|
I hope Brandon was able to write 10k words in a day because of extensive notes/outlines and not because he's sacrificing quality for speed.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2012 16:35 |
|
|
# ? Apr 20, 2024 10:27 |
|
Maytag posted:I hope Brandon was able to write 10k words in a day because of extensive notes/outlines and not because he's sacrificing quality for speed. 10k isn't all too much for first draft speed if you've got an outline and are writing fulltime. Its revision that's the bitch, at least in my experience.
|
# ? Jan 9, 2012 21:57 |
|
I just want the book to be awesome, I don't mind waiting longer for it. Also I really like Brandon and don't want him saying a few years down the road "Gee I really wish I had put more time into it."
|
# ? Jan 10, 2012 00:13 |
|
Well, they've said that they are going to take their time with this one for exactly that reason. It's the final book of a series that's been running for more than 20 years; they don't want to gently caress it up.
|
# ? Jan 10, 2012 01:06 |
|
10k was only the final day, when he basicly wrote for 20 hours straight. His daily goal was 3k or so. I hope the 10 months he mentioned isn't the planned release date, I hope they do not delay it just for holiday sales, because realisticly who is going to buy this book who doesn't already have the first 13?
|
# ? Jan 10, 2012 19:56 |
|
10k is still ridiculous. Steven King only does 2k, and that's Steven Friggin' King. I had a week off from work and decided I would set 2k as my writing goal per day. I finished the week with 14k done, but I felt wasted by the end of it all. I guess Sanderson has just built up incredible mind muscles for it or something.
|
# ? Jan 10, 2012 20:33 |
|
I really can't wait till WOT is wrapped up and he can start cranking out an epic Stormlight book along with a smaller secondary book each year.
|
# ? Jan 10, 2012 20:36 |
|
Part of it is that Sanderson's just a beast, but it's also that he incentivizes his writing. He'll set a goal and, if he meets that goal, he'll open a new deck of Magic cards. This works because he's a goal-oriented geek. Then there's the super-detailed notes he has, left by RDJ and Harriet. The real creating part has been done, so there's a much lower drain on his mental batteries. And of course, I'm sure there's some motivation with finally finishing The Wheel of loving Time.
|
# ? Jan 10, 2012 20:39 |
|
Cartoon Man posted:I really can't wait till WOT is wrapped up and he can start cranking out an epic Stormlight book along with a smaller secondary book each year. I remember reading somewhere (I think his blog) that he was going to do 2 Stormlight books every 3 years. Book #2 is not supposed to be out till something like mid 2013. If you check his blog he has not even started writing #2 yet, mostly due finishing WoT. But he did finish his first revision of Memory of Light and supposedly he is aiming for a Fall release.
|
# ? Jan 11, 2012 08:34 |
|
Finally finished, good book. I'd say it's about 200 pages too long and tends to repeat itself until it becomes distracting. You'd think WoT would make me immune to that. It also feels like he knew where the ending was going and foreshadows a LOT of it really blatantly. It just becomes frustrating as a reader to basically know the broad strokes of what is going to happen, but be put through a lengthy process of it spooling out. For example, it becomes clear what Kaladin's whole business is fairly early on, and even though the abilities we know he's going to possess have been demonstrated REPEATEDLY, including in the prologue even, we still have to sit through a rather dry exposition of him discovering them. Really, Kaladin's entire plotline is trite and kind of on rails. To me, this is why Shallan's plotline reveals were more interesting, since they were nowhere near as telegraphed and not as formulaic. Scenes like Dalinar confronting Elhokar are much more satisfying since they drive the story forward instead of just giving us what we already know is coming. The wrap-up felt a LITTLE chainyank-y toward the end, very WHAT A TWIST in places, but eh, the reveals themselves were interesting enough to counter that pretty effectively. Anyway, good stuff. Hopefully he tightens up his pacing(A LOT), I figure a lot of the troubles with this one is the new world-building, now that he's got a foundation and some well-fleshed out characters, he should be able to maintain better momentum? Quit with the flashbacks, dude.
|
# ? Jan 11, 2012 09:53 |
|
AlternateAccount posted:Anyway, good stuff. Hopefully he tightens up his pacing(A LOT), I figure a lot of the troubles with this one is the new world-building, now that he's got a foundation and some well-fleshed out characters, he should be able to maintain better momentum? Quit with the flashbacks, dude. I think that's what the general consensus is on the first book: a lot of world building that needed to happen early. The first Wheel of Time book is kind of similar in that a lot of it is just traveling around the Westlands to give an idea of scale, personalities/cultures, introduce characters that will be important later and just general world building.
|
# ? Jan 11, 2012 15:27 |
|
Just found this linked in Brandon's latest blog post: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982781245?tag=monkeyslothst-20 I want it so bad.
|
# ? Jan 11, 2012 15:57 |
|
AlternateAccount posted:It also feels like he knew where the ending was going and foreshadows a LOT of it really blatantly. It just becomes frustrating as a reader to basically know the broad strokes of what is going to happen, but be put through a lengthy process of it spooling out.
|
# ? Jan 11, 2012 21:00 |
|
Democratic Pirate posted:I agree with the on rails thing, but I liked Kaladin's story because when he did do his final "power up," it was satisfying and as gently caress. In my opinion, at least. Me too, but he's definitely the flattest character in the book. His only flaw is that he doesn't believe in himself hard enough.
