Brandon Sanderson explains the fantasy mistake that tripped up Game of Thrones

Brandon Sanderson is one of the biggest voices in fantasy. More than a writer and publisher, Sanderson is also an audience friendly scholar. Somehow he finds time to expand the Cosmere on a near-annual basis and deliver lectures on Tolkien’s magic systems. There’s a reason we turned to him once upon a time to teach us his time-management wizardry.

In a talk with fellow fantasy author Joe Abercrombie, recently shared on YouTube, the pair discussed the craft of writing. That’s when Game of Thrones was brought up — again. For Sanderson, it is a prime example of the strengths and weaknesses of Epic Fantasy. "I grew up reading the big epics. I think it's the most natural form for fantasy in some ways. It gives you a lot of time to dig into that world and immerse yourself in it and explore another place,” he said. "I think that's why Game of Thrones did well."

When asked about the downside of these stories, Sanderson spoke from personal experience, sharing that burnout is a real problem, with him having to take a break from the writing process at around the 10th pass of the draft.

Image: HBO

"Epic fantasy has this danger. It starts very personal, and then it can drift away from being personal about the characters if you're not careful. Authors tend to get more excited about side characters later on. We see this happening a bit in Game of Thrones and in A Wheel of Time. How can you make sure something that big remains fresh and personal and exciting? That's a real challenge with the genre."

This is an “again” situation because last time the two writers got together in 2025, George R.R. Martin’s series also came up. The two were discussing the release of Abercrombie’s The Devils, which came out last year. “Don't you dislike maps? Isn't that something I once heard, that you don't like maps?” asked Sanderson.

“I mean, I love maps,” replied Abercrombie. “But I think they need to be exercised in the right way. I suppose what I don't like is a kind of lazy application of maps.”

“When I was first writing The First Law, I guess I wanted to write something that was very character focused, that was almost told in tight closeup on the people. And to start with the widest shot imaginable of the whole world felt like exactly the wrong kind of tone to begin with if you want,” Abercrombie said.

Image: HBO

While immersive and exciting, the inclusion of a map creates some expectations for the reader. It also adds a sheen of realism, providing the reader with visual information that could later create problems for the author that they must address in the writing. Sanderson mentioned the Game of Thrones franchise as an example. “And once you put the map in, you run into some problems. Maybe like some later Game of Thrones seasons, we're like, ‘Well, how did they get from here to here?’” he said.

“And when you're trying to be very realistic when presenting some of that stuff, it can get you into trouble,” Sanderson added. “I still love them.”

Martin has been open about the struggle to narrow the scope in an Epic Fantasy series like A Song of Ice and Fire. The cycle of novels is planned to be made up of 7 books. 5 have already been published. Martin has been writing the sixth novel, Winds of Winter, for the past 15 years. The HBO adaptation racing past him in the chronology of the saga’s events clearly didn’t help anything.

If Sanderson has Game of Thrones perpetually on the brain, it might be because he’s in the process of streamlining his own Epic Fantasy world for both TV and film. After striking a mega-deal with Apple, he’s currently writing a screenplay for a Mistborn movie. Then he’ll write a pilot for a Stormlight Archive TV series. Martin, for all his ups and downs, is the closest model to how it may all go down — so you can’t blame him for thinking deeply on the state of Game of Thrones.