Brandon Sanderson

Ha. Well, by this point Hoid had been to the Well--getting there just before Vin--and had retrieved something from it. That should have been enough to get him to leave the planet entirely, but he got involved in events. (He tends to do that.) It's pie in the sky, but I would someday like to do parallel novel to the Mistborn series with Hoid in the background like they did in the second(?) back to the future move. I don't know that I'll ever be able to do it, but we shall see. I would answer this question there.

This has to do with the nature of the magics in the cosmere. They interfere with one another. Something that contains a lot of power--we call it investiture--resists the efforts of magic to influence it. A strong spirit can interfere as well. RAFO RAFO ...and, RAFO. You guys are figuring this all out pretty well. I want to hold off on talking much about the nature of the spren because the characters in world are discovering this as the books progress.

This is an excellent suggestion, and I will bring it up with the others. We're doing a new website soon, so that might be a good thing to include. Surprisingly, I get this exact question every few months or so. (Mostly in interviews.) I can never come up with something. It's plausible. It's kind of a 'Thor-like' way to fly, isn't it? (For those unaware, he throws his hammer and it carries him with it, and STOP THINKING.) I played with this idea, but the trick is not getting hit by the counterweight as you pull it to yourself. If you could stop that, you might be able to manage it, but it felt pretty hard to pull off to me. Certain colors and numbers are important in reference to certain shards. Uh... You should ask Kelsier. He probably tried it when he hung out with Moiraine. It is my pleasure. Thank you. I appreciate being appreciated.

I bought the rights to the Alcatraz series back from Scholastic earlier this year, and they were given a 'sell-off' period to sell the rest of their stock. I now own the rights again free and clear, and will probably be putting out an omnibus ebook. (Perhaps a print one with Tor as well.) I can now write the fifth book (which Scholastic did not want.) It was always planned as the book where he ends up on that stack of encyclopedias. I'll do this sometime next year, hopefully.

The first planet with humans on it was Yolen. I don't want to be unsympathetic to people's love for these characters, but I feel that as a writer I must resist the urge to bring back characters in this manner. I feel it would undermine my storytelling. I never want to get to the point where people read and the tension of a character being in danger is ruined by the thought, "Well, even if they die, they'll probably just be brought back in the future." I'm not saying I won't ever do it, but I want to be very sparing. I like how Robert Jordan did it with a certain character's return in TofM. It was foreshadowed, built into the story itself, and relevant. There are characters--in the 36-book-cosmere-superoutline--who return when thought dead. Some have not met their perceived end yet, while others have. So it's going to happen, but I want it to be very rare.

I've said before that it's unlikely that the Stormlight books will ever delve strongly into the connections between worlds. There will be some cool things happening for the cosmere-literate, but this series isn't focused on those concepts. I want it to maintain its plot cohesion for those who aren't aware of all of the behind-the-scenes stories. Epilogue to Book Two should excite you, though.

RAFO RAFO RAFO (Man, you're good at asking those, aren't you?) Haven't you always wanted magic fish? Aha. I wondered if someone would ask that. Much like whaling in our own world, there is a big ecological price building for what is going on here. You are right to worry about this. Yes, it does exist, though kind of...blended-in, so to speak, as happened with the others when they ascended. Yes, it still has his abilities, though they are kind of moot now.

Depends on the book. Alloy of Law had a few pages. The Way of Kings had hundreds of worldbuilding notes. The outline for Book two sits open on my computer right now at...12 pages single spaced. It's maybe 2/3 done.

