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.

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:

Best Dramatic Presentation Short Form

Doctor Who: "The Waters of Mars" (winner)	172	172	204	212	350
Dollhouse: "Epitaph 1"	199	201	205	243	278
Doctor Who: "The Next Doctor"	144	144	173	203
FlashForward: "No More Good Days"	123	125	127
Doctor Who: "Planet of the Dead"	70	70
No Award	59

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.

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.

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.

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.

Tweets January 3–6

Note: Brandon is tweeting so much during his Wheel of Time reread that we're hitting the blog's maximum post size, so we have to post these more often.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Happy New Year, all. It is official—I have begun working on A Memory of Light, 14th and final book of the Wheel of Time.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
I have updated the progress bars on my website with this year's tasks. I'll try to be better about keeping them current.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
The first step is to re-read the entire Wheel of Time. TofM had some small continuity errors—mostly me forgetting who knows what.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
We fixed them for the paperback, but it is a sign that I'm starting to forget details. That means I need to re-read Mr. Jordan's work.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
By the way, I did get a Nook for my birthday. So I'm in the process of getting ecopies of the WoT uploaded.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Since people are asking, the continuity errors were things like Grady telling Perrin about the Cleansing as if for the first time, but…

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
…there's a line in KoD where Perrin notes that they'd mentioned it to him. We don't see the conversation, but it's there in narrative.

AJZaethe Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Need a devout reader of the Wheel of Time to watch over what you are writing So they can be like. "He died in book 5." "oh"

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@AJZaethe The thing is, I had eight of those for TofM. They all missed these too. It was the time crunch that did it to us, I think.

bepeacock Mon Jan 03
@brandonsandrson no biggie, but did you fix for ebook by chance?

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@bepeacock Yes, it should be all fixed for the ebook.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Yes, I will be live tweeting/blogging my re-read. Should have some fun things to post about the WoT as I go.

C3Zinger Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson also the fact that min's veiwings aren't always around aes sedai when they are supposed to be

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@C3Zinger I'm working on the assumption (as she's said before) that she doesn't always pay attention to them, as there's so many of them.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Some are asking if my tweets/blogs will have spoilers for WoT books. I'll try to keep those to a minimum. But there will be some.

verinSedai Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Ok, I'm stupid, but what is a nook? Sorry. unless it's some kind of kendil that doesnt' work for people like me.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@verinSedai It's one of the ereaders on the market, the one made by B&N.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Man, I love the EotW prologue. Some of my favorite writing in the entire series. Great insight into Ishy's personality pre-madness.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
People like to talk of Rand's character development. Elan-> Ishy -> Moridin is almost as interesting to me. His outlook has evolved so much.

Skavoovee Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson a little off topic, but do you have a general release date for Alloy of Law?

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@Skavoovee No date yet. Fall sometime. I'd guess September, personally.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
The first wind is in the Mountains of Mist; I've always assumed this was a nod to Tolkien's Misty Mountains. (more.)

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Look in The Way of Kings on the full map of Roshar for something similar.

Terez27 Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson lol, I remember it. Shinovar, wasn't it?

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@Terez27 Yup, that's it. I'll tell you, I had to stretch a little to find one that sounded right but still had mist in it.

davidalpert Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson pls tweet if you can use actionable support for the #wheeloftime #movie; I'm sure the WoT twitterverse will do what it can.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@davidalpert I will. Right now, I don't know that anything more can be done.

GM_M_Moore Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson First book I purchased for my IPad: Way of Kings. Excellent read. Thank you.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@GM_M_Moore My thanks to you as well.

NightOwl4Music Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson I figured that Moridin was the reincarnated Ishmael. Still wish I knew who killed Asmodean.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@NightOwl4Music It's in Towers of Midnight.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Reading this book, I'm reminded of how deeply Dragonsteel (one of my foundational, yet, unpublished works) was influenced by the WoT's start

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Actually, of the three fantasy epics I wrote during my early years—Dragonsteel, Elantris, & White Sand—Elantris was the least wot-like.

DoctorD71 Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Never did figure out what it is exactly that killed Lews Therin in the prologue. Thoughts after reread?

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@DoctorD71 It's a toss up between getting consumed by holding too much power and getting struck by that bolt of energy from the sky.

daphil01 Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Elan? Where is that reference? Ishmael's pre-chosen name?

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@daphil01 Yeah. In the prologue, it's what he's called.

dragonmount Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson How would you compare Ishy's motivations from when he was Elan vs when he was Moridin? -JD

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@dragonmount Elan actually more selfish. He still thinks he will rule, that the DO will take over the world and create a new one.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@dragonmount Moridin has been through madness and touched the mind of the DO. He is far more fatalistic, and actually less selfish.

SheckyX Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Well, his Charlestonian background makes the "Two Rivers" the Charleston area, so the "Mountains of Mist" may be the Smoky Mountains, upstate from his home. (FYI: the Charleston area is defined by the Ashley and Cooper Rivers.)

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@SheckyX Nice note. I'd never known that.

evanchooly Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson has it really evolved? he's still the megalomanical favorite/topdog he's always seen himself to be.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@evanchooly No, he's really changed a lot. He's a fatalist now, as I mentioned to @dragonmount. He knows far more.

MikeLuoma Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson funny, was just handed Elantris by someone who found I'd read your WoT work…

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@MikeLuoma Hope you enjoy it.

Theoryland Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson - Have u considered using a hashtag for your wot re-read tweets? Would make it easier for fans to follow and participate.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@Theoryland Yeah, but I always forget to put in the hashtags…

SPAZinOL Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Anything I should know or that you want to say before I sit down to begin The Way of Kings? (I'm excited!)

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@SPAZinOL It takes a little longer to get going than my other books. This is by intention, but you should probably be warned. :)

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Reading the start of EOTW reminds me that there's an extra person in the cover art. (More obvious in the secondary, inside piece, I think.)

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
HCFFs already know who that person is, but it's a fun easter egg to know that there's a story behind that extra figure.

lynnoliver Mon Jan 03
@brandonsandrson Listening to WoT on audiobook, first time through series. Book 1 seems heavily influenced by Tolkien so far. #ImANewbie

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@lynnoliverfhmg Yes, book one is very Tolkien influenced. Very. Book two less so. It's almost gone by book three.

Terez27 Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Elantris in a way reminded me of King's Eyes of the Dragon, with the fairy tale -like writing style.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@Terez27 I love Eyes of the Dragon. Might be an unconscious influence.

Terez27 Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson @dragonmount Wait, what? Didn't he say otherwise in TGS? He was lying?? :D

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@Terez27 What do you mean specifically. Lying about what?

Phidias516 Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson is there any chance you might release Dragonsteel? Love your works, btw, reading the Way of Kings these days :)

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@Phidias516 Dragonsteel will someday be rewritten and released.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Ha ha. @LiterateKnits says: "See what you made us do. http://plixi.com/p/67703052 "

daphil01 Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Just noticed Warbreaker was on Audible, why no Michael Kramer or Kate Reading? They are two of my favorites for audio.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@daphil01 We were experimenting with different audiobook companies with that one.

Blacksmith3989 Mon Jan 03
Reading @BrandonSandrson's #WayOfKings on the train. Almost missed my stop. Gooooood book!

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@Blacksmith3989 Thanks!

