How do I write someone who’s smarter than I am?

This is a short excerpt from Live Signing Session #9. You can watch the whole clip here: • #9 - Brandon Sanderson...
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[@gnuwaves743]

I was trying to figure out why he was separating the papers into 3 stacks. Then I figured out it was to give the ink a few extra seconds to dry. I feel pretty smart now.

[@shubhamtiwari9472]

That's not a ink pen , it might dry fast.... I guess it's probably as a precaution... IDK

[@erickmacgregor]

You're right, he has said that, that is the reason he does 3 stacks.

[@muhammedsergany9213]

What are these Papers anyway?

[@cbookins]

@Haku infinite i think its rhythm of war

[@Thutil]

@@shubhamtiwari9472 I'm a big fan of those ballpoint pens, nice bold lines, writes very easily. The big drawback is that they definitely do smudge.

[@robertdullnig3625]

One way is to have them spout wisdom while completing another task. Parrot also helps.

[@mattpfarr6129]

Good point!

[@MouseGoat]

yes.. but that's pretty simplified, and i would catch on to that sort of character as a faky. If you dive into the qustion: "what makes somone intelligent" its really comes down to how a fast pc runse better than a slow pc. I see it as you have a bucnh of balls, those a wisdom, knowlige, the more balls you have the better, but the faster you are at combining them and finding/shorting though them that's intelligence. If you need to solve a puzzel, you alrady know what everyting is, but how fast you are at combining the right information is the qustion. If you on the other han are a hige IQ math professor and you on a date with idol, you can combine the knowling of how awkward and stupid you look real fast, what you lack is the expreinse aka the "balls".

[@sparhawkmulder1137]

@@MouseGoat r/wooooooosh

[@ultimaxkom8728]

@@sparhawkmulder1137 Wow an epic win awesome royale cool bazinga moment right here, holy shit!

[@Resters52_official]

@@sparhawkmulder1137 this isn't reddit

[@JuaniValmaggia]

Brandon's disheveled hair is evidence of the parrot's totalitarian rule on his household. Do not be fooled. These videos are a call for help.

[@miguelrimando6378]

my god... call PETA

[@stevenmoffitt9820]

Miguel Rimando nooo. They’ll kill the bord.

[@destinyblade1167]

@@miguelrimando6378 PETA would shoot the bird

[@cassie5248]

His aviar

[@alipie02]

Brandon blink ten times if the parrot is holding you against your will.

[@schwarzerritter5724]

After watching the Death Note movie, the answer is obviously: Make everyone else dumber so they are smart by comparison.

[@bennettpalmer1741]

you say this as a joke, but its incredibly common. writers constantly come across situations where they need to show, for example, that a newly introduced villain is intelligent and skilled, so they have them execute a complicated plan to show how good they are at planning things, when in reality the complicated plan could have failed if the opposition did some basic, reasonable counterstrategy that should have been obvious, but because the villain has to be shown as clever and intelligent, the plan always works

[@TwiWriteFlare]

@@bennettpalmer1741 I call these characters 'Intellect Sponges'. The characters that seem to remove all competence and basic intellectual ability from every other character the second they enter the room because *they* are "the smart one". Drives me nuts when I see this in a story. Sadly, it's something that is easy to accidentally do from time to time even for an experienced writer if they aren't careful about it.

[@MsLilly200]

I see that a lot in crappy chinese light novels (which I am addicted to reading). The author always tells the reader how smart and clever the main character is. But in the actual story they're as dumb as a pile of bricks. Of course, to "show" how smart the MC is, instead of piles of bricks, all the villains have mountains.

[@xXichigoogihci]

@@MsLilly200 This is one of the reason I like ISSTH so much, Er Gen was at the top of his game on that one.

[@feyefall4855]

@@TwiWriteFlare Honestly, it would be fun to write a character (in any role) that has this as an in-narrative ability, a superpower or specialization. Explain it however you want: maybe they have an extremely niche psychic ability to slow other people's computing process when they're within a certain proximity, so it always seems they're the first to the answer. Could be fun to pair up with or against an actually clever character, though the solution could be as simple as "Don't stand too close to the intellect sponge."

[@AnakinTheWeird]

I know Brandon is giving good advice in this video, but I can't get over learning that the highest-earning American game show contestant of all time was his college roommate...

[@mr.themapman3462]

I remember watching Ken Jennings on Jeopardy as a kid and being stunned by his winning streak, knowledge, and his quick-witted responses. That Brandon was his roommate almost caused a brain short circuit for me.

[@holywaterbottle3175]

Imagine the late night drunk conversations

[@jthompson7024]

@@holywaterbottle3175 Considering they're both mormon and went to BYU I'm not sure there were many of those lol

[@holywaterbottle3175]

@@jthompson7024 then Imagine the early evening clear headed discourse

[@jo.k.4210]

And they were roommates

[@Xylos144]

