Why Great Writers Steal Ideas | With Brandon Sanderson

[@Pegasi_Perfecti]

9:04 "my wife had been reading ero... a lot of romance novels" brilliant save

[@marinamaddox6285]

nice catch

[@bananapeel892]

Lmao. He was pretty smooth with that save

[@wlot28]

lol, he should’ve just been honest. Romance novels = porn

[@alyssumn3884]

I mean some of the ones I read are fantasy with... Some pretty explicit sex lol. For instance Anita Blake series. Def not romance def a bit of soft core porn. I wish he said which books lol

[@alexor081]

I see it as saying "a lot aro alo" more like a flub because he was talking without maybe realizing fully how to frame what he has to say. Even at the start he says "my- my wife".

[@saphna2095]

i just love how Brandon speaks straight from his enthusiastic mind, without an in between layer of self-entitlement or arrogance

[@mc9723]

His podcast autoplayed for me at some point and I realized he is really easy and fun to listen to.

[@matthewwebb9137]

LOL this guy!?! Look how he is sitting in the first moments of this interview, "he moved his home to NZ, his lair"? Lol This guy, whose reels are always of him signing books as he answers questions? No self-entitlement or arrogance there

[@jordancrawford6707]

@@matthewwebb9137 I agree, it's maybe a bit more subtle, but Brandon definitely has his moments of ego and self-awareness of his accomplishments. the way he said "Wheel of Time", it has a tv show... even though he only finished the series and probably wouldn't be where he is now without it.

[@dina019]

​@@matthewwebb9137ill admit English isnt my first language, but something about the way he talks and his body language always makes me think he thinks too much of himself and is speaking down to whoever he has in front of him... I like his books and i think he has reason to be arrogant or full of himself, but i always see that people in the fandom comment of how humble he, and how generous and that is simply not the impression i get, especially after meeting some other authors who seem so much more approachable. I don't know, i can be wrong of course, and maybe just a way of talking that doesnt mesh with me but you are the first person i see acknowledge it as well.

[@JorgeMorge]

@@matthewwebb9137his reels are predominantly from his podcast, where he has always been seen signing things because he releases hand signed copies of books. I don’t understand how that portrays arrogance in anyway. He IS confident in his ability as a writer and you can see that when he talks, but his posture also gave off comfortability. He is in his own home lol

[@DanCreaMundos]

the fact that Brandon mentioned watching the Last Airbender film in that context is simply amazing, it means he and/or his team took the time to see who you are and what you value the most, that's a great sign of respect by a very respected author

[@kemerydunn9532]

Brandon Sanderson has probably watched a fair bit of Tim's stuff before even thinking of having him over. On his Intentionally Blank podcast he mentions Patrick Willems' videos a fair bit, so I imagine he follows other channels too

[@Aguza91]

I love that the actual underlying message is, that you can tell the same story twice if you do it from your authentic perspective. That is incredibly empowering and freeing.

[@bananapeel892]

I haven’t read anything by Sanderson. I tried something, but it didn’t really vibe with me. But man do I respect him. Not pretentious. Ready to share knowledge. Humble. Open-minded. What a legend.

[@unicorntomboy9736]

@@bananapeel892 I think Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is very good, I highly recommend reading it.

[@NormalLunk]

Which one did you read? His bigger series take a minute to get into but they each have a point where it finally clicks in the brain and his books get hard to put down

[@lyingcat9022]

May I ask what you tried of his? And what other books in the sci-fi fantasy genre you did like? Maybe I could suggest one you would like :)

[@phoebegilliland8897]

If you like The Princess Bride, you might like his book Tress of the Emerald Sea. The starting idea was "What if Buttercup had gone looking for Westley after he was captured? And what if the oceans of that world were filled with magical green spores instead of water?" The book does have an unreliable narrator, but that's also a plot point in the story. It felt less like sci-fi and more like a fairytale was giving me a warm, gentle hug. You might like it.

[@HolySteavy]

And writes five books a year, the madman

[@johngr1747]

"Great ones steal. Mediocre ones imitate" - Manos Chatzidakis, a famous Greek musician

[@Thenoobestgirl]

And fantastic ones never get caught 😉

[@tomburke9624]

It's actually a T.S. Eliot quote. "Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal."

