On a recent summer evening in Salt Lake City, fans joined Brandon Sanderson and Louis Sachar as they reflected on the intangible qualities of fiction that lasts through generations.
The event, part of Sachar’s tour for his new novel The Magician of Tiger Castle, opened with Sachar reading a passage from his book. Check out the video below to listen! From there, the discussion flowed freely and warmly as Brandon interviewed Louis on a myriad of topics from throughout Louis’s career.
Tiny Ideas to Epic Stories
Brandon started off by asking how Louis begins to tackle a new project. Louis described how his stories often begin as the smallest of ideas. He’ll start with a little concept that intrigues him—a seed of a story, if you will—and then spend about 45 minutes each day writing to explore it, almost testing if the idea “has legs.”
This exploratory drafting is deliberately short and low-pressure; it’s Louis’s way of seeing if a story starts to take shape. His first drafts, he admitted, can be chaotic, even “all over the place,” but that’s by design. The initial draft is just about getting raw ideas on the page, like a sculptor roughing out a block of wood. It’s in the second draft that he begins to see the form clearly, as he refines that rough shape into something more coherent.
There’s something freeing about this approach. Writers don’t have the benefit of a visual medium to sculpt, and as such may feel like the first words they put on the page need to be publishable, but that’s not the case. Like any other artist, you can take your time laying the groundwork.
Warmth: What Really Lasts
As the conversation continued, Brandon and Louis delved into what makes a story truly memorable. Brandon asked about Louis’s signature wit, as his stories are often overflowing with some of the best wit in the business, but Louis said it’s not a conscious thing for him to make a story humorous. Instead, he’s aiming for a different attribute. The warmth.
By “warmth,” he meant the heart and emotional resonance of a story. Humor can make us laugh in the moment, but warmth leaves a lasting impression. Think of the sense of comfort or hope you carry with you after closing a great book. That’s the feeling Louis strives for.
He noted that while his stories certainly have humor, it’s the genuine heart in his characters and their journeys that lodges in readers’ memories long after the laughter fades. Brandon nodded at this, adding that warmth is often what turns a fun story into a beloved one. Together they made a case that a book’s emotional core, its sincerity and humanity, is the main factor in making a story last through generations.
Misfit Heroes
One particularly delightful topic Brandon wanted to dive into was Louis’s love of misfit characters. Louis confessed that he has a soft spot for protagonists and heroes who don’t start out polished or ultra-competent. Why? Because when misfits finally earn their hero moment, it means so much more. We all cheer a little harder for the underdog.
Louis talked about how the journey of an outcast or underdog stepping into greatness gives a story extra meaning, because they have to overcome not just the external challenge, but also their own doubts or the world’s low expectations. That struggle makes their eventual triumph feel bigger and more deserved.
As they discussed this, you could see fans in the audience thinking of favorite misfits from the authors’ books (Vin from Mistborn or the kids from Wayside School, anyone?). The consensus on stage was that misfits bring a special warmth and relatability to stories—there’s that word “warmth” again—and maybe that’s why we root for them so hard.
Letting Stories End (No Holes 2, Thank You)
Naturally, the subject of sequels came up, especially given Holes is one of those classics that readers have jokingly begged Louis Sachar to continue for years. Brandon was quick to emphasize that not every story needs a sequel. Some stories, he argued, are better left as they are—a complete journey with a satisfying ending. Forcing a continuation can sometimes dilute what made the original special.
Louis wholeheartedly agreed. In his case, he explained, he discovers his characters as he writes the story, and that discovery is the driving force for him. By the time he’s finished a book, he knows those characters inside and out. Writing a direct sequel would mean there’s no new character mystery to uncover, and thus, the spark isn’t there for him. Besides, Sachar has long been adamant that Stanley Yelnats’s tale in Holes is complete, or as Sachar himself said recently, "the world of Stanley Yelnats is closed."
Both authors made a thoughtful point: sometimes the best thing you can do for a great story is to let it rest and stand on its own.
Why Publishing Endures: The Writer-Reader Connection
Toward the end of the night, Brandon and Louis turned to a bigger question: why do books—and publishing itself—endure, even in our high-tech era?
It comes down to the connection between writer and reader. Louis mused that when you open a book, you’re essentially stepping into a direct conversation with the author… a meeting of minds across time and distance. He built on that, noting that a writer’s best moments happen alone at a keyboard, pouring their imagination onto the page, and a reader’s best moments happen curled up with those pages, bringing that same story to life in their own mind.
When a story really lands, the gap between creator and audience disappears. For a little while, they’re sharing the same dream. That’s why telling stories on the page still works after centuries. The form may change and technology marches on, but connection remains as important as ever.
Start With a Feeling
As a final takeaway, Louis offered a simple yet profound piece of advice for crafting stories: "Start with a feeling and work backwards." Figure out the emotion you want to evoke, that warmth or wonder or excitement at the core of the story, and let that be your north star.
Both authors, each in their own way, echoed this sentiment. It’s fitting, really: after a night spent discussing chaotic first drafts, misfit heroes, and the importance of an emotional core, the prevailing message was to begin every story from a place of passion. If you capture that feeling first, the story will follow.
The crowd trickled out into the warm night with their books signed, hearts full, notebooks brimming with ideas, and ready to chase that next tiny idea wherever it might lead.