Two main things I find helpful: 1.Smart people arrive at a good answer to a problem *quickly.* You're writing the book, you can figure out how you want a problem to be solved, (and even tweak the problem to make it solvable) in a really great way, but you have all the time in the world to craft that solution. 2. Smart people are *insightful.* They can figure out or guess at answers when they have very limited or incomplete information. But you're the writer! You know EVERYTHING. So it's easy for your character to know things - you just need to justify them figuring it out. And it's much easier to work backwards from the answer to think up clues that could lead to the answer, than to arrive at the answer given just the clues. It's a P vs NP problem, or a problem of non-reversible operations. A general notion in mathematics is that there are some kinds of problems that are really hard or impossible to solve, but really easy to check if the answer is right. In many cases the solution to an NP the problem is just systematically guessing and checking until you find an answer that's right. A P type problem might be: I ordered a $5.29 sandwich, a $1.79 Drink, and a $0.99 cookie. How much did lunch cost? Easy, simple, $8.07. Straight arithmetic. An NP problem might be: Here is a menu of 10 differently prices items that cost $1.73, $1.87, $3.50, $2.23, $14.01, $5.67, $6.11, .... and $0.33. What combination of items will cost $13.53? You might be able to find patterns to help you rule out some possibilities quickly, like crossing off the entree that costs over $14.00 But fundamentally you're just going to have to repeatedly combine a bunch of items together that look like they're close to the total amount, and then add them up and see if the total matches exactly. Potentially for dozens or even hundreds of combinations until you find the (a) correct one. You can see how this concept extends easily to non-mathematical problems as well. It's easy to recognize - for everyone - if a proposed solution is good and will work and fits the situation, but it's hard to actually come up with that idea just given the situation. You'll probably have to think of a whole bunch of responses and model them in your head and think them through and determine if that will work one by one until you stumble on something without any glaring flaws. But if you're the one writing the problem... you can just decide that you want the winning combination to be a Medium burger, large fries, a small drink, two cookies, and a bag of chips, total those prices together, and then use their sum of $13.53 to pose the question. To use a different metaphor... you just write out the full Sudoko solution arbitrarily, and then erase most of the numbers. You know the solution is there, you know it's achievable, but you don't actually have to solve the puzzle you've just created. And thus you don't need to be as smart as the person solving the puzzle to write out the puzzle being solved.

[@pRahvi0]

When you have decided the solution your smart character will come up with and then do some mixing up in order to make it less than obvious, one danger is to accidentally make another possible solution. That's not too bad itself but it may be too obvious (that it's jarring why the less smart characters didn't see that one), or worse, much better than the one you have pre-decided.

[@omniscientcammaleon9477]

Huh, i never thought the math thing, but yeah, trying to figure out X number is harder than making a problem for other to find out X is 1.

[@ultimaxkom8728]

Very helpful. Thank you, KZbin anon.

[@aaronimp4966]

Thank you. Your point two was a thousand times more useful than the actual video.

[@unfetteredparacosmian]

@@pRahvi0 That's basically me irl tho. Always figuring out the most complicated way to do things

[@acevenchurro8716]

oh to be a parrot chewing on a pen while my friend desperately signs their works and dishes out solid writing advice

[@silpheedTandy]

i don't know why i was so amused by the parrot playing with that pen, but i was. somehow i felt like the parrot was an editor of desperate writers in its previous life, and was feeling content and pleased upon hearing the advice that this writer was giving..

[@TheRealOtakuEdits]

Yes. How do I write literally all of my characters?

[@Rocksteady72a]

This is *THE* question. And dialogue 🙏

[@FoddyFogHorn]

Watch BoJack horseman

[@ClockworkGearhead]

Just write dumber situations, and by the transitive property, they become smarter!

[@Sybato]

I finally got this making me the dumb one

[@tiagodagostini]

That is the reason why my book is about a group of mentally challenged trolls :P

[@kylehibshman6619]

"Sometimes a hypocrite is just a man in the process of changing" (Said to Dalinar by Navani if I remember correctly) is one the GRATEST lines ever penned, also a brilliant piece of wisdom. That line really hit me when I first read it. Thank you. Your work is amazing.

[@tzimiable]

Never heard that before, its a 10/10 quote.

[@kylehibshman6619]

@@tzimiable right! It's from one of the Stormlight Archive books. Dalinar is struggling to reconcile the awful man he was with the good man hes trying so hard to be. He fears he'll never make up for his past mistakes and that hes not a good person, just a hypocrite. Navani replied to him with that line. Theres a little more to it than that... but spoilers.

[@kylehibshman6619]

@@malice5121 that's one Brandon wrote in The Stormlight Archive. see the other replies for context.

[@manuelsilva9993]

Damn, thats a lovely line.

[@sylvierose2799]

Still waiting for my mom change, five years and still a hypocrite

[@HeavyMental314]

Even though I know he's signing, I'd like to say that he's grading papers and is writing an indistinguishable grade that only confuses the students receiving them.

[@itsyaraz]

BAHAHAHAHA IMAGINE

[@MetalCharlo]

As someone who is dumb af and loves to write, I appreciate this video.

[@whosaidthat84]

Hey man! Why you talking about me 😂

[@fransuh2853]

Same

[@vavila16]

Wow same!

[@cameronf5893]

You're creative. Odds are you aren't dumb as fuck. Try that hat on and see how it fits :)

[@ocelot09]

Same lol

[@matesafranka6110]

"They have a wealth of knowledge, and the mental capacity to apply that knowledge and share it, and they mostly use this ability to trump one another with Simpsons quotes" - Yeah that's smart people in a nutshell all right :D

[@njux1871]

if only

[@tjfrye11]

Specifically simpsons quotes, if it's anything else, they're a fraud

[@zeusdarkgod7727]

For some reason it seems to be almost universal. I offer friends money if they can answer random tidbits correctly. For instance when i lived in WV i would offer my friends $100 if they could tell me the code they used to prosecute people under for being loud in the hearing impaired room at the state DMV since its on the sign you pass by when you go there. That, random pop culture (normally pay about $20-$50) and things like dollar per number past tenth in Pi off the top of your head. I had a pool mentor that was part of mensa who would do the same with me and others.

[@zeusdarkgod7727]

@@TheThreatenedSwan i don't really understand your confusion. May seem out of the ordinary for you but its always been fun for us. I never really put money on it until my old pool mentor started doing it with me, it really kicked my thirst for knowledge into high gear, the man would ask me 5 to 10 random questions a day with roughly $50-$100 on each question. I have always had an abnormal memory but never really went out of my way to learn anything before then. The dude would ask me pop culture references from 30's threw to 80's, history, math, the sciences; nothing was off limits and never a repeat question. He got me into collector knife trading, dimonds, and business, and would quiz me on this as well to test how much i learned in my time away from him. But like any good gambler he always managed to get his money back from me one way or another be it on the pool table or on a profit i made off a knife trade. It was a huge turning point for me in my very early 20's. So to answer your question, i suspect the reason I do it to my friends is because of the significant impact it had on the betterment of my life.

