Brandon Sanderson
American fantasy author of the Mistborn and Stormlight Archive series
Brandon Sanderson (American fantasy author of the Mistborn and Stormlight Archive series) has appeared as a guest on 1 episode in TMT. Topics they speak about most include Writing habits and daily word counts, Plotters and pantsers.
In their words
Positions and remarks grouped by topic, each with the exact quote and where it was said.
Writing habits and daily word counts
Sanderson estimates he produces around 300,000 new words a year after accounting for revision time.
“Now, third of my time's done to revision. So really, I'm looking at around 300,000 words”
The Tim Ferriss Show: #878: How to Start When You're Stuck, Finish What You Begin, and Stop Waiting for Inspiration — Creative Advice from Elizabeth Gilbert, Seth Godin, Joyce Carol Oates, Anne Lamott and More (Aug 5, 2026) · Listen from 44:50
Sanderson says most writers he has seen do better writing consistently, with only a minority being binge writers.
“Nine out of 10 writers that I've found are that do better with consistency. One out of 10 is a binge writer”
The Tim Ferriss Show: #878: How to Start When You're Stuck, Finish What You Begin, and Stop Waiting for Inspiration — Creative Advice from Elizabeth Gilbert, Seth Godin, Joyce Carol Oates, Anne Lamott and More (Aug 5, 2026) · Listen from 40:32
Plotters and pantsers
Sanderson describes Stephen King as a "gardener" who is motivated by discovering the story as he writes.
“Stephen King is a gardener. For Stephen King, exploring and discovering his story is the thing that makes him excited”
The Tim Ferriss Show: #878: How to Start When You're Stuck, Finish What You Begin, and Stop Waiting for Inspiration — Creative Advice from Elizabeth Gilbert, Seth Godin, Joyce Carol Oates, Anne Lamott and More (Aug 5, 2026) · Listen from 39:07
Sanderson tells students that some advice from major authors, including Stephen King, will be wrong for them.
“So you're going to have to ignore some of the advice of major authors. Some of the things that Stephen King tells you will be wrong”
The Tim Ferriss Show: #878: How to Start When You're Stuck, Finish What You Begin, and Stop Waiting for Inspiration — Creative Advice from Elizabeth Gilbert, Seth Godin, Joyce Carol Oates, Anne Lamott and More (Aug 5, 2026) · Listen from 35:32
Appearances
#878: How to Start When You're Stuck, Finish What You Begin, and Stop Waiting for Inspiration — Creative Advice from Elizabeth Gilbert, Seth Godin, Joyce Carol Oates, Anne Lamott and MoreThe Tim Ferriss Show · Aug 5, 2026 · 59 min
Tim Ferriss compiles writing advice from Elizabeth Gilbert, Anne Lamott, Joyce Carol Oates, Jerry Seinfeld, Mary Karr, Brandon Sanderson and Seth Godin on starting, persisting and finishing.
Often appears with
- Tim Ferriss · 1 shared episode
- Elizabeth Gilbert · 1 shared episode
- Anne Lamott · 1 shared episode
- Joyce Carol Oates · 1 shared episode
- Jerry Seinfeld · 1 shared episode
- Mary Karr · 1 shared episode
- Seth Godin · 1 shared episode