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2012-04-30: I had the great pleasure of speaking with Harriet McDougal Rigney about her life. She's an amazing talent and person and it will take you less than an hour to agree.
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2012-04-24: Some thoughts I had during JordanCon4 and the upcoming conclusion of "The Wheel of Time."
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Interviews: Twitter: AMOL Writing and Editing Process
Summary:
Entries
97
Date
2012
Type
Verbatim
Links
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1
Terez
For a complete catalog of Brandon's tweets, visit the Twitter Portal at Brandon's website.Brandon Sanderson (12 March 2011)
And lo, 1% of A Memory of Light done, as per my website progress bar. My reading's been slow this last month, but I made up for it by working on a scene.BRANDON SANDERSON
Here! A (kind of) screenshot of the beginning of the end of the Wheel of Time. http://twitpic.com/48wm4nBRANDON SANDERSON
For those asking: Yes, I write in courier. I apprenticed as a writer during an era where it was still the standard among the old guard.BRANDON SANDERSON
I also underline instead of italicize, use "--" instead of an emdash, and have habits relating to other old-school typesetting artifacts.TROLLOC TALK
Will you hold a new charity contest for A Memory of Light, but this time for Trolloc/Dreadlord/Darkfriend names? We think you should.BRANDON SANDERSON
I WILL hold a new contest like that. Likely to help fund Jordancon.BRANDON SANDERSON (14 MARCH)
People are asking about the files in the picture I posted on Saturday. The one that says "Alan Outline NEW" references Alan, RJ's assistant.BRANDON SANDERSON
Alan is a member of "Team Jordan" and was the one who compiled the original outline for A Memory of Light using all of the files and scenes RJ had.BRANDON SANDERSON
I have taken it and changed things around a lot, added to it, and it has evolved over the years. But it is the Memory of Light outline.Tags
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2
Simon Dovey (16 March 2011)
Is March 2012 an accurate publishing date for A Memory of Light?Brandon Sanderson (16 March 2011)
I'm basically saying "Sometime in 2012." It will depend mostly on how long revisions take.Austin Moore (12 APRIL)
If book doesn't make March deadline, will it be April or would it be bumped back further for a better release period?Brandon Sanderson
I honestly don't know. That's going to be Tom and Harriet's decision.Brandon Sanderson
I just need to make sure I turn it in late this year sometime; from there, it could be launched any time 2012 they want.Footnote
The release date ended up being pushed back first to November 2012 (announced at JordanCon 2011) and then to January 2013.Tags
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3
Brandon Sanderson (8 April 2011)
By the way, I AM still doing the #wotrr. Been a little too busy to tweet regularly these last few weeks. Will get back into it.BRANDON SANDERSON
For those following along, I'm right at the end of The Shadow Rising. Love this book. But man is it long. :)BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes, I've still been writing on A Memory of Light at the same time. But I had to do the Alloy of Law copyedit last week, which slowed me a tad.LACOBUS
I started #wotrr same time as you and I'm just finishing The Path of Daggers! Sorry couldn't resist steaming ahead.BRANDON SANDERSON
Ha. I'll catch up, maybe. I spend a lot of time making notes and building the outline.Tags
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4
Brandon Sanderson (11 April 2011)
Working on a scene that RJ wrote part of. In some ways, those are the toughest ones. Most time consuming, at least.AUSTIN MOORE
How much do you usually have to change of RJ's scenes? Just the first part and the last so it fits in well or what?BRANDON SANDERSON
Depends on the scene. If I'm lucky, it's what you explained. But getting my parts to match can be a LOT of work.BRANDON SANDERSON
That's especially true if it's a new character, without a viewpoint narrative I can study except for the unfinished scene.BRANDON SANDERSON
Some of the scenes need more, as they are first drafts RJ intended to revise. I try not to change too much, but some of the scenes were ones where he was careful to lay down important things—like motivation—first, but didn't work on setting very much. (I'm working on one of those now.)DAVEJUSTDAVE
RE: reworking RJ's scenes. Ever get tired and goof? "As Rand reached for the Shardblade..er...Callandor"...BRANDON SANDERSON
Ha. No, I haven't done that. Usually when writing WoT I make sure I'm very steeped in reading it at the time.BRANDON SANDERSON (12 APRIL)
Scene I worked on yesterday is done. A Memory of Light is now at 2% done. (Assuming a 300k length, or about the length of The Gathering Storm.)DAVID WILSON
How fast do you expect the % to increase? I'm not badgering, just curious :)BRANDON SANDERSON
My goal is 2-3% a week while doing the reread. Then to step it up a bit from there.FELIX
On a more serious note, which book are up to your #wotrr project?BRANDON SANDERSON
Book five. I've completed two scenes from A Memory of Light as well.Tags
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5
Brandon Sanderson (27 April 2011)
WoT update: I've been doing more writing than reading lately, but keep running into walls. Tossed a few scenes. I'll work it out eventually.Tags
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6
Brandon Sanderson (5 May 2011)
Note that I have a few percentage points to add to the progress bars on my website; we have to wait for the site to be fixed first, though.HERIDFAN
Please do tell how many percentage points were added! Are you still doing #wotrr?BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes, but slowly, as I've gotten sucked into writing a few scenes. I'll bounce back and forth.Tags
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7
Brandon Sanderson (16 May 2011)
Just wrote the wind scene for A Memory of Light.JIM NEWBERRY
I knew you would ruin it! There are NO fart jokes in WoT, buddy!BRANDON SANDERSON
Lol.ESHAAN KOSHAL
How long do we need to wait for the book? :DBRANDON SANDERSON
Next year sometime.BRANDON SANDERSON
To those asking, I'm not going to tell you where the wind rose, folks. It's the very last of them. I can't spoil something like that.BRANDON SANDERSON
Slowly working through some things on A Memory of Light. There are some tough things I need to get right, though I can't say more.BRANDON SANDERSON (17 MAY)
Percentage meter on my website is still down. Just tried to update A Memory of Light and blanked things. We're at about 5%, though.Tags
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8
Brandon Sanderson (24 May 2011)
Ahhhhh. International business. Plenty of room. This bodes well for writing. I finished a page or two of A Memory of Light on the previous flight.BRANDON SANDERSON (27 MAY)
Just finished a scene in A Memory of Light that people have been waiting to read for a long, long time...Tags
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9
Wayne Strydom (2 June 2011)
Tweet us a line or two from A Memory of Light please guy????Brandon Sanderson (2 June 2011)
The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend... /trollfaceTags
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10
Nicole Francis (3 June 2011)
Read three Mistborn books in three days. @BrandSanderson must have a magic pen.Brandon Sanderson (3 June 2011)
Unfortunately, that pen runs on the tortured screams of Wheel of Time readers waiting for their final book...BRANDON SANDERSON
Updated A Memory of Light finished status to 12%. Sitting in my hotel and writing after something like six media interviews in London today.AIDAN MCCLEAN
Do we have an approximate date for publication? I need to start my re-read to get ready :-)BRANDON SANDERSON
Next year sometime. Latest: November. Earliest: March. More likely later than earlier.MATT MAYS (6 JULY)
Quick question :) What happened to A Memory of Light coming out this November? Your original post explaining the split says November.MATT Mays
I assume it was too much work and I am cool with that. I am just wondering. Did I miss a blog post explaining the change? Thanks.BRANDON SANDERSON
There have been a couple of blog posts. Basically, it just wasn't feasible.BRANDON SANDERSON
Harriet asked for more time for editing; she was feeling rushed. I also needed more time.Tags
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11
Brandon Sanderson (30 June 2011)
Just revised the percentage bar for A Memory of Light, bumping it up to 20% finished to reflect the work I've done in the last few weeks.BRANDON SANDERSON
Back at work on A Memory of Light. I can get in a few more hours tonight.KEVIN B. CARR
Please finish A Memory of Light and I'll buy The Way of Kings... Yeah, I'm late, so be it!BRANDON SANDERSON (1 JULY)
Ha. Consider that a deal. (Of course, I was going to finish A Memory of Light anyway...) :)Tags
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12
Brandon Sanderson (6 July 2011)
Working away at A Memory of Light. Doing a Rand viewpoint now. (Yes, to contrast Towers of Midnight, there will many of his direct viewpoints in this one.)ERIN KELLY (9 JULY)
The end of Wheel of Time is very imminent. Next year, if @BrandSanderson is to be believed (I trust him).BRANDON SANDERSON
Next year for sure. I'm getting close to the 1/3 mark done with the last book. It's moving well.BRANDON SANDERSON
Work on A Memory of Light should speed up from here out. I've done a lot of groundwork and outlining. Many scenes are all but finished.BRANDON SANDERSON
I should be getting done about 1% a day from here out, though that's partially because I haven't yet counted some of that groundwork.BRANDON SANDERSON
For now, I've updated the % bar on my website to 22%, reflecting the 66k words worth of chapters solidly and completely finished.BRANDON SANDERSON
"Men thought violence could solve anything. If she'd had a stout stick, she'd have thumped all three until they saw reason."—NynaeveBRANDON SANDERSON
(Note: that quote is edited for size.) Yes, I'm back to my #wotrr, now that outlining on A Memory of Light is done, though my focus is still on writing.BRANDON SANDERSON
I now have over 20k of you jokers following me on Twitter. Wonder what % came hoping to see me post a line from A Memory of Light by accident.Tags
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13
Brandon Sanderson (11 July 2011)
Today, I've been working on the tactics for the Last Battle, looking to make them as authentic as possible. A lot to keep in mind here.CHRIS EDWARDS
Do you have a tentative time frame for when A Memory of Light will be out? Trying to figure out when to start my re-read.BRANDON SANDERSON
Sometime next year. Hard to say specifically; depends on how long Harriet takes to edit.BRANDON SANDERSON
Enough people are asking that I'll go over the A Memory of Light release timeline again here for you.BRANDON SANDERSON
Goal: Turn in in the first draft November 8th. Following that, editing and revisions. Those are the uncertain part. 3-6 months are likely.BRANDON SANDERSON
So, best case for the book out is March. Worst case is November next year. (Harriet has asked Tor for more time to edit this time.)LOUISE LEWIS (12 JULY)
Didn't I read somewhere that Robert Jordan already wrote the last chapter?BRANDON SANDERSON
