Brandon Sanderson is quickly becoming a rising star within the fantasy genre. His Cosmere universe has been regarded as one of the most unique and fascinating worlds in fiction, containing multiple book series including the Mistborn and Stormlight Archives.
His series contain unique abilities and powers that have helped set them apart from other fantasy novels. They were so good that they even attracted the attention of experienced novelists like Robert Jordan who was deeply impressed by his Mistborn trilogy and contacted him to finish his series, The Wheel of Time when he passed away.
This happened in 2007 when Brandon was still a relatively new writer. It must have been both terrifying and exciting to have been given the responsibility of completing one of the most popular and iconic fantasy series of the time. The pressure was intense. And yet, Brandon rose to the occasion with his final three books being well regarded by both old and new fans alike, many agreeing that it handled the transition seamlessly and in some ways even improved Robert Jordan’s work.
While Brandon has had education and training with his master’s degree in creative writing, he admits that most of his experience came from working on his books. Writing, like many creative professions, can be quite complicated, even for someone who understands the fundamentals.
Brandon believes the best way to learn is by writing and figuring out your style. Here you will see what works and what doesn’t by honing your instincts. It also gives you practical experience and more importantly, it keeps you moving forward so you can experiment. The challenge of writing is to keep doing it because it is only when you keep doing that you can figure out what you want.
He summed up these ideas with the quote below.
“Nothing will train you to write better as a writer, than working on your next book.”
— Brandon Sanderson, author.
If you want to create vintage letters with your own or other people’s famous lines, our Vintage Letter service allows you to make and send them here.