Hello all! This was a short video we prepared for a comic and game convention in Italy that Brandon was unable to attend due to current global circumstances. We thought you would enjoy it too.
Ah, yes as the saying goes: "fairytales are true, not because they tell us that dragons are real, but because they tell us to empathize with middle aged women."
@@caleb1031 The original quote is: "Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten." Erutz altered it to fit with Brandonʻs story of reading his first fantasy book.
@@BlackHand531 haha you're like my buddy. My favorite is oathbringer (which is not a popular opinion I guess?) but I haven't obsessively listened to rhythm of war 5 times yet so who knows 🤣
I feel that finding a new fantasy / SciFi book is like going through a small hole in the ground and finding a new world. The problem when it becomes mainstream is that now you see it everywhere, on T-shirts, outdoors, on coffee mugs, etc. So, if it is everywhere, it stops looking like another world and becomes the common world. It happened to me in relation to the Lord of the Rings. Maybe I'm not sure, but I kind of understand that this is why some geeks protect their favorite "world" so much.
While I can understand this sentiment, I think they aren't ours to keep or protect. And maybe when these stories get more mainstream, they will get to someone who needs that story, and had no means to find it when it was more hidden. If something brought me joy, I hope to share it so it can bring others joy. It would be selfish of me to try and keep it protect just for myself, I don't need a precious. While the monetizing of the worlds we love can become overwhelming and feel like they devalue those stories, it might finally make it to more people who will share the same love as you, and hopefully connect and unite us. Sorry to be preachy.
Yeah, I get that. It's like people who enjoy the MCU or the Walking Dead on TV, now saying that they're comic book fans. Before it blew up, TWD was a comic gem. I was at the store, one day and this guy comes in with his son. The boy must have been four or five; he was neck to toe in a Deadpool costume and holding a Deadpool stuffed toy. The kid's like, "Deadpool is a hero!" I'm thinking, no he's not! His whole appeal is around being an ANTI-hero. Did this guy let his kid watch the movie? Anyway, the stuff we love can apparently be sold to anyone, and completely out of context. Books are probably the ultimate medium of integrity.
@@zacharyanderson6836 my compromise between your sentiment and OP's has been to just enjoy things quietly. The people I enjoy talking to aren't into the same stories as I am, and having a favorite author in common...isn't always enough common ground to get along with someone. Fantasy and scifi are how I take breaks from the world and keep me awake on long drives, and that's good enough.
@@xXx_Regulus_xXx Totally get that, and I am definitely not saying you have to be out there shouting about it. But if you see other enjoying it differently than you, I don't think it is on us to shout them down. Anyone enjoying things on their own doesn't take away from others.
I personally like when the niche things I like reach a larger audience, because then there are more people to talk to about it with! In fact, I remember back when Elantris and Mistborn were released, when Brandon was an unknown author that I was a fan of. I really enjoyed sharing his books with people who had never heard of him and seeing them find the same passion for his works, and now I enjoy even more that a lot of the people I ask already have heard of him and love his books!
Ditto! Someone shared those two Cosmere stories with me. I quickly became a fan, and have read much of Brandon's work (Reckoners & Legion sagas are my favorites). I would recommend Elantris & Mistborn to anyone I could. Today, everyone has already read some Sanderson & we recommend other series to each other: like Gentlemen Bastards, First Law, Red Sisters, Kingkiller Chronicles, ..... Wassup Alcatraz! Great magic system in those books.
Hi. Just a tiny timestamp. 00:18:31 The Rhythm of War reading starts. (The reading is from the second interlude just in case you want to avoid it because of SPOILERS.) 00:27:08 The reading ends.
Update: Narrator: Things were looking grim for Mr. Dave. Fortunately the whole thing was a misunderstanding about exactly which interlude was “the second”, and he _had_ gotten that far.
75% through The Way of Kings one of the best I ever read. Can't wait to jump into Words of Radiance and soon enough catch up to Rhythm of War and experience The Thrill.