He did. It's great.Tags
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14
Brandon Sanderson (13 July 2011)
A Memory of Light First Draft progress bar update. 22% -> 24% One quarter is around the corner.SPEARSISTER
Are there any notes released to the public concerning A Memory of Light? Please, I hope you get time to write back.BRANDON SANDERSON
By notes, you mean Mr. Jordan's notes? We might release some of them after the book is out. Harriet's call.MARTIN GJESDAL (15 JULY)
Is March 2012 still a realistic release date for A Memory of Light?BRANDON SANDERSON
Very. It will happen almost certainly.BRANDON SANDERSON
Oops. I didn't see the "March" before that. 2012 is certain. March not certain yet.BRANDON SANDERSON
March is probably the earliest it could be out. Latest would be November. It will be Tor and Harriet's call.Tags
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15
Brandon Sanderson (18 July 2011)
Man, @MaryRobinette's travel karma must have rubbed off on me. Delayed here TOO. Guess I'll work on your book in the airport, WoTfans.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (22 July 2011)
Just updated the % bar on A Memory of Light from 24% to 27% to reflect this week's work so far. A lot of travel this week, with ComicCon, slowed me down.JORDAN BRADFORD
Just got Elantris and Warbreaker at Waldenbooks' liquidation.BRANDON SANDERSON
Sweet. Nice score. I once got all of King's Black Tower at a similar deal.BRANDON SANDERSON
Ha. Just looked at my last tweet, which was a direct reply to someone, and realized a mistake I made. Gives a clue what I'm working on...Footnote
King's series is called "The Dark Tower".Tags
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17
Brandon Sanderson (25 July 2011)
By the way, A Memory of Light % done has moved from 27% -> 30%. Expect sharp rises this week; I hit a patch where I've already done a lot of work.WERTHEAD
Final WHEEL OF TIME novel approaching a third-done? Impressive. Probably too much to hope we'll get it earlier than Nov 12?BRANDON SANDERSON
It's really going to depend on Harriet, Adam. My goal is to turn it in before I go on tour November.BRANDON SANDERSON
From there, we'll go to revisions. Harriet has asked for more time to edit this one. (She worries the last had too many mistakes.)BRANDON SANDERSON (26 JULY)
I love working on Perrin's scenes. I can't really explain why, but the two of us have always clicked.BRANDON SANDERSON
6k words of material for A Memory of Light (some worked on previously) added to the main storyline. 2% more done, bringing us to 32%.Tags
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18
Brandon Sanderson (28 July 2011)
There is a LOT of warfare/action in this book. I know that should be expected, but I thought I'd warn you anyway...BRANDON SANDERSON
Two more % added to the bar for today and yesterday's work. A Memory of Light is now 34% done, so we've passed the 1/3 mark.Tags
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19
Brandon Sanderson (1 August 2011)
Moving A Memory of Light's progress bar up 2% to 36%. Expect it to move a tad more slowly this week than last. This patch has less work done on it.BRANDON SANDERSON (2 AUGUST)
I wonder if it would be too spoilery to post a running count of significant named WoT characters who have died so far in A Memory of Light.BRANDON SANDERSON
Granted, that count might be 0 so far, so no spoilers yet. I'm just saying... It could be fun to start a count.BRANDON SANDERSON
(Note, I'm not going to do it. Too spoilery. Just trying to think of things to tweet about the books, as there's so little I can say.)BRANDON SANDERSON
How about a non-spoilery Easter egg instead? Each of the three prologues has had at least one complete scene written by RJ before he died.BRANDON SANDERSON
When I split the books, I split the prologue in a way that at least one of those scenes went into each book.BRANDON SANDERSON
Prologues were important to RJ, particularly in the later books, and I wanted his stamp to be on each one of the three prologues.AUSTIN MOORE
The scene with the Borderland towers in Towers of Midnight prologue was all RJ correct?BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes. I've confirmed that before. Good eye, if you spotted it on your own.Tags
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20
Brandon Sanderson (3 August 2011)
I'm currently writing "Through Lines" on A Memory of Light, meaning I'm taking one character or group and going beginning to end.BRANDON SANDERSON
I'll end up writing the ending a number of times through different eyes, each separated by a short book's number of pages. Odd experience.CHRISTOPHER SKINNER
How do you do that without diminishing the impact of the "big finish" (I mean there's denouement anyway, but the climax)?BRANDON SANDERSON
Careful planning, followed by a lot of reads-through of the entire book to smooth and enhance.NEIL MCKINNON
Did you do that with Rand/Egwene in The Gathering Storm and Mat/Perrin Towers of Midnight?BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes, I did.BRANDON SANDERSON
At about 20 scenes and 50k words, the first "Through Line" of A Memory of Light is done. I can't tell you who it is, but I'm very pleased.ERIC PETERS
Why wouldn't you be able to tell us who it is? Is it a real secret who all of the characters in the book are at this point?BRANDON SANDERSON
Some people don't want any kind of spoiler. Knowing there are 50k words of someone means they don't die at the start.BRANDON SANDERSON
If you look back through my Twitter feed, you can figure out who it is. [It was Perrin.] I might do a blog post on it too, with a spoiler warning.SHARON VERNON
Do you find it easier to write "through lines" and then tie it all up together later?BRANDON SANDERSON
For a very big, complex book, it's basically the only way I can do it. Otherwise, I lose character voices.FRANK KWIATOWSKI
Is this your style, or how RJ wanted it? Just curious.BRANDON SANDERSON (4 AUGUST)
What specifically are you asking about? The writing of "Through Lines?"FRANK KWIATOWSKI
You mentioned writing the same ending multiple times. I'm taking it as the same ending being reviewed from different POVs?BRANDON SANDERSON
Different pieces of what, together, will be the ending sequences of the book.CONNOR EVERINGHAM
I'm guessing that with one through line at 50k words, A Memory of Light will be a massive book?Will chunks be taken out during editing?BRANDON SANDERSON
I always edit down, rather than up. I overwrite intentionally on first drafts. But the book will be big.PHIL
I might just be ignorant here, but what's a "Through Line"?BRANDON SANDERSON
Where you write one character's parts, all the way through the book.Tags
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21
Brandon Sanderson (4 August 2011)
Still working on A Memory of Light. That deadline (which is self-imposed, but still important to me) of November is starting to loom.BRANDON SANDERSON
Blarg. This scene is just way too bland for the level of awesomeness it is supposed to include. Scrapping it.JD
How many words did you scrap? And how much time was invested?BRANDON SANDERSON
Maybe three hours worth of writing. Not that much. 1500 words, perhaps?BRANDON SANDERSON
New scene has more kick to it, I'm pleased to report.BRANDON SANDERSON (5 AUGUST)
One more short scene just added to the A Memory of Light prologue. It needs one more, but I haven't decided which one yet.Tags
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22
Brandon Sanderson (11 August 2011)
I moved the A Memory of Light progress bar up one more point, to 38%. Slow going this week. Head cold + lots of pre-writing to do + sister's wedding.Jay
Will A Memory of Light actually be the last book? or do you think you will split it up again? Are you thinking of 2012 release?Brandon Sanderson
It will not be split. I'm pretty certain. 2012 for sure.
Greg Lindsey
Hi Brandon! Any guesstimations on when we might see A Memory of Light cover art? Thanks!Brandon Sanderson
I was just asking Tor about this, actually. I think it's a little ways off. Maybe first of next year.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (16 August 2010)
Working on a big climactic scene. Was going to tweet that, then realized, pretty much all of them in this book fit that description...TEREZ
That's good to know. It makes more sense than something like The Gathering Storm and Towers of Midnight with long stretches of not-much-happening.TEREZ
In other words, I think it will reassure the fans who doubt you can pull it off in just one more book. ;)BRANDON SANDERSON
Yeah, it's really going to be one. I'm 125k or so in, and it feels right. I'll get it all in.BRANDON SANDERSON
I'm moving the A Memory of Light progress bar up 2%, to 40%. Should easily hit 50% by the end of the month.RICK WATSON
How's the chances of a release in the spring looking in your opinion?BRANDON SANDERSON
So so. I'll be straight with you; it would be a LOT of work to get it out then. Possible, we've done it that fast before.BRANDON SANDERSON
However, that was when we were trying to hit the holiday season, and it resulted in a book with typos and mistakes.BRANDON SANDERSON
My guess right now is that neither Tor nor Harriet will want to push for that.CHRIS EDWARDS
Can't wait, been WoT fan for years. You have a different style, but I can deal. I'm going to start reading your other work.BRANDON SANDERSON
Thank you. I understand the style is different, and I hope it's not too distracting.AUSTIN MOORE
Shed any tears yet writing any particular scenes? ;)BRANDON SANDERSON
There have been a few tough ones.Tags
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24
Brandon Sanderson (23 August 2011)
Okay, back from WorldCon and (mostly) recovered. Back to work on A Memory of Light.BRANDON SANDERSON
Blarg. This chapter and viewpoint isn't working. Going to try Thom for a bit instead. Need to be inspired by a storyteller.AUSTIN MOORE
So are you saying Thom is still alive? Good to know:)BRANDON SANDERSON
Well, he starts the book alive. I'll say that. Who knows where in the book this scene will go?JOSIAH DAVID REPP
How far through writing that book are you?BRANDON SANDERSON
40%Tags
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25
Brandon Sanderson (24 August 2011)
Update on that scene that wasn't working in A Memory of Light yesterday: tried it again today and it worked just fine.THOMAS LACHESIS
Did you try a new way in to the scene? Or, was it simply stepping away from it?BRANDON SANDERSON
Stepping away from it.BRANDON SANDERSON
Moving A Memory of Light completion bar from 40% -> 43%. Assuming the rest of the week works as well as today did, it will move quickly for a while.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (30 August 2011)
Writing A Memory of Light makes me tired. There are a lot of exhausted people in this novel.LUCKERS
Have you seen this A Memory of Light fan art of the ta'veren? It's fickan awesome. http://tinyurl.com/4qtxjusBRANDON SANDERSON
I've seen it, and I do like it a lot.Tags
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27
Brandon Sanderson (31 August 2011)
Dang. I just pulled off something in A Memory of Light that is GRRM-esque. I'm not certain if I should apologize, feel awesome, or go take a shower.SARAH WALTERS
Haven't read GRRM, should I? Also, I recommend feeling awesome and writing more of A Memory of Light, but I'm biased.BRANDON SANDERSON
