About 1 year ago I started writing my first novel. I was heavily inspired by the format of The Stormlight Archive Books, but wanted to make mine on a much smaller scale, especially being my first book. Now I'm almost done with the first pass-through of revisions, and I couldn't be more excited!
Excellent breakdown! A great way to think of it is the bowstring metaphor. Build tension, build tension, avoid a slow release. The higher the tension the greater the catharsis, the swifter the release the more immediate an impact. For me, no one does this better than Malazan in epic fantasy. Erikson weaves together many plotlines into his famous convergence endings. Though they are not always happy conclusions.
Thanks very much! That's a really great metaphor you used there I wish I thought of that, but I completely agree with you perfect analogy. I've heard people speak very highly of Malazan, I own the first book but I've somehow never found the time to pick it up.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt They are more than a little different than Sanderson's books, but certainly alongside Robin Hobb, GRRM, R. Scott Bakker, and Daniel Abraham, they are among the greatest of epic fantasy.
Mistborn is my favorite. I think that The Sanderson is technically a better writer now, but the pacing of Mistborn is more in line with my preferences. Three books to get to god tier feels right to me. (I know this is an unpopular opinion)
Another important element --- Being plausible while seeming impossible In almost every book/climax, the solution has already been introduced at least a couple times, but the missing puzzle piece doesn't come into place until the moment of greatest tension. For example, Sanderson doesn't let Vin draw on the mists until she most needs it, even if she might have made the connection earlier. Instead, Marsh is clearly set up from the beginning, and the solution, though it doesn't come until we've lost all hope, makes perfect sense. Reading that, I really did think that short of a miracle she was going to die.
Yeah this is a good call out, he's quite good at hiding things in plain sight. For Mistborn in particular, the way he uses the chapter epitaphs at the start are so cleverly done, you get that build up across the entire book. The second book in particular I remember feeling dread at the reveal that the words of the prophecy had been changed.
Oh, quick nitpick: the typing sound ABSOLUTELY makes it near impossible to focus on the words, can you turn that sound down, if not eliminate it completely?
Thanks for the feedback! Ah really, I was trying something new adding it in but I can take it out if you don't like it. What do you think? Make it quieter or just take it out completely?
Thanks! Yeah Warbreaker is great, I think it's quite underrated (overshadowed by the other bigger series). I'm hoping Sanderson writes the sequel for it soon.
great Analysis and break down, i definitely enjoyed the video. Great job man! I am interested to know how you made the video i thought your editing was top notch!
Thank you much appreciated, glad you enjoyed it! If you're interested how I make my videos, pretty much I record my voice over first in Audacity and edit it, then once I'm happy with the audio I edit the video in Davinci Resolve and add the audio on top.
Good luck, writing is a skill like any other that can be practiced and learnt. I'll probably do other similar videos about different authors and techniques in the future too.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt Yes, both of those, but don't take it too far! ;) I am recommending that you be more expressive and use a more personal tone because i imagine you would thereby give similar scripts more dynamism, flow and interest for the viewer. You don't have to go crazy all at once, maybe just push around at the boarders you already have. I think a certain level of formality is good for a youtuber, but the consumer has to feel like there's a living, breathing, witty and caring person speaking. I'm not saying you sound like a soulless robot ( far from it ), im saying that videos like this would be greatly improved if you let a bigger slice of your personality shine through. Consider; a sandwich is mostly bread and filling, but most good sandwiches contain at least two kinds of lubricants; you've got the ideas and content ( filling ), you've got the structure and production ( bread ), but your own personality is gonna be the butter in every sandwich you make. Like butter in a sandwich it shouldn't be loud, but we miss it when its absent. I really do think your video was very good, and wish you the best of luck. :)
@@colincruickshank7679 Thanks again for the detailed feedback! Yeah I see where you're coming from, I'll see how I can experiment with the scripts or audio recording to inject a bit less formality into them. I'm definitely open to experimenting with the style since it's still fairly early days, and hopefully I can get to a nice balance of speaking and presentation.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt Dude, as we say in Scotland; Go For Your Life! Run like there was a big dog chasing you! Is it fair to ask for "more personality"? Maybe, maybe not. Truth is its just advice; let us hear a little personal emotion and interest in your own stuff. It makes you stand out and helps randoms latch on. You don't have to go 100% overnight; you can be personable and particular before you go personal and "lifestyle". Good luck man; i think you've got great bones here, as they say. :)
His prose is just so distractingly awkward. (Yes, I know he’s not really a “prose-focused” writer; it’s just that’s where my interest mainly lies.) This is, however, a decent breakdown of how it’s built/structured. Thanks!
Thank you glad you liked it! Yeah I do agree to be honest, I think Sanderson's strength is in his worlds and characters rather than his prose. If I think of an author who's strong there, my first thought is probably Patrick Rufoss (such a shame he never finished his series!).
