Timewaster's Guide Archive

Peter, what's Brandon's percentage marking based on?  Number of pages done?  Is there a certain landmark that gets him to the next percentage?  First draft finished is 50%?  Final draft is 85%?  Publishing ready is 100%?  Or is it each phase gets its own zero to 100 percentage?  Just curious as to how the "Mind of Sanderson" works. 

I'm not Peter, but as an observer I have observed:

1. Each phase gets its own bar. So first draft, rewrite, revision, etc. all get their own bars.
2. For drafts, each bar's percentage is  based on Brandon's rough estimate of how big something will turn out. He has been known to adjust this target during the course of writing.
3. For revisions, the bar's percentage is obviously how far he has progressed through the revision. So when half the book has been revised, the bar reads 50%.
4. The bars don't get updated very often. IMHO that's a good thing—he really does have better things to do.

I think the fact that Elhokar is constantly wearing his Shardplate adds weight to the undiscovered/emerging power theory. If he is a natural Soulcaster like his sister and Shards cause interference it could be why his powere have not come upon him as quickly as they did with Shallan.

Shallan's not really a point of comparison. And Jasnah is eight-ish years older than Elhokar, and a scholar who was probably trained by her mother Navani—that same Navani who's playing a prominent role in the artifabrian community. Not that I don't like the emerging ability theory, because I do; I'm just sayin' you'd expect Jasnah to develop her power a lot faster than Elhokar.

I'll be the voice of dissent and say that I think it's most likely something entirely new that we know nothing about. Brandon has often said he enjoys working on new things...

Repairing badly damaged shardplate breaks gemstones, too. I think. I remember Dalinar thinking that at one point, but I could be remembering wrong.

Not to mention that just using the plate can break gemstones. Elhokar just broke more than could reasonably be expected.

Maybe Elhokar unconsciously tried to soulcast in a moment of stress (like how Shallan was stressed the first time she succeeded in soulcasting, or Kaladin was always stressed whenever he succeeded in unconsciously using his powers), but his shardplate interfered with the process. He broke gemstones trying, but no effects were visible due to the interference.

I wouldn't count Kaladin out of the fight with Szeth. He has taken the Oath whereas Szeth presumably has not. He has experience fighting (and beating) shardbearers. He can already use two of the three Lashings, and has time to learn the Basic Lashing (which is, ironically, the best for combat). And, he may well have other surgebinders on his team.

That's my hope for book 2. I want at least some of Bridge 4 to be able to learn Surgebinding. I really think that group will be the seed of the restored Knights Radiant.

Yes, do please post notes on your thought process. I love stories like that.

Cool, I'm curious to know what you thought when you've finished.

I have two problems with this idea. The first is that I find it unlikely for Brandon to repeat himself in that way. I think him better than that.

The second is that it doesn't make much sense. It seems clear that Odium engineered the end of the Oathpact and has been biding his time sowing dissent among men. A united humanity is what kept repulsing his attacks in the past. Why would he want Dalinar to unite anyone?

Taravingian, on the other hand, I don't quite get. He seems to be working towards a united humanity, even if it's in a twisted, wrongheaded way. So why doesn't he want Dalinar to unite Alethkar? Him, I could buy as a servent of Odium, or at least someone who's been duped by him.