[@user-yu3ge4iv8r]

@@TheThreatenedSwan >midwit Oh dear.

[@Giby86]

I don't know what sort of testimony this is on Brandon's own intelligence, but I played a game of Magic with him once. He constructed a white and blue deck and forgot to put islands in it. He won.

[@lanceknightmare]

Statistically, it is likely half or more of their deck was dedicated to white cards and plains. I think that was just luck. What are the ratios being used for Magic the Gathering decks these days? I remember when around 16 mana were placed into a single or duel colored deck. While 24 was the standard for a three colored deck.

[@jeffbrownstain]

@@lanceknightmare 18-24 lands for a 60 card deck, depends on the build. I run exactly 20 in pretty much all my decks, except my 5-color rainbow deck which has 22, and my mono white, which runs 18.

[@gregorygarrison572]

If he forgot to put the islands in was he running a 40-50 card deck then? That might help, especially if he has dual lands that aren't basic islands to help him sometime cast his blue spells.

[@Giby86]

@@gregorygarrison572 It was a 2 headed giant sealed event and no, if I remember correctly he didn't have a single blue mana in his whole deck...he won with a full grip of blue spells stuck in his hand, it was very funny

[@kigut7443]

@@Giby86 holy shit that reminds me of when i won a match with only two plains once. somehow. it really was just luck i think, thats no real testimate to my skill or anything

[@writerblocks9553]

I loved how Perrin was described in Wheel of Time, being slow and careful with his thoughts and words and how that comes across as him being stupid to others

[@keatongoering3599]

A foolish man would see a methodical one as slow. A wise man would see an equal.

[@Yarblocosifilitico]

Exactly. Big difference between appearing smart (which is what this video is about) and being smart.

[@geminidragonreads]

I think that’s why I like Perrin so much, he’s not as quick to react as the others. I’ve found that I relate a lot to him lately, I’ve been looked at as stupid when I try to think through things instead of just reacting and giving them an answer right away.

[@joshuadunham3018]

You know, I don't really remember much of anyone thinking he was stupid. Perrin almost always seemed to be the one with the lowest view of his own intelligence in the room, while the objective person sees that he was actually quite wise since he actually thought things through.

[@ekszentrik]

Artists casually signing autographs while they talk about their work will never not be badass

[@CatBahptista]

Quite the opposite, it’ll never _be_ badass. It reeks of high sense of self. Which is cringe no matter who you are, ever.

[@tokenetta8070]

1. Give the character more knowledge on a subject by studying it yourself. 2. Incorporate experience of a character to problem solving and take advantage of the reader's ignorance. 3. Show the character to be a diligent learner or give them a sophisticated hobby or talent. 4. Make a character a curious one. 5. Every person have their own philosophy whether distorted or reasonable. For example, writing a character that's a pessimist is easier than them being an optimist. Even some kind of mental illness can at least give said person an entirely different perspective most ppl don't think about. 6. One of the most important things is to learn is human psychology and social skills. These examples can show a character not only smarter than you, but believably smarter.

[@Joe-mz6ez]

I can see that parrot all day while hearing Brandom

[@FMRovers]

Do you live there?

[@OnixMint]

FMR ha

[@ElijahStormblessed]

Yessss I love Jello

[@urorazbojnik5678]

It's the parrot that is speaking through him, Brandon is only a vessel.

[@JKWuco]

Chicken.

[@ThibautVDP]

"And they use this to try and trump one another.. in Simpson's quotes." there is no nobler use of one's intellect.

[@thomasgodfrey5877]

That parrot looks like he's having a good time.

[@OldBearby]

He's soaking up all that knowledge. Speaking of smart, Jello the parrot can probably write circles around me, and I'm a bear.

[@ciarangale4738]

so its basically winning an argument, 5 hours after it ends while your in the shower

[@Aetius_of_Astora]

This is an incredible accurate way to summarize the writing process

[@Moonstar79]

Brandon and Ken: *one of the best fantasy authors and highest earning Jeopardy contestant respectively* Me and my roommate: *chronic slacker and persistent drunk*

[@weirdface3838]

and they were roommates!

[@Moonstar79]

@@weirdface3838 And they were roommates 😱

[@loudandannoyingvr]

Well, he can’t write someone more understanding then him, and he wrote breeze, and he can’t write someone funnier than him, then he wrote Wayne. So moral of the story, Brandon Sanderson is awesome

[@thenailsageofgeo4975]

Wayne is the ultimate comedy relief character

[@Kadaspala]

@@thenailsageofgeo4975 Someone hasn't been exposed to Tehol...

[@bernardorodrigues8848]

The Nailsage Of Geo sigh... bapanada

[@thestairguy]

And a liar

[@loudandannoyingvr]

The Stairguy Excuse me, only thing he lies about is weather a character will die or not

[@zengamer321]

The problem with writing "smart" characters I've seen a lot is that the character just makes really fucking good assumptions. It's not a guess because the characters fully believe their own assumptions. But it's not justified assumptions either. The characters would say something like "I know this is how things are and I know this is what's gonna happen." And their conclusions will end up being correct because the writer wants these characters to be smart. However, when you look closely at their reasoning (if any) if often times doesn't make any sense. Sure if you want to write an intelligent agent that can near perfectly simulate reality then that's exactly how the agent should act. If you want to write an agent with superhuman intelligence but still comparable to human intelligence then it's actually really really hard to write someone smart and have their shows of intelligence hold up under scrutiny. The writer starts with the bottom line. Then they create all the justifications for the bottom line that the character should use. But that doesn't mean these justifications will actually lead to the bottom line you wrote down or that half the justifications will even exist from the information that is initially given to the character. A really smart character might take the initial premise and due to limited information or possibly even misinformation, create justifications that lead to an incorrect bottom line. For example: a writer wants to show a character as being an expert thief and pull off a miracle heist. The writer thinks of a complicated plan with a shit load of points of failure and using their power as a writer, they can declare that the plan will work. Then, the writer will come up with justifications for why the plan works that they will put in the thief head so that thief will think the plan will work too. However, a really smart thief might realize that the plan is too complicated and has too many points of failure and there's too many unknowns and then think that the plan will not work. They can find the flaws in the writer's justifications that the writer does not see because the writer is not a genius. That's why writing a character smarter than the writer is so hard. In fact, having complete information can make it harder. If you want to show a character is smart, it may be better to NOT provide any justifications for why a character thought this and did that. The reader may think "how the shit does the character know this?" but by virtue of being really fucking smart, a character can and will come to unexpected conclusions and take unexpected actions that just works. It probably won't feel as good to read but hey, you can't write a book about rocket science if you don't know rocket science. You can write about rockets. You can say there's a rocket scientist. You can say the rocket scientist did some math and made a working rocket. You sure as hell ain't putting in the math the rocket scientist did. Another way to show a character is smart is to just not make them dumb. A writer can certainly come up with bad justifications with holes in them and then have the character point out those holes. Maybe it won't leave the impression that the character is a genius but at least it shows the character is above average intelligence.

