How to Write like a Knight Radiant

The Stormlight Archive is one of the most popular modern fantasy stories and will probably make the all time list of fantasy classics once Brandon Sanderson finishes it. One of the most interesting aspects of the story is that of the Knight’s Radiant and the rules of the different orders of Knight Radiant. I could say much about those orders, but for today I am going to focus on writing like a Knight Radiant. And just to be clear, if you haven’t read the books I will spoil the oaths but not the context of them, so it’s mostly safe. So lets start at the beginning.

Life before Death: The Radiant seeks to defend life, always. He never kills unnecessarily, and never risks his own life for frivolous reasons. Living is harder than dying. The Radiant’s duty is to live.

There are a lot of ways I could find to apply this to writing. Whether it is the death of main characters or the frivolous death of the empty hoards often seen in fiction. But I think there is an even more important point that is worth starting with when considering how to write. To succeed at anything requires sacrifice. To be a successful writer takes a great deal of sacrifice. Yet your life is also important. Don’t sacrifice yourself on the alter of fiction. Live your life. Have a life. Take care of your health both physically and mentally. It is a writer’s duty to live.

Strength before Weakness: All men are weak at some time in their lives. The Radiant protects those who are weak, and uses his strength for others. Strength does not make one capable of rule; it makes one capable of service.

I could think of a dozen ways to apply this to your writing. It is vital that you show your characters as weak from time to time and just as vital that you don’t create protagonists who use their overwhelming strength to force other people to their will without consequence. But as these are the foundational rules, I think it is worth keeping the advice at a broader level.

Every writer has strengths and weaknesses. You’re better at some things that others. If you work to improve your writing, you will see those weaknesses. Often it becomes far too easy to focus on our weaknesses and think it defines us and our writing. But an excellent writer puts his strengths forward. If you’re fantastic as developing well-rounded and deep characters, put that at the front of your story and they’ll protect the weaker parts while you continue to improve. Your strengths should not dominate your stories anymore than a Knight Radiant should dominate others, but it can serve your story.

Journey before Destination There are always several ways to achieve a goal. Failure is preferable to winning through unjust means. Protecting ten innocents is not worth killing one. In the end, all men die. How you lived will be far more important to the Almighty than what you accomplished.

Continuing the fundamentals of writing. A novel is a marathon, not a sprint. Far too often as writers, we focus on the destination. We want to have written a novel. We forget that it is the journey that is important. It is a joke among many writers that they hate writing, but like having written. This may create a few magnificent pieces of fiction, but learning to enjoy the journey creates a writer. If you want to be an author who finishes books, you need to learn to enjoy the journey of writing. We all know what the most important step of writing a novel is.

But this also applies in your story. Everyone has a unique style of writing. Personally, when I write I usually have a basic premise, a few characters and a destination, and then I toss the map in the fire and start walking in the direction I think will get there. But even if you’re the person who knows what gas station they’re going to stop at on their vacation, the destination will often become overly important. The need to adhere to the goal will let us forget that the vast majority of our story takes place on the journey and often in the rush to the destination we sacrifice the moments that make us truly care about the story. Let your characters sit down and have a bowl of stew. It may not always seem like its driving the story towards the destination, but it makes the journey more pleasurable.

Windrunners

I will protect those who cannot protect themselves

Writing is powerful. Books carry weight and force, and far too many of them use that to hurt those who can’t protect themselves. Perhaps it is a write using a harmful stereotype or cliche. Perhaps it is ignoring them. Perhaps it’s going on twitter and using the platform you built as a successful writer to spread ideas you don’t fully understand.

When you’re writing it is important to keep in mind that the people you’re writing about can’t protect themselves. If you say something in your story, there is no one there to point out you’re incorrect. If you make the villain of your story Trans that may seem like a minor point to you, but to someone who can’t protect themselves from the cliche that they are always the villain in those stories, it is the opposite. Don’t spread incorrect ideas to your readers. Don’t make people feel as if they are less than they are because they read your story. The people who read your work should feel safe in your hands.

I will protect even those I hate, so long as it is right.

When writing a story it is easy to make the antagonist someone we hate. Why shouldn’t the enemy be someone who believes the same thing as the people in the political party I hate? Why not make them a bigot who kicks puppies? There is nothing inherently wrong with making the antagonists of your book despicable, but as a writer you still have an obligation to protect those you hate, so long as it is right.

This means you need to treat the people you disagree with the same kindness, or more than you would those you agree with. You can still make your antagonist a bad person who has bad beliefs. But you also have to protect the reader, even if it is someone you hate. This isn’t a “it’s the right thing to do” piece of advice. It’s strategic. If your goal is to change someone’s mind you’ll never do that by attacking. But when you show kindness to someone and take the time to understand what they believe, they might consider a different point of view. Beyond that they are a person worthy of dignity and respect, so show it took them.

