001'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @Southpaw2014 In part. There are other reasons. But that's part of it.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/528271643/twitterProfilePhoto_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/feelieking/status/22078369663291393'><b>feelieking</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson Did you ask the UK publishers if you could the Whelan Cover?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22082684251541504'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @feelieking I suggested it to them, but didn't make a big deal of it. They know their market better than I do.<br/></p></blockquote> <p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22082891282391040'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> Jenn from @dragonmount says: "RJ once told me that Daniell's heroics ended up being done by the other Two Rivers boys." #wotrr</p> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/475193570/s1043261147_224503_1072_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/elektrotal/status/22079655712391169'><b>elektrotal</b></a> Mon Jan 03<br/>@BrandonSandrson will we see any more of those awesome refs (anla, mosk and merc, all the other tidbits) in the last book?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22083048849809409'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @elektrotal There were some in my books that I don't think have been caught yet.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/1205935424/Ganesha__icon_normal.png' /><a href='http://twitter.com/FelixPax/status/22080032243458048'><b>FelixPax</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/>@BrandonSandrson At least one theorizing problem with that link through, in "To Sail Beyond the Sunset" RJ refers to Robert Heinlein in #TGH</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22083157394194434'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @FelixPax Didn't know that. Thanks.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/1201266099/profile_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/chrisgoosie/status/22081126143102976'><b>chrisgoosie</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/>@BrandonSandrson I would guess at shinovar, similar to shire, also having two rivers in a distinctive pattern, and the mountain to the west?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22083310645673984'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @chrisgoosie That's it. The mountains there have a familiar-sounding name too.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/184882459/foamy256_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/igneous/status/22083355247902720'><b>igneous</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/>@BrandonSandrson <a href="http://is.gd/k2XP9">http://is.gd/k2XP9</a> - seriously, Brandon? And then publishers wonder why ebook piracy is so high…</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22083803933577216'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @igneous Sigh. Which book is that? Not one of mine, I hope.<br/></p><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22083949245235200'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @igneous Also, I've never really heard publishers complain about piracy. They don't grumble about it like the RIAA seems to.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/192797596/38791.36704_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/dragonmount/status/22083367159730176'><b>dragonmount</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/>@BrandonSandrson Actually that was me. But who's counting? -Jason</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22084086768082944'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @dragonmount Dangit. You guys need to not have the same first initial.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/184882459/foamy256_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/igneous/status/22084619285307393'><b>igneous</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/>@BrandonSandrson as a matter of fact: <a href="http://is.gd/k2Yx7">http://is.gd/k2Yx7</a></p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22125146370215936'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @igneous Sigh^2 Okay, I assume this is the UK edition? At least there's an ebook; we've been complaining to them about that.<br/></p><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22125371797274625'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @igneous That's just plain silly. I'll see what I can do. In the US, Tor has told me that they'll not charge more than $13 for my ebooks.<br/></p><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22126432939413504'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @igneous I'm trying to find it. It's not UK, US, or Canada. That's the UK cover, but it's in $. Australian edition?<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/1161321212/IMG_2176_normal.JPG' /><a href='http://twitter.com/annadala/status/22087344739844096'><b>annadala</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/>@BrandonSandrson Any news on the Alcatraz or Mistborn movies?