Brandon Sanderson's Blog, page 88

Q&A Recording, T-Shirts & Updates

I had a great time at Polaris in Toronto this past weekend. If you couldn't be there, you can check out an mp3 of the Q&A session that I did, which @Thesleepingwolf has posted online here. (If you want to download it and can't figure out which link to use, it's the one that says "Download File 9.43 MB." Or you can just listen to it on that page.) If you haven't heard me tell the story of how Harriet first got in touch with me, this is a good medium. It also covers several other topics including Mistborn, the Way of Kings, etc..

I'll be flying out to San Diego in a couple of hours for Comic-Con. I posted my schedule in the last blog entry (I'll basically just be there on Thursday).

If you didn't know, InkWing is run by Mistborn/Way of Kings interior artist Isaac Stewart, and they do the official T-shirts for my books. They have a contest every month or so that usually involves giving away free shirts, and this month they also have a coupon code. Check out their post here.

There are also official Wheel of Time T-shirts at Ta'veren Tees, and they have a teaser trailer for a new shirt that will be available this month. Check it out too.

Last week's Writing Excuses podcast episode covered Cyberpunk. So this week Dan, Mary, Howard, and I do one of our brainstorming episodes, in that genre.

This week's WARBREAKER annotation covers the biggest climax chapter. It's chock-full of spoilers, of course.

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My San Diego Comic-Con schedule

I'm on my way to the Polaris convention in Toronto right now (the schedule for that is here, with one correction: the Details, Filler, and Plot panel is now Saturday at 11 and the Ethics and the Wheel of Time panel is Sunday at noon). But since Comic-Con starts earlier next week, I think it's a good idea to post my Comic-Con schedule now.

WEDNESDAY, July 20th, Preview Night:

I may stop by the Tor booth, #2707, sometime between 5:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. This is nothing formal, though.

THURSDAY, July 21st:

12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m., Room 6A

"Putting the 'Epic' in Epic Fantasy: Writing to Excite!" Panel

Panelists: George R. R. Martin, Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson, Christopher Paolini, Peter Orullian, K.J. Taylor, & Kevin J. Anderson. Moderated by Michael Spradlin.

1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., official autographing area

Post-panel signing hosted by Mysterious Galaxy.

2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Tor booth #2707

Brandon Sanderson signing. Tor will be giving away 48 copies of the MISTBORN paperback and five ARCs of the new Mistborn book, THE ALLOY OF LAW. The booth will also be giving out the THE ALLOY OF LAW broadsheet (I'm bringing a few copies of this to Polaris as well). Click for a bigger photo.

I hope to see you there! I'm heading back home Thursday night.

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My Toronto Convention Schedule

It's been listed on my events calendar for months, but in case you live near Toronto and weren't aware, I will be there this weekend for Polaris 25. My schedule is below.

Address: Sheraton Parkway Toronto North
600 Highway 7 East
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
L4B 1B2

FRIDAY

06:00 p.m., York

Opening Ceremonies

07:00 p.m., Room 1080

Meet The Pros

08:30 p.m., Markham-A

Blastoff Party

SATURDAY

11:00 a.m., Newmarket

Ethics and the Wheel of Time

Brandon Sanderson (M), Rebecca Lovatt, Bill Cameron, Kirsten Bland

Robert Jordan is on record as having said that he began writing a work of high fantasy in order to seriously explore issues of good and evil. What is the moral status of someone whom we might find attractive and sound as a character, except that she approves of a reprehensible practice which is supported by her wider culture? What is duty, and is it always best to follow one's agreed-upon duty? Is it justifiable to do one's duty even when it does more harm than good?

12:00 p.m., Richmond

Signing: Brandon

01:00 p.m., Unionville

Finding Alpha Readers: Writing Groups

Brandon Sanderson (M), Erik Buchanan

Writing groups are a terrific way to hone your craft—you can receive unbiased feedback and find out what works and what doesn't. But what should you look for in a writing group? What do you need in order to join one?

03:00 p.m., York

Mainstage: Brandon

(Main address and Q&A)

05:00 p.m., Room 1080

Cartography in Scence Fiction and Fantasy: Worldbuilding - Literally

Brandon Sanderson (M), Jane C. Petrovich, Bill Cameron

Lord of the Rings was one of the first big fantasy epics where the land was as much a character as the characters. Whether it's following the map of a single planet, like Pern, or a whole region of space, following along on a map is sometimes as much fun as following the plot.