[@Selverna]

The man, the myth, the legend himself, Brandon Sanderson.

[@griswo3272]

his writing is pretty mid, read 3 books of his they were all rather disappointing

[@Dorma_]

​@@griswo3272 No one asked and there's no need to be rude

[@Taithchwant]

​@griswo3272 lol yeah, I read a few of his books and had the exact same reaction.

[@Broockle]

@@griswo3272 what did u read?

[@griswo3272]

@@Broockle mistborn 1 and 2 and Skyward

[@SlowBurnReader]

Two intelligent men in a room, and they share an amazing conversation

[@farkasmactavish]

2:40 Based Brandon choosing not to announce his opinion on generative AI, but to instead write an entire book where genAI is the villain.

[@sabikikasuko6636]

Honestly if I got one thing from this interview is that the guy is so down to earth I think if we ever gave him a shovel he'd just dig himself to the core of the planet. I feel very thoroughly identified with the way he talks, his timbre, good intonation, the way you just KNOW everything he'd saying is something that he's thought of a lot because he's a lot of a writer as he is a reader, like he feels like someone you could find in a fandom on Reddit replying to a cool post about his own books on an alt and at no point you'd know he's the author. He seems incredibly approachable in a way very few gone-big authors are, and that I think is trying worthy of admiration of the highest kind.

[@joshuadunham3018]

He actually does respond on Reddit with his own official account. Sometimes confirming fan theories (actually, there were a couple of really big Wheel of Time theories that he wasn't allowed to reveal, but he was allowed to confirm, so when someone finally put the right answer as a theory he responded and confirmed it to be true).

[@thomaswrites]

Hearing Sanderson talk about how much both Dune and Watchmen inspired him makes my heart very happy. 😊

[@zacbranch2083]

Your Name has been on my watch list ever since watching Suzume last year. I think I know what I'm sitting down to watch this weekend!

[@JulesJYT]

Anyone who hasn't watched Your Name yet I always recommend watching 5cm per Second first! It can drag and I understand totally why people like Your Name better, but I think there's a whole layer to how Shinkai's work has grown and how his outlook has developed that a lot of people missed by just watching Your Name or just his newer films. If you really want full impact, I'd suggest watching 5cm and at least one other film prior to Your Name even if it's just Garden of Words. Personally I recommend The Place Promised in Our Early Days if you or anyone seeing this does this!

[@anderporascu5026]

The thing to always be proud of is the existing pool of talent and imagination in today's world. Brandon Sanderson breaks the final barrier fantasy was best with, being in a medieval stasis with a steampunk society as the goal.

[@Thenoobestgirl]

And even more so because it's been democratized! Literally anyone can become an author these days with Amazon and such.

[@wangtoriojackson4315]

I'm rather partial to a quote from filmmaker Jim Jarmusch on this subject: "Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: 'It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to.'"

[@xskyhawkx7821]

Probably one of my biggest inspirations is the Legend of Zelda. I love how it veers away from using the usual fantasy races, I love the mythology of the older games, and I kind of just love the world itself.

[@nomado-sensei]

The best thing you can do to make something original appear is inspire someone. It's like the copy-of-a-copy concept. Even if you imitate something-I don't say copy, cause copy is identical-you make something different, and if you inspire someone to imitate your work, somewhere down this imitation line someone will eventually produce something that is drastically different from what you originally imitated.

[@themanbehindthecurtains]

I think one of my biggest inspirations is the Dresden Files. For the series's problems, the both simplistic and yet complicated magic systems and integration of multiple factions, and the stubbornness in the face of hope, and the way only *you* can choose where you wind up and who you become and how you can always choose kindness is very dear to me. I appreciate Butcher's take on Urban Fantasy a lot

[@cohort29]

Greatest fantasy writer is up for debate, but hands down the best fantasy author as a package. There is not a more productive, generous, accessible, positive, and public face in the industry.

[@PabloIgnacioGarciaMartin-ts9yd]

He is far from the best, very far. He is one of the most famous and prolific, but kind of in like a McDonalds way.