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22126792596787200'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @annadala Alacatraz movie has seen better days. (Dreamworks did not renew.) Mistborn movie is still about the same.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a1.twimg.com/a/1294350199/images/default_profile_1_normal.png' /><a href='http://twitter.com/Southpaw2014/status/22087771598360577'><b>Southpaw2014</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/>@BrandonSandrson as Ishamael. Mad being crazy not mad being evil because obviously he's evil</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22126974826717184'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @Southpaw2014 Moridin is less insane than Ishy was. Much as Rand is less insane than Lews Therin was.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/528271643/twitterProfilePhoto_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/feelieking/status/22087862736388096'><b>feelieking</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/>@BrandonSandrson Having listened to the last Writing Excuses podcast, I have to ask: how likely are we to see a gay character in your work?</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22127886882308097'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @feelieking I've already written some, but I haven't made a big deal of it. Alloy of Law has a lesbian woman, for example.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a2.twimg.com/profile_images/1205935424/Ganesha__icon_normal.png' /><a href='http://twitter.com/FelixPax/status/22088260985552896'><b>FelixPax</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/>@Terez27 Still I see @BrandonSandrson point, as I too am confused by who's actually typing a @dragonmount tweet. Its not obvious. #wotrr</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22128246661320705'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @FelixPax @Terez27 @dragonmount I vote for a "Denz" for Jason and a "Jenn" for Jenn. Longer, yes, but easier to notice.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a0.twimg.com/profile_images/528271643/twitterProfilePhoto_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/feelieking/status/22088378690306048'><b>feelieking</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/>@BrandonSandrson (I'm not *offended* at all by a lack of overt gay characters in a given novel, but it is nice be represented occasionally)</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22128958799613953'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @feelieking There's a gay man in Bridge Four, too. He hasn't had a big role yet. Drehy.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/1184191661/ishamael_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/mikescinto/status/22090258959040514'><b>mikescinto</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/>@BrandonSandrson Would you happen to know of (or be allowed to reveal) any information on the Eye of the World movie? The word is sparse. :|</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22129314229125120'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @mikescinto All I've been told is that screenwriters have been chosen, and they're working on a screenplay.<br/></p></blockquote> <p><img src='http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/78504191/elmav01_normal.jpg' /><a href='http://twitter.com/El_MUERkO/status/22091105080180736'><b>El_MUERkO</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/>@BrandonSandrson @dragonmount Will you try finish/resolve every storyline? #wotrr</p> <blockquote><p class="brtw"><a href='http://twitter.com/BrandonSandrson/status/22129419887837184'><b>BrandonSandrson</b></a> Tue Jan 04<br/> @El_MUERkO There are some that Mr. Jordan instructed me not to resolve.<br/></p></blockquote> Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/956/Tweets-January-3-6

As I stated in a blog post in the early fall, I took the months of September–December inclusive off from major projects. I do this to give myself some breathing room creatively and work on projects I don’t have a contract for. I also like to do writing exercises, try new things, and generally relax and let myself be creative without deadlines or expectations. Sometimes the projects I work on during times like this turn out really well. Sometimes they flop hardcore. Often it’s something in between. Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians came from a session like this, and it has been very successful. Some other stories written during times like these have never seen the light of day. Others (most notably Scribbler, which has been renamed The Rithmatist) need to sit for a while and let me stew on them before I decide to revise them and get them into publishable shape. The first thing that developed from this session was an urban fantasy about a necromancer who runs a pizza joint. It was listed on my sidebar as “Untitled Urban Fantasy Project” or something like that. This book was fun to write, and it was interesting to explore something in an our-world setting. The beginning was great, but it ran out of steam halfway through, and I never ended up finishing it. I might do something with it someday, but for now I've set it aside. The title for this one ended up being Death by Pizza. Maybe I’ll post some chapters for you. The second thing I tried writing was a short story set in the Mistborn world a few hundred years after The Hero of Ages. This one just didn’t work; the characters weren’t gripping for me. More importantly, it just didn’t FEEL like a Mistborn book. I got about one scene into it. As I was working on it, however, I did some worldbuilding on this time period in Scadrial’s history. I got to thinking about what was wrong with the short story, and why it didn’t feel right. This grew into an outline regarding a completely different story—with no overlap of characters—set in the same time period. I nurtured this and started writing, and it felt right from the get-go. I had the right tone, so I kept writing, expanding my outline, letting the story grow as big as it wanted to be. In the end, I had an 85,000-word novel that I named Mistborn: The Alloy of Law. I’m very excited about the story, and I offered it to Tor for publication with one condition: They had to put it out in 2011. I’ve mentioned before that I worried I wasn’t going to have a book release for you in 2011, what with the extra time A Memory of Light is going to take. Alloy of Law turned out so well that I wanted to share it with everyone, and use it to fill in the gap between Towers of Midnight and A Memory of Light. You may have seen the Tor announcement on this book. It should come out this fall; I’d guess September or October. I want to reassure people that I didn’t do this instead of writing the next Stormlight book. This time period between big books had to be used to write something shorter, something more self-contained. I just couldn’t have done a Stormlight book. It was this novel or nothing. I’m pleased that Alloy of Law turned out so well. I spent the next little while tweaking Alloy of Law. I did a writing exercise to practice dialogue, which I posted. I’ve actually got more of that than I posted. (Maybe five chapters' worth.) I’ll try to post more of that in the weeks ahead. I also did some work on Steelheart, which is coming togethe—but slowly. I’m through with all of that now, however, and as of Monday I’m working full-time on the Wheel of Time. I’ll do another blog post on that here soon. Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/954/Wrapping-Up-My-Time-Off

BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 You guys want to do a writing exercise together? I've been wanting to do some dialogue practice. We could each do 5 pages on a theme, and... BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 ...and I could post my five for you to see, then look at some of the better ones on writing excuses and talk over strengths/weaknesses. BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 Write a 5-10 page two character dialogue with no tags or blocking. Dialogue only. Try to evoke character, conflict, and plot with this only. BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 Include: A problem, 2 distinct individuals, a fantasy/sf element. Avoid: long monologues, exposition. Use context, not explanations. BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 Inspiration: http://bit.ly/DEda8 Be done Sunday. I'll try & get the TWG Forum back up for posting. If not, post on your blog and send a link shnar Tue Dec 14@brandonsandrson as in Script format? No prose? Or simple prose but mostly dialog? BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 @shnar I'm thinking all dialogue. Not really script format, but like it. See the inspiration I just posted. BrandonPSA Tue Dec 14@BrandonSandrson humor me... define tags or blocking BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 @BrandonPSA No prose. No "He said." No "He walked to the door." Dialogue only. BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 Another excellent example, this one from @JRVogt: http://bit.ly/g1Pp9e Make yours shorter if you want. 5 pgs is just what I'll post. BrandonPSA Tue Dec 14@BrandonSandrson also... define "page".. maybe a charcacter count/page BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 @BrandonPSA Basically, whatever you feel like and whatever works. I don't care about strict page counts. TymCon Tue Dec 14@BrandonSandrson Can we do it in a script format. E.g: Cian: X just stabbed me, Owen: Nice. BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 @TymCon Sure. RantingDragon Tue Dec 14@BrandonSandrson Just so I understand it right: only dialogue? So not: "Blah blah," said Brandon, eying the huge Trolloc. Only the blah? BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 @rantingdragon Yup. You've got it. Ganymede_mj Tue Dec 14@BrandonSandrson love too but jumping a plane also just finished latest wot loved it u r doing the series proud BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 @Ganymede_mj Thanks! Have a good flight. amurderofcrows