Southpaw2014 Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson has Demandred even been doing anything important besides building an army? (guessing it's in Murandy)

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@Southpaw2014 He's been doing lots of important things.

ywag Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Probably RAFO, but will the voice from Tarwin's Gap battle in EOTW ever be explained?

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@ywag Rafo. :)

mardy_cow Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson HCFFs?

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@mardy_cow Hard Core Fan Freaks (Self named.)

amysuefarmer Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Out of curiosity, why aren't you starting with New Spring? Useful continuity stuff there.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@amysuefarmer I like reading New Spring when it was released. Feels better to me there.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Mr. Jordan wrote a large chunk of EotW with a fourth Two Rivers lad going along with Perrin, Mat, and Rand. Was to be a major character.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Harriet talked him out of it, pointing out that the 4th lad never did anything useful. @theoryland, do you guys have a good thread on him?

HonorGod Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson HCFF?

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@HonorGod Hard Core Fan Freak (self named.)

worddroppings Mon Jan 03
Please explain the not tWoK map?? RT @BrandonSandrson: Ha ha. @LiterateKnits says: "See what you made us do. http://plixi.com/p/67703052 "

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@worddroppings They're comparing to Tolkien, I think.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
By the way, HCFF stands for "Hard Core Fan Freak" for those asking. They're self named. It's what many uber-wot-geeks call themselves.

Southpaw2014 Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson one thing I'm a little confused about, if someone kills Rand, would that majorly affect Moridin because of the connection?

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@Southpaw2014 Everything about the connection, or supposed connection, is a RAFO, I'm afraid.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Ha. Thom showing up at night, and people grumbling, makes me smile now knowing about the unwritten prequel involving his arrival. #wotrr

JeffEdde Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Interesting. In EotW, Rand uses Light & Power. Is it significant that he uses Light & Power again in ToM?

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@JeffEdde Yes.

Darth_Andrea Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Gotten the right place in the novels to insert it?

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@Darth_Andrea I'm not sure, honestly. Might be too spolierish. Might be because he wanted to leave it open in case he changed something.

skylatron Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Weren't there 2 other planned prequels that never made it? Will they ever see the light of day?

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@skylatron Yes. But they probably won't be published, I'm afraid.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
First laugh: "She asked the Wisdom for directions this morning," Ewin said, "and called her 'child.'" Rand and Mat both whistled… #Wotrr

drelle64 Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson say something about the Way of Kings… PLEASE.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@drelle64 Do you want something specific? I'll be focused on WoT for the next while then will go back to Stormlight.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
I've asked Harriet if she could dig up any of the old manuscript with the Fourth ta'veren in it, but she's not certain they have any.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
She said she thinks he was Dannil, but couldn't remember for certain. Many think he was Ewin—a good guess and a possibility. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Cover art was commissioned when he was still a main character, and it was too late to change it when he was removed. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
People can't find the nod to Tolkien/Jordan in TWoK. It's possible Isaac didn't get it on the map. It's in the text, though. Rysn Interlude

greywanderer Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson I wrote an epic review of WoK. Check it out if you get a chance. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/106595963

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@greywanderer Thanks! Looking it over now.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
For those asking, I'm not allowed to talk about the prequels yet. It's unlikely they'll be written. If they aren't, I'll see what I can say

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Looks like the Fourth ta'veren was Dannil, in another form: http://bit.ly/h0iDIO (Look for Liandra's question.) #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
If Mat could go back in time, he'd thump himself fawning over Moiraine in EotW. Then he'd fawn over Moiraine, but pretend he wasn't. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
"Strangers and a gleeman, fireworks and a peddler. It was going to be the best Bel Tine ever." #wotrr

arsindelve Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson did you consider audio rather than print for the re-read?

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@arsindelve I like the audio, but I need to be able to stop, back up, take notes, and write down quotes. Much harder with audio.

Eiremauve Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Can Rand get the most POVs in AMoL, please? (bambi eyes, clasped hands) We were severely deprived in ToM :'(. (grovels)

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@Eiremauve There will be more Rand VPs in the last book, I promise.

ShimmerGeek Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Loving The Way of Kings btw! My Christmas holidays have been a mix between playing Mass Effect and reading it :)

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@ShimmerGeek Thank you.

HBFFerreira Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson I was wondering: did I miss the replies of your Tor Q&A, or are they not out yet? (The Tor site is not very user-friendly.)

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@HBFFerreira I sent in replies, but they may not have posted them yet.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Another thought: Cenn is right more often than wrong in these early chapters. Unexpected, as I think of him as a blowhard. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Lol. From @ltnolan0347: "Trollocs and Aes Sedai, Dragon's Fang and Padan Fain. Worst Bel Tine ever… #wotrr"

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
WoT statistics: Egwene appears for the first time about 7% into EotW. She is the first person to fold her arms beneath her breasts #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
As much as we like to talk about Robert Jordan using that phrase, I think that's the only time it appears in EotW. #wotrr

Duponttc24 Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson any chance Neil Blomkamps next movie Elysium has anything to do with your awesome short Defending Elysium?

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@Duponttc24 I'm afraid not. Sorry.

Eiremauve Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson I don't want my brother to have to re-write the last book, I'm already considered asking him to write certain scenes

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@Eiremauve I promise a lot more from Rand, then. How about that?

LiterateKnits Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson OMG! Got it!!!! p. 432 http://plixi.com/p/67715745

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@LiterateKnits Sorry it's not on the map. It was on my list of things to get on there, but Isaac had to fit what he could.

FTHurley Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Wait, a fourth one? Was it an expanded existing character, or a fourth buddy that got cut out?

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@FTHurley See my tweets. It was a fourth buddy that got cut.

mithrilwisdom Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Music to my ears! I've been hankering for the Way of Kings for months. Shame we didn't get the awesome US cover though.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@mithrilwisdom I wish they'd used it, but the publisher has their reasons.

Paaks Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson how many TSA books are planned? I have heard 3, 5 and 10.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@Paaks Ten.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
Amusing that, after all they've grown, Egwene and Rand's interaction in EotW 3 has many similarities to their interaction in TofM. #wotrr

drelle64 Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson As much as I love the WOT and certly it's worthy… Brandon… please talk about the WOK… that rocks… just say'n.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@drelle64 I'll try. I generally divide my posts by which book I'm working on, though. I spoke a lot about Kings last year.

ChaseEmory Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson how far in is nyneave's first braid pull-age??

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@ChaseEmory I will watch and post when i find it.

EGHornbostel Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Brandon, does Lan still sharpen his impossible-to-dull heron blade in the electronic edtion of EOTW?

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@EGHornbostel I actually have Robert Jordan's original word files; I need to get the new ebooks.

SpiralChaotic Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Thank you for signing TWoK for my ex in Utah, so she could send it to me here in Georgia! :) 'Twas a great present!

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@SpiralChaotic My pleasure.

scribb Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson I feel bad as a UK reader, I got impatient and bought a US copy. You're too good to wait for the late release dates :/

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@scribb Eventually, we should be releasing at the same time in both places. UK is just playing catch-up a little for now.

feelieking Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Do you like the UK covers to the Mistborn trilogy and tWoK? (I think they're beautiful) I have tWoK hardback pre-ordered :D

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@feelieking I like the UK covers of Mistborn a lot, but prefer the US cover of KINGS. Not that the UK cover is bad, I just love whelan.

Eiremauve Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson (sheepish) And could no-one else but Rand have a POV when he's on screen, to make up for having only 3 pages in ToM?