Brandon Sanderson is a terrible writer in all aspects of the craft. I like some of your videos, but the fact that you cannot see the massive pile of Dunning-Krueger that his body of work is, is fascinating.
Appreciate you enjoy other videos. I'd be interested to hear more about why you don't like Sanderson, I must admit I like his books a lot, although I don't think he's a perfect writer for sure.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt Thanks for the reply. My issue with Sanderson boils down to core craft problems-his writing is often bloated with unnecessary details, arbitrary ambiguity, and gimmicky elements. He defers key information without any real payoff, which leads to confusion rather than intrigue. His sentences are cluttered with extra words and throwaway ideas that don’t contribute meaningfully to the story. Instead of immersing readers, this approach creates opacity and undermines the potential of his concepts. It feels like style over substance, with too much focus on cleverness rather than clarity and engagement. Happy to dive deeper if you're interested!
@@seanmurphy7011 Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I agree with some of the broad strokes you've outlined, but I think you're being a bit harsh on him! He's not the best author I've ever read, but he's far from the worst. I generally enjoy his stories and power systems, and I also like the "setting" he leans into, of godlike beings and the ending of worlds/civilisations. To be honest my biggest gripe with Sanderson is that his story structure becomes very formulaic and predictable across his different series.
About 1 year ago I started writing my first novel. I was heavily inspired by the format of The Stormlight Archive Books, but wanted to make mine on a much smaller scale, especially being my first book. Now I'm almost done with the first pass-through of revisions, and I couldn't be more excited!
That's awesome to hear. I've tried and failed a few times to write a book, so I know how hard it can be. Best of luck to you with your series!
Excellent breakdown! A great way to think of it is the bowstring metaphor. Build tension, build tension, avoid a slow release. The higher the tension the greater the catharsis, the swifter the release the more immediate an impact.
For me, no one does this better than Malazan in epic fantasy. Erikson weaves together many plotlines into his famous convergence endings. Though they are not always happy conclusions.
Thanks very much! That's a really great metaphor you used there I wish I thought of that, but I completely agree with you perfect analogy. I've heard people speak very highly of Malazan, I own the first book but I've somehow never found the time to pick it up.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt They are more than a little different than Sanderson's books, but certainly alongside Robin Hobb, GRRM, R. Scott Bakker, and Daniel Abraham, they are among the greatest of epic fantasy.
I absolutely love Brandon Sandersons books
Me too! I have almost every single one of his books digitally and hardcover.
Love Brandon Sanderson - very useful writing tips!
He's my favourite fantasy author right now, I'm looking forward to Wind and Truth later this year.
I love his books as well, particularly the mistborn series, glad a fellow fan is discussing this as I haven't heard this before
Thanks! Yeah Mistborn is great, probably my favourite Sanderson series.
Mistborn is my favorite. I think that The Sanderson is technically a better writer now, but the pacing of Mistborn is more in line with my preferences. Three books to get to god tier feels right to me. (I know this is an unpopular opinion)
@@randomriftvideos I love the tight pacing in Mistborn to be honest. I like Stormlight Archives as well but it feels a bit more meandering to me.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt same
Ty for breaking this down... I've not read any Sanderson, but your admiration of his work makes it interesting from an audience perspective
Thank you! It's really nice to hear you enjoyed the video even without reading Sanderson. What sort of books do you normally read?
Another important element --- Being plausible while seeming impossible
In almost every book/climax, the solution has already been introduced at least a couple times, but the missing puzzle piece doesn't come into place until the moment of greatest tension. For example, Sanderson doesn't let Vin draw on the mists until she most needs it, even if she might have made the connection earlier. Instead, Marsh is clearly set up from the beginning, and the solution, though it doesn't come until we've lost all hope, makes perfect sense. Reading that, I really did think that short of a miracle she was going to die.
Yeah this is a good call out, he's quite good at hiding things in plain sight. For Mistborn in particular, the way he uses the chapter epitaphs at the start are so cleverly done, you get that build up across the entire book. The second book in particular I remember feeling dread at the reveal that the words of the prophecy had been changed.
Oh, quick nitpick: the typing sound ABSOLUTELY makes it near impossible to focus on the words, can you turn that sound down, if not eliminate it completely?
Thanks for the feedback! Ah really, I was trying something new adding it in but I can take it out if you don't like it. What do you think? Make it quieter or just take it out completely?
Start with quieter
@@Harbringer12 Thanks I'll try that. One video is already scheduled to go out but I'll keep that in mind for future ones.
Good video man. Warbreaker is my favorite Sanderson book
Thanks! Yeah Warbreaker is great, I think it's quite underrated (overshadowed by the other bigger series). I'm hoping Sanderson writes the sequel for it soon.