Tue Dec 14@BrandonSandrson I'm game. Where do we post? BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 @amurderofcrows I'll either get a forum for you (watch my tweets) or just email it/post it to your blog and email me a link. shnar Tue Dec 14@BrandonSandrson I just saw your 'Mistborn Llama' pic, and still laughing. What's the story behind it? BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 @shnar It was the name of my old writing group. MaryRobinette Tue Dec 14Hey! @scalzi just promised all Campbell winners cookies on his podcast. Chocolate chip, please. BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 @MaryRobinette What about those of us @Scalzi himself beat for the Campbell? Do we get cookies too? MaryRobinette Tue Dec 14@BrandonSandrson I think that's only fair. I don't know if @scalzi will agree with me. 1stRainbowRose Tue Dec 14@brandonsandrson Just to check, who are you wanting to do this with? Just anyone or someone specific? BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 @1stRainbowRose Anybody who posts. pale_blue_sky Tue Dec 14@BrandonSandrson Silly question, but how many words do 5 pages generally equate to? BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 @pale_blue_sky 1000ish. YetiStomper Tue Dec 14@BrandonSandrson I'm not sure what that is an example of but I look forward to reading the rest of that. @JRVogt BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 14 @YetiStomper Read my tweets right before that one. BrandonSandrson Fri Dec 17 Writing Exercise: Dialogue. http://3.ly/yuTt Dreadlord617 Fri Dec 17@BrandonSandrson: Google has judged you and found you 74% basic, 24% intermediate and 1% advanced: http://is.gd/iSKmZ BrandonSandrson Fri Dec 17 @Dreadlord617 Ha. Not surprising. My writing philosophy is toward clear prose that uses complex structure/words for effect, not as the norm missionmobilizr Fri Dec 17@brandonsandrson I'm reading Alcatraz vs the Shattered Lens. p153 almost made me yawn. I held it off until p154. BrandonSandrson Fri Dec 17 @missionmobilizr The only time I'm happy to hear someone say they yawned reading one of my books. mathachew Fri Dec 17Finished the #Mistborn trilogy. It's hard to describe it in just one word: Amazing. Addictive. Satisfying. Brilliant. @BrandonSandrson BrandonSandrson Fri Dec 17 @mathachew Thank you! GoneBlack212 Thu Dec 16@BrandonSandrson If we don't have a blog, and wanted to participate in this, where would we be instructed to post our endeavors? Thank you! BrandonSandrson Fri Dec 17 @GoneBlack212 Go ahead and email them to me. DKoles Thu Dec 16@brandonsandrson was the title "Towers of Midnight" in reference to the place that Mat is heading to rescue Moiraine from? BrandonSandrson Fri Dec 17 @DKoles In part, it was. That's only one part, though. BrandonSandrson Fri Dec 17 Wow, only two days until koloss head munching day. Man. Suppose I ought to plan something. BrandonSandrson Sat Dec 18 Took Christmas presents to neighbors w/Limeboy. Every time: door opens, & before they say hi, he walks in and starts playing w/their stuff. BrandonSandrson Sat Dec 18 On my way to my last signing of the year. Bountiful utah B&N. 2-4. BrandonSandrson Sun Dec 19 Thank you for the birthday wishes, all. And a happy Koloss Head Munching day to all of you. BrandonSandrson Wed Dec 22 I will post my dialogue pages soon. Used six of yours in writing excuses episodes. First airs next week. BrandonSandrson Tue Dec 28 My dialogue writing exercise turned into a short story, "I Hate Dragons." We also talked about others' on the podcast. http://3.ly/xUGm BrandonSandrson Thu Dec 30 If you've bought any of my books on Kindle, lending is now enabled for them. http://3.ly/fRyn BrandonSandrson Fri Dec 31 I posted the panel schedule for next month's Superstars Writing Seminar. It's three days packed with great info. http://3.ly/uUWE robisonwells Thu Dec 30I only got 1400 words today, but I FINALLY SOLVED THE PROBLEM THAT'S BEEN PLAGUING ME FOR A MONTH! #thankgoodness #aboutfreakingtime BrandonSandrson Fri Dec 31 @robisonwells Wow. Nice book, but I foresee lots of complaints in the future about that ending, my friend... teunvink Fri Dec 31Finished Towers of Midnight. @BrandonSandrson did an amazing job continuing Robert Jordan's work! Can't wait for Memory of Light #WoT BrandonSandrson Fri Dec 31 @teunvink Thanks! TheOfficeTroll Fri Dec 31I'm reading Alvatraz vs the Knights of Crystallia. Pages 188-189 make me hate the author. Curse you, @BrandonSandrson BrandonSandrson Fri Dec 31 @TheOfficeTroll It's not my fault I'm evil. IronHouseDvorak Fri Dec 31@BrandonSandrson I don't suppose you have anything new publishing soon? ... loving your books! BrandonSandrson Fri Dec 31 @IronHouseDvorak Afraid not. Next book from me is next fall. hungryturnip Fri Dec 31@BrandonSandrson hey got a nook eReader for Christmas any WOT-like recommendations? (have all of your stuff). Reading Brent Weeks right now. BrandonSandrson Fri Dec 31 @hungryturnip WoT-like? Hm. There's really not anything completely like it. Steven Erikson would probably be my first suggestion. rahvin1 Thu Dec 30@BrandonSandrson @PeterAhlstrom Congratulations