Zmann966

So which part of the gemstone-spren-stormlight equation is the structural "key" to tap into the investiture? The Nahel bond leads the argument towards the spren itself, but then why can a surgebinder only draw from gems, not the highstorm itself? And the forging was more about the second part of the question, about what makes "people" so difficult... And the Awakening question is also more about how the parts come together to make the whole, too... I guess the "answers" I'm looking for are more clarification on unknown situations involving the root question, rather than the question itself. lol Do you have WoB on any of these? They might help clarify the embedded questions for me as well.

Alright, my burning questions are as follows: (Though I know I'll only get 1, maybe 2. I haven't seen these anywhere [except possibly on the main list] so feel free to answer if I missed a WoB) Thoughts?

It's also not only the best ebook organization software, but lets you open any of your books and Ctrl+F them! (In Sanderson's cosmere books, that's the most valuable tool to me, lol)

Champagne is usually a dry and somewhat bitter white wine, my guess is the comment refers to it's bubbliness and color. For my money this is somebody inventing soda on Scadrial. As mentioned above: here on Earth the first flavored fizzy drinks (and the earliest form of modern soda) was a form of carbonated lemonade, though seltzer water was invented some decades before. It hits about the same time (technologically speaking) that flavoring with fruit, sarsaparilla, and others started to be added to the carbonated water. It started to catch on around the mid to late 1800's, and Moxie, Coke, etc. began gaining widespread popularity and growing exponentially as the industrial revolution began its start—when guns and trains and motor cars were about equal with what we've seen on Scadrial. What this means is that yes, just as Weltall stated: Not only is Scadrial in for an industrial revolution, but a culinary one as well. Mass soda-pop production heralded the invention of cheaper and more easily manufactured sugars, artificial flavoring, and electrical refrigeration. Source: I grew up in a vending family, lol.

Thanks! I had an idea I wanted to write, but couldn't place it in any of my original stories. I got caught up in it and began to write it withing the breadth of Sanderson's cosmere... so Chapter 9 comes right hot on the heels of 8. Please forgive any oddities in the timeline, I've realized that in order for certain things to work out properly, some of the earlier chapters would have to be rearranged a bit... But again, this is really just a writing warm-up most days, so I'm gonna cheat a bit and call it "cosmere mumbo jumo" Also, I realized after posting this that it's a doozy! Apologies for the long chapter. Without any actual editing, my rambling doesn't get cut. I also just realized that the forum post don't keep my paragraph structure/tabs... Boo...

This is going to sound totally lame, but I also feel like you've probably heard it before. You don't build characters, you discover them. lol From what you said, it seems like you already do this. (I do the same thing!) In observing people you interact with personally and hold on to bits and pieces of them for future writing use. It's brilliantly helpful, for sure, and it also helps your characters have a "natural" feel to them. (Don't even get me started on how well it helps out with writing convincing dialogue!) I guess the next stepping stone is to sympathize. You've got this character, woven to shape from bits of your interactions and pieces of your imagination. You've got their personalization, characterization, and motivations ironed out; you have their point A figured out and maybe their point B in mind... At that point it's fairly easy to empathize—after all, you understand them almost intimately. But if you want to push them off the hill and get them rolling, sympathize. It's one thing I praise my background in film for. Even though my focus was writing, I still had to take acting and directing courses. So I learned a lot about not just understanding the character, but being the character. (I know, sounds totally cliche right?) Take a moment, or an hour, or a day, and act out your character. Interact with the world like they would, then throw yourself into the situation you're trying to write them through, (in your imagination of course. Especially if you're writing some kind of high-octane thriller! lol) I find that lowering inhibitions—as actors are trained to do in order to ignore embarrassment and act—and just being a dork and play-acting as the character gets me through situations where I just. don't. quite. know where to go. Good luck!

