AuthorBrandon Sandersonadmitted in a creative writing lecture that hisMistbornseries was somewhat derivative of theX-Menfranchise’s legendary characterMagneto.As fans of the iconic fantasy author know, though, this didn’t stop him from publishing the acclaimed series, and in his lecture, Sanderson spoke to his students about theunavoidable nature of storytelling tropes.
In a Youtube clip posted by Sanderson, the author elaborates on the virtue of embracing tropes in one’s writing, or at least recognizing that they are fundamental to the writing process. In order to illustrate his point that it is folly to focus too much creative energy on avoiding tropes, Sanderson shared an anecdote about sharing early pages from hisMistbornseries, which his writing group immediately called out for itsparallels to Magneto fromX-Men.
“Well, there was four years of my life, to write Magneto, but worse” the author quipped,but really, his actual point is more nuanced.
Mistborn Author Brandon Sanderson Calls Out His Own Work’s Connection To X-Men’s Magneto
The Method Behind Avoiding Anti-Trope “Madness”
Brandon Sanderson’s firstMistbornnovel was published in 2006, and in the nearly twenty years since, the series has continued with six additional novels, and a novella, with more installments still to come. Though production on a film adaptation is currently stalled, it is all-but-guaranteed that there will be a screen adaptation of the franchise at some point in the future. It is fantasy at its most epic, and just one part of Sanderson’s extensive body of work, all of which testifies to his ambition and talent as a creator.
Sanderson has also proven to be an eloquent professor of creative writing, and the selections from his lectures upload to YouTube represent a wealth of valuable advice for writers at all stages of their careers. The brief clip in which the author tackles the subject of tropes, and highlights the connection betweenthe power system inMistbornand thepowers of Marvel’s Magneto, is especiallyuseful for early-career writers, or anyone who is struggling in a valiant attempt to produce “original” work.
Magneto Set A Precedent For Sanderson’s “Misborn,” But The End Result Is Sharply Different
Sanderson’s “Allomancy” Only Vaguely Resembles Magneto’s Power Set
As Brandon Sanderson explains in the lecture clip, original writing doesn’t equate to a lack of tropes, but rather how a writer builds off of and around existing ideas. He explained:
There is a certain madness to trying to avoid all tropes,because every story has them, and if you are working really hard and building an identity around ‘the person who doesn’t use the tropes,’ then you’re gonna have a bad time.
To drive home this point, Sanderson brought up his own Mistborn series, which centers around a practice called “Allomancy,” which allows practitioners control over certain metals. He joked about believing it was “the most original thing ever,” a notion that was dispelled immediately upon sharing his work with trusted readers.
According to Sanderson:
I submitted [Mistborn] to my writing group, [and they’re] like, ‘this is so cool, it’s just like Magneto!’ Like, ‘well, there was four years of my life to write Magneto, but worse.’ Right? Mistborn, Magneto, but worse.
In making this connection, Brandon Sanderson himself admits that this isn’t a trope, per se, but rather a derivation from a widely recognizable character, yet his point still holds merit, because of how he responded to this parallel being pointed out. He could have forsaken years of diligent writing work, or changed the fundamental precepts of theMistbornidea, after the Magneto similarities became evident. Instead, he persevered,trusting that his own take on a familiar concept would be unique. And he was right.
It’s How Tropes Are Used, Not That They Are Used
Tropes and stock characters are a cornerstone of storytelling, and so it is a curious condition of contemporary writing that so many writers find themselves anxiously attempting to avoid tropes, or sweating over trying to subvert them in a “new” way. From the short clip ofBrandon Sanderson discussing his perspectiveon tropes, it is clear that he was championing an embrace of tropes, at least as building blocks for storytellers to work with. In other words, the problem isn’t tropiness in its own right, but,in fact, when tropes are the end result, instead of a starting point.
[Brandon Sanderson’sMistborn] accomplishes a fully-realized and distinct fictional world around the kernel of an idea that is similar to Marvel’s Master of Magnetism.
TakeMistbornfor example, once again. Sanderson’s writing group aside, the first thought on most readers' minds, when encountering the “really engaging magical system” of the series, as Sanderson himself calls it, is not likely to be Magneto. That is because the author accomplishes a fully-realized and distinct fictional world around the kernel of an idea that is similar to Marvel’s Master of Magnetism. In fact, rather than a demoralizing realization, it seems Sanderson’s recognition of the trope empowered him to really make it his own.
Sanderson’s comments on tropiness should offer great comfort and encouragement to aspiring writers; at the same time, it also raises a noteworthy point about the wider cultural understanding of tropes, a word which has become increasingly pejorative over time. Again, this is a product of tropes that are used more as narrative short-hand, or at worst, out of creative laziness, rather than those that arise naturally from all stories. Unfortunately, this distinction isn’t widely recognized, and in part this results in the trope-weariness of many modern writers and audiences alike.
Tropes Are Essential To Superhero Stories; How Brandon Sanderson’s Approach Could Make For Better Marvel Stories
Building On Tropes, Not Just Repeating Them
Given his evocation of Magneto, it is also worth exploring how Brandon Sanderson’s perspective on tropes also has applications to comic books in their own right, for both writers and readers. By its nature Marvel’s endless, sprawling superhero narrative is trope-rich. As a whole, comics as a medium are generally a safe-haven for trope-forward storytelling, at its best, and also its worst. In other words, many superhero stories would be improved if their writers took Sanderson’s “tropes-as-starting-point” methodology to heart, as a guiding principle as to what to avoid, and what to lean into.
Brandon Sanderson can be relied on as an authority on tropes, as someone who embraced his critically acclaimed work’s similarities toX-Men’sMagneto at an early stage, and made the most of it.
At the same time, Sanderson’s POV can inform how comic book readers engage with tropes. To keep with Magneto, andtheX-Menfranchise as an example, there are certain story and character beats that occur repeatedly in the Master of Magnetism’s stories. This is a necessary part of a character being in active use, more or less in perpetuity, for sixty-plus years.The best Magneto stories in Marvel historyand the worst alike contain these tropes, and fans' judgment of new stories is often situated in the context of how these new stories hit the same beats as the classics.
Readers who are more actively aware of this canmore carefully parse stories' use of tropes, and familiar beats, and more consciously recognize when these prove to be an asset, or a hindrance, to the impact of the story.It is fair to say that, with this in mind,Brandon Sandersoncan be relied on as an authority on tropes, as someone who embraced his critically acclaimed work’s similarities toX-Men’s Magnetoat an early stage, and made the most of it, the result of which was a hit fantasy franchise.