on being #73 on Amazons Top 100 for the year 2010 with The Way of Kings #TWoK BrandonSandrson Fri Dec 31 @rahvin1 Wow. Didn't know abotu that. Thanks. floydobaggins Thu Dec 30@BrandonSandrson I don't get to write many book reviews. But from a fan - http://wp.me/p17rD5-4f. Happy New Year, Mr Sanderson! BrandonSandrson Fri Dec 31 @floydobaggins Thank you very much for the kind review, and for spreading the word on the book. wutdafuhk Thu Dec 30@BrandonSandrson Got Towers of Midnight for Christmas! Thanks for continuing the saga. Need MOVIE! #thewheeloftime #bestseriesofalltime BrandonSandrson Fri Dec 31 @wutdafuhk Movie is in the works. We're all doing what we can. japadua Thu Dec 30As I make my way through @BrandonSandrson books I find myself thinking, "How do i become this guy's friend?" They are just fantastic! BrandonSandrson Fri Dec 31 @japadua Yes, my friends are fantastic. Oh, wait. You meant the books. I guess those are too. (Thanks for the kind words.) Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/953/Tweets-December-14-31

This week's Writing Excuses podcast episode with Dan Wells and Howard Tayler is called Offending Your Readers—and specifically covers various ways you might offend your readers and how to avoid it. The most recent WARBREAKER annotation is about chapter 36, which is one of the most flirtatious and calm of the Siri chapters. It also talks about Susebron's taste buds. Finally, THE WAY OF KINGS is officially out in the UK now, including the ebook. So if you're in the UK and have been waiting to get your hands on it, now's your chance. Plus the ebook for Australia was delayed until the UK version came out, but it's now available, at least on Kindle. That should be the case for New Zealand as well. Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/952/Updates--THE-WAY-OF-KINGS-in-the-UK

Here's the schedule of panels for the next Superstars Writing Seminar, which will be held in Salt Lake City this coming month. As you can see from the list of topics, this three-day seminar is packed with great stuff, no-nonsense and practical material taught by six bestselling authors. Sessions begin in three weeks. If you've signed up already, I'll see you there! If not, now's a good time to sign up. THURSDAY 8:30 AMIntro, seminar overview, introduce speakers (Kevin) 9:00Econ 201 for Writers: Economics of Commercial Publishing (Eric) 10:00Inside Editors: How editors look at manuscripts (Dave, Kevin, Eric) NoonLunch 1:30 PMMyths of Publishing (Rebecca) 2:30Agents: the “A” word (Brandon, Eric, Dave) 3:30“Dirty Secrets”: Being a professional author (Kevin, Rebecca) 4:30From Slushpile to #1 Bestseller in 4 Years (Brandon) 5:00The Popcorn Theory of Success (Kevin) EveningWelcome mixer/reception FRIDAY 8:30 AMCopyright basics (Dave, Eric) 9:00Self-Publishing & Ebooks: Realities and Pitfalls (Eric, Rebecca) 10:00Pitching the Big Proposal (Brandon, Kevin, Dave) 11:00New Media: Using It to Get an Edge (Brandon, Rebecca) NoonLunch 1:00 PMNetworking for Writers (Rebecca, Dave) 2:30Do It Yourself: Self-Promotion for Authors (Sherrilyn Kenyon) 3:30Promoting Yourself and Your Work (All) 4:30Open session: Q&A AfterwardAuthors available for signing EveningVIP Banquet: Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse SATURDAY 8:30 AMErgonomics: When Writing Gets to Be a Pain (Rebecca) 9:00Dissecting a Contract (Eric) 10:00Movies, TV, and Authors (Dave, Kevin, Brandon) 11:00Two Heads Are Better Than One: Collaborations (Eric, Kevin, Rebecca, Brandon) NoonLunch 1:30 PMIntellectual Property: How to Exploit Yours (Dave) 2:30Eleven Tips to Increase Your Writing Productivity (Kevin) 3:30Balancing Acts: Writing World and Real World (All) 4:30Open session: Q&A For further information, see the Superstars Writing Seminars page. Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/951/Superstars-Writing-Seminar-Panel-Schedule-January-13-15

For those who are following along, here's what I did for my writing exercise. I actually managed to make it something of a self-contained story. If you want to read up on the rules, I posted them here. We did some analysis of other people's writing on Writing Excuses here. If you did one of these and want more feedback, you might be able to post it in the Writing Group section of the TWG Forums and get some feedback. (Or you might be able to read some other posts and let people know what you thought of them.) My story follows. After that, I'll do some analysis of my own piece. I Hate Dragons "Master Johnston?" "Yes, Skip?" "I was wondering if maybe we might review my employment situation." "What? Now? Lad, this isn’t the time." "Er, I’m sorry, sir. But I believe this is exactly the time. And, I apologize, but I don’t intend to move until I’ve had my say." "Fine. Fine. Be on with it then." "Well, Master Johnston, you know how we’re here to kill this dragon, sir?" "Yes. That’s our job. Dragon hunters. It says so on your bloomin’ jacket, lad!" "Well, sir, technically you and the other boys are the hunters." "You’re an important part, Skip. Without you, the dragon won’t never come!" "I believe you mean 'will never come,' sir. And, well, this is about