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 00:25 |
After looking for something to read in the Dresden thread, I just burned through the Mistborn Trilogy (and The Alloy of Law) in 4 days. Needless to say, I really liked it. I'm probably going to rest my eyes for a couple of days but what should I read next from Sanderson?
|
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 03:39 |
|
AlternateAccount posted:Me too, but he's definitely the flattest character in the book. His only flaw is that he doesn't believe in himself hard enough. I personally thought he was an amazing character. I can agree with you on one point though. It did take awhile for his character to go through the transformation that you just knew was going to happen. But when it finally happened, it was one of the most satisfying parts of the book. It might have been telegraphed and long winded, but I prefer a too much back-story and world-building to too little. The main chicks character was extremely interesting, but I think Dalindar is the most interesting character. I have a theory of who he really is (posted a couple pages back), but even if I am wrong, I think he be the most interesting character in the series.
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 05:30 |
|
I just finished the first Mistborn novel and while I probably don't have anything to worry, I heard the next two aren't quite as good, but I feel like blind buying them at B&N tomorrow, so do they get a goon recommendation?
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 07:30 |
computer parts posted:I just finished the first Mistborn novel and while I probably don't have anything to worry, I heard the next two aren't quite as good, but I feel like blind buying them at B&N tomorrow, so do they get a goon recommendation? They're just different. I love the entire series. But if I had to be 100% honest, here's how I'd explain each book's faults: Book 1 is basically Ocean's Eleven with allomancy. Its biggest failing is being overly expository at times. Book 2's biggest failing is the dreadfully slow second act. Book 3's biggest failing is that (a certain popular character)spends most of the book whining and crying.
|
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 07:33 |
|
Vaevicti posted:I personally thought he was an amazing character. I can agree with you on one point though. It did take awhile for his character to go through the transformation that you just knew was going to happen. But when it finally happened, it was one of the most satisfying parts of the book. It might have been telegraphed and long winded, but I prefer a too much back-story and world-building to too little. Shallan has the conflict of her motivations and her new potential along with serious self-discovery going on. Dalinar is struggling to hold onto his beliefs in the face of unanimous opposition, his situation with his wife and oh god, I might be crazy. Kaladin is borderline EMO, but I guess that can be excused for his situation. If it were not for his unique uhhh, nature, he would have died a miserable death full of self-doubt and loathing. The divine hand of plot-providence reaches down and gives him what he needs to overcome his obstacles. I just never bought into his scene at the chasm. Nothing ever goes into where or how he learned these leadership skills, really. Nothing ever explains his extremely powerful will. Sure, the story around him is pretty awesome, but the character himself is just blehhhhhhh.
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 07:34 |
|
I thought the flashbacks (although I found them the weakest part of the book, because they were a bit boring) did a good job establishing how he learned his leadership skills (by leading man in battle before, by being betrayed and abandoned before for trusting others to be "good") and the reason/motivation for his willpower. Overall, Shallan was the story and the character I liked most, even with the (unintentionally) flat falling jokes and wit of hers.
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 08:51 |
|
AlternateAccount posted:Nothing ever goes into where or how he learned these leadership skills, really. Nothing ever explains his extremely powerful will. He learned them in the army he joined with his brother. Some people are just strong willed.
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 09:17 |
|
I don't know. He wasn't in the army THAT long, and for most people, learning to lead effectively is a hard-fought skill, with Kaladin it just seems to come unnaturally easy, especially when his earlier flashbacks give no hint of it. In his introductory chapter, he's already this revered leader. Blah, I am not going to keep bashing on the guy, and I will pre-order the next book. I'd just like a little more depth on the next go around.
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 09:33 |
|
AlternateAccount posted:I don't know. He wasn't in the army THAT long, and for most people, learning to lead effectively is a hard-fought skill, with Kaladin it just seems to come unnaturally easy, especially when his earlier flashbacks give no hint of it. In his introductory chapter, he's already this revered leader. He talks about how he led several groups of guys in his many failed escape attempts. Part of the reason his character works for me is because Kaladin is a guy who has failed doing the same thing over and over again--forming a band of men who can help themselves--and is ready to give up. His plot is a very nice trend breaker in modern fantasy where the more noble a person is, the more they get screwed over. GRRM would have let him get to the point where he thought he was going to succeed, then knifed him in the back.
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 11:10 |
|
gmq posted:After looking for something to read in the Dresden thread, I just burned through the Mistborn Trilogy (and The Alloy of Law) in 4 days. Any of them are fine really. Feel free to pick one and discuss it here as you read it. Most of us are good with spoilers. If you want my opinion, go with his first book, Elantris, then move on to Warbreaker, and finish up with The Way of Kings.