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
@Eiremauve Rand's lack of VPs in TofM was intentional. Much like his lessened VP role in The Dragon Reborn, and for similar reasons.

BrandonSandrson Mon Jan 03
And, here we have mention of Anla the Wise Counselor. For those not in the know, there is theorizing on her: http://bit.ly/f8s2T4 #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
I fully expect this re-read to take until April. I need to divide my time among reading, outlining, and studying the notes. #wotrr

EGHornbostel Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Quick e-book question though: how would you handle the smiley face parenthesis paragraph in Alcatraz in an e-book?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@EGHornbostel No idea. Ereaders can change font size. Maybe do it as an image?

Southpaw2014 Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson was the lack of Rand vps in ToM intended to show his change from other characters vps?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Southpaw2014 In part. There are other reasons. But that's part of it.

feelieking Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson Did you ask the UK publishers if you could the Whelan Cover?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@feelieking I suggested it to them, but didn't make a big deal of it. They know their market better than I do.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
Jenn from @dragonmount says: "RJ once told me that Daniell's heroics ended up being done by the other Two Rivers boys." #wotrr

elektrotal Mon Jan 03
@BrandonSandrson will we see any more of those awesome refs (anla, mosk and merc, all the other tidbits) in the last book?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@elektrotal There were some in my books that I don't think have been caught yet.

FelixPax Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson At least one theorizing problem with that link through, in "To Sail Beyond the Sunset" RJ refers to Robert Heinlein in #TGH

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@FelixPax Didn't know that. Thanks.

chrisgoosie Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson I would guess at shinovar, similar to shire, also having two rivers in a distinctive pattern, and the mountain to the west?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@chrisgoosie That's it. The mountains there have a familiar-sounding name too.

igneous Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson http://is.gd/k2XP9 - seriously, Brandon? And then publishers wonder why ebook piracy is so high…

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@igneous Sigh. Which book is that? Not one of mine, I hope.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@igneous Also, I've never really heard publishers complain about piracy. They don't grumble about it like the RIAA seems to.

dragonmount Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Actually that was me. But who's counting? :) -Jason

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@dragonmount Dangit. You guys need to not have the same first initial.

igneous Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson as a matter of fact: http://is.gd/k2Yx7

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@igneous Sigh^2 Okay, I assume this is the UK edition? At least there's an ebook; we've been complaining to them about that.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@igneous That's just plain silly. I'll see what I can do. In the US, Tor has told me that they'll not charge more than $13 for my ebooks.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@igneous I'm trying to find it. It's not UK, US, or Canada. That's the UK cover, but it's in $. Australian edition?

annadala Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Any news on the Alcatraz or Mistborn movies?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@annadala Alacatraz movie has seen better days. (Dreamworks did not renew.) Mistborn movie is still about the same.

Southpaw2014 Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson as Ishamael. Mad being crazy not mad being evil because obviously he's evil

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Southpaw2014 Moridin is less insane than Ishy was. Much as Rand is less insane than Lews Therin was.

feelieking Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Having listened to the last Writing Excuses podcast, I have to ask: how likely are we to see a gay character in your work?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@feelieking I've already written some, but I haven't made a big deal of it. Alloy of Law has a lesbian woman, for example.

FelixPax Tue Jan 04
@Terez27 Still I see @BrandonSandrson point, as I too am confused by who's actually typing a @dragonmount tweet. Its not obvious. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@FelixPax @Terez27 @dragonmount I vote for a "Denz" for Jason and a "Jenn" for Jenn. Longer, yes, but easier to notice.

feelieking Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson (I'm not *offended* at all by a lack of overt gay characters in a given novel, but it is nice be represented occasionally)

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@feelieking There's a gay man in Bridge Four, too. He hasn't had a big role yet. Drehy.

mikescinto Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Would you happen to know of (or be allowed to reveal) any information on the Eye of the World movie? The word is sparse. :|

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@mikescinto All I've been told is that screenwriters have been chosen, and they're working on a screenplay.

El_MUERkO Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson @dragonmount Will you try finish/resolve every storyline? #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@El_MUERkO There are some that Mr. Jordan instructed me not to resolve.

LaylaMessner Tue Jan 04
Took me a moment to realize this phrase did not refer to Egwene's breasts ;) RT @BrandonSandrson: "Amusing that, after all they've grown…"

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@LaylaMessner Lol. You just about killed me with laughter on that one.

neonorange00 Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson in the EotW cover theres only moraine, lan, and one boy to the side. Am i looking at the wrong one?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@neonorange00 There are two covers. One ended up on the inside flaps. The outer one wraps around, though, and I think he's in both.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@neonorange00 Here's the secondary cover: http://bit.ly/hZu0Uw

superbott77 Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Dang it Sanderson! You've gone and got me addicted to another series. Way of Kings was great!

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@superbott77 Thanks!

Terez27 Tue Jan 04
(trying this again) @BrandonSandrson @dragonmount And therefore…less predictable? :)

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Terez27 I'm not following you on the predictable line. Which tweet are we talking about?

Terez27 Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson She said he looks for selfishness, because it makes them predictable. So if Moridin is less selfish than Ishamael…yeah.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Terez27 Ah, I should have seen. I was wondering if anyone would pick up on that quote in relation to my tweet.

Bluesky161 Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson I have "from the two rivers" and there is a chapter BEFORE the prologue called "ravens", was that in later editions? #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Bluesky161 It was written for that specific edition, and isn't included in EoTW later printings.

igneous Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson at the same time: http://is.gd/k4FS1. TL;DR: can only buy from Amazon US, but only after Amazon UK starts selling. Weird.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@igneous So strange. I have no idea what's going on there. It's $13 in the US, and similar in the UK. That's the UK cover, but US store?

igneous Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson as a matter of fact: http://is.gd/k2Yx7

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@igneous So incredibly strange. I'll do some digging. For now, if you buy a hard copy and send me a PM with your email, I'll email you a pdf

furiousbear Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson I notice you removed the unnamed urban fantasy. What happened?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@furiousbear I'll do a blog post soon on it.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
Back to reading EotW, all. Posts to follow. I'll try to keep it at a steady stream, not a flood. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
WoT Easter Egg: there's an easily overlooked line in the EotW prologue which gives huge foreshadowing of things Rand can do in TofM. #wotrr

atheistcanuck Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson what's the estimated release date for that new Mistborn novel (novella) you're writing?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@atheistcanuck Fall, maybe Septemberish.

mistlepro Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson regarding "bumps" in TWoK, did the events referred to in the Part 2 bumps already occur in your other novels?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@mistlepro So far, the books have been chronological. Alloy of Law is a little out of order, happening before KINGS.

Azral_Joe Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Will there be more revelations about the metaphysical cosmology of the WOT universe…eventually?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Azral_Joe The encyclopedia should have some.

mistlepro Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Ati is very obviously (atium) Ruin, Aona and Sel clearly refer to Elantris though I don't know who/what Skai is (Wyrn?)

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@mistlepro There is a group mentioned at the end of Elantris which has something to do with Skai.

Azral_Joe Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson what role would the so-called 'Fourth' ta'veren have played if he had been wrritten into the story? Could you elaborate?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Azral_Joe I'd like to see the original drafts if I could. I do know RJ said his part was split among the other three.