I will protect even those I hate, even if the one I hate most is myself.

While not all writers suffer from crippling doubt and insecurity, it’s not uncommon. It’s important for a writer to protect themselves both from others and from themselves. The first step is to stop being cruel to yourself. This isn’t always easy, but it’s easier if you focus on improving rather than being perfect. You need to treat yourself as someone you have an obligiation to protect because you can’t protect anyone if you don’t protect yourself.

Beyond your own internal critic, you should be careful about criticism and reviews, both in what you listen to and what you accept as true. Every writer gets bad reviews. I hated the Great Gatsby. If Mr. Fitzgerald were around, I wouldn’t recommend he read any review I wrote about it because they won’t be kind. But more importantly, they won’t be useful. It wasn’t a book written for me. So, consider whether reading a review is useful and if it’s not, then protect yourself and ignore it.

The Edgedancers

I will remember those who have been forgotten.

I will listen to those who have been ignored.

These two oaths are the key to interesting characters and creating stories that feel original. Some of the best science fiction and fantasy of the modern era have made great use of these two oaths. So next time you’re thinking about a character instead of focusing on the characters you’ve seen before, try to consider who has been forgotten and ignored and use them instead. You’ll be surprised how much they have to say when you listen to them. This is even more true if you are part of one of those forgotten groups but if you’re not then it’s all the more important to listen. Far too few people listen and even fewer listen to those who have been ignored.

Bondsmith

I will unite instead of divide. I will bring men together.

It’s important to know who your audience is, but that doesn’t mean excluding people. There is a saying that I’ve heard a few times that if you’re not upsetting anyone, you’re not writing anything worthwhile. That is probably true, but perhaps the thing that most separates writing from every other form of media is the ability to enter the mind of someone else. Use that ability wisely, because the ability to see things from the point of view of someone else has both the ability to unite and to divide. You get to choose which you do.

I will take responsibility for what I have done. If I must fall, I will rise each time a better man.

The hardest thing for me as a writer in the last few years is looking back at what I wrote in the past. I shared some of it with people, and much of it I didn’t share. Some of it has ideas I don’t know if I fully agree with anymore, and much is embarrassing. As a writer, the only thing you can do is focus on becoming better. You will fail. You will write things that are bad. You will probably write something that is hurtful or painful to other people. You will get rejections and you will fall down. The goal of a writer can’t be to avoid every mistake. It can’t be to never fall down. It is to make yourself a better writer because it’s both how you learn to be a better writer and a better man.

Skybreakers

I will put the law before all else.

The Skybreakers oaths are about following rules. Every writer knows plenty of rules. There are rules of grammar, rules of writing, rules about how long a story should be, and how to make people like your characters. You can find hundreds of rules of writing, write every day, show don’t tell, know your Audience, and write for yourself. They are all worthwhile and they will make your writing much better if you put them before all else. But just as with the Skybreakers, the rules are the beginning not the end.

I swear to seek justice, to let it guide me, until I find a more perfect Ideal.

A talented writer has to know the rules. They should have a good grasp on grammar, character, plot, setting and all the other rules that make something readable. A great writer is the one who has moved on to the second part of this ideal. A great writer finds a more perfect ideal than the rules of writing. He understands that sometimes the grammar gets in the way and knows when he can split an infinitive to make the scene better. He knows that sometimes you just tell people stuff and move on because it would be boring to be shown it. A great writer is the one who has followed the rules and learned them so well that he can see that more perfect ideal. But you must be a master of the rules, you must put them before all else before you can put them aside because someone who doesn’t understand the law and breaks it isn’t a Knights Radiant they are a criminal.

Lightweavers

The Lightweavers are last because they are the artists of the Knights Radiant. But it’s more than that. You can become a more proficient writer by following your craft. You might even get a shardblade while holding things back. But just like a lightweaver, you advance to mastery by telling your truths. Not the simple truths that everyone already tells and already knows. Not the truths about the world or about other people. The hard to accept and hard won truths about yourself and your life. The ones that form who you both because they are beautiful and because they are ugly.

Tell the truth in your writing. Sit at the computer and pour your heart onto the page. Say things that hurt and then keep saying them until you get them right because that’s what will strengthen you. Perhaps if you tell enough of them, you might even get that mystical armor that keeps it from hurting so much when people don’t like what you’ve written.

Bonus

Someone has to go first

Writing isn’t easy. Writing something new is harder, but it’s not difficult because you have nothing new to say. It’s difficult because it requires going first. No one else can write the story you want to tell. Don’t hold back your stories because it’s hard or because other people might not understand. Don’t restrict yourself to what other people do. Try new things. Take risks to make your stories and the world a better place. Make your writing your writing. Don’t want for someone else to say it’s OK. Someone has to go first, why shouldn’t it be you?