Over time, particularly when building Dragonsteel as a novel. I was planning it as I wrote Elantris. Hoid has been around forever, long before Adonalsium became the central plot of his story. I have an old short story from the early, early, early days where he's on a planet trying to figure out how the local magic system works. I found some really good atheist forums. Not the 'hate on religion' type atheist forums, but the kind with some serious depth. People asking one another about morality, talking about how they felt when people reacted to them being an atheist, and expressing their philosophy. I gained a great deal of respect for them during these readings. From there, I went and chatted with some atheists I know to gauge if I had a good handle on things. It was important that I get this right, as it's different enough from my own worldview that if it went wrong, it would have gone VERY wrong and I'd have ended up with something insulting. I can never answer this. It's like trying to choose your favorite child. Well, I do have my lectures on this topic. Go to writeaboutdragons.com and listen to the characterization lecture. I think you'll find it helpful. Do remember that your characters should have passions, goals, and flaws that are distinct from the plot of the story. They can sometimes align, but a character should have a life and passions outside of what happens TO them. Any time I have the characters from the get go, I feel like I'm leaps and bounds ahead. Having a very strong ending in mind before outlining is also very, very helpful. I'd be a Mistborn if possible. So many fun interactions. Not quite as powerful as some of those on Roshar, perhaps, but very fun. They will all be characters in the Dragonsteel series. No, not at all. Just don't try TOO hard to describe every aspect of it. It's good to be ambitious. However, be careful to keep you number of viewpoints down for your first few attempts--that will spiral out of control faster than worldbuilding will. Don't feel the need to explain too much, keep the focus on the characters, and you should be fine.

No. For some, it will take quite a bit of work, but it's possible to get them each to work. Sel's magics are regional, and so they are going to be tough. Scadrial's magics are the easiest. From the Shard in most cases. But it's also often built into the world innately, and so the Shard (if someone is holding it) doesn't always have control over who can or cannot use the magic. Hemalurgy crosses magic systems. You could steal things from people on other worlds, if you knew the right places for the spikes.

Yes. Sure, the story is The Emperor's Soul, and it actually takes place on Sel. (Same planet of Elantris.) The magic system works by using a carefully designed stamp to rewrite the past of an object--creating a 'forgery' of its past, and that changes what it is in the future. Rewrite the past of a beat-up chair so it was owned by someone who cared for it, and suddenly it's polished and maintained. It's not illusion; it's an actual transformation. It works on the same mechanics of AonDor and its kin, using written characters to access the Dor and channel its power. Ha. I am fascinated the idea of golems, and when I play an RPG I'm often trying to make golems of one sort or another. However, I worry that the idea is a little overdone in fiction, so my takes on that sort of thing come in more unusual flavors. Looks pretty good to me. I like how you've got a major goal in finding the intersection of the laylines. I think that alone gives a good foundation for a story. With the races, I was worried at first because the first race looked like it might be just an "Orc with a new name" type race. However, they grew very diverse from there, and I found them interesting to read about. I'd say it looks good to me. Nice work.

Uh... I think that you'd hit the core and that would not be a good thing for you. RAFO Depends on the type of Shardblade. (You have seen three different kinds in TWoK.) For most, no. For some, most certainly. Yes. RAFO Yes. Yes, but it isn't needed. Some do help more with understanding how to traverse the Cognitive Realm. They aren't recognizable, and aren't intended to be, as of yet. There are some around, however.

He is the same person as Szeth; I just changed the name. Sorry, no hidden truth there. This will be answered in his book, during his flashback sequences. No, it does not. (Hm....) Gold star to you. Meaning, can they travel to Nalthis, where Warbreaker takes place? Yes, they can. All of the magic systems are related, and these two do share some defining fundamentals. Possible. It would be the same thing as harvesting the nature of Preservation or Ruin, which--on Scadrial--took the form of nuggets of metal. Favorite world? Probably Roshar, as it's the most unique.

Good question. They came together.

I gained three things, I feel, by working over the years on the WoT. (And, in particular, by studying RJ's work in depth.) I learned how to better balance lots of different viewpoints, I got a better grip for foreshadowing and subtlety over many books, and I gained a deeper understanding of how to write a really sold third person viewpoint. It's certainly one of my favorites. However, some of the characters in the modern day trilogy have some really neat combinations as well. Wow, tough question there at the end. Hmmm.... So many choices. Sermon on the Mount, perhaps?