my part. I realize it’s important for you to have someone to draw the dragon." "You can’t catch nothing without bait." "‘Can’t catch anything,’ sir. And that is as you’ve said. However, I can’t help noticing one factor about my role in the hunt. I am, as you said, bait." "Yes?" "And it seems to me that eventually, if you put bait out often enough . . ." "Yes?" "Well, sir, eventually that bait is going to end up getting eaten. Sir." "Ah." "You see my trouble." "You’ve been doing this for a year now, and you ain’t ever gotten ate." "That sentence was deplorable, sir." "What’s math have to do wi’ this?" "You’re thinking ’devisable,’ sir. Anyway, yes, I’ve survived a year. Only, I’ve started thinking." "A dangerous habit, that." "It’s chronic, I’m afraid. I’ve started thinking about the number of near misses we’ve had. I’ve started thinking that, eventually, you and the boys aren’t going to get to the dragon quickly enough. I’m thinking about how many reptilian bicuspids I’ve seen in recent months." "I’ve cussed more than twice myself." "So . . ." "All right, lad. I can see where you’re going. Two percent, and nothing more." "A raise?" "Sure. Two percent’s good money, son. Why, when I was your age, I’d have died to get a two-percent raise." "I’d rather not die because of it, sir." "Three percent, then." "You pay me in food, sir. I don’t get paid any money." "Ah. I forgot you was a smart one. All right. Four percent." "Sir, you could double it, and it would be meaningless." "Don’t get so uppity! Double? What, you think I’m maid of coins?" "The word is 'made,' sir." "Huh? That’s what I said. How—" "Never mind. Sir, this isn’t about money, you see." "You want more food?" "No. You see, er . . ." "Be on with it! That dragon ain’t going to kill himself!" "Technically, dragons—being sentient beings—likely have a suicide rate similar to other intelligent creatures. So perhaps this one will kill himself. It’s statistically possible, anyway. That’s beside the point. You see, sir, I think I’d rather change my participation in the hunts." "In what way?" "I’d like to be a hunter, sir. You know. Hold a harpoon? Fire a crossbow? I wouldn’t mind just reloading for the other hunters until I get the hang of it." "Don’t be silly. You couldn’t do that while out in the center of the field, being bait!" "I wasn’t talking about doing that while being bait. I’d rather do it instead of being bait. Sir." "But nobody else has yer special gift, son." "I don’t think it’s all that great . . ." "Why, sure it is! In all my years hunting dragons, I’ve never met someone who attracts them like you do. You’ve got a gift." "The gift of smelling delicious to dragons? Sir, I never asked for this." "Just ’cause a gift is unexpected doesn’t mean it ain’t a gift." "A knife to the back can be unexpected. That doesn’t make it a gift either. Sir." "Look, son. You’re special. The scent of you . . . it drives them mad with hunger. It’d be a shame to waste that. Do what you were created to do. Reach for the stars." "Stars are giant balls of gas, burning far away." "They are?" "Yes. Reaching for them, even if it were possible, would likely burn your hand. Sir." "Ain’t that something." "Isn’t that something." "That’s what I said. Either way, son, you need to explore your talents." "My talent is getting eaten by dragons, sir. It seems that’s less something to explore, and more something to experience. Once. In a grisly, painful, and abruptly-ending sort of way." ". . ." "Well?" "I see that yer a smart one, son." "Thank you." "Five percent." "I . . ." "It’s here! It’s circlin’! Lad, we’ll have to talk about this later." "Okay. You know what, fine. Once more. But that’s it." "Good lad. Out there you go. You remember the script?" "Of course I remember it. Ahem. I’m so very tired! Also, I hate sunlight. So I’m not going to look upward. I’m just going to stroll along across this . . . er . . . rocky place of rocks and find a place to lay down and take a nap. "Gosh! I’m sad that I tripped and got dust in my eyes, so I couldn’t see anything for a few moments when that breeze passed me by. Just a breeze, and not the beating of nearby dragon wings. Not at all. Perhaps I will take my nap in this little dip in the ground. I hope no wild beasts are around to savage me." "PSSST. Skip. Bite! The script says BITE me!" "I’m extrapolating!" "What’s the dragon’s skin have to do with this?" "That’s exfoliate, Master Johnston. Look, he’s coming back around. Hush. Ahem. Yes, I’ll just be nodding off to sleep now!" ". . ." "What’s the beast doing?" "He landed up there. I think he’s suspicious. He’s craning his neck down and—" "You’re a terrible actor." "Er. Really? I actually thought I was getting better. I’ve been practicing in front of the mirror, you see." "Terrible. I’ve seen pieces of soap that were better actors than you. You have an entire fleet of dragon hunters waiting, I assume." "Um. No?" "No, you don’t have them? Or no I don’t assume it? Because I really don’t think you’re capable of judging what I do and don’t assume. By the way, who wrote that script for you?" "Master Johnston." "He needs an editor." "I’ve tried to explain that! Do you know