#4 - Brandon Sanderson Live Signing Session 

That chicken on his shoulder is freakin' sweet.

Hi there. Just a rough timestamped breakdown of the stream by question. 00:01:28 [Explanation of what is going on, technical difficulties, why Brandon is doing this and Dragon wrangling.] 00:03:37 Can one person speak the oaths of more than one order (of Knight Radiant)? 00:04:06 [RAFO explained] 00:04:35 What video games have you played lately? [Includes a little bit on future writing plans.] 00:07:25 What areas in your writing are you focusing on improving, if any? 00:09:12 Do you prefer one of your books to be adapted into a live action series or anime series? 00:10:38 How are your beta reviews of Stormlight four? [No spoilers here!] 00:14:09 How do you choose where to start your book? Meaning, how do you pick your opening sentence etc. I want to write but I struggle coming up with the best way to start. [Brandon talks about posting the Skyward outline in this answer.] 00:16:05 [Cathy, Wrangler of Dragons!] 00:18:27 [Thoughts on the Skyward outline] 00:19:41 What colour lightsabre do you want? 00:20:15 Why are you putting the pages in three stacks? [Answered in a previous stream as well.] 00:22:06 I just finished the Legion series and it’s amazing. Will you ever go back to it? 00:24:08 Are there any debut fantasy authors from the last couple of years you’ve become a fan of? 00:25:41 [Goodbye Magellan, A wild Isaac Appears.] 00:26:31 [Cosmere Christmas card show and tell.] 00:28:40 [Stormlight leather-bound Kickstarter discussion and unique Mistborn leather-bound show and tell.] 00:29:59 Which kind of maps are harder, city maps or region/continental maps? 00:32:27 What is your take on Brandon’s shirt? [Brandon discusses the trials of finding appropriate clothing for being filmed in.] 00:35:25 Are there any interesting map techniques or designs you’ve seen recently that you want to try out? 00:37:15 How hard is it for a new author to convince a publisher to put art or maps in their books? 00:40:40 Will you ever consider doing non-Christmas holiday cards? 00:41:14 How did you get into drawing maps? [Includes Brandon discussing his Legend of Zelda experiences.] 00:45:04 Did you ever play Contra? [Question to Brandon that includes much old video game discussion.] 00:49:22 In the 10th anniversary Stormlight books, will we be getting Shallan’s sketches in colour? 00:50:51 How do you two work out geography and keep things consistent between the maps and the books? [With a side-track into possible Way of Kings leather-bound Kickstarter rewards.] 00:55:53 How should one look for artists for their stories, especially character background and concept art? 00:57:17 Do you have any book recommendations for city development etc. for those drawing their own maps? 00:58:03 For geography and things like that, how did you learn how rivers flow? [Prompt from Brandon to Isaac.] 00:59:00 [An Isaac story about a completely different style of maps and the shell map from Way of Kings.] 01:00:42 How do make maps for a whole world because I always make them too small or too big? 01:01:38 What’s the process of making a map? How much information does Brandon give and how much do you adapt it to yourself? 01:03:05 Do you guys ever play games together and what do you play together? 01:04:08 I write and do my own illustrations. Is it bad that I sometimes replace my daily word count with an art project? 01:07:02 [A stream time limit explanation.] 01:07:40 How close are the depictions of characters on your covers to how you picture them and do you fear those descriptions overtaking your head cannon or limiting your readers imaginations? 01:12:00 [Pen runs out and future stream plans.] 01:12:49 [Character art discussion continues super briefly.] 01:13:16 [Bye Isaac, thanks for dropping in!] 01:13:30 Do you have a hidden talent and, if so, what is it? 01:14:05 With multiple POVs how do you outline their story beat, plot points and hero’s journey differently from the protagonists? 01:16:16 Do you think there are any obligatory reads for writers? 01:17:30 When you are worldbuilding a setting of a novel, at what point do you say to yourself, “okay, this is more than enough!” 01:19:10 How do you convey the main protagonist has a terrible time, making the reader care about him, but don’t make the reader feel terrible as a consequence? [Headphone users beware of the Dragon screech.] 01:23:18 You wrote so poignantly on Kaladin’s depressed mood. Do you have any personal experiences that may have informed your writing about depression? 01:24:36 With so many possible ways it could go, how do you make decisions about plot setting and character without getting overwhelmed about making choices that work? I get frozen by possibility. 01:27:45 How can I avoid similarities with other books? Let’s say I’ve almost finished my book then I find out about another book with a very similar magic system. What should I do? 01:30:07 [Goodbye!] Links to and non-clickable timestamps for the Twitter parts of the stream not included in this video to follow in the replies.

Just when you think he can't get any cooler, there's a bird.

Makes me wish i had 200 mil. Those films with Sanderson writing would make a killing!

Holiday card idea: Kaladin and Shallan exchanging gifts. Kaladin gives Shallan boots, while Shallan gives Kaladin a stick. Bonus points: the stick loudly announces what it is while Kaladin unwraps it.

I started watching before falling asleep, and this video kept rolling and went to the previous signing streams. I was dreaming of button stealing parrots alllll night loooong.

Awwww that bit about video games with his son was *adorable*. lol - the advice about concept art is one of the major ways I find new authors to read of.

Hi Brandon. Just started book 1 of wheel of time. 1st time thanks to for all the recommendations with this saga...

Have Wayne take a present from Santa without his knowledge and give him like a coal in exchange like he sometimes steals in the books.

Blushweaver wearing a really bad/cheap Santa costume and beard while trying to get Lightsong to sit on her lap

Thank you for the links. I loved Skyward and Starsight. I think seeing how your story progressed though the writing process would be educational to me.

Really appreciate the livestreams!

I remember the signing of a leather-bound book where they sent you all the books. It looked amazing seeing them all stacked up like that.