Depends on your threshold for content. His writing is genius, but he is very brutal. I could only stomach the first one.BRANDON SANDERSON
His short stories are awesome, by the way. I've liked every one of those I've read.BRANDON SANDERSON
Also, the Minas Tirith theme is playing on Pandora. Perfect.TEREZ
Gah, now you've got me thinking Boromir/Gawyn.FOOTNOTE—TEREZ
I have no idea if Brandon saw that tweet, but his next one came after it, for what it's worth. Some more info was given on this in the reddit Q&A, and there might be another clue here.BRANDON SANDERSON
Some good mythological underpinnings and references in this scene, as I believe RJ would have done.BRANDON SANDERSON
If I ever get to write the annotations for this book as I plan, this scene will be a nice one to talk about.BRANDON SANDERSON
One of the challenges in writing these books is to get mythology right. Not too overt, with careful references. RJ left help, fortunately.JOHANN THORSSON
You mean like Rand having a wound in his side, a la Jesus on the cross?BRANDON SANDERSON
That's one of very, very many. But yes. And, you know, Rand being a sheepherder...SIMEN ISAK DITLEFSEN
RJ used a lot of mythological inspiration. But I haven't seen a lot of Greek myths used. Have you?BRANDON SANDERSON
It's there. Look where Perrin gets wounded.SIMEN ISAK DITLEFSEN
ahh... The Achilles arrow?BRANDON SANDERSON
Look up blacksmith gods. Hephaestus, Wayland. And, you know, Perun...BRANDON SANDERSON
But I felt RJ thought Greek/Roman was overdone, so stayed away from using it as much as Norse/Celtic/Native American.BRANDON SANDERSON
Okay, signing off for the night. I need to be up for my Q&A on reddit come noon my time. (I'll tweet a reminder.)BRANDON SANDERSON
Moved the A Memory of Light progress bar up to 48% complete to reflect work done so far this week. Been a good week.ELVAN
I believe you are trying to kill us by triggering extreme amounts of anticipation and excitement. Some of us don't have the heart to take it you know. Seriously though, can't wait.BRANDON SANDERSON
Ha. Just trying to keep everyone involved, if only in a small way. ;)Tags
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Jerron Spencer (31 August 2011)
Is the long wait for A Memory of Light so it can make more sense than Towers of Midnight? I LOVE WoT, but Towers of Midnight was jumbled and super annoying.JERRON SPENCER
I don't mean to sound the jerk, but character and time references felt disjointed and it was hard to follow.JERRON SPENCER
The Gathering Storm worked well. I never felt confused or bothered. Some revelations came off as "too sudden", but it flowed nicely.JERRON SPENCER
Towers of Midnight had none of the smoothness of the previous books, and stumbled from poor integration with The Gathering Storm.Brandon Sanderson (31 August 2011)
What you're noticing has to do with two primary issues, I believe.BRANDON SANDERSON
First, the book getting split in half after I'd written much of it to go together. (I hadn't written any of the third then.)BRANDON SANDERSON
Second, RJ had been letting people get off timeline with one another for books and books. Bringing them back together was hard.Tags
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29
Brandon Sanderson (1 September 2011)
That's another "Through Line" on A Memory of Light finished. Now, back to the middle of the book to write forward on another character.CRAIG FOSTER
So writing A Memory of Light is more like building a giant Dagwood sandwich than it is like baking a birthday cake?CRAIG FOSTER
...in that you're taking finished products and making them fit together as opposed to mixing it altogether start to finish...BRANDON SANDERSON
That's it.GARETH BARTON
Question... Do you write each character in one go? The full story for that person, then splice it in with the others?BRANDON SANDERSON
I often do, if they are in different places. If together, I write them together.Tags
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Austin Moore (5 September 2011)
Is A Memory of Light still on par to being around the length of Towers of Midnight?Brandon Sanderson (5 September 2011)
Yes.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (7 September 2011)
Sometimes, it feels like cheating to have Alan and Maria (Robert Jordan's assistants) to look things up for me on these books.BRANDON SANDERSON
For example, Alan is a military history buff, and has been my personal "Great Captain" for A Memory of Light, giving valuable advice on tactics.BRANDON SANDERSON
Finished a really awesome scene today, and started one that turned out meh. I'll have to rework that one come this evening.BRANDON SANDERSON
Not counting that scene, but counting the awesome one, A Memory of Light is at 52% done now.JOHN UNDERWOOD
52%? That's great! I'm wondering though how did you come up with that number?JOHN UNDERWOOD
Do you have a specific number of pages in mind to finish the book?BRANDON SANDERSON
I've used 300k words as a rough estimate for each of these books for getting the % bar.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (10 September 2011)
Finished another "Through Line" of A Memory of Light. This one turned out really, really well. I'm kind of surprised, honestly.BRANDON SANDERSON
This is a character I think many readers are less excited about, but the story here is very powerful. I'm pleased.HARSH AGARWAL
When can we expect the last book to be released?BRANDON SANDERSON
Next year sometime. Spring at the earliest (I don't think it's likely) fall at the latest.BRANDON SANDERSON
Nice big jump in the progress bar today as I pull a few things I'd already been working on and place them in the book. 52% -> 56%.BRANDON SANDERSON
For those curious, I've been timing lately and looking at my historical wordcounts (I often keep lists of daily progress.)BRANDON SANDERSON
Writing a given amount of words on the Wheel of Time takes about twice as long as it does when working on non-WoT books.BRANDON SANDERSON
I think this is due to: 1) The complexity of working in such a long series. 2) Making sure character voices match those in RJ's writing.TERRY SIMPSON
Which character voice have you found it hardest to duplicate? And has that difficulty stayed consistent for each book?BRANDON SANDERSON
Mat. Yes, he has always been the toughest.CAITLIN GRANT
Love knowing progress but just remembered Tor will likely delay e-release. #frustrationBRANDON SANDERSON
Not Tor, actually. Harriet. I'm working on her, though.BRANDON SANDERSON
The delay last time was because The New York Times didn't count ebook sales for bestseller lists.BRANDON SANDERSON
A lot of people are asking about the release date for A Memory of Light, so I'll talk about it again. I just couldn't get it out for this November.BRANDON SANDERSON
My new rough-draft goal is November, with a revised book sent to Harriet January 1st. Book could be out any time between March (unlikely) and November.OSKAR KOIVUJUURI
This November? I thought it was always supposed to be released March of next year? Oh well.BRANDON SANDERSON
I was hoping March. It's theoretically possible...but Harriet thinks not. She wants more time to edit than she had for Towers of Midnight.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (12 September 2011)
I have three more major 'Through Lines' for this book, then some spot fill-ins of smaller characters. After that, some work on the climax.BRANDON SANDERSON
The ending will actually be the easiest part of this book for me, as RJ wrote large chunks of it himself.BRANDON SANDERSON
So while it may look like I'm not far enough along to be finished in November, the last 10% or so will jump forward very quickly.TEREZ
But you said those were the most time-consuming parts for you. :sBRANDON SANDERSON
Scenes he half finished are very tough. Scenes he totally finished are easy.GRAE WOLFFE
This is the final edit before going to print then? Or one more go-through after this?BRANDON SANDERSON
This is just the first draft, I'm afraid.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (28 October 2011)
I find myself thinking "It's been forever since I wrote Perrin. I'll be glad to get back to him." Then I realize his sequence is done.BRANDON SANDERSON
Note that this isn't because Perrin isn't in the book much. (He is.) It's because I wrote his chapters first.BRANDON SANDERSON
It is odd, knowing that some characters have had their stories told, that no more will be written about them. You'll feel this next year.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (17 September 2011)
Sorry for the lack of updates and replies on Facebook/Twitter lately, folks. Been working hard on your book. Seven weeks until my deadline...BRANDON SANDERSON
Granted, that's a deadline I set for myself, so it can move if I feel it needs to. I'd still like to hit it. A Memory of Light progress bar moved to 61%.BRANDON SANDERSON
Some are asking how I get guess the % finished of a book not done. I've been using 300k words as a guess. (As I did for Towers of Midnight.)BRANDON SANDERSON
Since The Gathering Storm and Towers of Midnight were both around 300k, and they got me 2/3 through the outline, I think it's a pretty good estimate.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (21 September 2011)
Sigh. Some good scenes getting done despite some distractions over the last few days, but...BRANDON SANDERSON
...Egwene's through line keeps adding chapters. I've tried to write the last one of this sequence three times, and split it each time.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (22 September 2011)
Pandora's playing a LDS children's song: 1) This does NOT fit the Last Battle. 2) How's it know I'm Mormon? It's a Tangerine Dream station.BRANDON SANDERSON
It's now playing Michael Buble. Somewhere in my thumbs-upping, I may have deviated from the station's electronica theme just a tad...BRANDON SANDERSON
I'm going to inject Pink Floyd into the station to shake it up. By the way, I listened to Pulse again this week. Man, that album is awesome.BRANDON SANDERSON
Some of the most fun I get to have comes when Mat describes someone in his head. (Can't match RJ at doing so, but it's still fun.)Tags
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Austin Moore (23 September 2011)
You recently said you were just over 60% finished with A Memory of Light; how much % will RJ's ending take up when you put it in?Brandon Sanderson (23 September 2011)
I'm guessing about 10%.Austin Moore
Is it gonna get slid right in or are you going to adjust it some to fit into how you're leading up to it?Brandon Sanderson
The ending scene will work fine, no changes. I've targeted things that way, as I didn't want the ending scene to change.Brandon Sanderson
However, he left a TON of 'after the end scene' type stuff that is probably epilogue material. That I'll need to modify.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (26 September 2011)
A Memory of Light progress bar moved from 61% to 66%. Sorry about the lack of movement last week. I forgot to tick up the progress bar.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (28 September 2011)
An important moment in A Memory of Light centers on one character turning to another and asking, "How much do you trust Mat Cauthon?" How much indeed.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (30 September 2011)
FINALLY done with the through line I've been working on for weeks now. Progress bar moved to 70% done.