06:00 p.m., Room 1080

Magic: The Gathering

SUNDAY

11:00 a.m., Newmarket

So She Likes Coffee . . . Big Deal!

Derwin Mak, Kelley Armstrong, Brandon Sanderson, Rob St. Martin (M)

Writing interesting characters involves more than just giving them a laundry list of likes and dislikes, a hair colour, or a catchphrase. It involves backstory and philosophy, and can be altered by the events of the plot. Not everything about a character is necessarily visible on the page. What goes into creating memorable characters who seem as real as any flesh-and-blood person?

12:00 p.m., Aurora

Details, Filler, and Plot

Brandon Sanderson, Erik Buchanan

It's all very well and good to build an interesting alien world, or to craft characters who are unique, realistic and relatable, but they also have to have a story worth telling. And then there are the subplots: the story within the story. How can you craft a plot that will keep your readers eagerly turning pages to find out what happens next? And perhaps more important—how do you keep track of the plot of your own story when it gets complex?

02:00 p.m., Richmond

Signing: Brandon Sanderson

03:00 p.m., Aurora

Reading: Brandon Sanderson

05:00 p.m., Oakridges

Brainstorming the Ending

Brandon Sanderson (M), Sarah McCully, Erik Buchanan

Sometimes, in writing, the beginning is the worst place to start. A story is sometimes constructed by coming up with the climax first, and working backwards. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach? How do you know whether or not it will work for the story you want to tell?

06:00 p.m., York

Closing Ceremonies

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Updates + Sanderson's Second Law in The Leading Edge

Fantasy Faction did a video interview of me while I was in Europe. The result is over 30 minutes long, and covers topics such as the Way of the Kings, the Alloy of Law, Mistborn as a series, my writing process, The Wheel of Time, and the fantasy genre. Check it out.

There have been a few recent Writing Excuses podcast episodes that I haven't linked yet. First Dan, Howard, Mary, and I did a microcast covering seven different writing questions from listeners. Then we talked about query letters. And this week we talked about Cyberpunk.

The most recent WARBREAKER annotation covers a part of the climax that was one of the cinematic focus scenes I envisioned before I started to write the book.

There's a new collection of Twitter posts up. And besides also having a Facebook page I now have a Google+ account, though there probably won't be much content there until I can start importing my Twitter feed.

And congratulations to The Leading Edge (BYU's science fiction/fantasy magazine) on publishing its 30th anniversary issue. Dan Wells and David Farland contributed stories to this issue, and they've also printed an essay of mine entitled "Sanderson's Second Law." It starts out like this:

A few years back, I wrote an essay on creating magic systems that I titled Sanderson's First Law. It had to do with the nature of foreshadowing as it relates to solving problems with magic. In that essay, I implied that I had other "laws" for magic systems that I'd someday talk about. Well, that time has come, as I've finally distilled my thoughts for the second law into an explanation that will work.

If you want to read the rest, you'll have to get a copy of the magazine. (At least until I post it on the website a few months from now. I also gave an address on the topic at JordanCon this year.)

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THE WAY OF KINGS Wins the David Gemmell Legend Award

I've put up a new WARBREAKER annotation about chapter 55. Plus there's also a new Writing Excuses episode up on professional organizations. As our cohost Mary Robinette Kowal is also the vice president of SFWA, she has many useful things to say on the topic.

About a week ago, I finally got back from my extended stay in Europe. I have to say, you guys treated me very well over there. I hope to be back soon.

One of the highlights was my impromptu event in Amsterdam. If you didn't follow that little fiasco on Twitter, I ended up missing my connecting flight to Oslo because of an air traffic controller strike in France. This resulted in an eight-hour layover.

Well, I tweeted about what was happening, and some very kind (and somewhat determined) fans convinced me I should go out and see the city. I did. And it was awesome. By the end, there were about twenty of us. We grabbed food at a local place, and I asked what was considered authentic Dutch cuisine. I was told pancakes by one person and potatoes by another. So, I ordered pancakes and fries.