Always the truth. When I call next week to order my Calamity, I'll ask them about video. It's not really necessary, as all the good content comes in audio form. But I know some people might like to watch it on Youtube. At the very least, I'll plan on bringing my audio kit. I've gone over the "Super List of Cosmere Questions" and pulled some/made some of my own to ask, I'll post here and get your take, once I get them cohesive.

I have professional-grade audio and video equipment, if anyone wants me to utilize it. At the very least I can set up a small audio-recorded on the table with built-in mics better than phone-quality; at most I can set up a camera and put the whole thing up on Youtube. Lemme know if that's something you'd want Argent (as you kinda seem to lead the charge in Cosmere-passion in the Chicago area, lol)

Lol, I'm not worried about spoilers, I've read everything except Chapter 7+ of Liar of Partinel, haha. Lots of good questions in there though, will have to read it over and look for something (currently relevant, now that we have some answers and more questions from BoM and SH)

Got an answer just now about people using metals on other planets: Seems like, as long as your are invested in the Scadrian way (as in are a Misting/Mistborn/etc.) you can burn any metal, as long as it's the right composition. I also got confirmation on something I had suspected for awhile but couldn't find confirmation on: so it's literally the Shardic power itself that blinds Shards from seeing it clearly on the Cognitive. (Or at least, blinds Preservation and Ruin.)

Anderson's hosted the Harriet tour for the WOT Companion, and I attended it. I imagine it'll be similar. (So yes, you need to purchase the book and get a ticket. However, you can do so ahead of time once Calamity releases, or even give them a call to order it and mention you'd like a ticket to the signing.) I'll be in attendance again, btw. Look forward to seeing everyone there, (had been away from 17th before the Shadows of Self tour, too bad I missed you at that one!) Do we have a current pool of questions somewhere for 17th Sharders to pull from during tour events? (I'm currently looking in the archives for more Elantis/Fjordell//Dominion answers, but if I find them I wouldn't mind asking the community's most pressing wonders.)

Woohoo! Coming back to Chicago!

Again, I still feel that Fortune is not a Shard... Not to mention how it's referenced in SH: It definitely feels as though they are referencing Feruchemical Fortune. And it just doesn't seem like it fits shardic intent, as Argent said: However, in doing my own writing, I did end up thinking more about not only "luck" but "fate" and the determination of Destiny and one's "lot in life." In doing so I came across a synonym of Fortune/Luck that DOES fit within the grasp of the Shards we know (State of mind/feelings/thoughts/emotions.) Expectation There's no ground for it, at all. But for some reason it just clicked. If there is a Shard that revolves around the thought of "Fortune" it would make sense to be Expectation. Especially when you consider how thought has such a strong effect on the Cognitive Realm, the expectation of what the future holds could not only be a powerful force in the cosmere; with every object being, in part, somewhat sentient; but one of the powerful forces. Do we have any cognitive aspects outside of Splinters/Invested/Actual People having a "thought" about the future at all? Do the targets of Soulcasting have any hopes or dreams? Or do they simply function as they have always known? If "Hope" doesn't end up being a shard, my money is on Expectation. It's just rampant speculation, but it's relevant to this topic and I didn't quite want to see the argument die, lol.

Quote from Stormlight Archive posted in the SH board about this topoc: Common thinking is that the Shards themselves did something to actually inhibit Hoid's ability to harm people,

Yeah, I used to get Silence Divine and Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell confused all the time. Especially since the chick's name is Silence.

Yes, but that bright patch is also visible from Roshar. It's theorized as just a nebula or swath of densley-packed stars... But no true explanation yet. Exactly. We're just not sure if Wit's metal was FROM Scadrial, or was picked up on Roshar to fuel his Allomancy.