how difficult it is to work with such awful lines?" "That doesn’t excuse your bad acting." "It at least gives some context, though, doesn’t it?" "No." "So, um, if you saw through the ploy . . . why are you still here? Shouldn’t you have fled?" "I . . . there’s something about you, small human. Yes. Something . . . intoxicating. Why don’t you climb up here to me." "Excuse me?" "Climb on up here." "You’ll eat me." "That’s the idea." "Then I think I’ll decline." "Oh, come now. It won’t be so bad as you think. They’re will be hardly any pain at all." "I don’t care if there’s pain or not. I’ll still be dead. And you used the wrong version of 'they’re.' You wanted 'there' instead." "I did? How can you tell? They’res no difference in the sounds they make." "Actually, I can hear apostrophes." "What, really?" "Yes. I can hear spelling too, actually." "That’s . . . interesting, child. Very interesting. Well, time to get this over with. No use in delaying. Come on up and be eaten." "You don’t make a very compelling argument." "I’m a very busy dragon." "Funny. I have lots of time. I could sit here all day, so long as it involves not being eaten." "Oh, come now. Don’t be difficult. This is what you were created to do." "What gives you that terrible idea?" "It’s the circle of life, young human! The beauty of nature! Each creature in turn is consumed by a larger creature, round and around, until we reach the apex predators. Um . . . I’m one of those, by the way." "I’d noticed." "Well, the cows eat the grass, the wolves eat the cows, the men eat the wolves, the dragons eat the men. All very majestic in its simplicity." "We don’t eat wolves, actually." "You don’t?" "No. Not unless we’re very hungry. Even then, they don’t taste very good, so I’m told. Too stringy." "Yes, well, you’re supposed to. Men never do as they’re told. Case and point, this moment, where you have the startling rudeness to refuse being consumed. How can I persuade you?" "Actually, you are persuading me." "Really? This is working? Er, I mean . . . of course I am. I’m known as being a very compelling conversationalist, among my peers." "You didn’t need that comma," Skip said, "but you should probably have put 'among my peers' after 'I’m known.' That’s beside the point. You see, I said you were persuading me because the definition of the word implies the act of trying to get someone to do something, whether or not you are successful. You persuade someone, then you either fail or succeed. Most people use it incorrectly. The word you wanted was convince. You need to convince me, not persuade me." "You’re not very much fun at parties, are you, small human?" "I . . . uh . . . don’t get invited to parties very often." "I can’t imagine why. So, are you going to stop whining and come get eaten like a man?" "No." "You’re making mother nature cry." "Good. We could use more rain. Why don’t you just go eat a cow?" "Why don’t you go eat some grass?" "Um . . . humans can’t digest grass." "And dragons can’t digest cows." "Really?" "Really. Humans were designed and built to be eaten by dragons. It’s the nature of things." "I find that rather unfair. Who eats you?" "The worms, once we’re dead. It’s all very metaphysical." "But you have to eat humans?" "If we don’t, we die." "How are there any humans left?" "We don’t need to eat very often, little human. Once every few months. There’s more than large enough a population of you to sustain us. You don’t run out of . . . what is it you eat, again?" "Cows. Pigs. Carrots. Very few wolves." "Yes, well, this is much like you eating those things." "Except for the part about me dying." "Think of the good you’ll be doing." "Good? By keeping a dragon alive to continue terrorizing?" "No, by sacrificing youself for another. If I don’t eat you, I’ll just end up going off and finding someone else. Probably a fair young virgin. Poor child. If you think about it, getting eaten right now would be a very brave thing of you. Noble, heroic." "Well, when you put it that way . . ." "That’s it, come closer." ". . . maybe I’ll come right up to the base of that ledge . . ." "My . . . The scent of you . . . I . . . Why are you stopping . . . ? Come closer! I can’t . . . I can’t . . . RAAAAAWR!" "Have at ’im, lads!" "Aaah!" "RAWR!" "HURK!" "My arm!" "Keep stabbin’!" "Foolish little men! GAR! Gr . . . Blurk!" "Is he down!" "You know what I say, lads. There’s always room for more stabbin’! Keep at it. And you, you did well. Even if you did ruinate the script." "Ruinate? Really? Did you just say that?" "Well, you’re always using those big words and all. So I thought . . ." "Never mind. I’m going to go wash off this dragon blood. Can’t believe that I put up with this . . ." "He doesn’t look happy, Master Johnston." "Oh don’t worry about Skip. He’ll be fine." "I don’t know. He looks really mad this time." "Don’t worry. I’ve got a secret weapon." "Really?" "Sure. Tonight, after we’re all fed and happy . . ." "Yeah?" "I’m going to give him a six-percent raise." So, there you go. Ten pages or so of only dialogue. I'm still not sure if I should call it cheating to use small caps, but I didn't say you couldn't use emphasis (like