@OnThisSideoftheSky when I first started reading I messed around with wikis eager to familiarise myself with some of the characters relationships but I quickly discovered that reading anything on there could spoil so I mostly stay away. Hyped for WoR now 😀
Reminds me of an Orson Scott Card Quote: "Why else do we read fiction, anyway? Not to be impressed by somebody’s dazzling language-or at least I hope that’s not our reason. I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not “true” because we’re hungry for another kind of truth: The mythic truth about human nature in general, the particular truth about those life-communities that define our own identity, and the most specific truth of all: our own self-story. Fiction, because it is not about somebody who actually lived in the real world, always has the possibility of being about ourself."
@@DrTheRich Yep, Orson Scott Card's closed self-righteous moral rants, and hatred, are sad. But it's the lobbying he did for laws to punish anyone who disagrees with his morals and imprison them that's the true evil. It's nice though that he's slowly decided jailing gays and lesbians isn't the best way to deal with them.
@Brady Dill "the side of history" precisely the kind of moralism I'm allergic to. There are no sides to history... Who knows, maybe humans are a disease to the universe, and it turned out your respect of life is actually the immoral perspective. Or maybe not. Point is how can you know? So maybe let's put off judging people before you know the answer to that question.
@@DrTheRich So in your view calling people like Pastor Steven Anderson (who has millions of followers and calls for government death camps/executions for all gays) wrong is moralism that you are allergic to because respect for life is to be debated? In your view at what point can Stalin and Hitler's actions be viewed as a bit iffy? Like 3000 AD? After aliens come down to guide us on galactic morals?
@Brady Dill just a little research on Wikipedia turns out, he has "no interest in criminalizing homosexual acts" "Responding to public criticism of the 1990 essay, Card stated since he received criticism for being both homophobic and for "being too supportive of homosexuality", he considered himself as taking a middle way "which condemns the sin but loves the sinner"." Reading the rest of it, he seems to never have hurt or killed some, no accounts of excessive rudeness. He even seems to support very popular left ideas like "including desiring liberal immigration laws, gun control, and abolishing the death penalty. In 2000, Card said he believed government has a duty to protect citizens from capitalism. Card became a member of the U.S. Democratic Party in 1976 and has on multiple occasions referred to himself as a Moynihan Democrat, as recently as 2020." So apparently there is barely a thing I disagree on with this guy... But guessing your standpoint from your statements (excuse me if I'm wrong) you agree on more with him than I do. Anyway, about morality, where do you get it from? Are you a christian, muslim, buddhist, paganist? If not, then what's to tell you gay marriage is wrong or right other than your gut feeling??
What I don't like is people coming into a hobby and turning it into something that is inrecognicable to the original product for their own political agenda. Best example: Warhammer 40k and the wish for female space marines. 1. It's stated in the lore, that the Emperor didn't want it. 2. There are two exclusivly female factions, which made femininty part of their identity. Warhammer is inclusive already for also being a grimdark and absolutly brutal universe, where inclusion doesn't exist. Being inclusive and PC is not something that you would see in a universe lime 40k. And frankly, it shouldn't. Or stuff like making Roland Deschain black for the movies, even tho the books have a theme of race and it's important, that Roland is white. Racism is a topic and at one point, he and Eddy are being called racist slurs by a black woman, another protagonist. That's imporant for the story. So when people say "my story is co-opted by these people" sometimes, there is some truth in that.
Also interested. I found one by Barbara Hambly from 1985 which may be the right one? After watching again, this is it en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonsbane www.goodreads.com/book/show/176268.Dragonsbane?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=vOdgqtpPSY&rank=1
10:17 - "This author, Barbara Hambly." Didn't read this one, but I did read the Darkmage series. That series was a fun read but honestly a bit generic.
I know i am guilty of feeling like i want to keep geekdom to true geeks. I am especially feeling this with the wheel of time. On one hand i am looking forward to easier to find merch, on the other-hand i kind of feel the need to prove myself a fan before everyone is a fan.
My experience within the geek/nerd community has been different as far as acceptance of others. I can’t think of a single time my different groups of friends has ever wanted to exclude anyone, for any reason. We’ve always been welcoming and encouraging.
You know what, Brandon? You are that teacher for me, even though I've only watched your videos. And I'm 31. I hear and hope that it's never too late to start, but I am SO happy that I have, indeed, started. And I FINALLY feel confident not only in my writing but my life, since I started writing after 30. Truly, thank you.
Mr Sanderson! I love your work. I learned you were interested in guesting on Critical Role and I listened to it recently, have you looked into it further? Though with social distancing that would probably be a complicated.