[@Bowtiedhillbilly]

@@PabloIgnacioGarciaMartin-ts9yd I think Olive Garden is a better comparison. Not really fancy, but it actually tastes good, has wide appeal, and is genuinely enjoyable, if not earth-shattering.

[@PRCutie101]

​Mcdonalds was right... just a whole bunch of filler & junk with happy meal magic trinkets to make the kids think its the best everrrr 🥴

[@guardianofthetoasters2323]

WAIT WHAT?? IT'S OUT NOW?? Now I can't use the net in fear of spoilers Edit: If you've already finished reading it (idk if that is even possible to finish it that fast) please don't comment. I don't want any spoiler suddenly jumpscaring me in the replies.

[@galaxydeathskrill5607]

Yes, it released on 6th of December (I haven't even started WoR)

[@guardianofthetoasters2323]

​@galaxydeathskrill5607I'm buying it as soon as my country manages to stock a copy

[@Croutonium]

Darth Vader is Luke's father

[@thebookwyrm235]

I feel your pain, friend

[@ViktorLoR_Mainu]

​@galaxydeathskrill5607 Get. To. It. Oathbringer is just *chef's kiss*

[@aliin8763]

You mentioning Annihilation so often makes me so happy, i finished the trilogy again just yesterday and it keeps blowing my mind, with every single chapter, everything so vivid that i almost said "with every single scene"... it's an absolutely beautiful read

[@watcherofwatchers]

I actually really disliked that series. I am not even sure why I read on after the first book. Almost nothing happened. The entire story could have been told in 3 pages. Yhe rest was just absolute insanity in the amount of jumping to conclusions the main character did - without actually reaching any sort of conclusions. Frustrating. I am glad other people like it, though. It just wasn't for me.

[@BarefootDani]

What a great conversation! Sanderson's view on originality definitely helped me feel more at ease with my writing, enough to learn my own inspirations and my strengths. As you both said, no story is 100% original, but every story has original combinations. I LOVE writing tropes and giving them a twist, and also love writing about small people and mundane life in a fantastical, classic heroic setting. That inn keeper where the heroes mett to plan adventures. The family of a dark lord's minion. The craftsmen in fantasy books, etc.

[@andraspapp1284]

He's my favorite author by far and all thanks to you with the Way of King coming up in so many world building videos. Gotten me back to reading really AND keeps my English on level.

[@tobiasweber2517]

finished rythm of war a few days ago. im onto sunlit man now (which is quite fun) but the announcment for the release of wind and truth release really couldnt have come at a better time. the fact that i dont need to wait and am able to be almost up to date with the online discourse is so awesome

[@medi6892]

So cool you were able to talk to him tbh. Impossible for me

[@silentobserver888]

I’m grateful to exist in this era where Brandon shows us the way as to how to do modern day fantasy writing and how to manage public image and speaking. I’m grateful for his lessons and how he shows kudos to other writers and he is an absolute titan of a writer.

[@theunwantedcritic]

Brandon is an amazing teacher of writing. And I took one of his online courses during the shutdown. I’d rather I watched it free on KZbin. I think this is the second time you guys have had a conversation. I’m very interested to hear what two talk about.

[@bendoucet8641]

Weird way to say it’s okay that I’m influenced my writing on what I like, but I’ll take it. It’s very encouraging. Thanks. 😊

[@crimsonraen]

This was a great interview, thanks for the video!

[@elserin5889]

Brandon reassuring by saying 'There's too much good media' is such a kind and smart way of saying it. Such kindness is so rarely represented nowadays it's good to remind ourselves that we cant see everything all the time

[@celestialcass]

well i was aghast that my copy of wind and truth will be taking four more days to get here than initially promised but this video will help hold me over. the your name influence on yumi is obvious in retrospect! great video

[@bleachelf]

I think the fact that I've done a fair amount of co-writing has really helped with this. We've taken ideas from other stuff and had tons of fun, we've taken each others' ideas and put them in different settings while working on campaigns or writing prompts, and no one that's stuck around ever accused anyone of stealing anything - either from without or within the group. For me, that's built so much confidence, especially after having peers in high school, and even one or two in college, accuse me or another of stealing one of their ideas. So grateful for my current writing buddies!

