Is human nature to believe that other places and other times are better than the here and now.

Brightlord Adolin insisted. So long as you were in here, he wouldn’t leave. We tried to stop him, but the man’s a prince. We can’t storming make him do anything, not even leave. He locked...

Chana knows, I wondered sometimes how I raised that child without strangling her. By age six, [Jasnah] was pointing out my logical fallacies as I tried to get her to go to bed on time.

If time is infinite, then anything that can happen, will happen, and has happened. That means you’ve happened before, Dion. We all have. Even if there is no God, even supposing there are no answers;...

Yes, Bastille. I keep trying to get killed because it’s inconvenient for you.

I need to read more.

Kelsier smiled. ‘It means that you, Vin, are a very special person. You have a power that most high noblemen envy. It is a power that, had you been born an aristocrat, would have made...

If you can read the book and say, ‘Space Marines, YEEEAAAHHH!’ That’s Military Science Fiction.” (Brigham Young writing lecture, March 2012)

Shallan’s mental image of Jasnah Kholin was of someone almost divine. It was, upon reflection, an odd way to regard a determined atheist.

The problem with being clever, Serene thought with a sigh, is that everyone assumes you’re always planning something.

Expectation wasn’t just about what people expected of you. It was about what you expected of yourself.

I try to avoid having thoughts. They lead to other thoughts, and—if you’re not careful—those lead to actions. Actions make you tired. I have this on rather good authority from someone who once read it...

Are there any religions on your list that include the slaughter of noblemen as a holy duty?

Pain lost it’s power when other things became more important.Kahar didn’t need a potion or an Aon to save him-he just needed something to do.-Brandon sanderson(Elantris)

Llarimar had told him to do his best. That sounded like an awful lot of work. Unfortunately, doing nothing was beginning to seem like even MORE work.

Reckoner Super Plan for Killing Regalia…Step One: find Regalia, then totally explode her. Lots and Lots.Step Two: put Val on decaf.Step Three: Mizzy gets a cookie.

Be warned – Hammond does tend to be a bit optimistic about these kind of things. If the army were made up of one-legged mutes, he would praise their balance and their listening skills.

He actually did it, didn’t he?” Marsh said, shaking his head in wonder. “That bastard. There are two things I’ll never forgive him for. The first is for stealing my dream of overthrowing the Final...

All people are musicians” Wit countered. “The question is whether or not they share their songs.

Elend: “Each moment you fight is a gift to those in this cavern. Each second we fight is a second longer that thousands of people can draw breath. Each stroke of the sword, each koloss...

And don’t say things about people you don’t know. You’re no skaa— you’re just noblemen without titles.”She turned, stalking from the room. Kelsier watched her go, shocked, hearing her footsteps on the stairs. He stood,...

Though in this genre we write about the fantastic, the stories work best when there is solid grounding in our world. Magic works best for me when it aligns with scientific principles. Worldbuilding works best...

I trust you with their lives,’ Prof said, still writing, ‘and them with yours. Don’t betray that trust, son. Keep your impulses in check. Don’t just act because you can; act because it’s the right...

I’m an expert on one-armed Herdazian jokes. ‘Lopen,’ my mother always says, ‘you must learn these to laugh before others do. Then you steal the laughter from them, and have it all for yourself.

then I hope I end up in Damnation. At least there I might be able to get a wink or two of sleep.

It lets me add two ’n’ two and get a pickle.

Why do they call it research if I’ve only done it this one time?

Wayne’s a little attached to that hat,” Waxillium said. “He thinks it’s lucky.”Wayne: “It is lucky. I ain’t never died while wearing that hat.” Marasi frowned. “I … I’m not sure I know how to...

To live was to be a fragment of the cosmere that was experiencing itself.

I’m sorry that your mystical, godlike powers do not instantly work as you would like them to.

… everyone knows that ice cream is worth the trouble of being cold. Like all things virtuous, you have to suffer to gain the reward.

Tobias took the photograph. At least, that’s what I saw. Most likely I still had the photograph in my hand, but I couldn’t feel it there, now I perceived Tobias holding it. It’s strange, the...

This isn’t a plan,” Prof said.” It’s hormones.

Authors write books for one, and only one, reason: because we like to torture people.

Elend: I kind of lost track of time…Breeze: For two hours?Elend: There were books involved.

And don’t waste time worshipping Harmony. Doing good was the worship.

Eternity ended ten years ago.

We create things to watch them grow, Ruin, she said. To take pleasure in seeing that which we love become more than it was before.

Thank you. For being willing to talk. For not turning me in. For… being you.”I’m pretty good at being me,’ I said. ‘I’ve had all these years to practice–I hardly ever get it wrong these...

May you rule in wisdom.

Books have great value, actions have greater value.

Dragons were dangerous in the sky. Of course, they were dangerous on the ground too. Just less dangerous. In the same way that a sword is less dangerous so long as it’s pointed at someone...

What did you put in the fire?” Kaladin said. “To make that special smoke?””Nothing. It was just and ordinary fire.””But, I saw-“”What you saw belongs to you. A story doesn’t live until it is imagined...

The Larsta believed that life was about seeking the divine, he read. They taught that art draws us closer to understanding divinity. Since not all men can spend their time in art, it is to...

The mark of a great man is one who knows when to set aside the important things in order to accomplish the vital ones.

That’s kind of what trust is, isn’t it? A willful self-delusion.

I don’t have much time for stories,” Vin said.”Seems that fewer and fewer people do, these days.” A canopy kept off the ash, but he seemed unconcerned about the mists. “It makes me wonder what...

Do not deride someone’s faith simply because you do not share it, Lord Cladent,” Sazed said quietly.

is the culmination of all disasters!

Being polite to a person is not a sign of respect for them. It is merely a sign of a good upbringing and a balanced nature.