[@njux1871]

This problem is the entirety of Sherlock lmao

[@corpus1]

Completely agree. Sometimes I will spot a character that an author has clearly placed the "I AM SMART" hat on, by delivering a bunch of witty one-liners, then have them correctly predict events without much actual reasoning. It's jarring and doesn't make me feel like the character is actually intelligent, only that the author clearly wants him or her to appear clever. I think a good way to simulate smart characters is simply read about what smart people did in similar contexts in real-life and try to let that inspire you. At least that will make it seem more credible. While I think it can be fun with larger than life characters who are so inhumanly smart that they just know everything ahead of time, I find it hard to take them very seriously. Interesting point about not revealing the character's reasoning. I have definitely seen examples of this work really well, but it's definitely also less satisfying. Fits characters who are supposed to be a bit mysterious. Finally, I definitely agree with Sanderson that there are different types of intelligence. Witty characters are perhaps very quick in their heads and charismatic, more than they are like "rocket scientist" book-smart. That doesn't mean they're not that also, just that their behavior doesn't really give a good indication either way. Some really smart people are socially awkward and can't express their intelligence in a convincing manner. Other people are very emphatic and can understand someone else's feelings really well. That's also a type of intelligence. They don't have to be a math genius or make snappy zingers for that. My preferred characters are varied like this, with people possessing different qualities. It's kind of irritating when someone puts ALL the intelligence into a single person, and lets everyone else hold the idiot ball.

[@bluedash24]

Corpus I wish I could bump this comment thread

[@furonet138]

Is this a Jojo reference

[@bruisedjinx]

@@njux1871 do you mean the show or the books?

[@showersongsgaming4829]

It’s crazy how much this man has improved my writing in less than a month. If I keep listening and he keeps teaching I’m gonna get good eventually lol

[@squiremontressor3747]

Yeperoni

[@captainstroon1555]

The benefit of a writer is time. They have hours, days even, to come up with the perfect response. Thinking about it, Intelligence could be measured in seconds it takes to come up with witty answers to several difficult situations. The lower the better.

[@Xsdwolf]

Cool tip: regarding the notebook. Don’t just use it as a placeholder for a scene you need to have something smart said in. Also use it for scenes that you haven’t even thought of yet. A place where you write down the little phrases that come to you, that you think someone would say. Don’t worry if they’re actually all that deep and smart, it doesn’t matter. Just write them. It helps you get used to phrasing things in unique or interesting ways. Even the smartest of characters, are just rephrasing what the ancients said a thousand years ago. There’s not much wisdom that’s truly original, and that’s okay.

[@mattpfarr6129]

I actually just did this exact same thing (using a phone not a notebook) about 15 minutes ago

[@David_Fellner]

Voltaire said something similar about nothing being truly original anymore. There have simply been too many people on Earth for any one thing to have *never* been done or said by somebody, somewhere. That's why I don't worry if I think of an idea and later learn that it resembles something else. Basically, "Simpsons-did-it syndrome" applies to all of writing.

[@legonenen]

@@David_Fellner And Solomon before him. :P

[@Mr.H-YT42]

I think most of the time it's about drawing the negative space around the intelligence or expertise in order to define what you don't or can't put on the page: - Don't focus on fact-dropping; try to convey the character's passion for the subject instead. - They should be well-spoken but be careful not to let them become haughty (unless the character is a jerk, then fine, but generally you want your readers to like the smart characters as they deliver truth and information about the story world) - Give them a range of interests. The computer expert could also mention appreciating stand-up comedy, Northern Italian cuisine, and the writing of Mark Twain. - Consider demonstrating the downsides of intelligence. This could be a social cost, feeling isolated, unable to find someone with the same interests, frequently misunderstood, being used by the head cheerleader to get her homework done, etc. Demonstrating the negative impact of intelligence is still evidence of intelligence being present and creates a more 3D, well-rounded character. - When the character is utilized to deliver important detailed or complicated information to the reader, force the smart one to go into the level of detail you need as a counter incorrect information. "If we activate the Omega Drive, we'll slingshot right out of danger, right Professor?" "No, no, no! Okay, once again, let me explain the problems to overcome when calculating trajectories this close to a black hole..." Edit: typos

[@GunGryphon]

The cynical version of that opening phrase I use is "If someone is really good at something, they must suck at something else."

[@crusherven]

You don't have to be really good at something to suck at something else. Most of us suck at literally almost everything, when compared to the vast array of skills and knowledge in the world. Even in my own field, there's a lot of things I suck at.

[@David_Fellner]

Characters with no weaknesses aren't usually interesting anyway.

[@larkinlover]

I know you probably hear this all the time, but Mr. Sanderson - you have become my role model. Ever since quarantine hit, I got into the Cosmere and it inspired me to write for the first time since high school. I recently finished the first few chapters of my story and I couldn't have done it without your incredible KZbin resources and virtual mentorship. THANK YOU!

[@larkinlover]

@〝ѦƁↁεя〞 Thank you that is so kind of you!