[@brianberg2875]

Rubbing sheep together - new magic system in Brandon's next book. :D

[@kaylahouvenagle3866]

Imagine tiny dream sheep that run themselves together to change your dreams. You have no control over this, so forming positive relationships with the sheep forms the backbone of the system. Because they could give you nightmares if they feel like it.

[@carlkligerman1981]

You can always pick the difference between writers who read exclusively in their own genre and those that genuinely love literature of all kinds. No matter what kind of book you want to write my advice to avoid becoming derivative is to read as widely as you possibly can: from David Eddings to Foster Wallace and everything in between. It’s not really about your story (getting this down is prerequisite!) there are at best five plots. It’s all about how you tell it.

[@guardianofthetoasters2323]

Sharing some of my writing journey. Mistborn magic system was just the peak for me. Now I haven't read many fantasy story and while I think stormlight has pretty neat features as well, mistborn could not be topped IMHO. It is not op nor is it too weak, the logic of its metals and the way to inject it is just simple but so satisfying, and it is diverse so it's not really a one all be all magic potion. I love it so much that I basically copy how my magic system injects and fuel it's power but it is atrociously unbalance because it is just one fuel source that fuels every magic there is and I couldn't come up with the name for the my magic yet so I kept calling it power. It's basically a hybrid of mistborn and some words of power magic system, I'll try to polish it but man, Sanderson is just the boss in making the perfect magic system. I can only copy now, but one day I WILL steal that juicy mistborn magic system

[@dess_greenwood1081]

Great interview! I love listening to writers talk and discuss all things writing. I agree that inspiration for writing comes from the experiences of life. What we see is what we think about. For me, outside of that realm my writing inspiration comes from music. Music can instantly set a tone, a scene, or a whole story. More than just pleasant writing vibes, I make music playlists that carry me through the story so that each time I listen to them I am mulling over scenes, characters, and worldbuilding which helps me flesh out my stories.

[@RainbowDiamond3]

Great interview! Lots of good examples and advice. I've been struggling to write but now I've got a place to start.

[@RyanHamiltonBaker]

Absolute best start to any interview I've ever seen.

[@ZaharyaV]

AAAAHHHH HOW DID YOU KEEP THIS SECRET FROM ME?! Tim one day you actually have to bring me along to these things, I’m begging 😭🙏🏻

[@KennaDC]

This is at least twice now 🤣

[@corgi42069]

And... who are you?

[@ZaharyaV]

@@corgi42069 I’m Tim’s friend and community manager (Discord).

[@ZaharyaV]

@@KennaDC he’s so mean to me I swear 😭

[@KennaDC]

@@corgi42069 The community manager for Tim's Discord server

[@ZatoichiBattousai]

The armour in Stormlight reminds me of miniature "The Vision of Escaflowne" mecha.

[@Harbringer12]

An additional inspiration for the Stormlight Archive that I think Brandon used (whether deliberately/consciously or not) is the story if Troy An alliance of loosely cooperative cities in a far off land, travel to this battle field to wage a years long war against a foe that has wronged them/their collective culture. You learn about the individual heroes and their histories/tragedies from both sides of the conflict. And the conflict only "resolves" through an otherwise unlikely series of events which may or may not have had help from a divine source.

[@specialknees6798]

I think he’s on the record as saying the Alethi were inspired by the Mongols. He even outright ripped a parable about Ghengis Khan and applied it to Dalinar in the third book lol. I’m less familiar with the story of Troy but I’d imagine it’s very archetypal and has inspired tons of stuff even on accident.

[@kyleward3914]

I've been meaning to read more Sanderson since he finished the Wheel of Time. I finally started reading the Stormlight Archives. Well worth it.

[@DrCrazyEvil]

Did you start with final empire? I've been trying to listen to the audiobook forever

[@kyleward3914]

@DrCrazyEvil I started with the Way of Kings.