Awesome breakdown
Thanks very much!
great Analysis and break down, i definitely enjoyed the video. Great job man! I am interested to know how you made the video i thought your editing was top notch!
Thank you much appreciated, glad you enjoyed it! If you're interested how I make my videos, pretty much I record my voice over first in Audacity and edit it, then once I'm happy with the audio I edit the video in Davinci Resolve and add the audio on top.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt thanks for replying! That's awesome i have to look into those software
@@UltraLaidback No problem! Happy to answer any other questions you have once you've taken a look.
easy to understand, hard to do. I need more practices
Good luck, writing is a skill like any other that can be practiced and learnt. I'll probably do other similar videos about different authors and techniques in the future too.
Great breakdown and video!
Thanks very much!
I'd just like to ask, when will your Hermione retrospective video will be out at some point?
Hey, the next video will probably be about Snape as I'm working on that next, then after that comes out I'll work on Hermione.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt That's alr with me then since Snape is very misunderstood by some members of the fandom.
@@TheLazyFusspot_3428 Great! Yep it'll be the next video out, hopefully by next Saturday
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt thx :)
Good video. The presenter might want to try a more conversational tone. :)
Thanks! You mean speak more casually? I can try and speak less formally.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt Yes, both of those, but don't take it too far! ;) I am recommending that you be more expressive and use a more personal tone because i imagine you would thereby give similar scripts more dynamism, flow and interest for the viewer. You don't have to go crazy all at once, maybe just push around at the boarders you already have. I think a certain level of formality is good for a youtuber, but the consumer has to feel like there's a living, breathing, witty and caring person speaking. I'm not saying you sound like a soulless robot ( far from it ), im saying that videos like this would be greatly improved if you let a bigger slice of your personality shine through. Consider; a sandwich is mostly bread and filling, but most good sandwiches contain at least two kinds of lubricants; you've got the ideas and content ( filling ), you've got the structure and production ( bread ), but your own personality is gonna be the butter in every sandwich you make. Like butter in a sandwich it shouldn't be loud, but we miss it when its absent. I really do think your video was very good, and wish you the best of luck. :)
@@colincruickshank7679 Thanks again for the detailed feedback! Yeah I see where you're coming from, I'll see how I can experiment with the scripts or audio recording to inject a bit less formality into them. I'm definitely open to experimenting with the style since it's still fairly early days, and hopefully I can get to a nice balance of speaking and presentation.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt Dude, as we say in Scotland; Go For Your Life! Run like there was a big dog chasing you! Is it fair to ask for "more personality"? Maybe, maybe not. Truth is its just advice; let us hear a little personal emotion and interest in your own stuff. It makes you stand out and helps randoms latch on. You don't have to go 100% overnight; you can be personable and particular before you go personal and "lifestyle". Good luck man; i think you've got great bones here, as they say. :)
His prose is just so distractingly awkward. (Yes, I know he’s not really a “prose-focused” writer; it’s just that’s where my interest mainly lies.)
This is, however, a decent breakdown of how it’s built/structured.
Thanks!
Thank you glad you liked it! Yeah I do agree to be honest, I think Sanderson's strength is in his worlds and characters rather than his prose. If I think of an author who's strong there, my first thought is probably Patrick Rufoss (such a shame he never finished his series!).
Could you give an example of it being distractingly awkward?
The background sounds to AI like
What do you mean by that?
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt i meant the background music, tbf i meant with your narration it was enough
@@jorgeperez2872 Aah gotcha, thanks for the feedback I'll see if I can remove or change it.
Brandon Sanderson is a terrible writer in all aspects of the craft. I like some of your videos, but the fact that you cannot see the massive pile of Dunning-Krueger that his body of work is, is fascinating.
Appreciate you enjoy other videos. I'd be interested to hear more about why you don't like Sanderson, I must admit I like his books a lot, although I don't think he's a perfect writer for sure.
@@MediaRetrospective-sb2pt Thanks for the reply. My issue with Sanderson boils down to core craft problems-his writing is often bloated with unnecessary details, arbitrary ambiguity, and gimmicky elements. He defers key information without any real payoff, which leads to confusion rather than intrigue. His sentences are cluttered with extra words and throwaway ideas that don’t contribute meaningfully to the story. Instead of immersing readers, this approach creates opacity and undermines the potential of his concepts. It feels like style over substance, with too much focus on cleverness rather than clarity and engagement. Happy to dive deeper if you're interested!
@@seanmurphy7011 Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I agree with some of the broad strokes you've outlined, but I think you're being a bit harsh on him! He's not the best author I've ever read, but he's far from the worst. I generally enjoy his stories and power systems, and I also like the "setting" he leans into, of godlike beings and the ending of worlds/civilisations. To be honest my biggest gripe with Sanderson is that his story structure becomes very formulaic and predictable across his different series.