italics), so I figured it was okay. Besides, it fit the story very well. Obviously, I went for a more humorous slant. Many of those that posted did this, as under the requirements, it actually let us be more flexible and get away with a few things. The idea of someone who could 'hear' spelling errors has been bouncing around in my head for a while, though the idea of someone who smelled delicious to dragons just kind of came out while free writing this. This will do for a quick and dirty writing exercise, though it really needs some blocking where the dragon appears and is flying about. Had to slip a little too much maid-and-butler in there to describe what was happening. Being me, I wanted to continue this, of course. But I hardly have the time for that right now. Anyway, keep writing. Hope this exercise was fun for you. Brandon Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/950/Your-writing-exercises-and-mine-I-Hate-Dragons

There are two new interviews with me out there. First is this one at The Fringe, which covers some familiar ground with a few new questions. And then here's one at Stormblessed, which sheds some new light on details in THE WAY OF KINGS. Both THE WAY OF KINGS and TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT are on the long nominees list for the 2010/2011 David Gemmell Legend Award. Last year, THE GATHERING STORM and WARBREAKER were both voted into the short list and ended up losing the final ballot to EMPIRE by Graham McNeill. Anyway, there are a lot of worthy books on the list, so go vote for the one book you think deserves the award. You can only vote ONCE, and multiple votes will cause ALL of your votes to be discarded. Round two will be sometime after March. The most recent WARBREAKER annotation is a long one. It covers a climax in Vivenna's plot, when she finds out what's really been happening with Denth. Don't read the annotation if you haven't read the book! Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/949/Interviews-Gemmell-Award-Nominations-Annotation

The most recent WARBREAKER annotation covers Lightsong's line, "My dear, did you just try to prove the existence of God with your cleavage?" among other topics. You may notice a bit of a slowdown in annotations from this point forward; weeks where only one annotation gets posted will be more common. The reason for this is that I'm running out of material, and I haven't yet written the annotations for THE WAY OF KINGS. (I'll do that after I finish writing A MEMORY OF LIGHT, during a reread in prepration for writing the second Stormlight Archive book. I usually annotate during the copyedit stage, but this year I was too busy finishing TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT to take the time for the KINGS annotations.) I'll probably also start posting sometime in 2011 the chapters of my unfinished book MYTHWALKER that includes an early version of Siri and Vivenna's story, but there will still be a bit of a gap before the KINGS annotations are ready. Sorry about that. I like to keep a steady stream of new bonus content on the site, but it's going to slow down for a while. Once the KINGS annotations do start going up we should be set for quite some time though, for obvious reasons. Late last season on the Writing Excuses podcast Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, and I took a look at the beginning of the first novel I wrote and dissected what I did well and what I could have done better. In the most recent episode, we do the same thing for Dan's first novel. Go check it out. And speaking of Writing Excuses, nominations for the 2011 Hugo Awards will open on January first, and Writing Excuses Season Four is eligible in the Best Related Work category. You must be a registered member of the 2011 World Science Fiction Convention in Reno, Nevada to vote (voting will begin sometime in May or so), but members of the 2010 Worldcon in Australia can also nominate as well as Reno members. If you liked Writing Excuses Season Four, this is something to keep in mind when considering what to nominate. (Of course they also have awards for best novel, best short story, best graphic story, best editor, best artist, that sort of thing.) Now is a good time to register; rates go up at the end of February, but to nominate for the Hugo you must be registered by the end of January. I will be attending Worldcon in August, but the next event I'll be attending is the Superstars Writing Seminar in Salt Lake City, January 13th through 15th, where I'll be an instructor along with Eric Flint, Dave Wolverton/Farland, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Rebecca Moesta, and Kevin J. Anderson. I've mentioned before what topics will be covered, but there's more information at this website. They're also running a registration special this holiday season, where two people signing up together can save a total of $200 on tuition. If can can find a writing buddy or someone else interested in a career as a writer to sign up with you, now's a good time to do it. Check it out. Source: http://www.brandonsanderson.com/blog/948/Annotations-Writing-Excuses-and-Superstars-Special