[@zinv08]

I really enjoyed Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. I happened to come across it while waiting to pick up my mother from the mall. It also has a very pretty cover. ❤

[@StringsNStrands]

I love that he had the dagger of "The Last Airbender Movie" ready to go. What a guy

[@reginazold8484]

One of the best interviews in the past weeks, that I saw, what a treat ❤

[@pokedoctor2087]

Thank you so much Tim, I needed to see this video

[@victoriab8186]

I’m considering our relationship to originality in creativity, I think it is productive to look at the history of creativity. This desire to be completely unique is not particularly old, and looking to older ideas of what can make a good artistic work within a framework that acknowledges or even valorises derivative aspects could help us to construct models for looking at our creative work in a new light. Derivative can be bad. But at its core, being derivative means taking from and changing. This can be bad if what we take are superficial aspects and we do not engage with these to the same or greater depth than the original work did - in this case, we have taken and weakened the source material, and the weakness of the new text is only highlighted through comparison to the original. But if what you do with your derivative material is add meaning, explore different aspects or contexts, if you create a text that is as good as or comparable with the original work, then it’s being derivative can give it more meaning and interest than an entirely original work, because its meaning is not just situated in the text itself, but also in the intersection of itself and the source text (or texts, or other cultural ideas or symbols) I’m currently studying some 17th century music for a literature dissertation, and a majority of it could be considered highly derivative - there were pretty solid conventions for harmony, the composer was mimicking Italian models, and more than half the texts he used were written by other people and already published, sometimes used in other songs previously as well. But his songs all add to the texts, and the previous body of songs with the same lyrics, because of the way he uses ‘word-painting’ - essentially musical/tonal metaphor to highlight aspects of the texts, and the way his (legally restricted) musical style inflects the songs with political as well as religious contexts. My favourite of his songs is one of these derivative works. It takes a section of 10 lines from near the end of a 20 year old political pamphlet, a pamphlet which had in itself a rather intricate structural metaphor, but not one which these 10 lines particularly contributed to, and the composer seems to have seen in these lines a resonance with his contemporary political context - one significantly after the context of the original, but following on from it. In his song, he not only made the lines beautiful and painful and yearning through the sound of the music he made them into, but he also edited the text - subtly, just four words of it - to open up the interpretive space for a secondary meaning, and to direct listeners towards the potential metaphorical meaning. In doing so, he added layers of significance that the source had not had in its original context, but he also did not lose the original meaning; the song is beautiful and painful and multilayered and metaphorical, and it also points to the historical tragedies of failing to listen to the warnings of the past.

[@GGrimmmm]

Glad to see you’re getting books on your phone, I’ve been addicted to web novels, especially on Royal Road. Not all are great quality but enough are pretty good and it’s cool seeing writers come into their own over time

[@chompette_]

"We live in an age of refinement, not invention" - Marco Pierre White

[@richardlgambrell1144]

When was anything really actually brand now, except food?

[@GaasubaMeskhenet]

One of my biggest hangups was so dumb. I worried about copying myself. "I've already written that tho" Being worried about writing a kiss too similarly in two different stories. Having a short story that would go well as a scene in something I'm working on, but I already uploaded the scene on its own alone and copy pasting from there feels like cheating

[@FlyingWeaselMan]

in stuff i make, i got over feeling self-conscious about my inspirations by geeking out with anyone who can see what inspired my stuff. instead of being defensive, i turned it into "awesome, you like that too!" now I enjoy it if people can see what i was influenced by.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Thanks For this! There is no shame in inspiration

[@shadowSquall1]

Fascinating interview, and great chemistry betwen the two of you! Im a bit miffed I didnt get to hear why Sanderson resonates so much with Final Fantasy X though!

[@IskandrArchive]

I just picked up Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter at my local bookstore, I'm loving Tress and I'm excited to start Yumi once i finish!

[@Tyler-ob4qp]

Good example of this effect in action is Game of Thrones, which is very clearly inspired by Memory, Sorrow and Thorn. So much in GoT would be lost if it wasn't for that influence

[@anthonyschlott916]

I always have the burning impulse to reinvent the wheel and get down when I cant.

[@xanaxwizard]

Not a big fan of Sanderson but I am a fan of you!

