Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the News

[YOhio]

I've never heard of him before. This could have been a really interesting article had the author left some of his insufferable pretentiousness out of it a bit. It's like he can't even bring himself explore the complexities of this author. The article is as simplistic as how he portrays Sanderson to be. Also, Sanderson is most likely autistic.

Yeah that was really weird. Just a stream of insults thrown at the author, his religion, his fans, his community and so on. What a miserable outlook on life.

[USUC]

Yeah that was really weird. Just a stream of insults thrown at the author, his religion, his fans, his community and so on. What a miserable outlook on life.

Exaxtly. The article was more about himself and his reactions than it was about Sanderson. He himself was the central character in the peice.

[USUC]

The Hobbit is a fun read, and I was about that age when I read it. That developed into a life-long love of the fantasy genre. The Lord of the Rings is a bit tougher nut to crack for a 9 year old, with themes that won't become apparent until later, but the Hobbit is one action scene after another.

I didn't read the hobbit until I was 14. My boy is a voracious reader though. Moreso than when I was his age. Maybe I'm selling his ability to understand short.

[BigPiney]

I honestly only know him from a running meme on reddit where reading subreddits shit on him as a terrible author. I've never known who he actually is or what he's written.

The guy is printing his own money at this point. I have read the first Mistborn trilogy and i enjoyed it.

[YOhio]

Sanderson had a gracious response.

All,

I appreciate the kind words and support.

Not sure how, or if, I should respond to the Wired article. I get that Jason, in writing it, felt incredibly conflicted about the fact that he finds me lame and boring. I’m baffled how he seemed to find every single person on his trip--my friends, my family, my fans--to be worthy of derision.

But he also feels sincere in his attempt to try to understand. While he legitimately seems to dislike me and my writing, I don't think that's why he came to see me. He wasn't looking for a hit piece--he was looking to explore the world through his writing. In that, he and I are the same, and I respect him for it, even if much of his tone seems quite dismissive of many people and ideas I care deeply about.

The strangest part for me is how Jason says he had trouble finding the real me. He says he wants something true or genuine. But he had the genuine me all that time. He really did. What I said, apparently, wasn't anything he found useful for writing an article. That doesn't make it not genuine or true.

I am not offended that the true me bores him. Honestly, I'm a guy who enjoys his job, loves his family, and is a little obsessive about his stories. There's no hidden trauma. No skeletons in my closet. Just a guy trying to understand the world through story. That IS kind of boring, from an outsider's perspective. I can see how it is difficult to write an article about me for that reason.

But at the same time, I’m worried about the way he treats our entire community. I understand that he didn’t just talk about me, but about you. As has been happening to fantasy fans for years, the general attitude of anyone writing about us is that we should be ashamed for enjoying what we enjoy. In that, the tone feels like it was written during the 80s. “Look at these silly nerds, liking things! How dare they like things! Don’t they know the thing they like is dumb?”

As a community, let’s take a deep breath. It’s all right. I appreciate you standing up for me, but please leave Jason alone. This might feel like an attack on us, on you, but it’s not. Jason wrote what he felt he needed--and as a writer, he is my colleague. Please show him respect. He should not be attacked for sharing his feelings. If we attack people for doing so, we make the world a worse place, because fewer people will be willing to be their authentic selves.

That said, let me say one thing. You, my friends, are not boring or lame. In Going Postal, one of my favorite novels, Sir Terry Pratchett has a character fascinated by collecting pins. Not pins like you might think--they aren't like Disney pins, or character pins. They are pins like tacks used to pin things to walls. Outsiders find it difficult to understand why he loves them so much. But he does.

In the book, pins are a stand-in for collecting stamps, but also a commentary on the way we as human beings are constantly finding wonder in the world around us. That is part of what makes us special. The man who collects those pins--Stanley Howler--IS special. In part BECAUSE of his passion. And the more you get to know him, or anyone, the more interesting you find them. This is a truism in life. People are interesting, every one of them--and being a writer is about finding out why.