Azral_Joe Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson U say Mori is less selfish. Is he now a Dark Buddha wanting to end the suffering of existence in the nirvana of oblivion?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Azral_Joe It's not that he's unselfish. But compare his lines in EotW and KoD or TofM to see the difference.

dbwebworks Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Do you use Ideal Seek for your #WoT research? http://dposey.no-ip.com/IdealSeek/ #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@dbwebworks I have my own ecopy in word format of the entire series, to empower me to use searches. I've been to ideal seek before, though.

yochannah Tue Jan 04
@yagiz heheheh… I am just reading mistborn at the moment and speedily falling in love with @brandonsandrson

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@yochannah Thanks for reading!

dropK1CK_ninJA Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson is there any progress on a WoT show sort of like HBO is doing with Song of Fire and Ice? #curious

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@dropK1CK_ninJA Feature film is more likely.

igneous Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson thanks, I already have a signed, numbered and personalized copy (from Weller's)

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@igneous Well, then, PM away and I'll get you a PDF. No need to purchase again, if you want digital.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
Yes, early WoT is very Tolkien influenced. But several original things really stood out to me when I was younger. (more.) #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
1) The magic. 2) Strong female protagonists. 3) A woman 'wizard' figure who was far more human than others I'd seen. 4) Tam lives. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
Though I like Gandalf, Dumbledore, Belgarath, & Allanon, I prefer Moiraine as a character. (Actually, Allanon always just annoyed me) #wotrr

Theoryland Tue Jan 04
RT @BrandonSandrson the fact that Lews Therin could sense that there were no people around for miles was interesting - Agreed Terez. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Theoryland I should have guessed that you'd be the only one who would pick out the right line, Terez.

monkeysandles Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson the wot names always annoyed me because they're so close to real names. Any chance of dropping a Blixbop into amol?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@monkeysandles Mr. Jordan did this intentionally, to hint that the WoT world was our world in the future (and the past.)

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@monkeysandles It's part of the 'feel' of the world. They are close to real names because they ARE real names, just many years removed.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Terez27 @FelixPax When I reply depends on what I see, what I'm thinking about, and whether or not I want to spend 20 min digging in notes.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Terez27 @FelixPax As much as I like to be available, some of Felix's questions could send me researching for hours.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Terez27 @Theoryland I meant that earlier reply to go to Terez… But I guess it's okay if Matt sees it.

HBFFerreira Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Ok, I haven't read WoK yet, but now I'm confused. Mistborn and Elantris? Did you by chance pull a Dark Tower?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@HBFFerreira All of my books are in the same world. Have been since the beginning. A character from Elantris shows up in Mistborn.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@HBFFerreira Whoops. Not same world. Same universe. Different worlds.

johnnystock Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson I was thrown by your "when I was younger" remark until I remembered this series started 20 years ago. Wow.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@johnnystock I started when I was 14 or 15…

tadbo Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson The females in The Wheel of Time are among the most two dimensional in the history of fantasy. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@tadbo I disagree. Case in point: Tolkien's female protagonists. (Which was the comparison I was making.)

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@tadbo But even beyond that, you have to remember, this is a society with some skewed gender relationships because of the way magic works

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@tadbo But Moiraine is hardly 2-d. Neither is Nynaeve. They can be annoying, yes, but that's not the same as 2-d.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
Ha! Want a 20-year-old typo? My ecopy (RJ's original) reads: "Everything depended on whether or not the Trollops were still there." #wotrr

tadbo Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson They scheme, they argue, they tug on their skirts and stamp their feet, or they fall at Rand's feet. Really? #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@tadbo Aviendha is very distinctive. Tuon is very distinctive. Min is very distinctive. Many of the Aes Sedai act as you say, but…

tadbo Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Apart from Moiraine, who was there to be the mother figure. She was a well rounded female, a rarity in that series. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@tadbo …I see this as an intentional effect of the society they live in.

zeerakw Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Don't you get annoyed with the females in WoT? The female lead I prefer is Aviendha, the rest are full of themselves #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@zeerakw Oh, I didn't say they didn't annoy me at times. I said they were strong, and I'll add that they are interesting.

Shaddoe Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson For shame! But why did Allanon annoy you? Admittedly, it's been a while since I read a Shannara book.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Shaddoe He always seemed to be keeping secrets for no good reason. Dumbledore seems to do the same, though I love him for some reason.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
The Easter egg in the prologue has to do with Lews Therin sensing the lack of people around him for miles and miles. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
What to say about Narg? In my mind, he's always been a hyena. I can't shake that image, though there are no hyena Trollocs. #wotrr

alchemicapro Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson can you comment on the importance of foretelling and dreams in the early books in regards to your process for AMOL?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@alchemicapro They're very important.

spencerpanger Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Cosmere question. Does Frost make any incognito appearences in any other books other than Dragonsteel? If so Book/chapter?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@spencerpanger He does not appear on screen in any published books, though he is referenced. He has a non-Interference policy.

MrSkimpole Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Are you planning to keep it strictly fictional or you intend to do something "meta" like Stephen King putting himself in?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@MrSkimpole The cosmere is a distinct universe, and our world is not part of it.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
Just did a stint answering more questions for Goodreads and Tor.com. Still not done with them completely. Getting closer.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
I love that RJ gave Rand such a personal, powerful internal problem at the start with questioning his relationship to Tam. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
Though it's easy for us to say "Of course Tam's your father, silly" this issue was deep and meaningful for Rand and served as (more) #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
a wonderful way to make the book about more than the action. It also foreshadows Rand's later identity crisis with Lews Therin. #wotrr

tadbo Tue Jan 04
@FelixPax @BrandonSandrson @O_Dea Then again, you ARE talking to someone who didn't make it past book six. So.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@tadbo Well, different people read things differently. If WoT's women didn't work for you, I understand why, though I don't feel the same.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@tadbo You're not the only one to feel that way.

NightOwl4Music Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson LOL I wonder if that one is in my hardcover edition??? What page did you find it on?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@NightOwl4Music My pages are going to be messed up because of the ebook formatting. You'll have to watch for the quote. Chapter 6, I think.

shnar Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson What about Polgara? :P

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@shnar Polgara was awesome. Belgarath was pretty cool too, but Moiraine always feels slightly more real than either one to me.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@shnar But that's modern Brandon. Teenage Brandon might have thought differently.

Southpaw2014 Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson anymore "unnoticed" things we should look for that could help for the last book like there was for ToM?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Southpaw2014 I'll let you know as I'm building my notes.

taloncarde Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson But which of those early wizards was your favorite? I liked Belgarath, but Eddings was one of my first series

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@taloncarde As a youth, I often listed Eddings as my favorite author. It wasn't until I was older that WoT took over completely.

Jamesbirtles Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Which Is Your Personal Favourite Book In WoT

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Jamesbirtles Book Four.

zeerakw Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Oh and finally got around to buying TGS. 117 pages into it and you're doing pretty damn good!

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@zeerakw Thanks!

dropK1CK_ninJA Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson bummer. I think the material would work so much better in a serial format. Thanks for the response.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@dropK1CK_ninJA I agree, but we work with what we've got. The producers seem to be taking it seriously.

tadbo Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Final note. I would argue that Jordan's female protagonists are MAIN characters, whereas Tolkien's are mainly supporting.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@tadbo The Tolkien point is valid. However, remember what started this conversation. I was saying things about the WoT that impressed me.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@tadbo One was a large cast of female main characters, something a lot of fantasy by men I'd read was lacking.