[@GingerOpalArt]

I have a series I've been working on (off and on) over the years that I started in high school. I was good at coming up with stories, but I not great at writing, so I've slowly been working on my prose so that I can tell the story to my satisfaction (hence why it's taken so long to get done in the chaos of adulthood). A year ago I started watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch (the silly 90s one) which was my favorite sitcom while I was in high school. I was floored by how much of that show was in my book. It's not obvious, (except maybe the talking black cat, but those are all over the place in fantasy), subtle enough that I'd forgotten completely about that particular influence on my book. One of the scenes I directly stole from another story is the wizard's duel in The Sword in the Stone, replaced with my characters and the way they would duel. I was anxious as to the accusations I'd receive from my beta readers that I ripped off that scene. Not one person, not even family members who used to watch that movie with me, made the connection that the magic duel in my book came directly from Disney. It was a huge boost to my self-esteem. I have so much confidence in stealing wonderful ideas and making them my own now!

[@Poisonfrogg]

To paraphrase Matt Colville; The quality of your writing is equal to the obscurity of the sources you are drawing from. This interview was great. I hope to see more

[@xenophon5354]

Can’t say I’ve ever liked or been impressed by his work, but a great conversation nonetheless!

[@AnitaSleap1080z]

I have a story I hope to publish soon, and this video is something I really needed right now

[@eincryptid]

I loved listening to this so much!

[@BlueWind61]

Couldn't have come at a better time, I was feeling a bit neurotic about my inspirations

[@vladimirmanza5839]

Why did you have to do NZ dirty like that bro, as soon as I get off this treadmill I'm going to write an angry letter and send it to a complaints authority of some kind. Just wait 10-14 working days, your ass is grass mate! Loved the video, as always.😂

[@kingblackthorn4195]

It is very true though. So many people do not realize that in reality there really are not original ideas anymore. I say that not in a rude way or anything but when we begin to write you realize where inspiration is coming from. My friend has a degree in english and they always basically said to take your three favorite projects, and use them to inspire your new book. I know when I write my novel the magic is heavily influenced by Brandon's magic, the world and myths are heavily inspired by Lord of the Rings, etc. my characterts are all mine but I am so inspired by the amazing books out there.

[@admiralfrancis8424]

It kinda makes the whole opposition to AI a little moot. If great writers steal ideas, even to such a blatant degree, then so what if AI is theft?

[@nobodyinparticular7828]

@@admiralfrancis8424 You see, an actual writer will still take ideas and inspirations and take them in new directions that only they could have done. AI on the other hand is literally built for outright plagiarism. It can't create anything even remotely as original as an actual writer - and to clarify, actual writer is a pretty broad term here, you don't need to be a professional to be able to make something that only you could make. Everyone perceives stories and the world differently and that bleeds over into our writing. AI doesn't see the world, it just regurgitates how other people have seen it, frequently without any consent whatsoever. There is a huge difference between inspiration and influence, and outright theft.

[@admiralfrancis8424]

You haven't really explained where the "outright plagiarism" is. What is the difference between a writer copying many fantasy elements from Tolkien's universe and an AI doing the same thing?

[@nobodyinparticular7828]

@admiralfrancis8424 I apologise but I genuinely cannot understand how you can't instinctively grasp the difference between a writer taking elements from stories they like and being inspired to use them in different ways and an AI literally pulling words and phrases directly from other people's writing without their knowledge or consent and regurgitating anything they've said by mixing it up with the works of others they have also stolen. If you cannot grasp the blatant difference between inspiration and theft, or how a piece of technology that literally cannot think for itself and only regurgitates the works of others is different from a person being inspired to think and use elements from stories they like in new ways, I don't think I can explain it to you. Sorry. This might be my autism talking, but it's one of those situations where the thing I'm trying to explain is so self-evident to me that the fact you're not grabbing it confuses me.

[@admiralfrancis8424]

@@nobodyinparticular7828 Writers are taught to read as much as possible to expand their vocabulary and improve their writing skills. That entails picking up words, phrases, and concepts from other people's works, and then remix them. AI basically does the same thing, but at a much larger scale. It's like putting a big library into one giant blender. If so many words get blended from so many books, then how will we be able to recognize when something is plagiarism? Besides, please do not pretend that writers don't steal words or phrases from other writers. The author of the Sun Eater series for instance stole certain phrases from The Kingkiller Chronicles and Dune, quite blatantly.

[@Bowtiedhillbilly]

One of my favorite ways to get inspiration is to take a comedic concept or joke and just play it really straight. Case in point: The Ballad of Smokin' Joe Rudeboy by Tom Cardy has led me to writing an Old-West inspired fantasy setting with wizard cowboys.