SRINATH UPADHYAYULA
When can we expect it??? What do you think?? #reallyreallycan'twait!!BRANDON SANDERSON
Sometime next year. I suspect they'll set a date when I give them the first draft in November.BRANDON SANDERSON
Now, to fire a gun that has been sitting on the mantle since the middle (chapters 30-40) of book 3.TEREZ
Now THAT is a good clue. (The Mat one was not incredibly surprising, but this one will be fun.)TEREZ
Want to discuss @BrandSanderson's latest A Memory of Light clue? It's a good one!BRANDON SANDERSON
Theoryland thread on what I just posted: http://www.theoryland.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=6057 Thanks @Terez27.BEN KLUGE
Has anyone got close yet:) ?TEREZ
Pfft, we've barely started yet.BEN KLUGE
I know—but once we have got started the odds of possibly getting an answer drop from very low to zero.BRANDON SANDERSON
Ha. I already flirt with giving away too much. I doubt you'll pull anything more from me for a while.4TH AGE
I'm sure with how conscious you are of us examining your every word you checked, so are you SURE it's in those chapters?BRANDON SANDERSON
99% sure.TEREZ
Would you at least confirm you're not talking about 13-13? You referenced that as a Chekhov's Gun before Towers of Midnight...TEREZ
...and so the association is hard to shake. But it was introduced in The Dragon Reborn 22 and of course already showed up in Towers of Midnight.TEREZ
And technically, you could be referring to that since we didn't actually see the turning. And 99%. :( ... ;)BRANDON SANDERSON (5 OCTOBER)
Mat is so much fun to write. The trick, which is hard, is to get the right mix of humor & awesome. One without the other just isn't Mat.TEREZ
Ahh, confirmation. And good luck with Mat. ;)BRANDON SANDERSON
Not sure what I'm confirming, but okay. On the thing I tweeted before, it's obviously NOT 13x13. It is cool, but smaller than that.TEREZ
Cool. I was talking about the fact that you were working on Mat's 'through line'. I had assumed you were. Smaller? Hmm.FOOTNOTE—TEREZ
In retrospect I'm not so sure he was working on Mat's through line because in the previous one, he specified he was writing Mat's thoughts.Tags
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KARIM SALIBA (5 October 2011)
Any official word on the release date for A Memory of Light?Brandon Sanderson (5 October 2011)
They'll chose one when I finish the rough draft, I believe. Should be a big announcement in November. -
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Brandon Sanderson (6 October 2011)
Well, THAT was a scene people have been waiting to read for many books. You know, it's very hard to talk about A Memory of Light without spoilers.BRANDON SANDERSON
Let's see...what can I say without spoilers? This involves two near-deaths in a scene where most wouldn't expect any. #AesSedaivaguenessMICHAEL ZODDA
The Return of Narg!BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes, @wordsbyzodda. It's obviously the return of Narg that I'm talking about. The Dark One transmigrated him into a sheep.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (6 October 2011)
A Memory of Light progress bar moved to 75%. This puts it at 225k words so far, roughly the size of book eight. (Using 300k as a guess for the final.)ERIC PETERS
One of the interviews mentioned the last book getting split up into two books, did you still think 300k words is a good number?BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes, it's a good number. The book will run longer (mine always do) but it will be roughly that length. 400k at the upper end.BRANDON SANDERSON
You can now order a signed copy of Towers of Midnight from my site. Plus holiday shipping deadlines.Tags
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Werthead (11 October 2011)
Interesting. Orbit's new 'Turn the Wheel of Time' promo thing seems adamant that A Memory of Light will be November 2012.WERTHEAD
I thought that was still up in the air and an earlier release was possible (especially if @BrandSanderson delivers by Jan 2012).Brandon Sanderson (11 October 2011)
The date hasn't been picked yet, so theoretically anything next year is possible.BRANDON SANDERSON
However, realistically, I doubt Tor will pass up the holiday season for the last WoT book. Or at least the summer season.BRANDON SANDERSON
While they COULD pick spring, it wouldn't make much sense marketing wise, and I think Harriet wants a good six months to edit.BRANDON SANDERSON
That means July is the earliest, November the latest, we will see the book. I'd put my money on somewhere in-between.Tags
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Mateo (13 October 2011)
How many drafts do you normally write for an epic novel like A Memory of Light? Just curious as to how long the process takes.Brandon Sanderson (13 October 2011)
The Gathering Storm had twelve drafts, I think. Towers of Midnight nine.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (17 October 2011)
Okay, over the next two weeks, I'll write the final climatic scenes of the entire Wheel of Time. All save the last scene, which RJ did.BRANDON SANDERSON
New Music bought. (New Daft Punk and E.S. Posthumus.) Deep breath taken. Goal: 10% (30k words) in two weeks. And...go.BRANDON SANDERSON
And, not by coincidence, Happy Birthday to Robert Jordan. May you rest in peace, master storyteller.MIGNON FOGARTY
No pressure, right? ;-)BRANDON SANDERSON
:)BRANDON SANDERSON
If I hit my goal today, I'm going to open the Magic card gift that Aaron Thompson sent me via the wishlist. Aaron, you're awesome. Thanks!Tags
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Pants McGee (20 October 2011)
A couple of days ago, you said your goal for the next handful of days was 30k words. How final- or draft-ish are those 30k?Brandon Sanderson (20 October 2011)
Pretty draft-ish. I tend to do a quick first draft, then polish a lot.DENNIS HIGBEE
How many more drafts do you expect to go through before you turn A Memory of Light in to Harriet?BRANDON SANDERSON
Two or three.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (21 October 2011)
I'm pleased to say that I'm nearly to my goal this week, and should hit it with work tonight. Moving the A Memory of Light progress bar to 80%.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (25 October 2011)
Writing on A Memory of Light might be a little slower this week. Been coordinating heavily with Alan R. from Team Jordan on Last Battle tactics.BRANDON SANDERSON
It should be noted that Alan R (Team Jordan member) has been acting as my own personal Great Captain on A Memory of Light, and really doing a great job.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (3 November 2011)
Sorry to vanish for a few days, folks. Been making a big push to get A Memory of Light done. Still a lot of work to do, but the end is in sight.BRANDON SANDERSON
Cautiously moving the A Memory of Light progress bar up to 90% done, reflecting work finished this week and last.BRANDON SANDERSON
This last 10% is going to be tough to call. I'm not ready to put in the chunk that RJ wrote yet. We're close, but not there yet.FANTASY AUTHOR
Are you starting to get a little wistful? Getting to the end must feel... so final.BRANDON SANDERSON
Yeah. I am, and it does.Tags
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Brandon Meyer (14 November 2011)
Do you have a narrowed down release window for A Memory of Light yet?Brandon Sanderson (14 November 2011)
I've been all over on this, when people ask me. I think Tor has been saying fall, but I am not certain.BRANDON SANDERSON
The thing is, we don't know how long it will take to edit. We want to be very careful with this one.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (14 November 2011)
It appears that people in Lexington don't eat late lunches. Both room service and the pizza place near are closed for lunch already.BRANDON
Pizza hut it is. And, it looks like (for the first time on the tour) I have a chunk of time to write. I'll get to it, then.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (27 November 2011)
After three weeks on the road, and 25 hours of travel today, am finally home.
BRANDON SANDERSON (28 NOVEMBER)
Back at home, sitting before my fireplace, taking a deep breath and preparing to dive back into A Memory of Light.
BRANDON SANDERSON (1 DECEMBER)
Still hard at work on A Memory of Light here. Want to do a blog post to wrap up The Great Hunt and my tour, but so far, haven't had time.
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Brandon Sanderson (2 December 2011)
Moved A Memory of Light from 90% done to 92% done on my website progress bar. Getting very close now.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Writing a conversation between two of the Forsaken right now.
DEL REY SPECTRA
I read this too quickly and thought you said "writing a conversation between two of the Foreskin right now".
BRANDON SANDERSON
That would be a VERY different book, eh?
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Brandon Sanderson (6 December 2011)
For those who do not know, Darrell Sweet—illustrator of all of the Wheel of Time covers—has passed away. My thoughts.
ANDREA DIGNEY
If the cover is scrapped, will the book be delayed?
BRANDON SANDERSON
No. We have enough time for someone else to do one.
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Brandon Sanderson (8 December 2011)
Okay, A Memory of Light is going fine..the book is awesome, but it feels like I've been working on it FOREVER. I need some motivation, so...
BRANDON SANDERSON
I'm going to start doing what I did last year. If I hit my wordcounts, I will open a pack of Magic cards as a reward. Yes, I'm a nerd.
BRANDON SANDERSON
People are asking how close the draft is to being done. Close, but I keep realizing there are points that need expanding.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Current length of A Memory of Light: 313,000 words. Towers of Midnight—the longest of the two I've done so far—was 335k. A Memory of Light will be at least that long.
BRANDON SANDERSON
It WILL come out next year, and will not be split again. I'm close to the end, but still have several weeks worth of hard work to do.
SKYLA GRIMES
Is there a word-count length that you are encouraged not to exceed?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Over 400k would really be pushing it.
BRANDON SANDERSON
And, as 5:00 rolls around, I have managed (barely) to hit my 2k wordcount goal so far today. Time for a Magic pack!
BRANDON SANDERSON
This one was sent to be by a fan, via my Amazon wishlist. (No name was included.) Whoever you are, thanks! The rare is: http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=246954
LOCAL VIEWER
Is the infamous last scene Robert Jordan left behind already part of the 313,000 words?
BRANDON SANDERSON
No, it is not. So the 'finished' length is actually longer. I haven't put that chunk in yet.
JEFF
Is your average word count goal/day usually 2k?
BRANDON SANDERSON
On a WoT novel, which is much harder, that is a fair count. On something simpler, 3-4k is average.
DONAGH MARNANE
I'm just wondering why you have a daily wordcount—surely the quality is more important than the length?
BRANDON SANDERSON
I believe that daily goals are important, as crafting a great book requires work as much as it does inspiration.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Laying down a rough first draft, then polishing over and over, is the path I've found to creating excellent work.
AUSTIN MOORE
Have you written through the ending for all the main characters? If so, is the rest just "expanding" scenes out?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Not all of them yet. Just a few.
ROBYN ESTERBIZZLE
You are working on the final book in an epic series that people have been reading for decades and you need a game for motivation?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Even when you love what you do, it can be hard to work 12 hour days to finish a book after an exhausting tour.
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Brandon Sanderson (9 December 2011)
Back at work on A Memory of Light. May be the day to reveal a side-character's long-hidden motivations .
JAMES BIRTLES
Do we get a clue as to whom this character is?
BRANDON SANDERSON
If I told you that, you'd be expecting it. I'm afraid it is a RAFO. This character HAS been a little suspicious.
LEBO GUME
Mr. @BrandSanderson please stop teasing A Memory of Light.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Sorry. Some people really want to watch the progress, and so I try to keep the posts as spoiler-free as possible.
BRANDON SANDERSON
This afternoon's "Brandon opens Magic cards as he writes" comes sponsored by Sarah Bartram, who sent the cards off my wishlist. Thanks!
BRANDON SANDERSON
The rare was this card (which is sweet, since I like zombie cards): http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=230786
BRANDON SANDERSON
Just wrote a scene with Bela in it.
BRANDON SANDERSON
This scene is one that RJ left instruction for in his notes; it gave me shivers when reading.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Okay, that scene's done, and it is beyond awesome. Over 3k done; opening another pack sent by Sarah B. ...Mythic rare! http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=247236
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Brandon Sanderson (12 December 2011)
Okay, deep breath, back to work at the WoT. Can I be finished by Koloss Head-munching Day? (December 19th.) We shall see...
BEN TACOMA
Who would win—a massive Koloss or an Ogier warrior from Seanchan?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Ogier are far smarter and better-trained. A koloss would have a hard time winning.
BRANDON SANDERSON
(For those confused, Koloss Head-Munching Day happens on my birthday. It has a long backstory that won't fit into my post here.)
BRANDON SANDERSON
The short is this: A fan asked if there were any holidays in the Mistborn world. I jokingly said Koloss Head-Munching Day. Fans ran with it.
