#16 - Brandon Sanderson Live Signing Session 

Hi, folks. Just a rough timestamped breakdown of the stream. 00:00:00 [The most exciting stream… Now with nested Magellan Cam.] 00:00:33 [Welcome and what Brandon is signing.] 00:01:16 [Magellan chat, including some technical talk regarding the Magellan Cam setup.] 00:02:55 [Hello Cathy in chat!] 00:03:05 [Just Brandon this week.] 00:03:22 [On getting ask so many questions.] 00:04:22 Have you ever been to Mexico and, if not, do you plan on going in the future? [ 00:04:32 A wild Magellan appears.] 00:05:48 Will you ever come to Pakistan? 00:07:03 Have you kicked around the idea of publishing an illustrated version of The Stormlight Archive or some sort of guide with illustrations? 00:08:59 How are you feeling about Dawnshard? 【Factoid banner: What I am signing at 00:10:10 】 00:11:18 [Rhythm of War cover talk including how much artistic license Michael Whelan has when designing the covers.] 【Screen popup: Rhythm of War cover at 00:12:56 】 00:14:16 [Members of the team seem keen!] 00:14:35 Can you talk about some of your experience doing NaNoWriMo as he is going to attempt it. 【Factoid banner: About my bird’s name at 00:18:36 】 00:20:01 Suppose you are writing something really niche and weird. Is it worth polishing that? [The what I am signing factoid banner returns.] 00:23:58 [Oh dear, poor shirt. Also, talk about this shirt.] 00:24:54 On writing sub-plots. How do you know that they are necessary for the story and how do you develop and integrate them with the main plot? 00:31:14 What do you think of Daniel Greene’s claims that you write too much? [Includes Brandon on maintain a work life balance.] 00:34:59 [Brandon cuts Adam off to tell a story about a writer who wrote a lot.] 00:37:04 Hot dog. Is it a sandwich or a taco? 00:37:54 Book translations. Are you responsible or how do you go about making sure details, specifically foreshadowing, don’t get lost in translation? [The what I am signing factoid banner returns.] 00:42:06 Can you talk a bit about your research methods/practices? Specifically, how do you decide what subject matter to become an expert in versus just having a base knowledge in? 00:42:33 [Magellan and him only wanting to do a certain trick.] 00:44:34 [Brandon answers the question here.] [Brandon has mostly covered this ground before.] 00:47:18 Are there any books that have been released in recent years that have granted you the most in terms of personal investment or enjoyment or are there any books you can’t wait to get your hands on right now that are coming out in the future? 00:49:39 If you found yourself as an apprentice in the Cosmere, who would you like as a mentor figure and why? [Cosmere SPOILERS in here, mainly about a certain talking sword and a trader’s apprentice (this being the big one for me).] 00:51:13 Have you ever scrapped an idea because you thought it would be better as a movie, show or video game and not a book? 00:52:11 Do you ever feel limited by the commitment you’ve made with the massive writing of the Cosmere or is there enough variety within the Cosmere to keep you happy and feel like you have some flexibility to do what you want to do with your writing ideas and preferences, especially as they change? 00:57:04 I am getting ready to start my MFA in writing this coming Monday. I am making the right decision, right? 01:05:04 If video games existed in the Cosmere, which current Cosmere character that we know would be the best gamer? 01:06:38 Do you have a collection of signed books? If so, which is your most treasured one? 01:08:49 Should I stop watching you and go write? 01:09:15 Is there ever a chance of you having a Euro friendly time on any of these streams? 01:10:51 I was wondering what you would do in a Game of thrones type situation. For example, say a Stormlight show would come out in the next few years and the show undoubtedly outpaces your writing of the books. Would you tell the writers of the show the outline of the ending like what was done with Game of Thrones or would make the show wait a few years while you catch up on writing or would you even have much of a say? [The what I am signing factoid banner pulls a Backstreet Boys.] 01:15:09 As a writer, how do you avoid rationalizing mistakes? Whenever I find inconsistencies or mistakes while editing, I tend to make excuses for them. For example, when someone does something out of character I usually think, “Actually, it makes sense for him to do that for XYZ therefore I don’t have to change it.” 01:19:51 Do you see yourself ever releasing anymore Sanderson curiosities and, if so, when? [Dragonsteel! By the Almighty’s tenth name do I need that to be a thing!] 01:24:47 [Brandon checks what he is signing and it is something else.] 01:25:33 [How to get the White Sand prose version and other newsletter things. Newsletter link: www.brandonsanderson.com/#signupform ] 01:26:36 [A Freya the Closet Kitten update!] 01:27:23 [How to get hold of Aether of Night.] 01:28:52 What are the big mistakes that new writers are making? 01:33:04 [Trying to get Magellan to Dragon, take two.] 01:34:16 [The answer continues.] 01:36:08 What are some movies you are looking forward to covering in your RU-vid series? [Every Frame a Painting is my favourite of the recommendations Brandon lists in his answer.] 01:40:35 You said that the Way of Kings Prime was the book you wanted to write for yourself to prove that you could do it. How were you then able to realize “it wasn’t good enough” and then do a total overhaul, making it better, without it being totally soul-crushing? 01:43:43 [Brandon asks what he is signing, as it is something new again. Brandon talks about the release party here as well.] 01:46:47 [We can hear Kara, but only just! Having a mic for the team would be great.] 01:47:40 [Time check.] 01:47:45 Would Adolin or Dalinar have a Heron-marked blade if they were in Randland? 01:48:29 How would Adolin fare against the greats, Lan, Rand, Galad? And how would Kaladin and his spear fare against Mat? [Vasher SPOILERS here.] 01:51:36 Has knowing that Tor releases the first big chunk of your books when they are coming out changed the way you write? For example, more cliff-hangers or things like that? 01:52:50 When I write I have a bad habit of skipping ahead and writing the interesting scenes first and then have no interest to flesh out the important bits that are in between. I tried discovery writing but it doesn’t work for me. Do you have any other ideas or suggestions to help me out? 01:56:00 [A Brandon time check.] 01:56:06 What is your favourite part about being a writer? 01:57:33 {Fan-mail from Keelin, Brandon says his favourite quote.} 【Factoid banner: Fan-mail address at 01:57:36 】 02:00:28 [Thank you and goodbye. Also, stream plans.]