Strange looks ensued. Apparently "pancakes and potatoes" meant "pancakes or potatoes." But I stuck to my guns. (And this was by no means just an excuse to order some fries . . . )

The signing in Oslo was awesome. I loved the store, and the turn-out was great. Seriously, if you live in the area, you need to check out Outland Kirkegata. They're the only bookstore that has ever flown me internationally on their own dime just so their readers could get some signatures. And, speaking of bookstores, I did sign some books in a few places, wherever I found them. So here's a list of places you'll find signed copies:

Simply Books, Salt Lake City Airport

Top of Concourse C

Borders Books, Cincinnati Airport
Terminal 3B

Phone: 859.767.4960

Outland Kirkegata, Oslo

Kirkegata 23

0153 Oslo

Phone: 22 33 04 10

The American Book Center, Amsterdam

Spui 12

1012 XA Amsterdam

Phone: +31(0)20 625 55 37

Forbidden Planet Megastore, London

179 Shaftesbury Avenue

London WC2H 8JR

Phone: 0207 420 3666

Waterstone's, Guildford

71-73 High Street

Guildford GU1 3DY

Phone: 01483 536366

I had a great time in London. It was my first visit to the UK, but I intend to get back soon. And of course France was awesome, as always.

One regret of the trip was that after we'd set my dates in stone, we realized I was not only doubly nominated for the David Gemmell Legend Award for Best Novel, but would be leaving Europe only a few days before the ceremony. We looked into changing things around, but the cost—and the fact that I was plain exhausted from the trip—was too much. We went ahead and regretfully returned on schedule.

To my great surprise, THE WAY OF KINGS actually won.

I hadn't been expecting this. I'd been nominated three times before without winning. This year, with two books up for the award (like last year), I was convinced I'd split my votes again and have no shot at it. Beyond that, the competition was pretty steep this year.

I now wish I'd made the extra effort to stick around. Still, my publisher was there, and we'd talked about them accepting the award for me in case I did win. At least we were represented.

Either way, I'm deeply grateful to you all for your votes for THE WAY OF KINGS. Once I get the award, I'll be sure to take photographs and post them up for everyone to admire.

And now, back to work on A MEMORY OF LIGHT.

(Also, p.s., I've been invited to Comic-Con International in San Diego again this year, with a request that I appear on the fantasy panel. I wasn't intending to go, but with the invitation on the table, I decided it was worth the diversion. So if you're attending, plan on seeing me there. I'll bring some ALLOY OF LAW goodies to give away.)

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THE ALLOY OF LAW Sample Chapters

First a couple of updates. There's a new Warbreaker annotation up covering chapter 54 (with more about Old Chaps's background, aside from the usual discussion about the climax), and there's a new collection of Twitter posts. And the second Writing Excuses podcast episode with Mary Robinette Kowal as an official member covers internal character motivations.

The new Mistborn book, THE ALLOY OF LAW, comes out on November 8th. Today, Tor.com released the first batch of sample chapters, with the prologue and chapter one. They will put up five more chapters before the release date, which means that the preview is going to be about a third of the book. That's a large fraction, but I felt that after chapter six was the best stopping point for the preview: it's a satisfying chunk on its own, and it gives a good overview of the different aspects I wanted to include in the novel. It actually takes you up through the end of what I intended to be a short story when I started writing it. Of course well before that point I knew I'd keep writing the story to its natural conclusion, and it turned into a 95,000-word novel. (For comparison, the first Mistborn book was 215,000 words.)

I think you'll like the preview. Go check it out on Tor.com.

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France Schedule + Mary Robinette Kowal Joins Writing Excuses

The rest of my France schedule is below. But first a couple of updates.

Writing Excuses enters its sixth season with an exciting announcement: Mary Robinette Kowal joins Howard Tayler, Dan Wells, and me as our fourth full-time cast member. For the first episode of the sixth season we revisit our very first (unreleased) episode, Can Creativity Be Taught?.

The most recent WARBREAKER annotation is another one on the avalanche that is the climax. It covers chapter 53. Dance, dance, dance.

Fantasy Tavern, Paris, France, June 8

19.30 pm: Please RSVP if you wish to attend. Space is very limited.

Bloggers/Booksellers/Journalists meeting, Paris, France, June 9

19.00 pm: Please RSVP if you want to attend this event. Priority given if you are a bookseller, journalist, or blogger, but they will also fit 25 other people.

