Knives In Both Hands

Knives in both hands

One thing that I think is really missing from the Lirin Discourse (from all directions!) is that Kaladin absolutely did want to be a surgeon. He genuinely wanted it. There were times where he wanted to be a soldier more, but by the time the recruiters came he had decided that he wouldn't join the army after all! In fact, the tragedy of the whole thing is that Roshone's cruelty forced Kaladin into a path he didn't want anymore.

It was made by those who were dead

01/07/3309 The Pleiades

The way is shut.

Empathy. Motivation. Progress.

The secret to making your readers care about a character lies in these 3 sliding scales, according to Brandon Sanderson.

Show throughout the story the answers to the following bullets:

Empathy (likability)

How relatable are they?

Are they kind or sympathetic to others?

How do other characters treat them?

Motivation (proactivity)

Are the character’s motivations interesting?

Can the character have what they desire? Do they initially avoid what motivates them?

How do a character’s motivations conflict with their flaws, and/or tie to the plot?

What steps is the character taking to get what they want?

People have many things that motivate them. Sometimes they can never have something they desire, sometimes they don’t want the thing they actually need at first. Motivations can conflict with each other, the plot, and a character’s morality.

Progress (competence)

What flaws does the character need to face in order to progress?

Does the character overcome their flaws, fail, step around them, etc.?

Will the character fulfill their promise(s)?

Motivation and progress often go hand-in-hand. Progression should be hard, to keep characters in check.

These sliding scales work just as well for protagonists as they do for villains, and everyone else in between.

Remember, the scales shouldn’t be maxed out. A character perfect at all three sliding scales is difficult to care about, and your characters are your story’s lifeblood.

Brandon Sanderson’s free 2020 lectures on YT

This animation without the filter because it fucked with the framerate for some reason (this isn't the intended look otherwise, but bleh)

Yes, regrettably, that wasn't me. That was Tolkien, or a shadow of him. An idea. The idea being if he ended up on Scadrial, like me. Though without my spaceship

HOID.

HOID IS ON PAGE AS I AM WRITING THIS POST HE CAME BACK AS ANOTHER INFORMANT THIS TIME IN FADREX CITY

ok but when he first got on page i was excited because i read his description as having white hair, and i know that his Yolin appearance has white hair. then, i thought it wasn't actually him, because he was also described as old.

then hoid mentioned spren and i knew it was him.

also skaa died really young pre-Collapse so his appearance might seem old to vin.

or he just Lightweaved himself to look older.

EDIT: IT WAS NOT HIM

i was talking about a character named Slowswift who i thought was Hoid, but Hoid himself is mentioned by name a page after but doesn't have screentime (at least in the part i'm at)

Well, its not gonna be me, even when I finally do live up to my name.

All things aside, considering the sixth of the dusk sequel preview we got, I'm prone to say something new. Something we haven't seen before. Something that just pulls all the sides apart and it's just a big mess.

I feel like, though, there is a big bad that'll be around. It might be Odium, but considering stormlight, I don't think he'd still have the fused, after 10 books. Considering Kelsier, maybe, but I don't think he'd end up a bona fide big bad, just a meddler. Maybe a villain, definitely and antagonist, but I doubt the big bad.

We already have so many factions and I feel like we're just gonna keep adding onto that, especially as different groups leave planets in different ways, having different groups from different cultures on planets as well as different groups from the same culture on a planet to groups that are unified and from multiple planets.

I do think Kelsier is gonna last longer than Odium though. Hopefully I get the chance to punch him again.