[@Faelyke]

Oh this guy! I watch his lectures! You should link their channel Write about dragons. It's great for writers of all stripes.

[@Coffy-chan]

Nothing in the world is original, but you can always make your own spin on something. My inspiration is anime and manga. I'm a visual thinker. I imagine an animation, then put it to words somehow, because I have little talent at drawing but a natural knack for writing.

[@addammadd]

15:57 this well and truly reflects Foucault in “What is an Author?”

[@malcolmhodnett8874]

Whaaaaaaaaaat and it’s fresh off the presses

[@xylonpesquera8605]

I'm a little in awe of myself. My first story was, somehow, something I have no memory of ever seeing anywhere. It wasn't derrivitive. Let me know if there's a story I would have forgotten. Back around 2008 I was 8 years old and I got a few chapters into a short story about my cat. I was a 'super scientist' and had given my cat a super suit. Then, from the perspective of my cat, the cat went to the moon on vacation. I had not seen any trip to the moon media. I believe that I knew Iron Man existed, but not more than that. I hadn't read any stories from the animal's perspective. I can't think of anything that would have inspired that much.

[@sleepinxonxbed]

"brandon is a really powerful and positive force" chapter title: "Brandon Threatens Me"

[@ZatoichiBattousai]

Mistborn Animated! >.

[@darkdave1998]

When I took my Ba in History, our Teachers/Professors would say that it doesn't matter much that a subject has been covered already, because when we approach that same subject, we will do so from a different point of view, and shine a new light on it.

[@jonnystoffel]

Now that Sanderson has concluded this Arc of the Stormlight tale, I look forward to the Hive half of it.

[@roseslikemusic]

Best youtuber and best author ❤

[@22freedom33]

Finally someone with a platform and respect of the writing community who understands the source material has the same controversial opinion as me on the ending of Watchmen, thank you Brandon Sanderson! The movie makes more sense, it is better.

[@SebastianJArt]

It was Pablo Picasso “good art is borrow, great art is steal” ❤

[@bulrawg_bot]

Seems like such an interesting guy to be able to sit down and hang out with.

[@calmkat9032]

I never realized the flashbacks were inspired by Lost, that makes a lot of sense! They really do add that sense of revelation throughout the book, not just at the end with the Sanderlanches.

[@asimog9790]

This video has come at a perfect time for me because I'm working on what I want to be my first published novel, and I know the theme I what the general idea was. So, to get ideas on the theme, in a book, where mechs are involved and a central part of the plot (just not the main focus)... I rewatched almost every gundam show in the Universal Century as part of my research (and totally not for fun) Inspo taken, looking at both Tomino's works and the works of others that had mechs, i had an idea for how my own machines would be a literal vehicle for the plot. But as I started writing, I started getting nervous like "wait, what if it's obvious I took inspiration from these other sources? Oh god, am I just plagiarising?" No, of course not. The events are similar, but the theming and how they were structured around it definitely shares some aspects. AND THAT'S OKAY But this video came at a perfect time where even though I can tell myself that, it helps to hear it from others So, thank you so much! And also I am totally not jealous about you getting to interview him, nuh uh, not at all

[@chouderr1089]

I generally take a quantity approach to my inspirations, I am inspired by so many things that when I combined and shuffle them all together its no longer clear where anything came from. I like to avoid having, say, one character be inspired by some other character from a book or movie I liked. Instead I will have a character that has a personality taken from one place, their design from another, their magic from another still and so on, tho usually even then I am combining things to make the aforementioned parts. all the while I try to infuse my own story ideas, world building and the themes I find interesting to every part so it all smoothly becomes something new.

[@hannahkennelly6961]

My inspirations are the Bible, Lord of the rings, Narnia and Pride and Prejudice, Inuyasha, Grimms fairy tales, Mythologys from all over the world XD Ive too many!!