BRANDON SANDERSON
For today's A Memory of Light work, I'm jumping back in the book a little ways and catching up a character to the rest.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Just finished re-reading some important bits of WoT Book Two in order to write this next section of A Memory of Light.
CHRISTOPHER
When is A Memory of Light out? I thought January, but I've heard it's been put back?
BRANDON SANDERSON
My goal is to finish it by January. Sorry about the delay. It will be next year some time, but probably later in the year.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Current A Memory of Light length: 322,000 words. Moving us to 94% done, though I can't say exactly how much is left. 94% is just a guess at this point.
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Brandon Sanderson (13 December 2011)
Just finished a scene in A Memory of Light that ranks among the most visually powerful I've ever done. I REALLY want to see this one in film form.
Brandon Sanderson
A lot of questions about the WoT film rights. Universal has the rights. Maybe I should have phrased my last tweet as...
Brandon Sanderson
"Dear Universal, please do a good job on the first WoT movie, because you really, REALLY need to get to book 14 and do this scene."
Brandon Sanderson
I don't know how far off the WoT film is. The screenwriters produced a new draft of the script a few weeks back. I have not read it.
Selene O'Rourke
I would love to see a Wheel of Time movie series or TV miniseries. Has anyone optioned that you can mention?
Brandon Sanderson
Universal has the rights. Not an option, but a full buy-out.
Muaz Zekeria
Just out of curiosity would you prefer WoT to be a film series or a TV series a la Game of Thrones? Also keep up the great work.
Brandon Sanderson
I would prefer television.
Killer Bob
Do you know if the film is going to be super-long like the Lord of the Rings movies, split in parts like Harry Potter or something ...
Killer Bob
...else? Also, thank you for finishing WoT! I really, really like the books you've written, they're excellent!
Killer Bob
By that I mean the WoT books. I like the other books too (especially Mistborn), but not as much as WoT.
Brandon Sanderson
Thanks for reading! The plan now is one film that covers Eye of the World, and will be somewhat long.
Chase Emory
I don't understand why you wouldn't be working integrally with the screenwriter, I hope they realize that this isn't a movie...
Chase Emory
...that they can just pump out. They need to do an amazing job or not waste their time.
Brandon Sanderson
I'm hoping they will let me comment on the screenplay, but so far, I've been kind of busy with A Memory of Light...
Nate Rios
I haven't read WOT but these A Memory of Light Tweets are making me want to check it out! I've not read any of Jordan's work. Thoughts?
Brandon Sanderson
I love the WoT, and have for many years. It is a long journey, however, so be warned.
Christopher
When is A Memory of Light out; I thought January, but I've heard its been put back?
Shaun Duquette
Gah,this is unacceptable!! You've already delayed this once!!
Brandon Sanderson
Not much I can do, I'm afraid. I'm turning it in on time; the date is being set by the publisher.
Brandon Sanderson
Okay, that scene is done. Now I have a few quick, one-shot viewpoints to do. People you may not expect.
Josh Hlibichuk
Do we get a Dark One PoV? Is that question an auto-RAFO?
Brandon Sanderson
RAFO, of course. :)
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Brandon Sanderson (14 December 2011)
Back at work on A Memory of Light. I have two early sequences I left half-finished because I felt I needed to lay down more important sequences first.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Still working on those smaller, early-book sequences I mentioned . This one involves a character who had his first viewpoint in Towers of Midnight.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Good progress on A Memory of Light this week. Around 3k Monday and Tuesday, and 2.4k words today so far.
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Brandon Sanderson (15 December 2011)
Scene I'm working on needs to be trashed and rewritten from a different viewpoint. Ah, well.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Okay, the scene is working much better now. Basically, a half-day lost, but it is worth backing up if something isn't working.
JOE LAVOIE
When you say a scene isn't "working" what does that mean? Bad mojo, doesn't feel right, or its there a technical reason?
BRANDON SANDERSON
All three, actually. Mostly, it just feels wrong.
BRANDON SANDERSON
And it is fixed now. Hard to judge my wordcount today, since I spent time fixing, but I'm opening a pack of Magic cards as a reward.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Current length of A Memory of Light: 335,000 words, same size as Towers of Midnight. And I haven't finished yet, nor have I added in RJ's ending.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Even with edits, this will be the longest of the three WoT books I've done. Don't worry about it being split, though. That won't happen.
DANIEL ANDERSON
Is RJ's ending ready for primetime? Or do you have an outline of how it is supposed to go?
BRANDON SANDERSON
I should be able to put it in without changing anything other than a quick smoothing of the language.
SISTER INFANT
Will there be any indication in the book as to when RJ's ending starts? Like a footnote from you or Harriet or something?
BRANDON SANDERSON
No, but I will tell you once the book is out, after you've read it.
JOHN ANDERSON
Hello! Just wondering, was the Borderland Tower sequence in Towers of Midnight (with Malenarin Rai) originally part of RJ's prologue?
BRANDON SANDERSON
He wrote most of that scene himself, actually.
JOHN ANDERSON
Cool! Are you allowed to say whether it was part of his prologue (which I gather you split and distributed over The Gathering Storm/Towers of Midnight)?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes, it was.
JOE KOGELMANN
What was the logest of all the WoT books? How many words?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Longest ones have been around 390k words. Books Four and Six. I forget which was the longer.
STEPHEN HART
Any chance of reading these alternate scenes once A Memory of Light is released; on your website maybe? Kinda like DVD deleted scenes...
BRANDON SANDERSON
Maybe.
GREG LINDSEY
Why do you suppose Wikipedia is inaccurate, saying Towers of Midnight [is] 325,998? Should it be edited? Are those word counts reliable?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Likely, theirs is without the glossary, which I just noticed mine has in it.
BRYAN
but but but...Wikipedia says Towers of Midnight is 325,998 words! Who to trust, Wikipedia or the author!? *brain explodes*
BRANDON SANDERSON
Just noticed my edocument has the glossary attached. Maybe that's the reason for the difference. Mine is pre-copyedit too.
DASUGO
You usually go through a vicious edit phase right?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes. I tend to cut 10%, but Harriet's suggestions have usually added about that much, and we've balanced at the end.
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Brandon Sanderson (16 December 2011)
Still have a little work to do on this little sequence near the beginning of the book.
BRANDON SANDERSON
A little background: I wrote half of it in June, but felt I needed to be working on main characters more, so left it to write Perrin.
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Brandon Sanderson (19 December 2011)
Many thanks, all, for the birthday (and Koloss Head-munching Day) wishes! You are all awesome. To celebrate, I'm writing A Memory of Light. ;)
BRANDON SANDERSON
To get ready for today's writing, I have put on my "Blood and Bloody ashes" shirt from Ta'veren Tees. (https://taverentees.com/threads/)
BRANDON SANDERSON
Note that my wife stole my Koloss Head-Munching Day shirt for the day, which is why I'm not wearing it. (http://store.inkwing.com/happy-koloss-head-munching-day-t-shirt)
BRANDON SANDERSON
Also, for A Memory of Light, I did finish the early-book material I'd left for later, and am back at the ending. My shirt is very appropriate today.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Hm... I haven't given any good A Memory of Light teases today, have I? Well, right now, one of the Forsaken is wearing the image of another Forsaken.
POOKA
And I was hoping you would say one of the Forsaken was wearing another's pants.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Well, that too, of course.
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Brandon Sanderson (20 December 2011)
Still hard at work on A Memory of Light. Today's scenes involve lots of loud noises.
MARK HOWARD
Just curious, have you read the end scenes that RJ wrote? Or are you waiting till you get there?
BRANDON SANDERSON
I read them as soon as I got them. I needed to use them as a target 'goal' for the book.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Now, on to a scene that finally, at long last, fulfills something Min saw long ago...
BRANDON SANDERSON
I've finished all characters except Rand and Mat. (Note, I'm not writing in order; other characters have already-written scenes after this.)
BRANDON SANDERSON
Now, I have to finish Mat's climax, write a few more Rand scenes, then add in RJ's ending material. Then we're done. Very close now.
PATRICK
What are your thoughts on ending the WoT series that Robert Jordan started so long ago? :)
BRANDON SANDERSON
Solemnity.
BRANDON SANDERSON
After a few hours with the family, am back at work on A Memory of Light. It's slightly possible that I'll finish it sometime during the night.
JENNIFER LIANG
Would that make tonight A Memory of Light Eve?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Ha. Yes, I guess it would.
BRANDON SANDERSON
You can follow along, if you wish. I have twenty small points on my outline left to hit. Maybe 10k words or so. I'll tweet as I pass them.
BRANDON SANDERSON
First scene out of twenty finished. (Note that I'm using 'scene' here liberally to mean a point on the plot outline.)
FRANK KWIATKOWSKI
Can you tell us who has the last chapter?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Afraid that would spoil too much.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Note that as I approach an ending, my writing speed goes up, as I get momentum. 10k tonight is not impossible. (Though most days I do 2-3.)
BRENT WEEKS
Good luck!
BRANDON SANDERSON
Thanks!
BRANDON SANDERSON
Two out of twenty scenes done. Eighteen left, and A Memory of Light will be finished.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Three out of Twenty of the remaining scenes in A Memory of Light have been finished. (If you're just now seeing this, check back to my last few posts.)
MARCUS ENGSTROM
How long was it after the first two books were finished until they were published?
BRANDON SANDERSON
For the first one, about a year. For the next, about six months. This will probably be closer to the first than the second.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Scene four was slightly shorter than the others. 4 out of 20 finished so far tonight.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Scene #5 finished. 25% through the ending of A Memory of Light. Feeling good about these scenes. All is going very well.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Some of you have asked if I got the Magic cards you sent me off of my Amazon wishlist. I did! I'm waiting to open them until I'm done with A Memory of Light.
BRANDON SANDERSON
A few of these scenes are pretty emotional ones for me. It's been a long, long road. I started reading the WoT twenty-one years ago.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Just finished scene #6 out of the 20 remaining in A Memory of Light.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Scene seven is done. Thirteen more to go. This one...this one was tough to write.
BRANDON SANDERSON
I've apparently inspired a drinking game with this on both Twitter and Facebook. I'd join in, but: 1) Mormon. 2) BUSY WRITING END OF WOT. :)
BRANDON SANDERSON
Scene #8 is a tricky one. I know how it has to go, I just need to do it carefully. Getting close to having it right.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Scene #8 is finished. This is going well. I often build momentum like this during a powerful book ending, and this one is very powerful.
BRANDON SANDERSON
We shall see. We've still got three or four hours before I'd normally turn in for bed. If I start to get sleepy, I'll call it for the night.
BRANDON SANDERSON
No sense in pushing on if the quality starts to flag. Knowing myself, though, I'll be too excited to be tired for a while yet. Onward!