[@SerPinkKnight]

I've been thinking about this since it got brought up on "Writing Excuses" and I think with smart capable characters it is important to show their limits. A character who has a perfect plan that always 100% works is not only dull but unbelievable and it quickly seems like its not that they have great ability but that the writer is on their side. Its like how you can only appreciate how big something is by seeing the edges. A country is bigger than any building but it's hard to appreciate how huge the country you're in compared to a skyscraper right in front of you. Likewise its important to show the protagonists and antagonists making their own plans and there being back and forth, action and reaction, having backup plans in case the first idea doesn't work. I love Robin Hobbs Farseer Trilogy but the protagonists are incredibly passive in the face of their enemies.

[@Nofixdahdress]

It kind of makes sense in the first trilogy though. The antagonists are a member of their own countries royalty that they are sworn to serve anyway and a foreign power utilizing unknown magical technology to ravage the citizenry. Its less that Fitz and his allies are passive and more they have no choice but to react. They usually don't know Regal's plans and can't do much to act against him anyway as it could easily be construed as treason, and their complete inability to understand or counteract the Red Ship Raiders is the driving force/mystery of the plot. I agree with what you said, I just don't think the Farseer books are a good example. The protagonists' difficulty in taking action is a central part of the narrative, and in the later books we do see exactly what you're talking about. Fitz makes plans which fall apart spectacularly and he's forced to piece together whatever minor victories he can from the fallout.

[@devforfun5618]

i prefer when every character is smart, but each one solves only part of the problems, because the kind of problems they can solve is part of their personality

[@LetsTank]

Your books got me through one of the darkest times in my life. Thank you.

[@tortor2883]

Makes me think of jk rowling going around, thinking what wise quote Dumbledore should say and then going "ahh, the lights, yes, because things are less dark when they're on!!"

[@great-wall-of-nowhere9377]

"Harry, my dear boy," Fumblemore said, "the only way to know when it's cold outside is to go outside and find out it's cold". Harry's brain grew large, his head swelled with ancient wisdom like a pumpkin sized tumor of knowledge. His skull was filled with liquid so that his brain could cast storms while pondering verbose recollections. And then he died from a stroke.

[@great-wall-of-nowhere9377]

@〝ѦƁↁεя〞 you could say it's a diamond in the rough

[@Mikeztarp]

@@great-wall-of-nowhere9377 You need about 189 more adverbs if you want to really imitate Rowling's style. 8B

[@great-wall-of-nowhere9377]

@@Mikeztarp 1000 more were added post-creation in a Twitter log

[@ayanbanerjee6161]

"Severus," said Dumbledore, "Did you know that your ancestors used to poop on the floor and then vanish it magically?" Snape's eyes grew wide as his mind tried to comprehend the age old knowledge and new vistas of possibilities opened up before him.His jaw dropped until it reached the floor. He wondered to himself how he had not thought of it before as he realised he would no longer have to wear diapers with smell repellent charms to his classes. *Later that day* *Dumbledore finds Snape pooping in the corridor* "You utilise this ancient knowledge, even after all this time?",said Dumbledore. "Always."

[@whitevii1533]

"How do I write someone who’s smarter than I am?" "So my roommate in college was Ken Jennings..." oh boy

[@dirus3142]

On intellect and wisdom in a particular field and experience. A good example of this is Patrick O'Brian's character Jack Aubrey. Aubrey is a genius at sea. He knows the ocean, the weather, astronomy. and high level mathematics. However when it comes to making financial decisions he is very naive. He debts into debt, and has to run so he does not get put in debtors prison, he almost bankrupts his family because of poor investments. His wife puts things in order when he is at sea. While he can put himself into the mind of an opponent in battle, and quickly assess the value of a sailor, he is not good at politics at home.

[@andrea-floralingua]

Yay! Another fan of the Aubrey-Maturin books! Good point about Jack Aubrey. And Stephen Maturin is very intelligent, too, but he has lived on ships for literally years and can barely remember port from starboard lol. However, he could write immense volumes on plants, animals, medicine, and politics. They are a wonderful example of characters who are not merely cast in a Brain vs. Brawn mold. In a lesser work you'd expect "smart" Stephen to be scared of violence and "strong" Jack to be an idiot when it comes to social niceties, but Stephen can fight ruthlessly and Jack can dance and flirt.

[@tacoman1081]

The only three people smart enough to watch Rick and Morty

[@tuckermatis1572]

But not the only 3 people smart enough to write a character who watches Rick and Morty

[@UdyKumra]

Brandon Sanderson: I’m not a genius Also Brandon Sanderson: *writes The Stormlight Archive, Mistborn, Skyward, etc.*

[@thelordz33]

Well obviously he's good at faking it.

[@xellanchaos5386]

Wait... THIS IS THE SAME GUY THAT WROTE MISTBORN?!?

[@DarthOmix]

@@xellanchaos5386 I have to ask what brought you here if you didn't already know that.

[@xellanchaos5386]

@@DarthOmix Making comics, so as I work on storyboard, I figured I'd watch to see what the tips were, to see if I could make some of the detective style characters more fleshed out.

[@kaiseramadeus233]

Mistborn sucks

[@KtsRadiant]

Your videos are so helpful! With all that’s on your plate it’s impressive the amount of videos you put out for your fans. Thank you!

[@yazuak]

While reading Egwene (from Wheel of Time), who I think is a very intelligent character, I noticed an increased quantity and relevancy of descriptions in the narrative, which gives the impression that she's very perceptive. For example, she notices when a character gets out of a chair, or the color of a piece of jewelery, or when something is out of place - things that another character might think are unimportant and overlook.

[@lollertoaster]

Simple, focused and straight to the point. Solid advice. After seeing this one video I can already say that you are a phenomenal teacher. Looking forward to watch more from you :)

[@darkprinceofdorne]

I watch all your lectures and I just want to say thank you. Thank you, Mr. Sanderson. You are truly amazing.