PrehistoryRanch Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Any advice on how to write a hive mind race which wouldn't have language or even names? Maybe an example of it done well?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@PrehistoryRanch Hmm… A Fire Upon the Deep has a really cool group mind race. Smaller than a Hive mind, very interesting.

spencerpanger Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Is this reference you are referring to in TWoK in form of a letter or does it show up elsewhere?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@spencerpanger RAFO. :)

Kumatsu Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Finally picked up Way of Kings last night with money from a Christmas book return. Super excited to read it!

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Kumatsu Hope it lives up to expectations.

liveforthecity2 Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson I always liked allanon :(

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@liveforthecity2 It's okay. I'm fond of him. But he still annoyed me.

RyanL1986 Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Do you have any plans to do cross over stories? I would love to see Stormlight v Mistborn fight

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@RyanL1986 The Cosmere cycle is 32-36 books total. There might be something like that in there.

KevinPavon Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Other than Hoid?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@KevinPavon It has been discovered that Way of Kings has several characters from other worlds in it. One has a Dula accent.

Terez27 Tue Jan 04
@tadbo @BrandonSandrson The fact that I see them as caricatures helps me to enjoy them as characters more. It's RJ's own type of dry humor.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Terez27 @tadbo I view them more of products of a society where social norms are different, and women have something 'machismo'-like.

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@Terez27 @tadbo It makes them act similar in places, even though when you see into their souls, there is something deeper.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
"I don't know that you are worth it, sheepherder, no matter what she says." —Lan, to Rand, walking with Moiraine to help Tam. #wotrr

taloncarde Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson I agree, i still read eddings and suggest him to people who are "new" into fantasy, but it has gone down my list too

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@taloncarde There is a perfect age to read Eddings, where he resonates best. As you age, something about his characters and plots..stiffens

feelieking Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Does have written for the Wheel of Time change the way you engage with it as a reader now?

BrandonSandrson Tue Jan 04
@feelieking Yes, a great deal. Though I don't know if I can explain it in 140 character bursts. :)

HamletIsDead Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Can you share what it is about Allanon that annoyed you? I can list a few, but the main reason was his decision making…

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@HamletIsDead Mostly the air of mystery and withholding information. Often a problem with people in his role, but he seemed more-so.

Terez27 Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson @tadbo I mean, have you SEEN the map of Tar Valon? It's supposed to be funny, people. And srs at the same time, of course.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@Terez27 I've wondered about the map for Tar Valon. That..well, that can't be an accident. I've never asked Team Jordan, though.

Jamesbirtles Tue Jan 04
@BrandonSandrson Cool, Who's Your Favourite Character Throughout The Whole Series?

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@Jamesbirtles Depends on the book. I usually say Perrin, but I like a lot of them depending on the book.

Lacobus Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson @terez27 Haha! Just clicked on, never noticed THAT before. Hoho!

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@Lacobus @terez27 Needless to say, it wasn't something I noticed when I was a teen.

ElisLids Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson I want to do the #wotrr with you! WHat book are you on??

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@ElisLids I'm still on Book One. Basically, I'll do 10% of a book a day minimum.

Southpaw2014 Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson why do you think RJ straight up said that Taim wasn't Demandred when he could've just said RAFO and kept everyone guessing?

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@Southpaw2014 I think he was tired of people all looking in the same place.

Theoryland Wed Jan 05
@Terez27 @RichardFife @BrandonSandrson - Showed my wife the map. Her immediate reaction: "Oh, Jim Rigney." Big smile.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@Theoryland You'd never seen that before?

omariodws Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson who is you're favorite member of the chosen?

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@omariodws Moridin. Followed by Demandred. Followed by Lanfear.

fibropal Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson I am in agreement but I love Belgaraths humor and his devotion to family and his God and his brothers

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@fibropal Belgarath was interesting also in being an amalgamation of a trickster figure and a wise mentor. By far one of Eddings' most round

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@fibropal Both him and Polgara. They're both also more powerful than Moiraine. But there's just something about her. True wisdom.

mistlepro Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson my question was Aona/Skai Shards shattering the event we saw the aftermath of in Elantris? Or a further final apocalypse?

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@mistlepro The events in Elantris happened many years before The Way of Kings. That's all I've said for now.

mistlepro Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson But I thought the monks of Dakhor and the ChayShin(?) were all AonDor related? The energy familiars are related to Skai?

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@mistlepro What the Dakhor did accessed the Dor, but it was not AonDor—they weren't using Aons, but different symbols.

goldeneyez07 Wed Jan 05
@Terez27 @BrandonSandrson @Theoryland to the blind... what am i seeing? i see a fish or a submarine. is there something else? #IAmLost

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@goldeneyez07 Hm. How to do this without going places I don't care to go… Maybe a link will suffice. http://bit.ly/gMSLt6

Janasedai Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson and it took me a long time but I've narrowed the "something" about Moiraine down to the fact she rarely uses contractions.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@Janasedai Let me know what you find. One thing to note—RJ didn't use contractions in narrative, but I do. A stylistic difference.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
Thank you, @paigevest, for the kind review of Alcatraz Four: http://wp.me/pmGbb-31

evestay Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson Do the WoT eBooks include proper italics and chapter icons?

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@evestay I'll let you know. I'm not using them yet (I'm using converted Word files) but I've asked for them.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
People (mostly my editor) complain about my capitalization of magic-related terms. (Push and Pull in Mistborn.) I learned from RJ. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
I'll admit, keeping track of which terms are upper case while writing these can be hard. Warder, for example, is capitalized. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
Happy news: Mistborn boxed set was the #5 in the nation last year, with Tolkien in #4 and Goodkind in #6. I can live with that placement.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
Also, dashing my dreams of RJ typos, it turns out the original ecopies of the early WoT books were lost in a hard drive crash. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
Maria says she thinks that what I'm using is a file scanned from print. Trollop/Trolloc makes more sense now. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
When younger, I thought Rand's first Channeling was lightning in Four Kings. It wasn't until later that I caught the Bela thing. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
This now reads interestingly: "With all his heart & desperation, he silently shouted at Bela to run…tried to will strength into her #wotrr

neonorange00 Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson is the fourth boy (Dannil)'s name pronounced [dan-nil] or [daniel]? #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@neonorange00 I say the first.

mtkephart Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson I know I'm late, but just finished tWoK. Wanted to say thank you, Brandon. Absolutely breathtaking. Can't put into words…

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@mtkephart Thank you for reading.

SamTills Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson Do you have plans to finish the prequel series to the wheel of time that Robert Jordan started?

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@SamTills No plans, I'm afraid.

shubhsingh Wed Jan 05
Just finished Towers of Midnight. Damn you did it @BrandonSandrson Great book!

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@shubhsingh Thank you!

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
Ha. I love @GrammarGirl. She says: "Refer your editor to the section on capitalizing Platonic ideals: http://j.mp/18T09Z #wotrr"

RealJimGomez Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson I need more Mistborn! By the way ToM was outstanding.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@RealJimGomez New Mistborn novel next fall.

cpd623 Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson Sometimes I wish Jordan had just done the story and then POV books like Polgara & Belgareth. Will you do other WOT books?