LOCALPCGUY
Glad to hear things are ending well! I can't wait to read it. Think I have time for a full re-read before A Memory of Light?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Depends on how quickly you read. :)
DAVID MACKAY
Cannot wait, but I agree. Is it really going to take a year to edit and publish?
BRANDON SANDERSON
I've done a dozen drafts each of the previous two books. That kind of thing takes a little bit of time...
BRANDON SANDERSON
I just did something to Mat that I've been gleefully waiting to do for three years.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Don't stress the thing I did to Mat too much. It's a little (and fun) thing I've wanted to see him do for a long time.
BRANDON SANDERSON
I have finished scene #9 out of 20 I need to write before A Memory of Light is done.
AVI DOBKIN
Best of luck to @BrandSanderson as I turn in for the night. I'm giddy for A Memory of Light.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Hopefully, you will wake to find the book finished.
CHRISTINA BOULARD
It's almost 3:30am here and I SHOULD be in bed, but I feel like I need 2 stay up and cheer you on and also to witness THE END!
BRANDON SANDERSON
Ha. Well, there are still hours left to go, I suspect. I started at...what, 9:00 here? I'm to 1/2 and it's almost 2:00?
BRANDON SANDERSON
For those asking, it's almost 2:00 am here. The night is still young.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Just finished Scene #10. Halfway there!
BRANDON SANDERSON
I don't expect it to go longer than those. After editing, I'm pretty sure we'll settle at 350-360k words. (About 10% longer than Towers of Midnight.)
BRANDON SANDERSON
Brace yourselves. I just finished the last Mat Cauthon scene that, in all likelihood, will ever be written.
FRANK KWIATKOWSKI
General writing question: after The editor edits, is it typical for an author to add/rewrite, or only the editor?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Only the author rewrites or adds. Never the editor. (in most cases.)
BRANDON SANDERSON
The fourteenth scene was Mat's, and now I've finished the fifteenth scene. Five more to go, and A Memory of Light is done.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Just finished scene #16. Four more to go. Guess I'm not stopping tonight, eh?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Scene #17 is finished. I was a tad on the longer side for the ones I'm doing here, as are the last three. 5:00 am here.
BRANDON SANDERSON
I keep flashing back to times I've read the WoT books through my life. Looking back, you could call Rand/Mat/Perrin my oldest friends.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Scene #18 is done. Two more to go.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Scene #19 is done. Deep breath. I'm beginning the last scene I will write in the Wheel of Time, then will add RJ's ending.
BRANDON SANDERSON
I've been listening to Pandora as I do this, but am wondering if I should pick a specific song to listen to as I finish. Suggestions?
BRANDON SANDERSON
My choice for a song to play as I write the last few paragraphs here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-0G_FI61a8
BRANDON SANDERSON
Ladies and gentlemen, A Memory of Light—the final book in The Wheel of Time—has been finished.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Now I'll open a metric gigaton of Magic cards that have been sent to me by fans, sleep for a day, and rest until next week.Then: revisions!
BRANDON SANDERSON
As for when the book will come out, Tor should do an announcement soon. Revisions will take a good six months. So fall, I expect.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Another common question: How many revisions will I do? The last two took about a dozen. (On non-WoT books, I do about seven or eight.)
BRANDON SANDERSON
Also, it's going to be tough to give direct replies to questions right now, what with like 1000 people tweeting/facebooking at me. :)
BRANDON SANDERSON
But lots of people are asking about outriggers/prequels. The answer is still the same. We'd rather not risk exploiting RJ's legacy.
BRANDON SANDERSON
It is a step I don't think we want to take. Better to stop while we're ahead. I'm sorry, but they probably won't ever happen.
BRANDON SANDERSON
And now, yes, I will go to sleep. 7am here. That's 10 hours of solid writing after a full day of solid writing, so I'm beat.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Thank you all for the good wishes. May you find water and shade.
BRANDON SANDERSON (AFTER A NAP)
Ah. Good morning, all. (Yes, it's five in the afternoon here.) Checking email, and...INBOX EXPLOSION. I guess I was expecting it. :)
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Brandon Sanderson (28 December 2011)
Whew. Got the flu on Sunday night, only now recovering. Time to start the Memory of Light second draft.
SARAH ISTED
I'm curious—will Harriet edit RJ's last scene or are we going to see it as is?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Harriet will edit it, as she's edited everything else. (But maybe we'll post the earlier form sometime after the book's out.)
AUSTIN MOORE
For second draft are you going through and making corrections to stuff Team Jordan pointed out?
BRANDON SANDERSON
No, second draft is for fixing things I know need fixing. The draft is pretty messy right now.
AUSTIN MOORE
Ah ok that's interesting. That's one great thing I love about you updating us on this is I'm fascinated at all that goes...
AUSTIN MOORE
...into large books like these. It's definitely not one or two draft processes haha.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Both of the previous ones went through about a dozen drafts.
MATTHEW RAMSEY
How long does a second draft usually take?
BRANDON SANDERSON
A couple of weeks, usually. It's different for different books, though, depending on how 'clean' the first draft is.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Yay! First scene revised. Only (...counts...) two hundred and twenty one left to go. ... Oh. Back to work, I guess.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Of course, not all scenes are the same length. A better guide will be this: I'm on page 15 of 1800 manuscript pages in the revision.
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Brandon Sanderson (3 January 2012)
3% done (60/1800 pages) done on the A Memory of Light draft. It will speed up quickly as I get my groove.
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Shaun Duquette (12 January 2012)
Are you almost done whatever it is you're doing with A Memory of Light? Because drawing out the last book is getting crazy.Brandon Sanderson (12 January 2012)
I'm trying to get it revised as quickly as I can. This book is going to need a lot of care to make sure I don't miss anything.
EIREMAUVE (13 JANUARY)
Who has the most POVs? Is it a tie between a couple people?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Boy, I haven't counted. Rand/Perrin/Egwene/Mat are all probably about neck and neck.
L-Etrengere
[Now-protected tweet that said something about Egwene getting so many POVs.]
BRANDON SANDERSON
Well, she IS one of the main characters of the series. It would be kind of odd to leave her out of the Last Battle...
WILL HAGEN
Will there be an audiobook release along side the text (with Micheal perhaps)?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes, there should be.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Okay, I'm off until later tonight. Progress on the revision is going well; I expect to be done by mid-February, maybe by the end of January.
NICK
Is there an official release date for the final book yet? Last I heard was March.
BRANDON SANDERSON
There isn't yet, though it will be fall. Harriet asked for more time to edit, and I needed time to do more research.
JARED OLSEN
You probably hear this often, but you have done an outstanding job on WOT books. Thank you for honoring Jordan and saving fans. #mistborn
BRANDON SANDERSON
It has been an honor.
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Brandon Sanderson (19 January 2012)
Right now, taking a (short) break from the WoT rewrite to spend an evening working on the Mistborn video game script.
MAUZ ZEKERIA
Any plans for a WoT game?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes, there are many plans. I don't know how far along they are, however.
MARIT K. AMUNDSEN
Any news for a date on WoT?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Fall, most likely.
BRANDON SANDERSON
For those curious, I did finish the video game work I needed to do last night, and am back at work on the WoT revision today.
PAUL MCINTYRE
Was Towers of Midnight the last book to be published? I live in Ireland so news travels slow. XD
BRANDON SANDERSON
Yes.
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Brandon Sanderson (25 January 2012)
Saw an ad for a LAN party today, and (I kid you not) my first thought was: "What's Lan doing away from the battlefield?"Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (30 January 2012)
Boarded the plane for Tokyo, stage two of my Flight to Taiwan. 10 hours, during which I will be editing A Memory of Light.
BRANDON SANDERSON (31 JANUARY)
Hm. 1:00 am at home, 5:00pm here. I've been up for twenty-three hours now. Perhaps not the best time to try working on A Memory of Light.
BRANDON SANDERSON (1 FEBRUARY)
I wrote a few short Wheel of Time posts for @tordotcom. The first, on THE EYE OF THE WORLD, went up today.http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/02/wheel-of-time-musings-the-eye-of-the-world
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Brandon Sanderson (8 February 2012)
Oh, bureaucracy, you are my bane. It always takes me like five minutes to figure out how to spell that word...
BRANDON SANDERSON
Other fun things from Brandon's spelling mind: I always want to write Darlin Sisnera's name "Darlin Sinestro." Crossover time!
BRANDON SANDERSON
Don't even get me started on algai'd'siswai and siswai'aman, by the way.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Just updated the % for A Memory of Light draft two to 70%. Should have the whole book done and off to Harriet in a week or so.
KIERAN KERR
Hi Brandon. What's the official release date for the final Wheel of Time novel? Can't wait!!!!
BRANDON SANDERSON
I don't think there is one yet. Fall, sometime, probably. But Harriet is the one who will decide.
BRANDON SANDERSON
A lot of people ask after the release date. Fall/Winter this year is still likely. However, I would like to note that Harriet is in charge.
BRANDON SANDERSON
She hasn't yet read the entire book; she gets to decide when it will be released. She can delay it or push it up, whatever she wants.
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Brandon Sanderson (14 February 2012)
Working on one of the big, climactic sections at the end of A Memory of Light right now. Not many names left to draw, I'm afraid. A handful, maybe.
BRANDON SANDERSON (15 FEBRUARY)
There's another of my Wheel of Time musings up at @tordotcom, this one about The Great Hunt. http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/02/wheel-of-time-musings-the-great-hunt
BRANDON SANDERSON
By the way, as many have noted, it appears that RJ, myself, and Wheel of Time were involved in a Jeopardy! clue yesterday.
TOR.COM (16 FEBRUARY)
The release date for A Memory of Light, the final volume of The Wheel of Time (@torbooks ), has been revealed: http://bit.ly/x2BVp5
JASON DENZEL
For people wondering, it takes a long time to go from a first draft to final draft. @BrandSanderson did 16 edits on The Gathering Storm.
COWSLIP
It must publish before 21.12.2012... what if the Mayan are right?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Lol.
SLEEPINGHOUR
So...January 2013? Is this because @BrandSanderson needs time to join the witness protection program before the fans learn who dies in A Memory of Light?
BRANDON SANDERSON
No, but I might need to head into it now, once the more vocal fanbase hears their book is delayed a few more months.
KVOTHE THE ARCANE
My respect for Harriet has gone downhill. I think If I were to look in her eyes all I'd see are $$
BRANDON SANDERSON
I'm not sure why, since this choice might end up costing her money. It certainly isn't a market decision.
