Brandon Sanderson's Blog, page 91
March 1, 2011
Review of THE WISE MAN'S FEAR
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.
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.
More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com
February 22, 2011
French Interview + Updates
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.
More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com
February 15, 2011
Going to Dallas/Fort Worth + Updates
I'll be a guest of honor at ConDFW this weekend. My convention schedule is below. But first some updates.
This week's Writing Excuses podcast episode is another of the ones that Dan, Howard, and I recorded at the Superstars Writing Seminar. For this episode, Kevin J. Anderson joins us to discuss the author's responsibility to the reader. If you're not sure what that means (or even if you are), give it a listen. There's also a new WARBREAKER annotation up that covers Lightsong's interaction with Allmother.
ConDFW X
Crowne Plaza Suites
7800 Alpha Rd
Dallas, TX 75240
Here's my schedule. I should also have a signing slot sometime during the weekend but haven't yet heard when that will be.
FRIDAY
Panel Room 1 – Warwick
4pm - Brandon Sanderson - a Reading by the Author
Join our Guest of Honor as he reads from his own works. What will he be reading? Well, that's a secret you'll have to
show up to find out.
Panel Room 1 – Warwick
5pm – From Pests to Pets: Trends in Fantasy
Panelists: Lee Martindale (M), Brandon Sanderson, Rachel Caine, Gloria Oliver, Patrice Sarath
Hollywood has made the Fantasy genre more and more accessible with successful movies such as "How to Train Your
Dragon" and the rebirth of fairy tales in "Tangled" and the upcoming "Red Riding Hood". Our experts discuss where
fantasy is today, and where it will be in the future.
Panel Room 1 – Warwick
6pm - The Aspiring Writers Panel
Panelists: Shanna Swendson (M), Brandon Sanderson, Jack McDevitt, Tim Powers, Brad Fawcett
So you want to be a writer? So do a lot of people, and all of them are scratching and clawing for recognition. Let our
panelists be your guide through literary madness, and show you some of the tips and tricks needed to keep your sanity. This
year we add a little editor perspective to the panel in addition to our Guests of Honor.
SATURDAY
Panel Room 3 – Canterbury
12pm – Writing Excuses: Timing is Everything
Panelists: Teresa Patterson (M), Brandon Sanderson, Lillian Stewart Carl, Rhonda Eudaly, Thomas W. Knowles
Our experts talk about timing, and specifically how to MAKE time to write. When to write, how to write most effectively,
and scheduling. All these things are important and will keep aspiring writers from their livelihood if they aren't careful. [Note: We won't actually be recording any episodes of Writing Excuses at the convention.]
Panel Room 1 – Warwick
5pm – Guest of Honor Speech and Q&A: Writing Excuses with Brandon Sanderson
Did you know that Brandon has a very popular podcast called Writing Excuses? Of course you did! Now come see him
discuss the craft of writing in person. Who knows, if he runs out of words, he may even take your questions.
Panel Room 1 – Warwick
6pm – Fantasy with a slice of Science: How much do you need?
Panelists: Brandon Sanderson, Mark Finn, Lee Martindale (M), Gloria Oliver, Stina Leicht, Frank Summers
It is an easy excuse to use, if something doesn't make sense, it's due to "magic!" But in this day and age, it's increasingly
falling out of favor, even magic must have an order to it. In other words, even magic has a scientific process. But how
detailed must an author go before a public invokes "plausible deniability"? Our panelists discuss their cooking formulas,
and what they view the proper mix is.
SUNDAY
Panel Room 2 – Manchester
11am - Playing in Someone Else's Sandbox: Wheel of Time
Panelists: Teresa Patterson (M) and Brandon Sanderson
Industry pros discuss writing in someone else's world, specifically Robert Jordan's. The panelists won't be covering HOW
they got the job, but rather what they did once they had it. What is it like following someone else's constraints? And really
can it ever be as rewarding as your own creation?
Panel Room 3 – Canterbury
1pm – Don't Quit Your Day Job!
Panelists: Teresa Patterson (M), Brandon Sanderson, Dusty Rainbolt, Gloria Oliver, Beverly Hale
Okay, you think you are the next best thing to sliced bread. The problem is, you NEED bread to survive. Here are some of
the options you can do to make ends meet while you're waiting for that big break.
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February 7, 2011
Another Writing Excuses Video & WARBREAKER Annotation
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 on YouTube.
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.
More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com
January 31, 2011
Writing Excuses Video + Updates
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 on YouTube.
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.
More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com
January 26, 2011
For Your Nomination Consideration + Worldcon Deadline
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:
table.hugo
{
border-collapse:collapse;
}
table.hugo td
{
border: 1px solid black;
padding:2px 3px 0px 3px;
text-align:center;
}
table.hugo th
{
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padding-right:4px;
}
Best Dramatic Presentation Short Form
Doctor Who: "The Waters of Mars" (winner)172172204212350
Dollhouse: "Epitaph 1"199201205243278
Doctor Who: "The Next Doctor"144144173203
FlashForward: "No More Good Days"123125127
Doctor Who: "Planet of the Dead"
7070
No Award59
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.
More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com
January 24, 2011
Updates + Tweets January 17-20
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.
More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com
January 18, 2011
Updates + Tweets January 10-17
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.
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January 10, 2011
Updates, Tor.com Q&A, and Tweets January 6-10
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.
More Blog Posts at Brandonsanderson.com
January 4, 2011
Tweets December 14-31
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?
@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
@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
@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.
@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?
@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
@Ganymede_mj Thanks! Have a good flight.
amurderofcrows Tue Dec 14
@BrandonSandrson I'm game. Where do we post?
@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?
@shnar It was the name of my old writing group.
MaryRobinette Tue Dec 14
Hey! @scalzi just promised all Campbell winners cookies on his podcast. Chocolate chip, please.
@MaryRobinette What about those of us @Scalzi himself beat for the Campbell? Do we get cookies too?
@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?
@1stRainbowRose Anybody who posts.
pale_blue_sky Tue Dec 14
@BrandonSandrson Silly question, but how many words do 5 pages generally equate to?
@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
@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 :P
@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.
@missionmobilizr The only time I'm happy to hear someone say they yawned reading one of my books.
mathachew Fri Dec 17
Finished the #Mistborn trilogy. It's hard to describe it in just one word: Amazing. Addictive. Satisfying. Brilliant. @BrandonSandrson
@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!
@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?
@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 30
I only got 1400 words today, but I FINALLY SOLVED THE PROBLEM THAT'S BEEN PLAGUING ME FOR A MONTH! #thankgoodness #aboutfreakingtime
@robisonwells Wow. Nice book, but I foresee lots of complaints in the future about that ending, my friend . . .
teunvink Fri Dec 31
Finished Towers of Midnight. @BrandonSandrson did an amazing job continuing Robert Jordan's work! Can't wait for Memory of Light #WoT
@teunvink Thanks!
TheOfficeTroll Fri Dec 31
I'm reading Alvatraz vs the Knights of Crystallia. Pages 188-189 make me hate the author. Curse you, @BrandonSandrson
@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!
@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.
@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
@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!
@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
@wutdafuhk Movie is in the works. We're all doing what we can.
japadua Thu Dec 30
As I make my way through @BrandonSandrson books I find myself thinking, "How do i become this guy's friend?" They are just fantastic!
@japadua Yes, my friends are fantastic. Oh, wait. You meant the books. I guess those are too. (Thanks for the kind words.)
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