Adam here. A few weeks ago I posted about one of Brandon’s (and Isaac’s) interviews in Germany to his social media pages. You read the interview in Germanhere, or download a PDF of the English version a few paragraphs down. Brandon was also interviewed by the German site FantasyBlogger, which Google Translate makes easy reading in English.

In this week’s new Writing Excusesepisode, Governments Large and Small, Brandon, Dan, Howard, and Mahtab talk about talk about governmental systems. What kinds do you live within? What kinds do you implement? Answering these questions can help you with the worldbuilding of political power structures.

Last week, in Tor.com’s continuing reread of Oathbringer, Kaladin tells Azure who he really is and discovers that the way they’re getting food is a Soulcaster secreted away in an aluminum-lined bunker. Meanwhile, Shallan has an emotional breakdown and is visited by Hoid, who gives her some much needed advice and—of course—a story. This week, in chapter eighty-three, Elhokar and his group (including Adolin, Kaladin, Shallan, and Azure) leave the tailor’s shop as the walls come under attack, leaving a spanreed with an ardent with orders to use it to alert Dalinar of the impending opening of the Oathgate. They make their way to the palace, where Kaladin, Shallan, Skar, and Drehy break off to loop around and take the Sunwalk. After assaulting the main doors of the palace and making it inside, Adolin discovers a small group of palace guards who didn’t fall under the sway of the Unmade. Kaladin and his men (and Shallan) rejoin them, and they regroup for a moment before Elhokar leads Kaladin off to try to find his wife and son. Meanwhile, the rest of the group continues along the Sunwalk towards the Oathgate platform… and the two Unmade waiting there for them.

Most of the gang from the Wheel of Time showed up to Planet Comicon for this week’s featured cosplay.

In this week’s new Writing Excuses episode, Q&A on Viewpoint, Brandon, Piper, Dan, and Howard answer your questions about viewpoint. Here they are!

• Do you have tips and tricks for making 3rd-person omniscient compelling?
• How do you make 3rd-person limited compelling?
• Is it normal to need several drafts to nail down a character’s voice?
• What’s the best way to portray an unreliable 3rd-person limited narrator?
• What are your most effective methods for immersing yourself in character attributes so that you can get the voice right?
• How do you choose between 1st and 3rd person?
• How do you select the viewpoint character for a scene?
• How do you smoothly transition between viewpoints?
• How do you prevent character voices from blending into each other and becoming indistinguishable?

Last week, in Tor.com’s continuing reread posts for Warbreaker, Siri had everyone blushing with her new bedtime routine, while Lightsong tried unsuccessfully to call in sick. This week, in chapter nineteen, Vivenna’s prejudices are on full display, even as her inexperience sets her up for further manipulation.

Brandon recently did an interview with Bulgarian fantasy outlet Shadowdance. You can read the interview in English or Bulgarian here:

You can see the February Twitter post archive here.