BRANDON SANDERSON
The release date for A Memory of Light has been set. Here are my thoughts. http://brandonsanderson.com/blog/1058/A-MEMORY-OF-LIGHT-Release-Date
BRANDON SANDERSON
For anyone having trouble reaching my blog post on the release date of A Memory of Light, it's mirrored on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/notes/brandon-sanderson/a-memory-of-light-release-date/10150562895062219
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Brandon Sanderson (21 February 2012)
Hey, all. A Memory of Light revision is all done and sent off. The next draft is the big one, where I put in Harriet's comments. That can take a while.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (10 March 2012)
I've been thinking lately of ways to give away digital copies of my books when you buy a hardcover. There are some issues with this.
BRANDON SANDERSON
I don't know much about the logistics; it may be impossible. If there is a way to make this work, I'd propose it to Tor and Harriet for A Memory of Light.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Here's a reddit thread where I mention issues with the process. Weigh in here or in that thread to give me advice.
SABERJ
The only way I could think of would be to include one-time use codes with the books. But what's to stop people from selling?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Yeah. The other problem with that is securing the code. Books aren't wrapped up, so the code could be scratched off/stolen easily.
BRANDON SANDERSON
My preferred method would be to put a code in a book that, then, you can redeem for free or a small price. But how do we secure it?
NIC JOHNSON
You don't. Your stuff is already being pirated and publishers shouldn't consider those lost sales. Trust people a la Apple.
BRANDON SANDERSON
I'm not worried about piracy. However, a digital code that can be used many times seems foolish. A one-use would be stolen.
BRANDON SANDERSON
One use has to be secured, or the person buying the book is in danger of being ripped off.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Multi-use means that we're hosting the book, and paying the bandwidth, for those who want to pirate. Bad idea, I think.
NIC JOHNSON
I'll host it for you. :) No charge.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Lol. One other problem is that this needs to be reasonable enough to the publisher's ears to get them to go along.
NIC JOHNSON
My point exactly. Big Pub doesn't get the new model. They consider pirated copies as lost sales. See Seth Godin for new model.
BRANDON SANDERSON
The publishers aren't as ignorant as you think. The investors, however, are another story. (You're right about them.)
BRANDON SANDERSON
Tor has done plenty of giving away free, DRM-free ebooks. They did it with Mistborn, for example.
NIC JOHNSON
Ah! To me as an outsider they are one and the same. :)
BRANDON SANDERSON
Publishers and editors in sf/f tend to be techies. Notice that Cory Doctorow, with Tor's blessing, releases all of his books for free.
SABERJ
How is Marvel doing it? They don't tend to wrap Comics either.
BRANDON SANDERSON
I think you order directly from them, and they send you the comic and deliver through their own secure app.
ANNE BURNER
Baen used to put a CD copy of the book inside the hardcover versions of @davidweber1 Honor Harrington books.
BRANDON SANDERSON
I asked if we could do that, and the answer was that it was expensive enough it couldn't become the standard.
WES QUINT
Maybe like a gift card where it's only active after purchase?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Yeah, this is probably the best idea. I don't know how hard that is to accomplish, though.
SABERJ
A lot of textbooks used to include a disc in the book for additional material. Discs are a bit harder to steal than codes.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Textbooks also have a much larger profit margin than novels. I asked about discs for my last book, and the publisher said no.
BRANDON SANDERSON
They said it was just too expensive.
BENJYMOUS
Old school tech, I know, but how about a coupon you have to fill in with your email address then post back to the publisher?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Ha. You know, I never thought about that. The problem is, how do we keep people from stealing them out of the books?
BRANDON SANDERSON
People with a nice hardcover don't want to cut their book apart to get a coupon.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Here are a couple of problems with what people are suggesting. 1) We don't want to shrink wrap books, but a code can be stolen very easily.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Anything involving the retailer verifying a code, or printing one out, requires large-scale involvement of retailers.
BRANDON SANDERSON
That's not something I can change. They may be working on this already. I want something I could take to Tor, that we could do in house.
TEREZ
Or if you're talking about securing the code in the book...it seems easy enough with textbooks. Peel-off? :)
BRANDON SANDERSON
People would walk into the store, peel off the sticker, write down the code, then sell it or use it.
BRAD LICKMAN
How do you stop people from sharing a hardcover copy?
BRANDON SANDERSON
The physical product can be made to set off an alarm. A code can be copied and carried out.
ANDREW YAGER
Could codes be single use? That would largely get around the securing problem?
BRANDON SANDERSON
People would walk into the store, write down the code, go home and download the book.
KYLE
What about one-time scratch codes like what's used on gift cards?
BRANDON SANDERSON
Those are usually activated by the retailer. I'd love for us to be able to do that, but it would involve more than I can do.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Another issue with this is that if I did it, I would need it to work for indy booksellers and not just Amazon/Barnes & Noble.
BRAD LICKMAN
Can you sell the digital copy at http://tor.com, which provides a coupon for the hardcover?
BRANDON SANDERSON
This is actually what I proposed to Tor a few years back, and they said they didn't want to offend the retailers.
BRANDON SANDERSON
I still like the idea, though.
BRANDON SANDERSON
I won't have time to reply to everyone here, but keep sending thoughts. I'll read and see if I can come up with something to take to Tor.
BEN FOXWORTHY
How about this: Put the code in the book. Don't secure it. Each code works three times. Hope people don't abuse it.
BRANDON SANDERSON
That risks punishing the person who buys the book (but their code has been stolen and used.)
BRANDON SANDERSON (12 MARCH)
More on the A Memory of Light ebook thing. What would you guys think if I tried to talk Tor into a 'special edition' release.
BRANDON SANDERSON
A kind of 'boxed set' that came with hardcover, ebook, audiobook, a medallion or other keepsake, and maybe some interviews with me & Harriet.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Shrink wrapped & sold at bookstores for, say, $50 instead of $30? Does that get too far away from the 'free ebook w/the hardcover' concept?
TEREZ
It does seem to defeat the purpose, as far as most people would be concerned. Though many would buy it.
DAVE PUTNAM (22 MARCH)
A Memory of Light e-book release announced with three month gap. Can you explain the rationale behind this? Lot of vitriol on Tor site.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Harriet worries, among other things, at the impact on the bestseller lists by releasing at the same time.
BRANDON SANDERSON
Ebooks make her uncomfortable.
FYODOR
Making us wait three three months for the A Memory of Light ebook is very obnoxious and shows contempt for the fan base. I have been reading...
FYODOR
...WOT since 1992 and deeply resent this type of staggering.
BRANDON SANDERSON
I've been working on it. The delay is not Tor, but Harriet, who worries at the implications of releasing an ebook immediately.
BRANDON SANDERSON
She originally wanted a six month, or longer, delay. I was able to persuade her to move to three months.
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Brandon Sanderson (22 March 2012)
Working away on A Memory of Light. Lots of back-and-forth with Team Jordan as we work on edits and revisions.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (5 April 2012)
Back at my hotel to work on A Memory of Light after a visit to the Perth Mint. Seeing gold be poured set a story brewing in my mind...Tags
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Paul O'Malley (18 April 2012)
This is seriously going to increase piracy and decrease sales. Fix it! Please! A Memory of Light EBook ReleaseBrandon Sanderson (18 April 2012)
I'm afraid you have to take that up with Harriet. I've done what I can.THOMAS WILLIS
Will the kindle edition of A Memory of Light be released at the same time, as the hardcover?
BRANDON SANDERSON
I'm afraid that Harriet has decided there should be a delayed ebook release.
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Brandon Sanderson (22 April 2012)
Bart on Facebook asked for A Memory of Light status, so I thought I'd post for all of you. Revision is going well, but is a lot of work. Halfway done.Tags
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Josh Doughty (21 April 2012)
Are you able to do A Memory of Light reading during your panel at SupaNova today?Brandon Sanderson (21 April 2012)
I'm afraid not. Harriet would rather it be special to JordanCon.
BRANDON SANDERSON (26 APRIL)
Tor dot com has posted the single-scene excerpt from the prologue of A Memory of Light that Harriet read at JordanCon.
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Brandon Sanderson (16 May 2012)
I'm sorry I don't have more specific WoT posts for you—I know that Harriet prefers me to be more closed-mouthed. However...
Brandon Sanderson
Maria from Team Jordan has finished her revision notes for the entire book, as has Harriet herself. So we're only waiting on Alan's notes.
Brandon Sanderson
As he's playing "Great Captain" for me on A Memory of Light, his notes are vital—and he needs to be detailed. When I get them, I can finish revising.
Roberto Sánze
Sooooo...there might be a sooner release date than the current for January?
Brandon Sanderson
It is possible, but I don't know how likely.
Roberto Sánze
Darn, I need to haste to be ready for A Memory of Light once it releases. Is there gonna be a ebook version along with the physical book?
Brandon Sanderson
(Winces.) Harriet has a distrust of ebooks; she prefers to delay the release. It is her call. (Ebook is a few months later.)
Terez
Do we have chapter names yet? Or do you know how many chapters there will be? Or is that a secret?
Brandon Sanderson
No chapter names yet, as it won't be until this draft is finished that I settle on the number of chapters. Some are being combined.
Mark Prybyla
I'm truly hoping this book is 1/3 battles/fights.
Brandon Sanderson
More than 1/3, I'd say...
Daniel Shepard
Forgive me for not understanding, but what does this mean? Release date's not going to change, is it?
Brandon Sanderson
Probably not. It's just a progress update, so people know things are still moving behind-the-scenes.
Richard Collett
How's The Stormlight Archive coming? I need more.
Brandon Sanderson
A Memory of Light comes first. I will get to the next Stormlight book soon, but not until A Memory of Light is done to my satisfaction.
(Facebook)
Yosun Erdemli
So this means we will be reading the final volume sooner than first announced?
Brandon Sanderson
It is possible, but I don't know how likely. I still need to do two drafts, I feel. Then there are beta reads, then proofreads, then we need at least two months to get the books printed and shipped.
Adam Sloan
What does it take to be one of the beta readers?
Brandon Sanderson
Be one of the major members of fandom for years, and personally know Harriet. (Sorry.)
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Brandon Sanderson (21 May 2012)
WoT update: Today, I added a new Rand scene to the book. One of many I've been working on, but this one came together first.
Jason Palmer
? Is it a complete NEW scene? If so is it because the editors thought it would fit into the book more, is this the second draft?
Brandon Sanderson
New scene. We often add new scenes in the second, third, or even last drafts of a book.
Greg Lindsey
Feel free to add as much as the binding will allow!! Thanks for everything! By the way do you have an updated word count estimate?
Brandon Sanderson
No updated count yet. We'll see how much more I add this time around—I'm cutting it too.
Daniel Shepard
Can/Will you tell us anything about it? Please? :)
Brandon Sanderson
I'm afraid I can't say much. I try to be extra-careful with WoT scenes out of respect for Harriet.