Your world building comment speaks to my experience. I started off blocked by a self-imposed obligation to invent an entire pantheon of gods. I took a step forward by limiting local knowledge to a few demigods. I created a vast network of trade relationships centred around three guilds. I'm finally down to writing the seven characters in this remote trading outpost. If I were starting from scratch, I would write a haunted village in a swamp.

I cannot wait for the The way of kings Kickstarter..

Thanks for the informative content.

Signo Uni-ball! Yes! I am so weirdly passionate about that pen. I was going to recommend it when you mentioned the search for a perfect pen, but you're already using it! This is such a weird thing to be excited about, but it's really cool that my favorite author appreciates the same pen as me.... (also fun fact, as a metallurgist I have heard part of the pen's secret comes from the metallurgical engineering behind the steel tips)

i love hearing the ad lib conversations, like the one about games, it's awesome to listen to

Christmas card idea - Lift taking Christmas cookies before Santa can!! *rushes off to draw fan art of this*

For the Christmas card: Let Santa fly on M-Bot with a Doomslug helper ❤️

Holiday card. Iam a stick.... Christmas tree

Magellan!!! Oh, and Brandon. Just kidding, love you both 😆♥️

NEED the skyward outline!!!

I remembered being awed by save functions after playing some Scooby Doo game on SNES and had that code you had to remember to get to the level you were on.

I'm seeing it. I see you and the bird

Coming in a few days late. I’m definitely down for two old men reminiscing about video games.

01:27:45 So I recently rewatched lost and listened mistborn era 1 ausiobooks and was stunned at the similarities I did not spot the first time round.

What a sweet macaw🥰

Card idea. SPOILERS for Mistborn 3, the Hero of Ages. We see a crowd of people stepping out of the bunkers into true sunlight for the first time in about 1,000 years. Their eyes are about to finish adjusting to let them see the beautiful green grass and blue sky. It is a world that has been SAVED, as predicted by the prophesied hero. And in the grass we see beautiful, many colored, eggs. Because it's an Easter card. I think it could be a very beautiful card thst would fit the commercial and religious sides of Easter. (I was starting to tear up just thinking about it.)

WE MUST UNITE THEM 200 million dollars we can start now, but somebody has to take the first step and make a go fund me/kickstarter for a Mistborn Movie, together we could make it happen! If we get a mistborn movie the other books will be possible too, But we must UNITE THEM 9:40

1:27:40 I can't stop laughing how he pronouned my name lmao. I'm sorry xd

I love you

Something with a forgery stamp from Emperor's Soul would be awesome on a Christmas card.

YOU HAVE A RED CHICKEN! I love him.

Going back to old episodes to watch for goodies. If anyone at Dragonsteel reads this please do Doomslug Xmas cards

1:10:25 I am so happy that he has this philospohy on the character details. This is my philosophy as well, I just hope I can do it as well as he does. There is a part of the writing community that has given me some grief over this though and demands that every character be described to make sure that diverse characters aren't whitewashed by the reader. I think I give enough hints and details to let you know that not everyone is white, but I don't say who specifically since that's not really an aspect I explore.

Brandon - when you measure daily word count do you count edited words or is it always new words?

This is weird. This show up in my home on youtube. Not in my subscription lost. When I go to Brandons youtube page this is not listed as a video.

Why am I just now hearing about "Writing Excuses"? Adding it to the lineup...

can we close out the current era of mistborn please Brandon, i dont know how much longer i can last.

Serene dressed as Santa and giving presents to the Elantrians instead of just random supplies

Actually fine

I have a clear picture. Watching on mobile

Hey Mr. Sanderson. I'm a big Wheel of Time Fan. Just wanted to ask you what was one of your favorite memories you had while finishing the Wheel of Time Books for Robert Jordan. My other question is are you involved in anyway with the upcoming Wheel of Time tv series? Thanx for your time!

Hi Brandon I’ve become a huge fan even though I have not read any of your books. I discovered you through one of my favorite RU-vid creators who did a lot of Game of Thrones content. He posted a video with the title “ Why Bridge4 and who is Bridge Four on his Channel “bridge4”. Guess my first book will be a signed, leather-bound volume. Which book would you recommend? I appreciate how much you care about your fans given the number of hours you spend signing books. ❤️👍

Hoid/Wit impersonating Santa.

Rudolf the red nosed chull? Dakhor krampus! Dhakrampus!

10:56 Jeez... thanks bird.

I didn't know Mark Wahlberg was a fan of fantasy.

You are on

There’s the bird.

Do you see your books becoming a movie, tv series or video game first?

I read this as a live singing session. Disappointed.

If you could play poker with six of your favorite book characters 4 you created 2 you did not who would they be also if you could ask each one a question what would you ask ?

Will the arcanum unbounded be updated as time goes on to include more books, or will we end up seeing, "Arcanum Unbounded II," or something like that?

It’s always about the buttons tho, haha.

Pattern! Give us something with Pattern for the Holiday Card! Something with Pattern as a chaperone?

Look! Its a chicken! ;)

One of the cameras show a rectangle in the middle

where is the link to skyward opening

Did you like shads book?

10:58 someone feels a little better hehehehehehe

Hi, Sanderson , what's wrong with the sound?! It's really bad!

WTF I missed it :((

If you want to use my name as your map pen name, go for it.

Pfft castlevania. Try ghouls and goblins a try!

He has the same voice as Ben Shapiro

0:47:43 Two old men? Are these not supposed to be games from our childhood? Cause I played them growing up... oh... nevermind...

Please,subtitles in spanish. Please brandon xd

It must be so strange being the central resource in a multi-million dollar operation. Sanderson seems like he gets very tense and terse when he is "off." I hope you're OK Brandon.

No se ingles, una pena