I like that he invited us to share our love for books, both fantasy and SiFi, it call to mind for me whatcing my siblings as they read and discover, lough and cry as I'd done, and of course a part of me is envious of them being able to read the book of my past and it be a surprise, but overall I see myself in them. Their wonder and appreciation harten me
You're very forthright, love it! In the digital age, can please explain "underground;" "mainstream", don't you feel, the internet is a great democratizer?
I think the complicated part of it is sometimes not liking how our favorite media gets interpreted by Hollywood or whoever is adapting it. For example, as much as I want a Mistborn movie it also scares me because I don’t want it to be done wrong. And I admit I would find it hard to deal with people who had only ever seen a bad movie. I would get over it, but it would be hard.
Lincoln Nebraska is really awesome. A strange place for such a high amount of fantasy nerds. Thanks for writing your books. Best thing I’ve read since Lord of the Rings!
For me, the way i got into fantasy was through horror genre which is weird but it's a long story... then suddenlyi fell in love with sci-fi/fantasy, and now I'm a huge fan of it especially your books, the first fantasy i read was Mistborn and i absolutely love it💖 Thanks for your amazing job! Love from Iran...❤🇮🇷
I really appreciated the challenge you put out there for people that are involved in fandoms of various fictional works. The challenge that veterans should be Mentors, not Gatekeepers of their beloved series. It's amazing how toxic some of the Nerd Culture can be, because people aren't "true fans" of something. So your suggestion actually really hit home for me. An example of this is a Japanese Manga/Anime I read called "Black Clover", I started watching it when many episodes were already released and it reached a very certain story arc. I enjoyed it more and more as it progressed and in doing so, got involved in the Black Clover community. Sadly, the anime community threw hate at this series, but as it progressed and grew more popular, some of them changed their minds and others were just simply introduced. The worst part of it, is that some members of the Black Clover community are beginning to return the hatred it initially received and throwing it back to the previous haters that have changed their mind. Anyways, just saying your suggestion/challenge really hit home for me and I really hope that many people take it on. Because I think it'd be fantastic if we could simply "all get along" and enjoy various fictional works together.
Those old TMNT comics were some of my first comics, too. My dad bought them for me at an extremely inappropriately young age and it influenced me heavily.
The notion of being a part of the fantasy culture after it has gone mainstream is actually the biggest reason why I feel so insecure about it. I don't need someone to tell me I'm not a "real fan" because that's what I feel like. I'm only 23 - as of writing this - and I didn't really get into the fantasy scene until I was either 21 or 22, coincidentally enough through Mistborn. The thing is that I was a huge reader when I was a kid, I remember you couldn't go a day without seeing me with a book in my hands. But school really just ruined it for me with all the assigned readings and textbooks, so there was a long stretch of time when I was neither reading nor engaging in what's considered nerdy or geeky. I never had a moment where it all came together and I realized that I was in love with fantasy, I never went to a local comic book shop and found a group of fellow misfits, I was never a part of what is considered archetypal of fantasy culture growing up as a kid. Because I'm getting into this after it has all gone mainstream, and I'm even working to become a fantasy author myself, it feels disingenuous, like I'm only getting on the hype train because it's what's now called popular.
I'm not sure if fantasy books are quite mainstream yet. The tv series are working because thats mostly the chosen format for young people and busy people. I'm a reader myself, but its just not for everyone
I feel like sometimes the more popular a hobby/IP/etc becomes generally, the more excluded you can feel when you are into some specific niche of that interest. Kind of like being a "fan of the books" type of thing. Not that "fans of the books" should look down at fans of adaptations, but it can feel even lonelier than when no one has discovered the IP at all.
Everyone is a nerd, at least about something. Some people just allow themselves to be one and others suppress it. Nerds are just a group of people who have refused to NOT be "into" their thing throughout history.
I love how Brandon waited to drop the name of his first fantasy novel until the first 3rd. Even in this video, he still managed to tell a compelling story lol.
Have to check out early because I want to read it for myself. :) But I LOVE your fantasy origin story. If Eragon had never introduced me to phsyics-ish magic systems, I don't know if I would have gone on to STEM or read Sanderson stuff. Thanks for sharing!
