Ookla

I'd say, if you're really having a hard time with The Way of Kings, maybe start your Cosmere journey with Mistborn or Warbreaker. You might not understand everything that goes on in those, but they're a lot easier to pick up and get into than the Stormlight Archive on your first readthrough, and they're the books Stormlight references the most, so they make reading it lots of fun because of the Easter eggs.

If it's mostly a 'This is starting off really slow and I'm kinda bored' deal, though, just keep pushing. Once you get into the main story, things start to pick up a lot.

I mostly get ideas about the mood or tone of a particular scene snippet (and for some reason these have been geared more and more around romance recently, even though I generally dislike romance). Sometimes, that mood/tone comes from the music I'm listening to.

I also recycle ideas a lot, because I suck at actually finishing stories. Starting them, yes. Daydreaming about them, yes. Finishing them? Not so much. So I collect a whole ton of random, unrelated ideas and start mushing them together to see what sort of story-porridge comes out, and usually it doesn't come out great so I have to separate the ingredients and start over, but sometimes nuclear fusion happens and we get something awesome in the pot.

Then, of course, there's the moments when I'm marginally more aware of the world around me than normal and jump right back into story-land because 'I want to put that sunset in a story!'

Dang. The most creative I've gotten with fantasy creatures is a furry tiger-dragon with wings, and selkies that are otters instead of seals in their fey form. And sure, you've definitely been inspired by previously existing ideas, just as I have--but you've really branched out with it, instead of just tweaking one or two things and calling it good. I love the orange blood for the dragons! Sounds like exactly the sort of tidbit I'd want to find in a fantasy novel.

I won't pretend to know anything except that I've read all the Cosmere, but could you somehow start to "corrupt" Odium's investiture the way Raboniel was doing to the Sibling? That's still a heck of a lot of invesititure to corrupt, though...

Also, would it be better or worse for the Cosmere to have Apathy instead of Odium? Furthermore, you'd have to go through and purify that investiture all over again if you wanted to put Adonalsium back together.

What would happen if you mixed Apathy and Ruin (entropy)? Hmm...

This is a delightfully weird concept; take my like. 

May I interject with a comment? You're welcome to take it or leave it as you please.

As an author, I may have ideas stewing in my head for a long while, and may even decide to do something that's technically been done before--however, by the time I actually finish the project, it's been through so many iterations and been changed so many times that upon the reread, there's hardly anything left of the original prompt. My brain just likes to make stories evolve. I can't say for sure, but I think it's possible something similar might be what happened with Frugal Wizard. (Shrug) As I said, take it or leave it.

To be fair, though, Frugal Wizard is my least favorite of the Secret Projects. I didn't like it nearly as much as I enjoyed the other three.

As for my own unpopular opinions: I think Shallan is one of the best characters and the most fun to read. (It's possible this isn't as unpopular as it seems to me, but I feel like a lot of people complain about Shallan.) Meanwhile, I actually don't really enjoy the majority of Kaladin's chapters, and I think Lift is awesome (and not just when she's had plenty of food, either ). And while I don't like Moash, I feel like it would be characteristic of Sanderson to give the guy a redemption arc.

12 minutes ago, Ookla the Magician said:

I love the cinnamon raisin kind, toasted with cream cheese in the center!

That sounds very tasty indeed... 

On 11/1/2018 at 4:52 PM, Faceless Mist-Wraith said:

266. No matter where you are, no matter how safe you feel, always look behind you.

This is just plain old good advice.

305. If you're standing on a volcano near the climax, do try to avoid triggering the eruption (one of my characters broke this rule and nearly died as a result--though she did kill both villains and sink an island with it). Furthermore, if you are the villain, don't build your base in or near a volcano (a rule my villains broke), because chances are the heroes will somehow trigger the eruption and cause your kingdom to crumble into dust (see LotR and my previous comments).

Tress and Yumi tie for first, with Sunlit Man right behind.

Then there's Frugal Wizard. It was fun, but I don't think I'll read it again.

YKYASFW 2% progress from the author of a book makes you want to jump up and down and cheer.

5 hours ago, Ookla the Magician said:

Welcome!! What's your favorite kind of bagel?

I don't have a lot of experience with bagels, unfortunately, so I have no idea. What's yours?

5 hours ago, TheOokla929 said:

Hello there @Ookla the Ookla! Nice to meet you. I’m the controversial one. Well, one of them. 

Nice to meet you, too!

I have lots of reasons I'm a nerd.

1. I spend far too much time thinking about people who don't exist and trying to determine what actions they would take in any given situation.

2. Upon finding out that many of my co-workers also spend far too much time in the above pursuit, and that there are a great many of us who enjoy D&D, I grew very excited indeed.

3. I have a tendency to use sesquipedalian words that almost nobody around me understands.

4. I'm on the Shard. What more is there to say?

Lovely. Thank you!

Probably has been done before in some way, but: YKYASFW you join the 17th Shard for the sole purpose of being an Ookla. For one thing, why on earth would you join the Shard if you weren't a Sanderfan? There's WAY too many geeks 'round here for most normal people! For another, you have to understand what Ookla Season is to really appreciate being an Ookla, which requires that you spend a lot of time on the 17th Shard.

Also, YKYASFW one of the top criteria for a future spouse is that they must at least have read the Cosmere and tolerate it, because it would be misery to make a whole lot of Cosmere jokes to someone who can't understand them.

27. Lightweave the paintings in an art gallery, and change them slightly every couple of weeks. Regulars to the gallery will get so confused as to why the art never seems to be quite the same as when they last came, but they can't put their finger on why.

Well, there being two of them explains why Ookla the Believer seems to say so much, especially now that their profile pictures appear to be the same...  

Out of curiosity, who are you two the rest of the time?

Hello there!

I probably won't say much--I'm really just a lurker around here, because I enjoy reading everybody else's wacky theories more than I enjoy making my own. However, once I learned that Ookla Season was a thing... I felt a need to become an Ookla myself, and, more than that, Ookla the Ookla, the permanent Ookla, to save myself the hassle of changing my username twice a year. This tradition is way too hilarious to miss out on!