[@the_cringe_nerd]

So for me much of my inspiration comes from a mix of Shounen & Sainin Anime/Manga mixed in with the generic fantasy elements I fell in love with in stories like Lord of the Rings. But what I like to do is look at these elements in a different lense or angle to see how it could work together properly. For me, my currently biggest inspirations are Arcane, Berserk, LOTR, Cyberpunk Edge Runners, One Piece & FFVII

[@EliasMheart]

12:30 Oh, you may enjoy the channel of The Grungeon Master. They do this a lot, looking at magic (mostly dnd) and actually look how the world might look. May give some inspiration, if you don't know them yet (Reaction to the "fantasy jobs"-point)

[@jethrostaz4407]

The idea of ephemera is interesting. Dune kind of does this to a point with Princess Irulan's diary entries at the beginning of chapters as well. I never really thought of it that way before though.

[@kerryraven229]

oooh.. brandon sanderson watched highlander tv show .. i loved this show!!!

[@somasaasaa4850]

I just listened to yumi and the nightmare painter great story loved it

[@anadice9489]

One thing about inspiration that I enjoy but don't hear mentioned much is that sort of retroactive thing when you're watching/playing/reading/etc. something from your childhood or otherwise earlier time in your life and you go "Oh! That's where I got that from!" Something that's just been sitting in your brain for so long you forgot it was even in that inspiration soup

[@kaikalter]

Always a good week when there's two hello future me videos.

[@ariboehm115]

My WIP was definitely inspired by my own life, with several aspects of who I am sprinkled into the two main characters.

[@unicorntomboy9736]

My WiP dark fantasy book is just a twisted version of The Lion King, with bits of Dark Souls in there for good measure.

[@DrownedLamp9]

Okay so Hamlet in a King's Field has some great wordplay, but hear me out. Sons of Armored: Anarchy Core.

[@unicorntomboy9736]

@DrownedLamp9 I don't understand what you're getting at

[@federicopalacios7439]

​@@unicorntomboy9736that you're copying for stuff that was already copied. If you want to learn to write from your favorite stuff, you should also read what inspired them. Like the Lion King being just a children's retelling of Hamlet but with animals.

[@unicorntomboy9736]

@federicopalacios7439 I did an english literature undergraduate degree, I did learn a lot about Hamlet. I actually borrowed from A Midsummer Night's Dream too, mostly the character names, which is why my book's protagonist is named Titania.

[@chicken4452]

just found this channel again after like 5 years i used to watch all the how to train your dragon content

[@LastGoatKnight]

As an amateur writer myself, one line stuck with me from 12 years of English lesson (it is called differently since I'm not native English speaker and didn't learn in the UK nor the US but it's the same subject) which is: inspiration is when you read a story and you twist it in a way that is original. Stealing/plagarism is when you write the same story but you don't change anything significant. By that, my teachers and I mean that the core story elements are intact and only minor changes are made like character names, a location, I think you get it. If you watched isekai type animes you know how this works, those are inspirations, the hero dies or just gets transfered to another world an then at the end happy ending. The live action Lion King is a steal, nothing changed but the art style (if it wouldn't have been made by Disney)

[@elchiponr1]

Funny that you mention the Lion King. Disney actually plagiarised elements of a Japanese animation called Kimba the White Lion, to produce the Lion King.

[@unicorntomboy9736]

@@elchiponr1 I think that was a myth that was debunked years ago

[@rad4924]

Brandon joked about flying to New Zealand but, my god, I'd be so happy if he actually did!

[@olorin7611]

Wait what magical exterminator are they talking about? Around 13:30. Is it still from Yumi?

[@alphasword5541]

I believe that fixating on originality can be counter-productive to producing something properly unique, ironically. If you look at a story or anything and you write about that without a thought as to whether it's original, all you'll do is reveal what exactly you're puling from or are driven by in writing. There's droves of fiction that's written to be practiaclly the same as other things and I think it's important to acknowledge that there's still artistry in that, even if it's unappealing. If you understand that what you're reading and writing is more dependent on context than you'd originally admit then obviously you're more equipped to produce something that feels crafted or unique. In the context of fantasy I really really feel that there's a need to step outside of fantasy as a literary context / space. Idk, good books that are fantasy rather than good fantasy books.

[@Nathouuuutheone]

We're definitely getting a Your Name video soon lmao

[@redknight808]

Great interview. :)

[@jamgin9890]

brandon is such a great worldbuilder

[@anonperson3972]

The man, the legend