What I don't understand about fanatical nerds is that they complain endlessly about the fiction that they claim to be fans of. I thought being a fan meant you liked the material? They demand that every little detail be explained and they need everything to make sense. Why?
There's two reasons for it, and both have to do with what a nerd is. A nerd is essentially someone who's very good at collecting random tidbits of information, but tends to not be great at finding a real use for them or painting a bigger picture with them. So one is that the natural reaction to liking something is to want more of it, and getting more in any form feels pretty good. A nerd is good at collecting random little tidbits, and isn't bothered by their irrelevance. But the other is that being able to demonstrate this kind of mastery of the trivial can command respect and create status, especially among others who like it for the first reason, making it so that the meta-knowledge itself is more important than the material it's based off. The latter is a kind of cult behavior where the message has become self-propagating, but the members are less interested in the message and more interested in having followers.
This is super awesome. I've been writing (badly) since highschool. Your videos have helped my writing progress to a point where I can look at it and say "yeah, this is actually okay". This video in particular, while not about about "how to write" helps me to understand your books and will make me a better writer. Which is odd, since I was never very much into the kind of nerd stuff that you're talking about here. P.S. Nerds have a problem with elitism? You don't say!
I'm not sure the proper way to pose a question so I'm going to do it here. I'm attempting to write my first novel and I'm trying to write my protagonist as the villain just because that idea fascinates me. If enough other people have asked you this would you consider doing a writing tips video on that topic? Also forgive my cringey name. I made it at 18
FYI, there's a whole TV Tropes page called "Villain Protagonist" which might help you find examples to riff off. Mainly, I'd say that you need your reader to be invested in the story, and that's hard when you want the reader to disagree with your viewpoint character, so you probably want the villain protagonist to be a mostly sympathetic villain. You can pull this off by having your protagonist do a heel-face turn (i.e. switch sides) or accepting defeat or whatever. Alternatively, if by "villain" you mean "the guy in the Dark Lord chair", then you can just have them have sympathetic goals and also succeed despite nosy interlopers underfoot. It's a big question of what you mean by "villain", and what you want your story to actually be. Also, I doubt Brandon's gonna see your question here. You might try asking him via Twitter or seeing if his podcast, "Writing Excuses" accepts questions in some form. His BYU lectures on creative writing are also on this channel, which might help you more generally than just the one question.
I remember one of your session in Google (or Microsoft??) office where you said something similar by explaining south Korean language scholar's example. I couldn't agree more.. We should encourage every one of us Nerd. Thanks for reinforcing the lesson Brandon 🙏
But what about people who come in without good intentions. People who want to usurp, destroy or exploit fantasy and geek culture for personal, political or ideological gains???
I really have a hard time understanding that _gatekeeping_ attitude. I try to make sense of it, and the most reasonable analogy that I have found is that I was able to connect with people more when I attended to a university with around ~120 students rather than another university(that I attended previously) with tens of thousands students. ... also when I worked for a small company I was able to connect very closely with everyone, and now that I work for a big company, I'm struggling to develop one single friendship. I guess something similar can happen with the fan bases inside the geek culture. However It's hard for me to make a direct comparison. If I like a videogame or a novel with a cult following I don't really feel like a member of a small heart whelming community where I could find meaningful friendships. I just have an extra recommendation when somebody ask.
In the 80s young people read anything and if they were lucky they would fall in love with a genre. There wasn't so much the idea of starting with only YA. I started liking sci-fi with Asimov's books by picking one of his books with 13 in the library.
That brings a lot of thoughts to me, since I was fantasy geek in school and was almost the only one for quite some years and since I am a father of now. I think my first aha moment was Chronicles of Amber when I associated myself with Corwin only to find out that he's miles away from traditional fantasy hero. It gave my an idea that people are, indeed, imperfect and but also that this is how it's meant to be. In my defense, I was just about 14)
Am I the only one that looks at his blazer, black shirt, and white t-shirt sticking out underneath that when he's got both hands together, he looks like he should be called Father Sanderson?
I missed this local community during my young years, I hoped to open a board game store last year, but then corona came along. Maybe one day the world will return to a state where that is possible and still appreciated.
I love this content, a little constructive criticism is that the audio is a bit low. I had to mac out my tv volume to hear Brandon. Thanks for the great content I absolutely loved listening to Kate and Michael read rhythm of war
