Editing The Wheel of Time (section)

== Development ==
=== Writing and conception ===
Jordan started writing ''The Eye of the World'' in 1984 and did not finish it until late 1988 or early 1989, with characters and storylines changing considerably during the writing process. One early version of the story centered on an older man who discovered relatively late in life that he was the 'chosen one' who had to save the world. However, Jordan deliberately decided to move closer to the tone and style of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' and made the characters younger and less experienced.<ref name="thewertzone">{{Cite web |website=The Byte News |date=7 January 2018 |first=Adam |last=Whitehead |title=The Genesis of ''The Wheel of Time'' |url=https://thebytenews.com/the-genesis-of-the-wheel-of-time/ |access-date=8 January 2018 |archive-date=16 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516191309/https://thebytenews.com/the-genesis-of-the-wheel-of-time/ |url-status=usurped }}</ref> Once this decision had been made, writing proceeded much more easily and Jordan completed the second volume, ''[[The Great Hunt]]'', at roughly the same time the first book was published.<ref>Foreword dated February 1990, ''The Great Hunt'' by Robert Jordan, published by Tor Books</ref> According to fantasy author [[Brandon Sanderson]], Jordan originally planned the series as a trilogy.<ref>Interview with Brandon Sanderson, end of the audio version of ''The Gathering Storm'' (2009)</ref>

Jordan wrote full-time at breakneck speed for the next several years until he completed the seventh volume, ''[[A Crown of Swords]]'', at which point he slowed down, delivering a book every two years. Fans objected when he took some time off to expand a short story into a prequel novel called ''New Spring'', so he decided to shelve his plans for additional prequels in favor of finishing off the last two volumes in the series. He rejected criticisms of the later volumes of the series slowing down in pace in order to concentrate on minor secondary characters at the expense of the main characters from the opening volumes but acknowledged that his structure for the tenth volume, ''[[Crossroads of Twilight]]'' (where he showed a major scene from the prior book, ''[[Winter's Heart]]'', from the perspective of the main characters that were not involved in the scene), had not worked out as he had planned.{{Citation needed|date=June 2010}} ''[[Knife of Dreams]]'', the eleventh volume, had a much more positive reception from critics and fans alike and Jordan announced the twelfth volume, which he had previously announced would have the working title ''A Memory of Light'', would conclude the series. According to ''[[Forbes]]'', Jordan had intended for it to be the final book "even if it reaches 2,000 pages."<ref name="Forbes">{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Hannah |date=1 December 2006 |title=My Author, My Life |url=https://www.forbes.com/2006/11/30/robert-jordan-illness-tech-media_cx_hc_books06_1201jordan.html?sh=1479377b780d |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070909043115/http://www.forbes.com/2006/11/30/robert-jordan-illness-tech-media_cx_hc_books06_1201jordan.html |archive-date=9 September 2007 |access-date=23 November 2021 |website=Forbes}}</ref>

===Jordan's death and completion by Sanderson===
Jordan was diagnosed with the terminal heart disease [[Amyloidosis#Alternative|primary amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy]] in December 2005,<ref name="charleston">{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Bill |date=17 September 2007 |title=Robert Jordan dies at age 58 |url=http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/sep/17/robert_jordan_dies_at_age16247/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081028040103/http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/sep/17/robert_jordan_dies_at_age16247/ |archive-date=28 October 2008 |access-date=17 April 2009 |website=[[The Post and Courier]]}}</ref> and while he intended to finish at least ''A Memory of Light'' even if the "worse comes to worst",<ref name="worst">{{Cite web |last=Jordan |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Jordan |date=24 March 2006 |title=Sorry About the Premature Announcement |url=http://www.dragonmount.com/RobertJordan/?p=38 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116042356/http://www.dragonmount.com/RobertJordan/?p=38 |archive-date=16 January 2009 |access-date=11 April 2009 |website=Robert Jordan's Blog |publisher=Dragonmount |quote=Worse comes to worst, I will finish A Memory of Light, so the main story arc, at least, will be completed}}</ref> he made preparations in case he was not able to complete the book: "I'm getting out notes, so if the worst actually happens, someone could finish ''A Memory of Light'' and have it end the way I want it to end."<ref name="Forbes" />