We have a bird cam people. Legit though good idea.

7:09 if we do get an encyclopedia for the Cosmere it needs to be named "A Worldhoppers Guide to The Cosmere"

Magellan demonstrating healthy goal setting: Sets a reasonable goal for himself: "Dance!" Performs the necessary task: *dances* Positive evaluation of the goal: "Good bird!"

more than a year late, but one of my favorite Sanderson quotes is "sometimes a hypocrite is a man in the process of changing"

Damn Sanderson, calling Rothfuss out lol. I'm right there with ya. Can't wait for the doors of stone. Can't wait for Rythm of war either but you are a far more reliable author and I love everything you do. I only regret I can't be apart of the kickstarter way of kings. I work 2 jobs 7 days a week just to take care of my family. You help me through the hard time with all your beautiful words and amazing adventures. Keep fighting the good fight. You reach and heal wounds that are never spoken of.

I love the new style. It's like you're a newscaster for Bird News

Parrotcam should be a part of every Brandon video from now on, including all his future writing class lectures.

JDB! Thanks for all the timestamps! You're so awesome for doing them every time! Are you here my friend?

2:32 “bird in the mirror” was the best thing ever.

0:00 This IS my favorite stream on the Internet

So Brandon observes the Sabbath *and* manages to write at that pace? Publish a book pls on how to manage writing, how to keep the inspiration for writing going, how to *start* writing etc please

Every month is national novel writing month for Brandon 😄

For me it was the pandemic and personal strife in my life that finally got me to start making a writing habit.

Hi, just wanted to say that I'm super excited for your newest book. This honestly might be my favorite series that I've ever read.😊

There is so much to thank Brandon for, but the latest one is for being an American that can pronounce Niche.

Ah, thank you so much for asking/answering my question. You’ve made this gal so happy ☺️

I love the bird cam

Haha.. that's a storming good way to start, Mr. Sanderson.

I'm an electrical engineer, the redshifted signal would interfere depending of the codification of the controller. Most cables wouldn't suffer too much, but if you comprised it too much, it might misinterpret some signals. But I haven't got to Mistborn Era 2, so I might be interpreting the magic wrong.

Im from spain! I am so happy to get a simultaneous release. And definetly would love a euro friendly stream.

I feel we should have a two hour stream about the bird

Daniel greene mention at 31:16 😳😼

"what even is Mat" I think we would all like to know honestly

its fun knowing one of these will be making its way to my house in seattle, I Loved to cover art and needed it haha. what a round trip that book is going to make!

Yes Magellan get his own cam!

I am from Romania but I always buy the English version of books not the Romanian ones. I am not speaking of Brandon's books as I have not read them in Romanian but as a rule of thumb the translations into Romanian are more adaptations than translations. Usually what publishers do, is take a book like Brandon's books, with an accessible writing, frequently used vocabulary, and they translate it into Romanian using archaic words or words that are not used in normal speech. What it ends us is instead of say 500 pages you get 700 pages of translation, a dialogue that feels very disconnected from how people really speak and you almost need a dictionary next to you to understand each word. It is jarring, the feeling from the original is lost and replaced with a archaic feel. It is common to translate an adjective/adverb into 2 archaic ones though you have the exact equivalent in the usual speech. For me it is way easier and more pleasant to read in English that in my native language. Curious to hear what other peoples experience (with translations in other languages)is.