Simon Draper
When is the last book being published? I can't believe it's the end of the series already.
Brandon Sanderson
January.
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Maria Simons (21 May 2012)
Team Jordan update: We’ve been getting a lot of questions about Brandon’s note that Harriet and I are finished with A Memory of Light, and Alan is almost finished. “Finished” here refers only to the first draft. The same day that I finished A Memory of Light, I started A Memory of Light (the second draft, or at least the portion of the second draft that Brandon has sent us). Harriet has already completed that section, and is ready to move on when we receive more. Alan should finish the first draft this week, and he will immediately begin again too. We’re not by any means truly finished with the book—we’re all working very hard, and we trust that Brandon is too. We want to get every detail right, and that takes time. Don't worry; it's worth waiting for.
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Brandon Sanderson (6 June 2012)
Currently about 250,000 words (of 350,000) into my fourth draft of A Memory of Light. This is the hardest of the drafts. Next one should go faster.
Dick Mock
How many drafts do you usually do on your novels?
Brandon Sanderson
Between eight and twelve, if you count the proofreads.
R.T. Kaelin
Curious... How many drafts is typical for you?
Brandon Sanderson
Between eight and twelve.
Dylan Bronstein
Do you from scratch on each draft?
Brandon Sanderson
No, I don't start from scratch most times. Only in extreme cases. A "Draft" for me is a complete, beginning-to-end, revamp of the book line by line. About half of the drafts are deep content drafts, the other half focus on prose.
Brandon Sanderson
Re: Timing—Yes, we're still on track for January. (I still secretly hope for sooner.)
Ross Colwell
Curious what makes this one the hardest.
Brandon Sanderson
This one is the hardest because it's the first one I do where I have to fix problems Team Jordan has found. That is difficult, as sometimes I've written entire sequences that have continuity errors with something in the series, so those sequences need to be pulled out and replaced with something that works.
John O'Meara
Does it get longer and shorter from draft to draft?
Brandon Sanderson
Some drafts make the book shorter, others longer. Usually, prose focused drafts shorten the book while content drafts make it longer.
Jason Palmer
Brandon, you've probably explained the draft system before, but for the uneducated can you possibly explain it again to me please?
Brandon Sanderson
Sure. First draft is my initial write of the book. Second draft is where I go through and fix major problems I introduced while writing the book. (For example, sometimes I'll add a character in because I find I need one, but I don't go back and revise them into earlier chapters until the second draft.) Third draft is a polish, fixing language and prose. Fourth draft is my first editorial draft, working with the editor to fix problems. Fifth is a second editorial draft. From there, I alternate between further polishing drafts and smaller-level editorial drafts as long as needs be.
Brandon Sanderson
Re: Stormlight—It's next. I will begin it as soon as A Memory of Light is done right. Likely, I'll start into it after draft five or six of A Memory of Light.
Brandon Sanderson
RE: Length—This will be slightly longer than Towers of Midnight, I believe.
Brandon Sanderson
Re: Stormlight 2—It is next, I promise. I'm very eager to start, but I have to make sure A Memory of Light is done right first. You don't get many chances to work on a book like this one.
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Brandon Sanderson (9 June 2012)
Working on a new Rand scene today too. Still a few more I want to add. This is probably the last draft where I will add new scenes, though.
Brandon Sanderson
New Rand scene turned out great. Now, to revamp the next five to be just as awesome.
Brandon Sanderson
It's funny how time passes when I'm working on writing. It's been four hours since I started on the scene, and I barely noticed.
Brenda Waldrop
That I understand. I get in a writing groove and the next thing I know it's tomorrow!
Shaunna Willoughby
Focus is like an alternate plane of existence.
Brandon Sanderson
It's funny. I make a post, like the one a while back, and then think "I'll get back and answer people in a bit." Then, four hours later, I think "Okay, scene is done. Let's see what people are saying." That timestamp glares back at me, and there are like fifty posts I haven't ever replied to.
Sam Noble
Do you know the Game of Thrones guy? He could learn something from your work ethic.
Brandon Sanderson
Ha. Well, perhaps. But I could learn something from his writing skill, I suspect. We'll see how prolific I am when I'm his age.
Vegas Surreal
We need @BrandSanderson to stay healthy; you're supposed to get up and stretch every 20 minutes!
Brandon Sanderson
Don't worry. I have a treadmill desk I work at.
Marcus McQuarter
How long is the book going to be at minimum?
Brandon Sanderson
350k words, I'd guess. First draft was 360. Next draft trimmed about 30k. I'm slowly increasing it back up.
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Brandon Sanderson (13 June 2012)
A Memory of Light Update: On page 1500 of 1900 pages in my fourth draft. Still have a few new scenes to add.
Brandon Sanderson
Will do one more major draft after this, and then we will move into more line-edit/small tweaks drafts.
Brandon Sanderson
For those asking, about two manuscript pages become one final hardcover page. (Though it varies.) I'm planning seven or eight drafts total.
Brandon Sanderson
The drafts of this book have been more extensive than those of the previous two, but we will do fewer of them, probably.
Jim
How many offers do you get for volunteer proof readers each day?
Brandon Sanderson
At least one a post. :)
Hyrum Tanner
Is the word count still about 370K or has it increased?
Brandon Sanderson
It is hard to say, as my draft has lots of Team Jordan comments that are being counted in the final. I think it's 340k right now.
Austin Moore
So would you say final book will be around 1000 pages or so?
Brandon Sanderson
That's a good estimate.
RJ Chap
Do you ever sell/auction copies of your drafts? Are you allowed?
Brandon Sanderson
I have done it for charity in the past, but never with a WoT book.
Matt Perry
Still on for The 8th of January? #countingthedays
Brandon Sanderson
Yes.
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Brandon Sanderson (18 June 2012)
A Memory of Light teaser: The book contains a new verse to a beloved WoT song. (Just posting to let you all know the revision goes well.)
Jeff Gray
Do you revise sections that Mr Jordan wrote, or just your own? No implication, just curious. :-)
Brandon Sanderson
It's a good question. I initially tried to leave them all alone and let Harriet revise them.
Brandon Sanderson
She told me to be more aggressive in smoothing out scenes to blend them together. I still do try to touch his as little as I can.
Ian Thomson
First tweet to you, but I wanted to say I'm so very excited for A Memory of Light! Can we change the release to January 7th? That's my birthday!
Brandon Sanderson
I'll see what I can do... ;)
Footnote
The song is probably "Jak o' the Shadows".Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (29 June 2012)
I just sent my complete revision of A Memory of Light to Harriet. This is the fourth draft, and was every extensive a revision.
Brandon Sanderson
Drafts of this book so far have been more in-depth than on Towers of Midnight or The Gathering Storm. I suspect we'll do seven or eight drafts total of this book.
Doug Hill
Are you trying to hint at a 2015 release date now? Because now I'm picturing Doc Brown with the book in the Delorean. >_<
Brandon Sanderson
No, we'll have it done and ready for January.
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Soccer Hooligan (5 July 2012)
How about an update on when A Memory of Light will be published?Brandon Sanderson (5 July 2012)
Still January 8th, so far as I know. One more draft to do.
wehaveatrex (6 July)
When the WoT is done, are you planning to write anything about the process of adapting RJ's work, like a Special Feature?
Brandon Sanderson
I would like to, but no promises.
Shaun Duquette
This is tragic, on the final draft and we still can't get the book by October or November!
Brandon Sanderson
Well, when you count copyedit, proofreads, and printing time, it is still going to be tight.
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Brandon Sanderson (10 July 2012)
Last draft of A Memory of Light needs to be done soon. For today, I'm polishing off the last two new Rand scenes (of about eight) I'm adding to the book.
Ray Ellerd (11 July)
Any news on WoT? Know you're sick of that question. Sorry... :)
Brandon Sanderson
Well, other than the last Rand scene (which I'm writing right now) not much. Need to finish the final draft as soon as possible.
Brandon Sanderson (12 July)
Comic-conning for the night done. (Had dinner with a Hollywood producer.) Now, for some more WoT editing!
Jean Diata
You know, it IS okay to rest and play once in a while!
Brandon Sanderson
Ha. Not when we're past deadline on this book. I'll rest when it's done.
Umang Shah (13 July)
Working on A Memory of Light's final draft?
Brandon Sanderson
Yup.
Brandon Sanderson
All right, WoT editing for the day done. This is going really well—the book is very nearly done. Just polishing, now.
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Brandon Sanderson (19 July 2012)
I have forgotten to update my progress bar lately. I just sent the first half of the seventh (lastish) draft to Harriet.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (25 July 2012)
Hadn't updated the A Memory of Light draft progress bar in a while. Now at 70%. Getting close to having this book done.Tags
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Brandon Sanderson (28 July 2012)
Working away at A Memory of Light last draft. 80 pages remaining, and I'll be done. Probably will finish tonight.
Brandon Sanderson
Last draft is done, folks. From here, we head to copyedits. (And perhaps small tweaks here and there.) Basically, though, A Memory of Light is finished.
Brandon Sanderson
Thanks for the good wishes, all. Final length of the book is around 360k words. Towers of Midnight was 335k, for reference.
Peter Orullian
Congratulations, Brandon. Most cool.
Brandon Sanderson
Thanks! I'll tell you, I barely know what month it is, let alone what day... This has been a grueling set of revisions.
Eric Pelletier
Do we know if January 8th is the official A Memory of Light release or the date could still change?
Brandon Sanderson
Probably not going to change at this point.
Brandon Sanderson
Out tonight with Emily enjoying a celebratory steak for having finished the Wheel of Time. Five years of work, hard but satisfying.
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Brandon Sanderson (30 July 2012)
Got up today. No Wheel of Time book to work on. THIS IS VERY STRANGE. I think I will do a blog post about it.
Brandon Sanderson
For those who missed it, yes, all of my drafts on A Memory of Light are finished. There will be little tweaks here and there, but it's basically done.
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Brandon Sanderson (1 August 2012)
My thoughts on finishing the Wheel of Time.
Andrew Frank
Once A Memory of Light is released will you go back and point to which chapters in all three books were written by him?
Brandon Sanderson
I think I'll be allowed to do this.
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Tom H. Brand (14 September 2012)
Damn it @BrandSanderson Why didn't you finish the book 116 days early, so I could go straight from book 13 to book 14! #wotrrBrandon Sanderson (14 September 2012)
Well, I WAS going to finish earlier,, but then I heard you were reading the books. I wanted you to have a true WoT experience.Tags
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T.J. Tesch (20 September 2012)
I physically NEED the last wheel of time book. Why are you not working on it...Brandon Sanderson (20 September 2012)
Uh, it's done. I'm not working on it because it's finished, turned in, and getting printed.Tags