With Jordan's death on 16 September 2007, the conclusion of the series was in question. On 7 December of that year, the publisher [[Tor Books]] announced that Sanderson was to finish ''A Memory of Light''.<ref name="Publishers Weekly">{{Cite web |last=Andriani |first=Lynn |date=10 December 2007 |title=Sanderson to Complete Final Novel in Jordan Fantasy Series |url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6511045.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212191439/http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6511045.html |archive-date=12 December 2007 |access-date=10 December 2007 |website=Publishers Weekly}}</ref> Sanderson, a longtime fan of the series,<ref name="euology">{{Cite web |last=Sanderson |first=Brandon |author-link=Brandon Sanderson |date=19 September 2007 |title=EUOLogy: Goodbye Mr. Jordan |url=https://brandonsanderson.com/euology-goodbye-mr-jordan/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190829214308/https://brandonsanderson.com/euology-goodbye-mr-jordan/ |archive-date=29 August 2019 |access-date=2 October 2019 |website=Brandon Sanderson's Blog}}</ref> was chosen by Jordan's widow Harriet McDougal partly because she liked Sanderson's novels and partly because of a eulogy he had written for Jordan.<ref name="FAQ">{{Cite web |last=Sanderson |first=Brandon |author-link=Brandon Sanderson |title=Wheel Of Time FAQ |url=http://www.brandonsanderson.com/faq/section/3/Wheel-Of-Time-FAQ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216235446/http://brandonsanderson.com/faq/section/3/Wheel-Of-Time-FAQ |archive-date=16 February 2009 |access-date=11 April 2009 |website=Brandon Sanderson official site |publisher=Dragonsteel Ent.}}</ref><ref name="close">{{Cite news |last=Wilcox |first=Brad |date=3 December 2008 |title=Bringing Robert Jordan's 'Wheel of Time' to a close |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-dec-03-et-wheel3-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=11 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502181259/http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/03/entertainment/et-wheel3 |archive-date=2 May 2009}}</ref> Jordan had prepared extensive notes, which enabled Sanderson to complete the final book.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyhPRIokTSM |title=Brandon Sanderson Interview |date=11 November 2009 |publisher=[[YouTube]] |access-date=7 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405161302/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyhPRIokTSM |archive-date=5 April 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 30 March 2009, Tor Books announced that ''A Memory of Light'' would be split into three volumes, with Brandon Sanderson citing timing and continuity reasons. By his estimate in early 2009, the book would have taken several years to write and would have reached 800,000 words. McDougal doubted that Jordan could have concluded it in a single volume.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 October 2018 |title=Why Did You Split a Memory of Light? &#124; Brandon Sanderson |url=https://faq.brandonsanderson.com/knowledge-base/why-did-you-split-a-memory-of-light/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225005023/https://faq.brandonsanderson.com/knowledge-base/why-did-you-split-a-memory-of-light/ |archive-date=25 February 2021 |access-date=18 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Tor announces The Gathering Storm, Book Twelve of Robert Jordan's legendary Wheel of Time fantasy series |url=http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=19734 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402121731/http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=19734 |archive-date=2 April 2009 |access-date=30 March 2009 |website=[[Tor Books]]}}</ref><ref name="dragonmount">{{Cite web |date=11 August 2009 |title=New Gathering Storm Release Date |url=http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/blog/2/entry-239-new-gathering-storm-release-date/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714224212/http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/blog/2/entry-239-new-gathering-storm-release-date/ |archive-date=14 July 2014 |access-date=4 August 2012 |website=dragonmount.com }}</ref> The three volumes were published from 2009 to 2013,  as ''[[The Gathering Storm (novel)|The Gathering Storm]]'', ''[[Towers of Midnight]]'', and ''[[A Memory of Light]]'', with the last book using Jordan's title.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 February 2012 |title=The Release Date for A Memory of Light Has Been Set |url=http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/02/the-release-date-for-a-memory-of-light-has-been-set |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150409054848/http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/02/the-release-date-for-a-memory-of-light-has-been-set |archive-date=9 April 2015 |access-date=7 March 2017 |website=Tor.com}}</ref>

=== After ''A Memory of Light'' ===
Prior to his death, Jordan had often discussed adding an additional two prequels and an 'outrigger' sequel trilogy. In a Q&A following the release of ''A Memory of Light'', Sanderson ruled out the completion of these works; Jordan had left very little in the way of notes for these additional novels – only two sentences in the case of the sequel trilogy.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 January 2013 |title=It's finally out. |url=http://brandonsanderson.com/its-finally-out/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025064133/http://brandonsanderson.com/its-finally-out/ |archive-date=25 October 2015 |access-date=29 October 2015 |website=Brandonsanderson.com}}</ref> Sanderson addressed the subject again in a 2023 blog post, and stated that writing additional ''Wheel of Time'' works would have gone against the wishes of Robert Jordan.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sanderson |first1=Brandon |title=State of the Sanderson 2023 |url=https://www.brandonsanderson.com/state-of-the-sanderson-2023/ |website=Brandon Sanderson |date=19 December 2023}}</ref>

Two cut portions of ''A Memory of Light'' were released as short stories in the years following the release of the main book. These were published in [[Unfettered (anthology)|''Unfettered'' anthologies]], part of a charitable endeavour to support authors and artists with [[medical debt]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 November 2009 |title=The Wheel of Time® Series |url=https://www.brandonsanderson.com/the-wheel-of-time-series/#AFIREINTHEWAYS |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615203010/https://www.brandonsanderson.com/the-wheel-of-time-series/#AFIREINTHEWAYS |archive-date=15 June 2020 |access-date=15 June 2020}}</ref> ''River of Souls'', a canonical segment removed from the published book due to pacing, was released in the first volume in 2013. ''A Fire in the Ways'', a non-canon alternate sequence of events around the climax of the final book, was included in the third volume in 2019. A glossary to the series, ''[[The Wheel of Time Companion]]'', was released in 2015.