[@nickstoneham5629]

This was my running theory I had been using for how I would write a smarter character than me. I have the time to think through all the scenerios for them to solve in seconds if needs be. So it felt good to watch this, fearing my method would be worse, but I would have been happy if I could find a way to improve either way.

[@KerinGedge]

Thanks Brandon, that's awesome advice! I can't tell you how many times this very problem has prevented me from writing my stories!

[@fernandogarcia3957]

Thank you Mr. Sanderson, your diligence and good vibrations are an excellent model for everyone (for me first, haha). You may not be a book character, but in my mind your image shines as if you were a literary hero. Thanks again.

[@PastaBakeMilkShake]

Thank you, Brandon. Superb advice!

[@RebeccaLoran]

Going to be reasing The Way of Kings as soon as I'm finished reading another amazing series and I have to say you have an amazing way of writing characters and showing social structures while still moving the plot forward with the illusion of progress that just jives with me so much! I've watched 3 years worth of your BYU lectures and I'm not going to lie, those were the reasons I bought Mistborn and Elantris, and it was your story about the way two different characters can have completely different narrative with your reference to the Aiel in WoT. It was also your story about how you were chosen to finish WoT and the entire idea of that intrigued me. I bought the entire WoT series and your ending trilogy because of that one story. Thank you for your amazing work, and I hope to one day finish my own novels and get that practice I need to write good stories. Thank you.

[@noname3609]

You changed my life mr. Brandon Sanderson. I will buy all of your cosmere books,without a doubt !

[@007linkstar]

I just wanted to thank you for these videos. Whenever I can get the time to write down my story, your knowledge will help me

[@titantill4975]

You had time to watch this video. No excuses.

[@RubyScaleheart]

"which they mostly use for simpsons quote"

[@annarehbinder7540]

Daniel Harral or actually rpg’s =)

[@njux1871]

@@annarehbinder7540 thats what rpg players like to think

[@ryanalving3785]

Just found your KZbin channel, loved your mistborn trilogy (and the later sequel series). It really helped shape the way I think about fantasy writing for myself. No joke, you're up there with Tolkien in my book (maybe a step or two back, but still in his weight class)

[@KuroDCupu]

I focused on the parrot and imagine it was the one who's talking

[@thatt-shirtguy9669]

"How do I write someone who's smarter than I am?" Answer: Watch (or read the manga) Death Note

[@charlesolsen7559]

First step: Take a potato chip. Middle steps: ??? Final step: eat it.

[@ShazyShaze]

Finally, I'll be able to write literally any character.

[@TheBrainFart2000]

Thank you for the tips Brandon, I hate admitting it, but I've been struggling with this very question for a while now. I feel like I can finally push forward.

[@catthemeg336]

I did not expect to stumble upon the KZbin channel of one of my favorite authors, in the middle of the night, scrolling through my recommended. So hello! I didn't expect to be here, but I'm glad I am. Having a bit of a hard time believing I just happened upon this video, actually.

[@captivatingcurios]

I would be super interested in a podcast, or even just a single recorded session of those three

[@boppy9617]

i love the fact that brandon was roomates with one of the greatest jeopardy players of all time is just background note in this story

[@mellymew359]

great upload thanks for the writers tips, i struggle with wide degress of knowledge in my own characters. I sometimes make their intelligence really shine in their hobbies but i needed more ways to round out my characters

[@thed3m0n0id9]

This was great. Love the insight about contextual wisdom, makes me think about Wayne's little nuggets of sagacity, delivered with a dirty accent and a grin.

[@rohit_7777]

I literally jumped when the parrot started to move.

[@SlowBurnReader]

Such a legend!

[@dcoder6404]

Respect for your “signature throughput.” Do you measure the day by the number of pens you go through or is there a five gallon jug of ink just off-screen? In any event, thanks very much for your channel, and your online lectures. Greatly appreciated.

[@MoonlitWyvern]

Secretly, the parrot is half ink, and when you see him eating pens it is actually him refilling them

[@damientalrose553]

This was good advice, figuring out how to write someone smarter than you is important, because there will always be someone smarter than you, at least in one way, if not more. I'd also like to see a video on how to write up people who are not as intelligent as I am. For some of us, that can be a wide range of people. Making them not as intelligent, but still be believable can be difficult. Something I find to be fascinating in real life is how sometimes words of wisdom come from people you'd never expect them to. Capturing things like that can be very difficult. When writing someone who is smarter than yourself, keep some things in mind. 1) Smart people can be *insightful,* but that doesn't mean they come up with their answers miraculously. Consider what they should know and what experiences they can draw from to reach certain answers (or say certain things). 2) Always be cognizant of how a character might react to certain events you write into your story. Be careful not to write a story around a character too obviously, or it will feel fake. Likewise, don't suddenly change a character to fit a situation, or they stop feeling like a real person. For example: don't write a character like L from Death Note. He made wild leaps of conjecture (and the story let people accept them). 3) Once you've finished a scene within your story, go back and see if your character(s) does things that don't seem plausible. If a character does, see if you can't resolve the scene differently to still maintain the plot. If you can't, you may have to rewrite the scene. I would suggest planning the scene out if it's giving you difficulty. 4) Smart people aren't infallible, many smart people in real life make mistakes. Be wary of writing a character who never messes up simply because they are intelligent. Sherlock Holmes is a good example here (depending on the iteration). He is incredibly intelligent but he still makes occasional mistakes. You can use mistakes to further the story, but remember not to have your characters make mistakes that don't make sense.

[@ruthier9033]

I love this man's works, just got into the Cosmere a year ago and I'm never looking back. This year making me feel like Kaladin the sad bridgeman but life goes on. Can't wait for Rhythm of War

[@zableblam3029]

I didn’t even know my favorite author had a KZbin channel, glad it found it’s way into my recommended

[@Dalenthas]

Wait, Brandon Sanderson and Ken Jennings were roommates in college?!?

[@raswartz]

I know, right? Don't bury the lede!

[@Max3110]

Oh my god the were roommates! I am sorry. I really am. Totally.