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@cpd623 Unlikely, I'm afraid.

elektrotal Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson why did you use the word 'magic' in ToM? it never showed up in WoT before that.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@elektrotal RJ used the word a couple of times in the series.

samandfuzzy Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson Congratulations, man! That's awesome.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@samandfuzzy Thanks!

shawnp0wers Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson Did I imagine it, or did you say you were writing more in the Mistborn universe? Just curious.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@shawnp0wers Yes, new book in the fall. Blog post soon. Maybe today.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
I always smile when I see "Chivvying" in a WoT novel. I don't think I've ever seen it in another book (Well, other than a dictionary) #wotrr

SerratedBlue Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson I got WoK from the library yesterday…just getting into it though, having a 1mo old makes it tough to get reading time.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@SerratedBlue I understand how that goes, trust me.

TankSpill Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson So how far are you in the #wotrr ? I'm getting started tonight, need to know where to get to to catch up! :)

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@TankSpill Easting into it at 10% of a book a day, though I'll need to get up to 15% or 20% eventually. A third of the way into EotW now.

cttweeter Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson What book/chapter/paragraph is the typo in? Can verify vs. hard-copy…

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@cttweeter I've had it verified. It's not there.

FelixPax Wed Jan 05
Did RJ specific state in his notes that the 3 Aiel Dreamwalker were clueless about the 'breaking of the seals'? @BrandonSandrson #TofM #wot

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@FelixPax Before I reply, expand on that question, if you will. Humor me.

jswalden Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson Only kind felt weird to me was mid-word caps like ChayShan—too much like programmer "StudlyCaps" (no joke) convention :-)

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@jswalden That was based on the Korean-influenced spelling of those words.

nelalhurcran Wed Jan 05
I just realized that Brandon's twitter handle, @BrandonSandrson, is misspelled. That explains sooo much…

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@nelalhurcran They wouldn't let me have the extra letter. Grr… I probably need to change someday.

brentweeks Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson Hey, congrats on Goodreads Choice win! I don't mind losing to you and RJ so much. :)

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@brentweeks Ha. Thanks. You going to any big cons this year?

ChaseEmory Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson @dragonmount dunno if youd seen this yet, but WoT themed power metal is awesome http://bit.ly/ijpbr7

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@ChaseEmory It is awesome indeed.

zeerakw Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson the Bela thing? #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@zeerakw Rand heals Bela of her fatigue before Moiraine can.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
Since people are asking, Rand's first use of the power is healing Bela of her fatigue. He feels the effects later in Baerlon, I think #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
Are there any Theorylanders/Dragonmounters who can confirm this for me? Maybe give some specifics or a thread for people? #wotrr

AnneSowards Wed Jan 05
I am feeling a crazy urge to re-read Robert Jordan's THE EYE OF THE WORLD. I blame @BrandonSandrson and his #wotrr tweets.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@AnneSowards The end of the series draws near. An end of an Age of fantasy reading for many of us. #wotrr

SamTills Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson Shame, I really enjoyed New Spring :(

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@SamTills I'll read New Spring eventually.

jrostar Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson Does it take you longer to read WoT now than when you first read them? Do you read more carefully since you're 'working'?

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@jrostar Yes, much longer.

IcebergInk Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson How excited are you for the debut of gunplay in the new Mistborn novel?

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@IcebergInk Very. I've been planning it for years.

Terez27 Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson No, 'channeling' is NOT capitalized. :)

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@Terez27 That's the one I most think should be. We always have to search/replace it after I write a book.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
"…the ramp with a thump, while Mat and Perrin announced loudly that the Taren was not half as wide as they had heard." #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
On the subject of Rand's channeling, a lot of people are bringing up the event on the ship outside of Shadar Logoth. #wotrr.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
I'll talk about this when we get there. I've read a lot of theories on this one arguing for both sides. I've never made up my mind. #wotrr.

elektrotal Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson did he? because i remember being jarred out of the narrative when i saw it mentioned in ToM. seemed really incongruous

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@elektrotal Yeah, a couple of times. Mostly in earlier books. In Avi's vision, though, it was supposed to be incongruous.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@elektrotal This is (presumably) many, many years in the future. Language and usage has changed.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
Thanks! From @IcebergInk: "Heads up: TWoK won best new fantasy 2010 at our site. http://bit.ly/hkN6Bh "

AliaRenee2 Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson Just finished Mistborn triliogy and I absolutely loved it! Fell in love w/ your characters and the suspence was awesome!

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@AliaRenee2 Thanks for reading!

brentweeks Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson Haven't committed yet, but think I'll try to hit the east and south (NYComicCon, DragonCon) & prob WorldFantasy. You?

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@brentweeks Worldcon for sure, since it's close to me. Probably not Dragoncon, but maybe NYCC. Maybe SDCC.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
Wotfaq on Rand channeling: http://bit.ly/fBBrCz I've read enough questions from theory-types on the second one to make me question. #wotrr

AdamMPetty Wed Jan 05
@brandonsandrson didnt moiraine bring that to his attention at the end of eotw or tdr?

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@AdamMPetty I think she did, but either way, I missed it first read-through.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
And…Linda to the rescue. Once again, 13th depository has an exhaustive look at all this: http://bit.ly/gYgU7Z (Thanks @einarjh.) #wotrr

ask4thesea Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson Actually doesn't Moiraine confirm it later, she says something like "I had suspicions from the first.. then there was Bela"

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@ask4thesea I was asking for confirmation on his sickness, not whether he channeled. :)

Espeon200 Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson The problem with trying to read through The Wheel of Time series for the first time is that it's so huge it's just daunting

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@Espeon200 First book stands very well on its own, and first three make a solid trilogy. You can read to either point…(more)

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@Espeon200 …and there decide if you want to continue on. It feels less daunting that way.

Espeon200 Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson But I love it every time I get past my feel and open myself to the books.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@Espeon200 Oh, just saw your second tweet. Thought you'd never read them.

jaimecallahan Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson I've never read any of the Wheel of Time books. I think this might put my fantasy book reader street cred in danger.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@jaimecallahan Ha. It's okay. They're fun, though. (I might be biased.)

popthestack Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson Moraine later comments that Bela didn't need it when she gave strength to the rest of the horses

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@popthestack Was asking for confirmation on where Rand was sick following Bela.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
Ah! Awards all around. Towers of Midnight won best fantasy 2010 at Goodreads. http://bit.ly/hGdAia Thanks, all!

FelixPax Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson Quotation: "but his words were those of madness. He said he is going to break the seals on the Dark One's prison." #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@FelixPax I'll say this. RJ's writing, notes, and outline were very present in that entire sequence. Much less Brandon there.

brentweeks Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson Cool. If we cross paths, how 'bout we grab a burger? My turn to pay. :)

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@brentweeks You got it. NYCC seems our best bet now. We'll see where we both end up.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
On to other topics. Regarding yesterday's Easter Egg, Maria mentions RJ was preparing a blog post on the concept. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
For those who missed it, it has to do with Lews Therin sensing nobody was nearby when he made Dragonmount. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
And before you ask, no, I can't say more. Sorry. Suffice it to say that what is in the books stands as enough of an answer, for now. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
Oh, and enough people are mentioning it that I should clarify. I'm well aware that it's confirmed Rand channeled with Bela. (more) #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
I was asking for confirmation of where his sickness was, as when I first read the books 20 years ago, this was what confused me. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
That's why I linked Linda's post. RJ was extremely subtle. I'm assuming the young Brandon isn't the only one who missed some of this. #wotrr

Theoryland Wed Jan 05
@Terez27 @BrandonSandrson - Brandon, come on over. We'd love to "entertain" your theory against Bela. :)

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@Theoryland @Terez27 My theory against Bela?

ask4thesea Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson <head desk> maybe I shouldn't be commenting, I can't even read a tweet correctly! ;)

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@ask4thesea I didn't write it very clearly. It's this 140 character thing. :)

bmavity Wed Jan 05
i am going to have to pester @BrandonSandrson on my loony theory of shaidar haran being asmodean 2.0. who's with me? i have a decent case!