Normally I want to agree with you. Especially when it comes to storytelling, the best thing to keep in mind is "Everyone had their own life. No one is a 2-Dimensional paper cut out character." However, I've come to learn that people CAN be completely described in a few words. Everyone has a motive, or agenda; a goal is behind every decision and choice people make. Usually it can all be traced down to one or two simple truths. For instance: most people's life (here, on Earth, in the USA) revolves around "Make money to survive." and "Get more time to have fun." Mine, for examples is: "Keep my wife happy" and "Constantly strive to produce better films." Yes, people are complex and confusing and full of little quirks and oddities. But people can also be simplified into a few base desires and goals. "Good" and "Bad" are simply an adjective we put on these people based on perception... But... They're also good summaries to define people. Hoid? He's definitely not what we suspect. I have a feeling Brandon is pulling the wool over all our eyes.

Sounds like we have a question for Brandon come the next signing event! lol He mentions Allomancers can still operate their power on other planets, but not that other planets' metals could fuel it. http://www.theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=727#66

I took that to signify that Nazh's knife was aluminum. Which, for a knowledgeable worldhopper travelling to Scadrial, would be smart. But I see that it's flawed thinking, even Allomantically-inert metal would glow in the Cognitive Realm. Hmm, makes ya wonder. Perhaps it is a Scadrian metal vs. others... Though I want to say that it shouldn't matter. The investiture is within the Scadrian people, not the metal. The metal's atomic structure is simply the "key" to unlock it, similar to the Elantrian's writing. True composited alloys from anywhere should be burn-able by an Allomancer.

Who would you call the ultimate antagonist of Mistborn then? If not the godly mastermind directly opposing our protagonists? No what I'm saying is that no bad guys thinks they're bad. They simply have goals perpendicular to the "heroes" of our story. And usually they have less moral restriction than our protagonists. This, to me, describes Hoid perfectly. Sure his methods align with our protagonists (in almost every example excluding Secret History) but remember: this is Brandon Sanderson. The guy behind the greatest foreshadowing and reveals of our time. If Hoid turns out to be little more than a "good guy" running around trying to "save" the cosmere, I'm going to be a little disappointed.

I feel like destruction (and Odium's shattering) would be contrary to bringing back Adonalsium. The worst way to repair something is to break it further. If anything that also describes his perspectives. If his goal is to restore Adonalsium, it would be in his best interests to collect all the shards in an attempt to fuse them back together. Gaining powers and "Connecting" to all of them might be the first step to doing so. See the problem with "not being good or bad" and "serving only your own goals" as everyone is mentioning, is that means yes, you're a bad guy. You may not be "evil" but it also means you put yourself above others, don't care what happens as long as you get your way, and are plotting to reach your goals no matter the cost... Sounds familiar? Yeah that's a bad guy to me. Especially if those costs mean the end of the cosmere as it stands today. After all, Ati was simply serving the intent of his Shard, yet we take no problem labeling him as the bad guy of Mistborn.

Excluding when they're compounders. Even an Aluminum or Duralumin Gnat has some awesome capabilities when he's also a Ferring.

This. The farther (and further, I'd guess) you are from Elantris and Arelon, the weaker Aon Dor works. Forgery and Dhakor have the same fall-off, though Dhakor suffers less-so than the other two. (It is due to the nature of Dominion. The Shard's intent functions as "control" both over people and over a physical area. I imagine "Connection" has some root in it, but you certainly don't need to be near Nalthis for Breath to work, nor Scadrial for Allomancy.)

While I agree mostly with "Fortune isnt a Shard." I do have to make an argument against it. Exactly as Nokomis just stated above, Fortune is more than just pure luck an happenstance. Especially in a universe where "thought creates fact" and we have physical examples of Sentient Thought > Cognitive Acceptance > Cognitive Aspects > New Sentience > True Physical Fact. I still say Fortune is not a Shard. But I, for one, think bearing has a lot more influence in the cosmere than many give it credit for. "I think, therefore I am." seems to perfectly describe Shardic Intent (and vice-versa) Not really Spoiler Bands of Mourning: If Fortune is a Feruchemical Spiritual aspect, along the lines of Identity, Investiture, and Connection, it definitely has more power (and potential) than simple luck.