[@nathanaelwendel883]

I loved everything about this video. Maybe I'm dazed because I'm currently struck sick with COVID but it took me a solid 20-30 seconds of staring at the video to comprehend all the things going on simultaneously. The paper signing, the stack separating (which I just learned is to let the ink dry), the casual pen motion, the t-shirt with the image that I think I recognize from somewhere, the parrot playing with the pen in its beak, the irony of the parrot having a pen in its beak, and finally, the actual words that he is trying to say and how cool it is to write characters smarter than oneself. Might have to re-watch it because I definitely missed some things.

[@nathanaelwendel883]

Ohhhh, I get it now. When he said "I have to do this all the time" I thought me meant the paper signing, lol silly me, he was talking about making smarter characters.

[@robinsprung207]

Great advice!

[@alaska4939]

He has a parrot. Definitely my favorite author.

[@brancellbooks]

This is very pertinent to me.

[@Omarthedemigod]

This is helpful. I got a big comic book series I’m writing and the main villain is arrogant man who’s highly intelligent. Same power set as the hero, but he uses his intelligence to constantly outsmart the hero. This advice helps me big time.

[@JoaoGabriel-nv2ki]

Quite Useful!

[@LaurencePlays]

"A wit is somebody who can say something funny immediately. A comedy writer is somebody who can say something very funny half an hour later"

[@Tako40404]

This is a first ventriloquist parrot that I've ever seen. So smart!

[@justinthompson6364]

Great explanation. I often like to write witty characters, ones that are rarely at a loss for something to say. I can think out exactly what I want to say ahead of time and still bumble through a conversation like a drunk through a pitch-black room. The thing is, I have all the time I need to think of what quip they should use in a given situation.

[@while.coyote]

Hey brandon, how do I write somebody LESS intelligent without sounding condescending?

[@SuperLlama42]

Just like you can break down different traits that make someone look intelligent, you can do the same for traits that make someone "stupid". They could be uneducated compared to everyone else, or very bullheaded, or have terrible social skills, or be unobservant, or lazy.

[@syweb2]

@@SuperLlama42 "lazy" doesn't really mean "unintelligent", though. Smart people of any kind have the capacity for being lazy.

[@samjos3229]

I love u, u are the best that ever happened to me Thank u very much

[@inthemakingof6096]

As a fellow writer, I LOVE THIS VIDEO!

[@OldBearby]

Heh, heh. So that's the ultimate measure of intelligence--Simpson quotes!

[@magacofi]

Always has been

[@supernova1661]

I literally just finished Oathbringer and KZbin recommends me this despite never watching any videos related to writing

[@bencowles2105]

Lol. Never had this problem but it is good to see how others do it. Everything is an opportunity to learn.

[@pianoraves]

Sad that we never get to see the signature. I looked it up. And i consider it a piece of art.

[@T3RR0R_Bunny]

I never had trouble with this my self but was curious to see what you had to say

[@MidnightSt]

I don't agree that intelligence is "quick recollection". Quick recollection is a property of memory. Intelligence is a property of processing. You can be highly intelligent even with slow recollection, if you are able to process and connect the information you recollect (or have in front of you) effectively. I mean... yes, of course, to the outside observer, if an intelligent person is missing the quick recollection feature, they won't look nearly as intelligent. But that's *to the outside observer* . As soon as one starts to discuss what is intelligence, I would expect more than an "outside observer's view". ...aaand now you're conflating intelligence with wisdom... oh well... I mean... the video delivers on what it promised, I just have this quirk of being annoyed at these particular things that I pointed out, when people do them while talking about intelligence. =D

[@1XxKyo]

I always thought of "wisdom" as the power of knowledge, and "intelligence" as a great sense for logic. I do believe a line needs to be drawn in between. People generally refer to a knowledgable person as smart. I'd say you don't have to be smart to acquire knowledge. And the ability of drawing out information quickly that Sanderson is referring to is nothing more than being quick-witted. Whatever you call these three abilities, I'd say in the end they are all components for "intelligence" (and there surely are more than these three). You don't need to be good at all of them to be intelligent. Like you said, you can be quite slow and still be intelligent. Just throwing my 2 cents in there on how I believe intelligence should be defined.

[@MidnightSt]

@@1XxKyo "And the ability of drawing out information quickly that Sanderson is referring to is nothing more than being quick-witted." ...we're getting into the realm of personal opinion, but I don't agree. actual "quick-witted" is closer to pure intelligence than "quick recollection". Because "wit" is more dependent on the speed of processing (thinking) than the amount of information it is applied over. (Usually, from my experience, "wit" is based almost only on the situation one is in, therefore it's not drawing on any other/large amounts of information that would need to be recollected). "Whatever you call these three abilities, I'd say in the end they are all components for "intelligence"" I appreciate that you're obviously thinking about this stuff, but I disagree. I believe that: 1. "knowledge" is the AMOUNT OF INFORMATION one possesses 2. "intelligence" is their ABILITY TO PROCESS AND WORK with that information. 3. "wisdom" is the RESULTS OF PROCESSING INFORMATION. Meaning, knowledge and intelligence are independent. And wisdom behaves according to the equation of "wisdm = knowledge * intelligence * time", roughly. A dumb but knowledgeable person will cite the facts from books word by word. An intelligent but not knowledgeable person will describe twenty possible ways the thing will go, depending on what the facts (which they don't possess) are. An intelligent and knowledgeable person will say one terse sentence that will blow everyone away by its truthfullness and poginancy... because they have all the required knowledge, plus all the needed intelligence, to not only reach the correct (wise) conclusion, but also to express it in the most impactful (wise) way, considering the audience they are speaking to. That's how I see it. So, not-so-intelligent people, with lots of information, and lots of time to ruminate about it, can be wise. And not-so-informed people, with lots of intelligence, will throw out many possibilities, some of which will be wise. And well informed people, with lots of intelligence (maybe with lots of time to process all of that, on top of everything) will be geniuses. Intelligence grants you the ability to think through all the possibilities. Knowledge grants you the ability to discard the possibilities which are not realistic. Wisdom is the property of being able to arrive at the most correct/practical/useful possibility. In any case, I believe all three terms are trying to give name to actual three different things, and somewhat failing, because the relationships between those three things are surprisingly nuanced and complicated. But I very much appreciate your thoughtful comment that actually contributed to the discussion/thought process, thank you :)

[@phoebechan8601]

Hey, this is a wonderful conversation! I found it very insightful. Just wanted to comment in case there are updates.