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@bmavity Lol. Wow, I've never heard that one before.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
The reason everyone misses the first times Rand channels is because the sickness after the lightning is so much more memorable. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson @Terez27 The ship is what I was talking about. I remember reading, in the early days, some people trying to refute that one

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
It bears remembering that of the group, only Egwene left the Two Rivers for adventure. The others were forced. (Or felt they were) #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
This is very important for her character. In a way, she was the only one who chose this life intentionally. At least at first. #wotrr

HBFFerreira Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson The mast swinging and killing a Trolloc, right? I remember thinking "Ta'veren" (or is it "ta'veren") during my re-read.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@HBFFerreira That's what I thought for a long time too. Might still think it. I want to watch it this read.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
Ha. I love bureaucracy. Me to Tor: Hey, I need the wot ebooks. Tor: Just buy them and we'll reimburse you. It's easier that way. #wotrr

Janasedai Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson I moved to Lincoln today. I can't remember how long you lived here but if there's anywhere I should visit let me know.

BrandonSandrson Wed Jan 05
@Janasedai Best hamburgers in town are at Parkway Lanes bowling alley. (I think that's what it's called.)

bmavity Wed Jan 05
*sigh* @BrandonSandrson your "lol" saddens me. you know, there's enough evidence that you could get away with adding it to the last book!

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@bmavity Only problem is RJ said that Asmo's soul was outside the DO's reach, though he wasn't specific as to why. (As I remember.)

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
Aha. First braid tug I spotted was at the 30% mark. #wotrr

JeffEdde Wed Jan 05
@BrandonSandrson Did your BYU class start today?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@JeffEdde Thursday.

TankSpill Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson re-bureaucracy - that brings up an interesting (to me) and curious point… when typos and consistency errors were corrected back in RJ's day, did he change his notes to reflect that, or are you sifting thru notes that may be occasionally wrong? :)

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@TankSpill There are mistakes in the notes. More, incomplete thoughts, as might be expected. But some mistakes.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@TankSpill You type fast and loose when you think nobody but you is going to be reading what you're writing.

AdamDoward Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson please tell me all the black tower stuff will finally be resolved in MoL?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@AdamDoward The things I didn't get into TofM with the Black Tower should be in AMOL.

Southpaw2014 Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson yes or no, the place where Asmodean died is significant to why he can't be resurrected?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@Southpaw2014 Ha. You want me to clear EVERYTHING up? I have to leave @theoryland something to talk about.

WoTLuckers Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson compare the last few moments before they reach the Eye with when Rand heals Bela of her tiredness. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@WoTLuckers I'll watch for that, Luckers. Thanks for the heads up.

IcebergInk Thu Jan 06
Halfway through @BrandonSandrson 's THE HERO OF AGES…just awesome!

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@IcebergInk Hope the ending holds up for you as well as the first half did.

omariodws Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson Robert Jordan, there are no beginnings or endings to the turning of the Wheel right? Only relative beginnings and endings.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@omariodws Moridin believes that if the DO wins, there will BE no wheel. It will be broken. So in that way, there are still (more)

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@omariodws no beginnings or endings. There is nothing. Some, including Cadsuane, believe this is a very real possibility.

WoTLuckers Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson I'm curious, do you think RJ intended Thom as a red-herring for who brought the Trollocs on Winternight? #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@WoTLuckers I think he wanted us to wonder about Moiraine, honestly. Just a little. I don't think Thom was a red herring, but maybe.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@WoTLuckers I think "Wow, someone BROUGHT the Trollocs?" was the surprise. We didn't know they had anyone on the inside, so to speak.

bgrishinko Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson There were some prize T-Shirts with WoT Ch. icons at ToM signings. Any chance of those becoming publicly available? #WoT

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@bgrishinko Possible, but not likely right now. Those were non-profit things. I think someone else has T-shirt rights.

FantasyFaction Thu Jan 06
Went to bed at 11pm after reading @BrandonSandrson 's Mistborn Book 1. Been up since 4:20am reading @BrandonSandrson 's Mistborn Book 1. =)

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@FantasyFaction Uh…sorry? :)

IronHouseDvorak Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson @Janasedai We need to have you try a Garlic Burger at the Cotton Bottom up in Sandy (assuming it's still there)

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@IronHouseDvorak Tell me of this Garlic Burger, and its mythical resting place.

Salkand Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson You should tell Tor that you need the audio books too. It would be a shame to pass up free books lol.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@Salkand I already have those. Got them from Tor back when I started on this project. :)

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
Teaching my class on writing Science Fiction and Fantasy at BYU tonight. Last year, forty people showed up on day one wanting to add…

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
I'll have two or three spots to add people today, but the university is being much more strict on me space-wise this year.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
Nynaeve is a divisive force among WoT fans. Yes, she likes to call men wool-headed. Next time you read, though, watch her actions. #wotrr.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
She often speaks in a way influenced by her culture. But if you watch her body language and intent, she's a very different person. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
An excellent example of this is her conversation with Rand in EotW 16. She very reasonable, empathetic, and treats Rand as an adult. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
Yes, she calls all men wool-headed. If you want to understand Nynaeve, see these comments as kin to a Seanchan "May she live forever" #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
Sure, she means them. Kind of. But mostly, they're just things you say when you are part of her culture. #wotrr

DylanTSnyder Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson Tell me we're gonna have a whole lot more Mat/Tuon in Memory of Light, I beg of you.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@DylanTSnyder There will be.

Boethius32 Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson I'm curious, why has Mat's deepest secrets become well-known rumours in ToM? He only told Thom, Noal & co about this stuff.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@Boethius32 That's an excellent question. That I can't answer yet. RAFO. :)

Terez27 Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson My original(ish) post on the ability to sense for people: http://bit.ly/safegates in '06. #wotrr I was a noob(ish) then.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@Terez27 Interesting theory. What do you think of it now?

Southpaw2014 Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson them being different books

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@Southpaw2014 Afraid I can't answer that without giving too much away.

DaveJustDave Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson do you publish the notes/syllabus online? would be helpful to people not attending BYU

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@DaveJustDave I'm more freeform than that, I'm afraid.

Nanti_SARRMM Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson What is the class number and how many credits is it?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@Nanti_SARRMM 318R. 3 Credits.

spencerpanger Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson Is there going to be enough room for people that want to sit and learn that aren't able to "take the class"

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@spencerpanger This year, probably not. They're really clamping down on me hard. They gave me 30 seats. 20 for students, 10 for auditors.