Etonnants Voyageurs, Saint-Malo, France, June 11–13

SATURDAY

15.00 pm: book signing (Librairie M'Lire jeunesse)

18.00 pm: panel "We are a legend" / "Nous sommes une légende" (E.M.M., salle 3 – Intra Muros, avec: Claudine GLOT, Gilles SERVAT, HOBB Robin)

19:30 pm: book signing (Librairie M'Lire jeunesse)

SUNDAY

11.45 am: panel "How to use magic" / "Du bon usage de la magie" (MAISON DE L'IMAGINAIRE - Intra Muros, avec: FFORD Jasper, STROUD Jonathan)

14.30 pm: book signing (Librairie M'Lire jeunesse)

18.00 pm: panel "How to deal with someone else's world" / "Comment je me suis emparé de l'univers d'un autre" (MAISON DE L'IMAGINAIRE - Intra Muros, avec: COLIN Fabrice, FFORD Jasper, FRUCTUS Nicolas)

19.15 pm: book signing (Librairie M'Lire jeunesse)

MONDAY

10.30 am: book signing (Librairie M'Lire jeunesse)

14.30 pm: book signing (Librairie M'Lire jeunesse)

15.30 pm: panel "Greet Brandon Sanderson" / "Pour saluer Brandon Sanderson"

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Signing in Oslo Tomorrow

Today my flight out of Strasbourg was delayed, so I missed my connecting flight to Oslo in Amsterdam. The result of that was an eight-hour wait in Amsterdam before the next flight, so I got to hang out with some of the local readers while eating pancakes and fries. If you're in Amsterdam and you missed it, that's probably because you don't follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Sorry for the really short notice, everyone, but you can't really plan missing a flight like that. I do hope to return to the Netherlands sometime in the future, but it could be a few years.

Tomorrow I'll be signing in Oslo, Norway. The Outland Kirkegata bookstore is flying me out, so I hope a ton of Norwegian readers can show up at the signing and make it worth their while. That's the major reason I sent out another newsletter today, but I also talked about my progress on A MEMORY OF LIGHT and about the THE WAY OF KINGS paperback release (it's out now!). If you're not on the mailing list, you can request to be added here. Also tell me your city and state if you want email reminders when I'm appearing nearby.

This week's Writing Excuses episode covers a bit of a different topic from usual. Howard and I sat down with Tom Smith at Penguicon to discuss filking and writing music. Don't know what filking is? Check out the podcast.

We did manage to get a WARBREAKER annotation put up last week. It's the one for chapter 52, and covers a lot of spoilerific things leading into the climax.

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I'm going to France, Norway, the UK, and France again

This morning my plane took off for the first leg of my European tour. The flight was delayed, but I have a long layover in Cincinnati, so I'll still get there in time for my connection. Anyway, here is my schedule of events.

Les Imaginales, Epinal, France, May 26–29

THU MAY 26
3:00 p.m. panel "Brandon Sanderson contre les infames bibliothécaires" ("Brandon Sanderson vs the Evil Librarians") followed by book signing.

FRI MAY 27
11:00 a.m. panel "La Fantasy" followed by book signing.
2:00 p.m. panel "L'état de la fantasy aux USA" ("How is fantasy today in US?") followed by book signing.

SAT MAY 28
10:00 a.m. panel "Dieux vivants, aventuriers, filles du people" ("Living Gods, adventurers, common girls") followed by book signing.

SUN MAY 29
3:00 p.m. panel "Meeting Brandon Sanderson" followed by book signing.

Outland Kirkegata, Oslo, Norway, June 1

Time: 5:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m.
Address: Kirkegata 23
0153 Oslo
Norway
Phone: 22 33 04 10
Type: Signing

Forbidden Planet Megastore, London, UK, June 4

Time: 1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
Address: 179 Shaftesbury Avenue
London WC2H 8JR
UK
Phone: 0207 420 3666
Type: Signing

Waterstone's, Guildford, UK, June 6

Time: 12:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m.
Address: 71-73 High Street
Guildford GU1 3DY
UK
Phone: 01483 536366
Type: Signing

Fantasy Tavern, Paris, France, June 8

Time: 7:30 p.m.–8:15 p.m.
Address: 38 rue de la Bienfaisance
75008 Paris
France

Email to RSVP: tavern@fantasy.fr
Type: Radio show and signing

Another signing in Paris?, June 10

Not sure at the moment if this will happen. I'll keep you updated.

Etonnants Voyageurs, Saint-Malo, France, June 11–13

The panel and signing schedule for these three days isn't yet clear, but I'll post it when I know more.

I finally get back home on the 15th. I've wanted to meet readers in Europe for quite a while, but this is going to be exhausting. Pemberly will be joining me for the second half, starting in the UK, and we'll be able to get some sightseeing in.

I'm sorry if I'm not appearing anywhere near you this time. I'm sure I'll be back in Europe again in the future, but it could be a few years. Next April I'm going to Australia.

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Updates + Hugo Voter Packet

We've got a few more parts of the website working. The percentage bars on the left column are now functional again, and my assistant was able to put up another Twitter posts collection. New annotations and library items will have to wait for later though.