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 11:17 |
|
Cartoon Man posted:If you want my opinion, go with his first book, Elantris, then move on to Warbreaker, and finish up with The Way of Kings. This is the order I would go in as well, also Warbreaker is free on his site if you dont mind ebooks.
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 15:19 |
|
Cartoon Man posted:If you want my opinion, go with his first book, Elantris, then move on to Warbreaker, and finish up with The Way of Kings. This is a good order, but also Cartoon Man posted:Any of them are fine really. this is good too.
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 19:09 |
|
Also, keep in mind that he's gotten better with every book, so Elantris is noticeably rougher than anything he's written after. It's still really worth reading, though.
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 19:35 |
|
Especially in combination with the online annotations, as it gives a facinating insight into the development of this "novel debut".
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 19:42 |
|
Clockwork Gadget posted:This is a good order, but also I actually read Way of Kings first then went to Mistborn. That was mostly due to him doing a little Q&A on reddit about the book, so I figured if an author was cool enough to do that, I should read his book. Not a bad decision!
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 19:56 |
|
I don't quite understand the Kaladin hate (maybe 'hate' is a strong word) I'm seeing here. When reading WoK, I actually skipped the Shallan and Dalinar chapters to see what happened next with Kaladin. He was my favorite character by far! Although admittedly, I skipped some of the flashbacks parts, since the way the story was written, I knew exactly what was going to happen in them (with the exception of finding out Kaladin had a chance at a shardblade and turned it down, only to get screwed over).
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 20:10 |
|
I'm reading Warbreaker still, and I have a question. Does Vivenna ever become interesting? I've never actually considered skipping character stories before, but she's just so boring. If it helps, her story currently has her hanging out with Vasher, just learning how to Awaken.
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 20:21 |
|
syphon posted:I don't quite understand the Kaladin hate (maybe 'hate' is a strong word) I'm seeing here. When reading WoK, I actually skipped the Shallan and Dalinar chapters to see what happened next with Kaladin. He was my favorite character by far! In relation to your spoiler: He actually turned down the shardplate as well.
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 21:02 |
|
Kruller posted:I'm reading Warbreaker still, and I have a question. Does Vivenna ever become interesting? I've never actually considered skipping character stories before, but she's just so boring. If it helps, her story currently has her hanging out with Vasher, just learning how to Awaken. Yes, she becomes interesting. Can't really say any more without spoiling it for you.
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 21:40 |
|
Kruller posted:I'm reading Warbreaker still, and I have a question. Does Vivenna ever become interesting? I've never actually considered skipping character stories before, but she's just so boring. If it helps, her story currently has her hanging out with Vasher, just learning how to Awaken. She gets a little better towards the end, but she's one of the less interesting characters in the book. I liked when she was with Vasher, though, because Vasher is such a good character. Edit: added spoiler tags
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 22:08 |
|
pakman posted:I actually read Way of Kings first then went to Mistborn. Yeah, really any order works for Brandon's books, imo. Personally, I read half of WoK, lost my copy of the book in a move, read Warbreaker, repurchased and finished WoK, then read Mistborn, Elantris, and Alloy of Law. So I went half of newest book, second newest book, rest of newest book, middle trilogy, oldest book, and then the NEW newest book that came out in the mean time. So when I say any reading order, I really do mean ANY reading order.
|
# ? Jan 13, 2012 23:44 |
|
Kaladin is my favorite character. I don't give a gently caress how conventional, or trite, or contrived, or hackneyed his character or arc may be (although I'd argue that it's only any of those on the shallowest surface read), I love reading his chapters. Even the flashbacks.
|
# ? Jan 14, 2012 01:57 |
|
syphon posted:Although admittedly, I skipped some of the flashbacks parts, since the way the story was written, I knew exactly what was going to happen in them (with the exception of finding out Kaladin had a chance at a shardblade and turned it down, only to get screwed over). I think that's really the problem. He's not a horrible character, but his flashbacks were so soul-crushingly boring and predictable that my hatred of them transferred to him. When that reveal happened, I was thinking "oh god finally the flashbacks are over".
|
# ? Jan 14, 2012 04:09 |
|
So I recommended Sanderson to my mom, and she wrote him to compliment him on his work. He then wrote back to thank her and tell her to thank me on his behalf. Such a chill dude.
|
# ? Jan 14, 2012 10:48 |
|
I popped in to say I'm really liking Way of Kings, and Sanderson does a really job at world building. Now I am sad because I couldn't keep my mouse off the spoiler tags
|
# ? Jan 14, 2012 15:33 |
|
|
# ? Apr 20, 2024 10:27 |
|
Vaevicti posted:Yes, she becomes interesting. Can't really say any more without spoiling it for you. I finished it, and I have to say, you are a big smelly liar. She stayed boring the entire time. She was totally, 100% useless, except as a battery. That book focused way too much on her and way too little on Siri. I still liked it, though. Off to read Elantris!
|
# ? Jan 14, 2012 16:18 |