In that way, the ability to make Stanley interesting is part of what makes Pratchett a genius, in my opinion. That's WRITING. Not merely using words. It’s what I aspire to be able to do. People are wonderful, fascinating, brilliant balls of walking contradiction, passion, and beauty. I find it an exciting challenge to make certain that the perspective of the washwoman or the monk sitting and reading a book is as interesting in a story as that of the king or the tech-mogul.

And I find value in you. Your passion for my work is a big part of why I write. You make my life special. Thank you.

(NOTE: I do want to make it clear, again that I bear Jason no ill will. I like him. Please leave him alone. He seems to be a sincere man who tried very hard to find a story, discovered that there wasn't one that interested him, then floundered in trying to figure out what he could say to make deadline. I respect him for trying his best to write what he obviously found a difficult article.

He’s a person, remember, just like each of us.)

https://www.reddit.com/r/brandonsand...eb2x&context=3

[Northwestcoug]

Sanderson had a gracious response.

He seems to be a sincere man who tried very hard to find a story, discovered that there wasn't one that interested him, then floundered in trying to figure out what he could say to make deadline.

props to some serious shade towards that journalist.

[tooblue]

props to some serious shade towards that journalist.

It is a curious article. I read Wired a lot. The writing, whether intended or not, came off as particularly mean spirited. I found that fascinating. It reminded me of my own personal experience with ignorance married with arrogance. It is indicative of the world right now—many people pretend to know about the "Mormon" faith, but in reality they know very little.

[All-American]

props to some serious shade towards that journalist.

Best kind of skewering when you can do it with kindness. Maybe he isn’t such a bad writer after all.

[MartyFunkhouser]

To be honest, I couldn't read the whole article. I found the article at the beginning kind of mean spirited and boring, and I don't have a dog in this fight. I don't really know anything about Sanderson. I'm also just not a fantasy reader either. I won't deride people for loving fantasy, I have Pokemon tattoos and play Pokemon Go. I have no place to talk.

[Jeff Lebowski]

That was a very gracious response. Good for him.

[Bo Diddley]

I didn't read the article, but I love that response.

[Paperback Writer]

Brandon Sanderson and I share some things in common: same hometown (Lincoln, Nebraska), high school, ward, and alma matter (BYU of course). I've never been much of a fantasy reader but purchased and read Brandon's debut novel (Elantris) back when it was published at my Mom's insistence. Brandon was good enough to write a personal note to me in that book. I don't know Brandon very well because of the age differences between us. He was a primary kid that I substitute taught for a summer while I was home from BYU. However, our mothers were good friends and I heard a lot about Brandon's accomplishments while they were occurring because my late mother wanted to encourage me to pursue a career in writing rather than information technology. A few years ago, I came across youtube videos of some of his classes and lectures Brandon gave at BYU and found them very insightful regarding the business aspect of writing.

From everything I've heard and read about Brandon, he is a good dude so it was kind of disheartening to read an article critical of him and his writing. Brandon's courteous response to the critic is typical of the person I projected and expected him to be. One of the good guys.

[Pelado]

Just took a gander at reddit, and found that Sanderson is engaged in the discussion over there. I found this quote pretty interesting:

The worst part of this, obviously, is feeling betrayed. Any time you say yes to an article, you know there's a chance it will profile you unfavorably. It's important that they be able to do so--and I do not demand to see articles before publication for that reason. Journalism must be free, unfettered by the opinions of the subjects being talked about.

Having people dislike me is is part of the job. This stung a little more than most, though. I have never had an interviewer try so hard as Jason did to act like a friend. All others have had an air of professional distance. He did not. So, this hurts more coming from him. I still knew it might go this way; I'm not naive. It isn't the first time someone has acted nice to my face, then revealed a different opinion of me later. I'm sure all of you have experienced that! It's just a little more public with me.

Still, from him, it stung nonetheless.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/com...n_is_your_god/

[dabrockster]

Current Husband was arrested in connection to the murder of her Ex-Husband. Police still consider her to be a person of interest. We’ll see how long the current husband stays silent before he gives her up..

https://www.foxnews.com/us/how-ambus...s-family-apart

[Jeff Lebowski]

This Sanderson thing has been fascinating. I can't find anyone sympathetic to the Wired article and nothing but overwhelming support for Sanderson. I guarantee you this will result in a spike in book sales for him.