[@1XxKyo]

@@MidnightSt I actually happened to have a german word in mind when referring to the term "quick-witted". It appears a perfect translation does not exist in the english language, so I simply went with the most accurate term I could find. But it appears you don't actually seem to disagree with the message behind it, seeing as you accepted its existence in your equation defined as time. The three components that result in wisdom are by definition the same as the three I mentioned; you simply chose to assign differents terms to them. I personally don't like arguing the semantics because they tend to distract from the actual message. They may allow for easier communication by storing the content of information in a word, but I'm not really ambitious about choosing that word, only about the information it wishes to convey. Perhaps I'll leave that task to those who possess more "knowledge" in that department. :P

[@justinthompson6364]

I think what people generally think of as being "smart" is broader than either of those. I believe "smartness" is basically prudence- the ability to discern the best course of action in a given situation- and that there are basically three parts of it. First is knowledge, information a person already possesses. Second is perceptiveness, or the ability to identify new relevant information and assimilate it. Last, and probably most important is intelligence, the ability to process information in a logical way. The more of these components a person possesses, and the more quickly they're able to actuate them, the smarter they seem.

[@mrlumberjackman3395]

I’m lovin That parrot.

[@SomeBlokeOrWhatever]

I don't know how I got here, but your bird is adorable.

[@owltheherald4199]

Your bird was quite calm that day Mr. Sanderson. I cannot wait to read Rhythm of War. You are THE G.O.A.T.!!!!!!

[@neonblaze9177]

I always wondered if going about writing characters this way was efficient. It feels kind of cool to feel validated, since I’ve been doing this for all characters that are smarter than I am.

[@venn7257]

I have wondered this for a while

[@lillydevil2486]

I got distracted half way through when I noticed the parrot trying to eat the pen XD

[@kinglunarchy9417]

Your bird gives me life

[@gamma3563]

It took me so long to understand what the title ment til I clicked on the video.

[@OnixMint]

Reminds me of Locke from the lies of locke lamora. He is able to act quickly no matter how bad the situation turns.

[@Brunoenribeiro]

brandon set the intelligence bar pretty high with this tip

[@mimszanadunstedt441]

Its harder to relate to people, than to confuse them with profoundnesses and data at unrealistic speeds.

[@begobolehsjwjangan2359]

Just write, *"So, it's the same type of stand as star platinum"*

[@someguy4405]

This is something I actually hate. When a character is touted to be a genius, and then I see the plot bend to his convenience (BBC Sherlock) it seems artificial.

[@r0bw00d]

Some bending needs to happen in order to tie up loose ends, but yeah, _Sherlock_ takes it a bit too far.

[@fulldisclosureiamamonster2786]

This is why Elementary is a much better show. Aside from Jonny Lee Miller's loveable and occasionally awkward performance resonating much more with me than Benedict Cabbagepatch's contemptuous, smug demeanor, the deductions Sherlock makes are things that make perfect sense and are actually quite educational. More often than not Sherlock's deductions are used to teach the viewer cool trivia about physics, human psychology, any number of things that would come up in a crime scene investigation, whereas the BBC series just uses it as a way to progress the plot, or worse, hammer in for the fourth-hundredth time that _Sherlock is really smort._

[@chaddaifouche536]

It's not supposed to look like that. If you're a good writer, you'll start with a reasonable plot, insert your smart character, find ingenious ways to deliver some hint to him and to the reader (some discreetly, some overtly) and then make the smart character deduce his way to the plot or a reasonable approximation of it while making as few unwarranted assumptions as possible. Ideally, you'll get to the point where most readers will say "It makes sense. Why didn't I see that before? Oh the hints were there all along!" rather than "Sure Sherlock, what you're describing is totally nuts but since you're the main character, you're probably right...". You shouldn't see the plots bending to agree with the main character, that's like seeing the strings in a puppet show, in fact the character should be wrong from time to time (but reasonably wrong, not "look who got to hold the Idiot Ball today!" wrong). That's what Sanderson is describing: an artful writer taking his time to work the context just right so that the character making snap decisions and deductions appear very smart. That demands a great amount of reworking and research on the part of the writer to get it right though, whereas declaring the character smart, or just throwing together a resolution to a problem that vindicates the character deductions, as insane as they might be, is so much easier.

[@ciclotorneos2544]

FUCKING AMAZING VIDEO, finally someone gives it a shot at this, i believe intelligent characters often pop out mind feats that for most people seems brilliant but it wouldn't make sense in the world they live in. Smart people are not only smart for their adaptability or high quality responses, but, for how they match up their personality with what they do. An that is the brilliant part. So yeah, is really easy to set up mind feats but the hard part is to make them a part of the expression or of the development of the character.

[@cfitz17]

Many problems are easier over time, pity time is limited. And I love how Brandon is always giving good advice, even while signing and not being distracted by the large parrot.

[@donovandavis7398]

Alternative title: How do I write a galaxy brain that's interesting

[@AnakinTheWeird]

By writing Spock, Sherlock Holmes, or Ender Wiggin.

[@mischarowe]

A brain in a jar that just spends all day making jokes.

[@teralithium]

He actually wrote this one. Legion.

[@TheMaidenOnes]

Read the culture books by Banks ;) they got lots of "ship minds" that are way smarter then mortal humans.

[@SysterYster]

Read some of Alistair Reynold's sci-fi. He's got so many cool and interesting ideas, hive minds, living ships, etc.

[@josephpaulson9495]

Dude that parrot is so cool