I’ve noticed some similarities between the father-son pairs of Dalinar/Adolin and Mormon/Moroni, was that intentional or did it creep in subconsciously? The M/M relationship is an incredibly powerful one for me and I’m glad to see it pop-up in unexpected places.
That’s not intentional, but it could certainly be unconscious influence.
Very interesting thought. One I never considered, but will think about further. I’ve heard Brandon talk about these characters and he said that originally there was no Adolin. Dalinar was the only character speaking to both the belief and doubt of what he was experiencing. Brandon’s Writing Group gave feedback that having one character flip-flop like that wasn’t working, so Brandon developed Adolin to help express those doubts. What a great way to solve a problem, and the result is a wonderful relationship that imitates many powerful Father/Son stories. So, I would guess that the parallel you mentioned wasn’t intentional, but as writers, of course, that which we believe, read and experience will find itself, unwittingly, on the page.
You’re ALMOST right. Adolin wasn’t a viewpoint character initially, but he was in the book during the draft you’re talking about. (The one where I had to fix things.) But if I go back to Dalinar, the character, back in his origin (before I wrote The Way of Kings the first time, back in 2002) he did not have a son. It was his relationship with his brother and nephew (needing to take over the kingdom for a beloved brother who died, and rule it for a nephew—then have concerns about giving up power, and how much he should take) that was the origin of Dalinar.
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