There are two new Writing Excuses episodes up. First, Howard and I sat down with Jim Hines to discuss parody and satire. Then we talked with John Scalzi about dialogue. Both episodes were recorded at Penguicon.

This past weekend at the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards banquet, my friend and past Writing Excuses guest Eric James Stone was presented with the award for Best Novelette of 2010 for his story "That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made." Congratulations, Eric, and congrats to all the Nebula winners! If you want to read the story, Eric has posted it on his site. It has also been nominated for a Hugo Award in the same category.

I want to talk a little more about the Hugo Awards. I've mentioned before how anyone who registers for Worldcon can vote for the Hugos, and a little about how voting works. I haven't said much before about how there is a cheaper membership you can get that basically allows you to vote but not to attend the convention. The Supporting Membership goes for $50, which is well worth it especially if you consider the value of the following: the Hugo Voter Packet.

The Hugo Voter Packet came out at the end of last week, and it's an ebook package containing ebooks for every single work nominated for a Hugo. Most are available in ePub, mobi (for Kindle), pdf, and rtf files so you can convert them to work on the device of your choice.

Now, I should mention here that the $50 Supporting Membership fee, the $100 Young Adult Attending Membership fee, and the $195 Attending Membership fee (prices good until July 17, 2011) do not actually pay for these ebooks. The ebooks are free for registered members, like the DVD screeners sent to members of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences when they're deciding what to vote on for the Oscars. So to support the authors whose works appear in the Hugo Voter Packet, you should still buy the physical books or the commercial ebooks, since the authors do not get any royalties from this packet. (By the way, membership fees only support the running of the convention and are not used for profit.) But the Hugo Voter Packet is a great way to check out works that you wouldn't otherwise have read, so that you may make an educated choice when you fill out your ballot.

The packet contains the full text of eight novels:
Blackout by Connie Willis (All Clear, the second half of the story, is not included)
Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Dervish House by Ian McDonald
Feed by Mira Grant (pen name of Seanan McGuire)
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells (Campbell nominee)
Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia (Campbell nominee)
Moxyland by Lauren Beukes (Campbell nominee)
(There are also excerpts of other novels by Lauren Beukes and Lev Grossman.)

Four complete graphic novels:
Fables: Witches by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham
Girl Genius, Volume 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse by Phil and Kaja Foglio with colors by Cheyenne Wright
Grandville Mon Amour by Bryan Talbot
Schlock Mercenary: Massively Parallel by Howard Tayler with some colors by Travis Walton
The Unwritten, Volume 2: Inside Man by Mike Carey and Peter Gross
(For those who measure their graphic novels in megabytes, that's 685 megabytes of sequential art.)

Two complete nonfiction books:
The Business of Science Fiction: Two Insiders Discuss Writing and Publishing by Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg
Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Tara O'Shea
(There are also excerpts from the two other Best Related Work nominee books and links to all the episodes of Writing Excuses Season Four.)

Dozens of short fiction pieces, including every story in the November/December 2010 issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction, the September 2010 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction, the September 2010 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact, the anthology The Way of the Wizard, and the anthology Godlike Machines (all in the Best Editor, Short Form section). In the Campbell (Not a Hugo), Short Story, Novelette, and Novella sections, short fiction is from nominated authors Lev Grossman, Saladin Ahmed, Rachel Swirsky, Ted Chiang, Elizabeth Hand, Geoffrey A. Landis, Alastair Reynolds, Sean McMullen, Allen M. Steele, Aliette de Bodard, James Patrick Kelly, Eric James Stone, Carrie Vaughn, Mary Robinette Kowal, Kij Johnson, and Peter Watts.

Plus samples of work from nominated artists Daniel Dos Santos, Bob Eggleton, Stephan Martiniere, John Picacio, Shaun Tan, Brad W. Foster, Maurine Starkey, Steve Stiles, Taral Wayne, and Randall Munroe. And I haven't looked in detail at the contents of the sections for Best Semiprozine, Best Fanzine, and Best Fan Writer, but it looks like they also contain tons of complete stories and articles.

This is a very large amount of high-quality award-nominated reading material (some of the works are already award-winners, those that picked up Nebulas this past weekend). If you've been waffling on whether to buy a membership to Worldcon, the existence of this packet is something you should consider. And Worldcon members who are already registered, now's the time to get reading and get ready to vote! (The ballot closes July 31st, 2011.)

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