LogFAQs > #963108244

Far-Queue posted...

I can't imagine writing 4 novels in two years.

Stephen King used to crap out like 3-4 books a year back in the day. The secret is cocaine. Lots and lots of cocaine.

And I think at one point, Dean Koontz came out with something like 9 books in a single year. Though in his case, the secret is formulaic writing and mediocre plots. It's easier to churn out dreck.



Muscles posted...

I've only read Mistborn so far, I like his style but I felt like he got too technical with his magic system at times, does that improve?

That was always my problem with him. He seems kind of obsessed with treating magic like a science - with detailed mechanical systems and complicated rules - to the detriment of actual storytelling. In the same way that Tolkien was self-admittedly only writing stories because it gave him an excuse to show off his made-up languages, Sanderson feels like he's just writing a dissertation about this complex magical system he came up with, and then occasionally remembering to throw characters and story in every now and then.

Part of why I think his best work was when he was finishing off someone else's story. Writing the last few Wheel of Time books after Robert Jordan died, he got to focus more on actual storytelling. He was less focused on trying to describe or explain the magical system or show off a unique setting (which had already been established by that point), so his weaknesses were offset and his strengths were more able to shine through. And ironically, he was able to avoid Robert Jordan's weaknesses (rambling filler writing stretching what was originally supposed to be a trilogy into 14 books), so the end result wound up being more than the sum of its two writers.

Sanderson's kind of like the type of DM that just spends 20+ hours a week working on worldbuilding for his D&D campaign, then shits out an adventure for the players in about 20 minutes.