Predhack Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson Any rules on auditting?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@Predhack Show up, put your name in the hat, get one of the auditing slots. I'm afraid that's the only way.

slothdog Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson My daughter's hoping to take your class this fall, any suggestions for ensuring a seat?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@slothdog Well, I don't teach it in the fall…

Shaka_Sherv Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson when the seas of responsibility finally part, do you think you'll ever do an instructional book on writing fiction?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@Shaka_Sherv Perhaps. Maybe.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
I wonder if Rand and Egwene dancing in Baerlon counts as a fulfillment of her Winternight promise to dance with him on Bel Tine. #wotrr

LeahJaclyn Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson its not just Nynaeve though, theres not a main character who is a women who doesn't voice these sentiments at least once…

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@LeahJaclyn That's why I argue it's cultural. Makes sense in a culture where men who have magic are a danger, but women are a resource.

douseks Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson … did Kaladin survive by luck or was it stormlight (but he did not have any sphears on him i guess)

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@douseks First survival as more luck than anything else.

Phidias516 Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson just read your blogpost, one question, can we expect any characters from the original Mistborn in The Alloy of Law?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@Phidias516 You'll have to read and see. I'll say that many of them are still hanging around at this time.

FelixPax Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson @spencerpanger I'm wonder considering how popular your class is getting, any chance of an online version for auditors?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@FelixPax I'm trying to get the school to let me webcast it.

slothdog Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson Next year, then?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@slothdog Best chance is to register early. But I always add a few students on the first day, by random.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
Lan to Thom, as they prepare to flee: "You can rid with us, or ride to Shayol Ghul, gleeman." Well…actually… #wotrr

Southpaw2014 Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson who was the Lord of Chaos that Demandred and Taim both mention? There has been tons of debate.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@Southpaw2014 Really? I thought that one was obvious. What's the debate about?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
At the 35% mark we have Mat speaking the old tongue for the first time, books ahead of him getting memories stuck in his head. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
I've always found this a very curious event. Of the five Two Riversers, Mat's powers are the most subtly foreshadowed in the book. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
Unless you count the short exchange between Lan and Perrin about wolves in a much earlier chapter. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
Amusingly, as a young man, I was annoyed at Nynaeve & Moiraine. But I didn't bat an eye when the boys ran off alone in Shadar Logoth. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
Speaking of Shadar Logoth, Harriet tells a story involving it. Tor wanted to print small teasers of EotW to distribute and hook folks #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
Harriet, the editor, insisted that the booklets go all the way to Shadar Logoth. She thought that would be sure to draw people in. #wotrr

protonone Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson Have you ever looked into doing an iTunesU production of your class, so people outside of BYU could watch your lectures?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@protonone I'm trying to do that. We'll see.

brentweeks Thu Jan 06
Just wrote a paragraph that left me thinking, "Poor translators. Good luck." Never thought I'd have to think about that.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@brentweeks Ha. I wince a little every time I use a word play, thinking of them.

Theoryland Thu Jan 06
@Southpaw2014 @BrandonSandrson - I've always enjoyed this theory about the Lord of Chaos. It's fun. http://bit.ly/fghYSz

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@Theoryland @Southpaw2014 That is a good theory for people to be reading.

Darth_Andrea Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson Qick question, From RJ's Notes on Callandor, is it a straight bladed sword, or curved, single handed or hand and a half?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@Darth_Andrea MAFO.

bgrishinko Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson I thought that Mat's old tongue was a small way of RJ letting you think maybe Mat was the important one, not Rand. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@bgrishinko Yes, I think you're right on that count. It was certainly meant to make us think.

rhynn84 Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson are there actually clues in WoT that you did not find so far? That's cool. BTW tWoK is the best book I have EVER read.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@rhynn84 I always find new things when I reread. Also, thanks for the kind words.

MaverickTempest Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson 35% of the series of of EoW?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@MaverickTempest EotW

EmLah Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson really enjoying your posts tonight, only got into RJ's books cos i loved your mistborns so much. Am on book 4 :) #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@EmLah Well, I hope you enjoy the posts as I reread.

FelixPax Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson Who speaks 'Old Tongue'? Mat Cauthon, Moiraine, Loial, Morgase, Tuon, Thom, Siuan, Elaida, Mierin. Even Bornhald. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@FelixPax How many on that list speak it without ever being taught?

Phidias516 @BrandonSandrson thanks for the reply, I live in Germany, is there a way for me to buy a sign copy when the new Mistborn comes out?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@Phidias516 Sam Wellers ships internationally, and I do a signing there for each new book, but shipping can be expensive…

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@Phidias516 Hope to visit Germany next year and sign, by the way.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
Good suggestion: @Terez27 says if you have a wot question, and want to see if it's been asked before, you can direct it to her first. #wotrr

dilsnik Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson The speaking the old tongue is from his bloodline though, not his memories in that case, isn't it?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@dilsnik Yes, but it's still foreshadowing. He's the one who does it, not the others.

Terez27 Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson @Theoryland @Southpaw2014 YAY. OMG, that theory has been on the rocks for years because of contradicting tour reports.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@Terez27 I didn't say the theory was true, just that you should study it. :) But I would like to see those tour reports.

FelixPax Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson Would you still be interested in seeing a Luca character parallels essay a kin to what Linda has created previously?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@FelixPax Yes, I would.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@Darth_Andrea @FelixPax Thanks, Felix. That's how I imagined it, but with things like this, I can't always rely on my memory.

FelixPax Thu Jan 06
@Darth_Andrea @BrandonSandrson BWB claims Callandor is, "a crystal sword with a curved blade…" http://bit.ly/hiKltk

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@FelixPax @Darth_Andrea Sometimes, I have incorrect biases come from years of reading and imagining.

Predhack Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson Well I can't get away from work to go down to your class and they probably frown on guys not the attending school auditing

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@Predhack Someday, I'll try to do this class at a library or something, open to the public.

sobermoode Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson Skipped your tweets when you warned against spoilers; are you on a #wotrr binge at the moment? can i read without worry?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@sobermoode For the next four months, I'll be doing the rr. Spoilers will be present, but hopefully vague enough to not ruin things.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@sobermoode But I'll be posting about the reread almost every day.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
First non-Rand viewpoint is Perrin, at about the 38% mark. RJ's juggling of viewpoints is something I didn't see until I was older. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
Many a new fantasy writer, fresh off a wot book, plans and plots a huge epic with 20 viewpoints. That can be overwhelming to start. #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
Both wot and GRRM ease into it more than you realize. In most cases, it's better to build to complexity. #wotrr

crosseyedkat Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson How old were you when you first started reading WoT books?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@crosseyedkat 14 or 15. It was right around my birthday, so I don't know if it was before or after.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
I'd forgotten that Perrin nearly decides to drop his axe in the water as he swims. But he keeps it, almost against logic. #wotrr

WpgGirlGeek Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson I noticed in ToM that the viewpoint momentarily switched to a man's (maybe Rand) amidst one of Min's POVs #wotrr

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@WpgGirlGeek I think we fixed that one for the pb. Basically a problem with stitching two scenes together.

RyanL1986 Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson I'm a bit ahead on my #wotrr but I am confused by Byar's actions in EotW C38. He seems to "noble" for deceitful actions…

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@RyanL1986 Byar never was noble. What he does there is more telling of who he is than anything he says or claims.

GrammarGirl Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson I find Nynaeve very annoying. She's such an irrational pill.

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@GrammarGirl Lol. I can't help seeing her, even still, as a big sister.

RyanL1986 Thu Jan 06
@BrandonSandrson it also seems out of character for Byar to release suspected darkfriends who killed whitecloaks. Insight on his reasoning?

BrandonSandrson Thu Jan 06
@RyanL1986 He wants them dead. Trick them into an escape attempt, then get them executed.