Rothfuss vs Sanderson Style [Writing Workshop]

Rothfuss vs Sanderson Style

I found myself in a particularly heated debate the other night (which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering I host a podcast alongside some friends that is entirely focused on the fine art of debate/argument) about the relative merits of two distinctive camps of writing style. If you’ve already glanced at the title of this post, chances are good you know where this is going.

One of these writing styles we shall affectionately refer to as the Patrick Rothfuss style, whereas the other shall henceforth be known as the Sanderson school of steez.

Rothfuss and Sanderson are arguably two of the most well known Fantasy authors currently in the game. The number of books they’ve cumulatively sold must be reaching a trillion by this point.

Okay, that’s a slight exaggeration, but not by much. Let’s give a quick history recap for those not in the know.

The bearded bard, Patrick Rothfuss.

Rothfuss stormed onto the scene back in 2007 with his series, The Kingkiller Chronicles, which debuted with his novel The Name of the Wind. This book, in conjunction with the sequel, The Wise Man’s Fear, have sold over 10 million copies.

That’s one of those stats that’s sort of hard to comprehend. The Kingkiller Chronicles has been touted as the next Game of Thrones, which isn’t necessarily a comparison I would make, but the point of the statement is merely to draw attention to the fact that The Kingkiller Chronicles has embedded itself in the collective Fantasy subconscious in such a way that it represents a real game-changer of a series.

We’ll get into why this is a little bit later, but first, let’s get to the man, the myth, the legend:

Brandon Sanderson, the bald faced bard.

If you’re into Fantasy and don’t know who Brandon Sanderson is, then I’m uncomfortable mix of impressed and appalled. Sanderson cemented his place in the annals of Fantasy history when, back in 2007, he took the reigns of one of the best selling series of ALL TIME, The Wheel of Time. To step into this already well established world, along with the decades worth of hype and expectation, was a feat of Herculean proportion. The fact that Sanderson actually pulled it off in a way that left the fans satisfied is nothing short of amazing.

Sanderson could’ve cashed it in at that point, but he’s gone on to become one of the most prolific Fantasy authors…well…ever.

Whether we’re talking The Mistborn Trilogy, The Stormlight Archives, The Reckoners, or Elantris this guy has been steadily churning out high-quality material at an alarming rate.

The Stage is Set

Okay, so we’ve got ourselves two literary heavyweights here. Let’s zoom in and talk about what distinguishes these two incredibly successful authors.

Rothfuss

When people talk about Rothfuss, the first thing they are to likely mention is his prose. The way in which he crafts sentences is, in no uncertain terms, beautiful.

Rothfuss is the very definition of an artisanal wordsmith.

Lesser authors attempting to write like Rothfuss will inevitably be labeled as ‘purply’ or ‘pretentious’. That piece of writing advice we’ve all heard since day one, “Murder your darlings”, somehow doesn’t apply to Rothfuss. I’ve often lost myself in Rothfuss’ words in a way that made my head swim.

It’s envy inducing stuff, is what it is.

“The Waystone Inn lay in silence, and it was a silence of three parts.

The most obvious part was a hollow, echoing quiet, made by things that were lacking. If there had been a wind it would have sighted through the trees, set the inn’s sign creaking on its hooks, and brushed the silence down the road like trailing autumn leaves. If there had been a crowd, even a handful of men inside the inn, they would have filled the silence with conversation and laughter, the clatter and clamour one expects from a drinking house during the dark hours of the night. If there had been music…but no, of course there was no music. In fact there were none of these things, and so the silence remained.

Inside the Waystone a pair of men huddled at one corner of the bar. They drank with quiet determination, avoiding serious discussions of troubling news. In doing these they added a small, sullen silence to the larger, hollow one. It made an alloy of sorts, a counterpoint.

The third silence was not an easy thing to notice. If you listened for an hour, you might begin to feel it in the stone heart that held the heat of a long-dead fire. It was in the slow back and forth of a white linen cloth rubbing along the grain of the bar, and it was in the hands of the man who stood there, polishing a stretch of mahogany that already gleamed in the lamplight.

The man had true-red hair, red as flame. His eyes was dark and distance, and he moved with the subtle certainty that comes from knowing many things.

The Waystone was his, just as the third silence was his. This was appropriate, as it was the greatest silence of the three, wrapping the others inside itself. It was deep and wide as autumn’s ending. It was heavy as a great river-smooth stone. It was the patient, cut-flower sound of a man who is waiting to die.”

Oof… this still ranks amongst the top opening lines of any book I’ve ever read. It sets the tone and expectation for what’s to come more perfectly than I have words to describe.

Now, if the words themselves are Rothfuss’ strength, it is the story that serves as his weakness. Though this is perhaps too harsh. The story is not weak, so much as the type of story he is telling is fundamentally different than other stories you are likely to stumble upon in the Fantasy genre at current.

Rothfuss does not lean on a three act structure. His narrative wanders and, at times, feels like a hero’s journey, but at other times it reads simply like a biography of a man’s life.

Which, to be fair, is exactly what it is. The combined effect has obviously been wildly successful, but this type of story is a rare bird.

Rothfuss is one of those writers that it doesn’t necessarily matter what he is saying, but rather how he is saying it. That is his gift. The downside to his gift is that he’s an incredibly slow writer. Like… George R. R. Martin slow.

But that’s okay, because genius can’t be rushed. And so we wait.

Sanderson

On the other side of the extreme we have Sanderson who’s prose is the very definition of invisible. It’s actually quite remarkable how deeply he manages to drag the reader into his story, as the barrier to entry (the words themselves) all but disappear.

What’s left is pure, unadulterated story.

Sanderson crafts Epic Fantasies spanning thousands of pages that somehow, upon reaching the end, make you want to dive immediately into the next. It’s sort of absurd how wrapped up I get in his characters and worlds.

He knows his strengths revolve around top notch world building, intriguing characters, and impeccable plotting. Perhaps Sanderson’s most impressive trait, however, is his consistency. I’ve never read a story from him (and I’ve read almost all of them) that failed to deliver. If Rothfuss is the tortoise, then Sanderson is definitely the hare (minus all the naps and posturing).

Which is Better?

When it comes to thinking about our own writing, I find it instructive to consider the two extremes represented by Rothfuss and Sanderson. On the one side, we have carefully crafted prose that are almost Shakespearian in their execution. On the other side, we have meticulously crafted story filled with unforgettable characters.

Now, I would say that from a commercial viability standpoint, Sanderson’s style is more marketable. From a “will it survive through the ages” standpoint, I think the nod has to go to Rothfuss. There’s something about distilling basic human truths into beautiful prose that transcends generations.

Does that mean you should aim to write like Rothfuss? No, of course not. That would be stupid. There is only one Rothfuss, and you are not him.

Does that mean you should try to write like Sanderson? Again, no. I thought we just went over this. There’s only one Sanderson.

Does that mean you should try and write like yourself? Well, duuuuh! There is, after all, only one of you! Study these masters to learn what they have to teach. Assimilate it and grow. Be intentional about how you develop your craft. Work your weaknesses, but play to your strength. Do this on a long enough time frame and maybe, just maybe some day, some random dude with a blog will be talking about your style.

[box] Type to pick sides. Who’s style do you prefer? Sanderson or Rothfuss? Get down to the comments and let the great debate begin. Tell us which of Sanderson’s books are your favorite, or share your favorite Rothfuss quote.[/box]

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