Lecture #8: Worldbuilding Q&A — Brandon Sanderson on Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy

Brandon Sanderson greets the class and mentions they will be doing Q&A on world building this week. He notes there will be no final exam for the class. Instead they used to watch a movie and have pizza on the last day but stopped doing that.

Brandon discusses one of his flaws and strengths as a writer - his ability to write fast and eagerness to start new projects. This helped him gain confidence and momentum but he never properly learned revision skills. He kept thinking he could just write a better book instead of revising an okay one to make it great.

Brandon distinguishes between internal consistency (the logic of the story fitting together) versus external consistency (trying to explain things scientifically). He uses the example of X-Men's attempt to provide an evolutionary explanation for mutations as external logic. The key is making the magic system feel natural rather than contrived.

Brandon discusses how to provide enough worldbuilding for understanding while maintaining mystery - hang a lantern on discrepancies to hint something is wrong, show aspects that don't line up to create dissonance that makes readers look for explanations. Can also say the character only understands their segment of the world to keep a sense of scale.

Brandon talks about using themes to tie together magic systems that were developed separately, like he did with allomancy and feruchemy in Mistborn using metal as a unifying theme. This makes them feel cohesive even if they don't seem like they should connect.

Brandon advises using internal/external logic to make limitations not seem contrived, like Superman's powers being nullified by kryptonite from his home planet. Can also foreshadow things going wrong earlier so that when you need to use an ability later it has already been established.

Brandon says you can disguise a hard magic system as soft magic but you need to treat it like soft magic since that's how readers experience it until revelations come. Cites Sazed in Mistborn using unknown abilities as intro rather than a satisfying resolution for Vin.

Brandon emphasizes defining what you want your magic system to do and achieve first. Then use reader reactions to judge if it fulfills those goals rather than some absolute measure of quality - did it evoke the intended emotions even if some readers hate it?

Brandon advises discovery writers stressed about worldbuilding to wait until finishing the draft then decide what needs expansion based on confusion from early readers. Don't let worldbuilding interfere with excitement to write the actual story.

Brandon says he enjoyed The Mandalorian, especially the beginning and ending episodes with longer story arcs. He could tell it was made by big director friends just having fun with Star Wars rather than obsessing over continuity.

Brandon discusses ways to smoothly introduce new magical abilities without it feeling sudden - establish holes in understanding of the magic system earlier that you fill later. Also foreshadow new powers manifesting instead of whipping them out when convenient.

Brandon explains his five draft revision process: (1) Main plot/characters (2) Major fixes (3) Incorporate alpha reader feedback (4) Address beta reader reactions (5) Polish prose and cut 10%. Makes targeted task lists for each draft based on priority.