My pleasure. All of the keeps in the Mistborn series are based on real structures I've visited. The mists are based on a trip to Idaho, were I drove through a fog bank at high speeds. Warbreaker's setting was inspired, in part, by a visit to Hawaii. Much of Roshar is inspired by tidal pools and coral reefs. Brandon

I can answer that--no, no Radiants from those days have appeared on screen in TWoK. No, she has not. You'll learn more about Malise in Book Two. She really is just a rural lighteyes of not much consequence. Shallan's mother, however... Yes. There is more truth to that story than some may think. RAFO Thanks for reading!

Well, the Lord Ruler--don't forget--could compound any Allomancy he wanted. That creates some crazy effects. As for what you discuss in your first question, I don't want to touch too much on Identity yet as I am saving it for later books. Talking too much here might undermine my ability to reveal interesting and cool things in books when the time is right. I like your theory, and it has merit, but I'm not going to give you a yes or a no as it delves too much into what Identity, as an attribute, can do.

There is a reason. I don't know when I want to get into it, however. Indeed. Hm... What could Sazed be doing with that extra power... Fabrials are part of it. RAFO

Okay, this is a big post, and I'm going to warn you--many of these things are things I don't want to talk about yet, as the time is not right. So I'll answer what I can, but be warned that you might get a large number of RAFOs. You're very close here. In general, a large object going through a time bubble is not going to notice. An object is either in or out, and it depends in part on how the object views itself. People inside the train would be inside of its influence, and wouldn't notice the bubble. The spear would go from one to the other, but would never be in both. RAFO RAFO A novel use of Hemalurgy which is not outside the sphere of its powers. Of course. They'd have to fight the Mistborn Llamas, though. Last One: Ha! That's a very interesting way to look at it. The theory isn't all there, but it's thinking along the right lines.

You're on the right track. RAFO Yes. An interesting theory. Tricky question. Depends on the circumstances. The power as a whole, no. Pieces of it, yes. (Ala Spinozism.)

Legion does not exist in the cosmere, so Realmatic Theory is not at play in the story. See above. The one it's bound to. There is not a universal language. RAFO Oooh...now that's a spicy one. Endowment's gift of a superpowered Breath would come down, strike the Lifeless, and all kinds of craziness would occur. You'd end up with a drab god, which would be hilarious. In most circumstances, yes. Yes. Yes. Not on Roshar, though. He's shown up before, so I'd say that's a pretty good indication for the future. Yes, but the charges are just stored in separate pieces of the metal, and don't really influence one another.

Well, Dan (my friend from Writing Excuses) lives in Germany now, so there has been talk of going to visit him. There is indeed a similar relationship there. RAFO

RAFO. (Sorry.) It is a supercontinent. I won't say there is NOTHING out there, but (unlike Scadrial) there is not another full continent. Plate tectonics are not a factor on the supercontinent. There are various levels of cosmere awareness. Some combinations, like some abilities themselves, aren't really that useful. That said, being able to compound copper...that could do some things. Aluminum, not so much.

It feels great, though it's a feeling I've felt before. It was the feeling I had when jumping out of the Mistborn world after finishing all three books and instead doing Warbreaker. For most of the process with the WoT, I didn't feel 'constrained' really. It was more a sense of difficulty--it was difficult to do for unique reasons. Matching RJ's story, making certain to keep characters consistent, that kind of thing. It is refreshing to move to a new project, but this one presents difficulties of its own. I have to follow up The Way of Kings, which I feel is the best book of my career so far. I poured twenty years of effort into that book. Now, the sequel needs to be equally awesome, which is a real challenge. Also, I keep wanting to use WoT curses. The chances are pretty good. Supanova says they want to bring me back, so theoretically I should be joining them again in a couple of years.