Brandon Sanderson is without doubt one of the greatest voices within the fantasy style. Greater than a author and writer, he is an audience-friendly scholar. By some means he finds time to develop the Cosmere on a near-annual foundation and likewise ship lectures on Tolkien’s magic systems. There’s a purpose we turned to him as soon as upon a time to show us his time-management wizardry.
In a chat with fellow fantasy writer Joe Abercrombie, shared on YouTube earlier this yr, the pair mentioned the craft of writing. That’s when Recreation of Thrones was introduced up — once more. For Sanderson, it’s a prime instance of the strengths and weaknesses of Epic Fantasy.
“I grew up studying the massive epics. I believe it is probably the most pure kind for fantasy in some methods. It provides you a number of time to dig into that world and immerse your self in it and discover one other place,” he mentioned. “I believe that is why Recreation of Thrones did properly.”
When requested concerning the draw back of those tales, Sanderson spoke from private expertise, sharing that burnout is an actual downside, with him having to take a break from the writing course of at across the tenth go of the draft.
“Epic fantasy has this hazard. It begins very private, after which it may drift away from being private concerning the characters in the event you’re not cautious. Authors are likely to get extra enthusiastic about facet characters afterward. We see this taking place a bit in Recreation of Thrones and in A Wheel of Time. How are you going to be certain that one thing that huge stays contemporary and private and thrilling? That is an actual problem with the style.”
That is an “once more” scenario as a result of final time the 2 writers obtained collectively in 2025, George R.R. Martin’s collection additionally got here up. The 2 have been discussing the discharge of Abercrombie’s The Devils, which got here out final yr. “Do not you dislike maps? Is not that one thing I as soon as heard, that you do not like maps?” requested Sanderson.
“I imply, I like maps,” replied Abercrombie. “However I believe they must be exercised in the suitable means. I suppose what I do not like is a sort of lazy software of maps.”
“After I was first writing The First Regulation, I suppose I wished to write down one thing that was very character centered, that was virtually informed in tight closeup on the individuals. And to begin with the widest shot possible of the entire world felt like precisely the fallacious sort of tone to start with if you would like,” Abercrombie mentioned.
Whereas immersive and thrilling, the inclusion of a map creates some expectations for the reader. It additionally provides a sheen of realism, offering the reader with visible info that would later create issues for the writer that they need to tackle within the writing. Sanderson talked about the Game of Thrones franchise for example. “And as soon as you set the map in, you run into some issues. Perhaps like some later Recreation of Thrones seasons, we’re like, ‘Nicely, how did they get from right here to right here?’” he mentioned.
“And while you’re attempting to be very life like when presenting a few of that stuff, it may get you into bother,” Sanderson added. “I nonetheless love them.”
George R.R. Martin agrees with Brandon Sanderson
Martin has been open concerning the battle to slim the scope in an Epic Fantasy collection like A Song of Ice and Fire. The cycle of novels is deliberate to be made up of seven books. 5 have already been printed. Martin has been writing the sixth novel, Winds of Winter, for the previous 15 years. The HBO adaptation racing previous him within the chronology of the saga’s occasions clearly didn’t assist something.
If Sanderson has Recreation of Thrones perpetually on the mind, it may be as a result of he’s within the means of streamlining his personal Epic Fantasy world for each TV and movie. After placing a mega-deal with Apple, he’s presently writing a screenplay for a Mistborn movie. Then he’ll write a pilot for a Stormlight Archive TV collection. Martin, for all his ups and downs, is the closest mannequin to the way it could all go down — so you may’t blame him for pondering deeply on the state of Recreation of Thrones.
Hi, I’m Rishab. I’m a passionate pc gamer and an avid video game content writer. I have been involved with video games for over 2 decades now, and even today, after playing an astronomical number of games over the years, I’m still eager for more. In my free time, you will find me enjoying a hot cup of coffee and playing my favorite relaxing fishing game, Dave the Diver.