The preview chapters have me so hyped for this next installment, thank you for doing that!

Question for stream: Are you guys looking into shipping from the uk or mainland Europe as well? For us Europeans it is almost impossible to get our hands on stuff from your shop such as the leatherbound books due to 70+ dollars on shipping and another similar chunk of money in border fees when it arrives. Making it almost 400 dollars for me to get a set of way of kings leatherbounds. Due to eu borders being open. Shipping from 1 country in the EU means none of these insanely high prices for all other EU countries.

Seriously the twitch idea with unlocking things everytime you finish a stack sounds really good..

What a smart chicken.

Woah! i couldn't see the stream because it was at midnight but my question made it! Thank you, that actually helped i think.

Re: question about master's degrees. While I don't have an MFA, I do have a masters degree in an unrelated field. The networking and internships/practicums/hands-on training opportunities were FAR more useful than the actual classes. For me the decision was a little different than for someone in creative writing because my field has an unspoken requirement that you need at least a Master's degree to compete for most professional-track positions, but I would still encourage anyone looking at graduate-level education to focus on what connections and internship opportunities a program provides rather than just the available courses.

I read "live singing session" 🤣 Maybe next stream?

Don't need to "gamify" to stream on twitch! There are non-gaming sections! I for one would love if the signing sessions were streamed on twitch as i spend a lot more time there than on youtube.

I miss Every Frame A Painting. Tony's essays were really very good.

Brandon, the italian edition of RoW is also coming out november 17!

Waiting for that hero to come along and time stamp the whole thing.

Ah you love Darker Shade of Magic. I love VE Schwab's books. Apparently her recent one Invisible Life of Addie Laurent is going to be mind blowing.

I have never won NaNo but I've enjoyed it every time I've attempted it 🤣

I hope to be this productive one day

Who could have predicted Brandon mentioning RedLetterMedia, quite a crossover!

OK, now I'm curious about which book of Sir Terry was inspired by a Wing Commander game if that anecdote is true.

thank you for the answering my question :)

The ole hot dog taco vs sandwich? It's a sandwich UNLESS it's a Sonoran dog. Then it is more of a taco. Go Google Sonoran dogs if you've never had one. You'll thank me! Thanks for a terrific stream! I love listening to these.

1:33:05 bird tricks

Anyone know which sentence from Final Empire was altered and ruined the foreshadowing? Mentioned at 39:00

1:56:16 I just adore you, Brandon.

Omg I have that UK The Final Empire edition where the prologue was slightly changed. It messed up the foreshadowing meant by BrandoSando. It’s so annoying. The book is beautiful otherwise.

I just realized that there probably won’t be a release party this time... I know there are way worse things that could happen but it still feels bad. At least 2020 will bring a storm light archive book, so it technically won’t be all bad.

Anyone a fan of the graphic audio Sanderson audiobooks? I got into Sanderson after Oathbringer and wondering if anyone remembers how long it usually took between release and the GA audiobook to be completed?

Something tells me Brandon's going to be inundated with signed Jordan Books after this livestream.

1:38:57 ah, I see you're a man of culture as well

I misread this as Live Singing Session and I think the thumbnail helped add to that confusion and then I realized my mistake and was pretty disappointed tbh.

@Brandon Sanderson, your website says that I should send fan mail to an address in NY. is that still accurate?

I’m guessing the “weight of the world” line right there on page 1?

Do the release party for Canada too!

still waiting on the stream when they start using sound dampening!

Isn’t it way easier to sign the papers if he puts the stack to his left and moves the papers with his left hand? I’m sorry this just had been on my mind for a couple of streams😂

"Tip-in". I thought he was saying "tippet pages".

We need a world guide, please.

Such a class in the subtile Rothfuss's shade 😁 Sorry, but as a reader, I won't ever trust him again with any series. There's an unspoken contract between the author and his readers, and he broke it. GRR Martin has circumstances and valid excuses for his delay, also, old age. P.Rothfuss doesn't enter this category, more like a cheap Rimbaud kind of personnage. (And yes I do agree, his prose is magnificent. Yet, many good critics underlined pretty well all the other inherent defaults of the two first books- and how they can explain such a block for writing book 3)

The original spanish version is good. Not the Best but better keep it at native language 🤪. Keep it up* gancho! Best regards from Chile! 🧐

Where do we submit questions

Ummmm.

Never understood book signings. Its waste of authors time and can cripple a hand if done a lot (like in this video, Jesus fuck, 2 hour signing sessions, he will get carpal syndrome in no time at this rate...).