For clarification, did you ever feel like a character should experience something that Mr Jordan hadn’t mentioned or had clearly discouraged? Or feel that something should happen that Mr Jordan hadn’t conceived or didn’t want?
Good question. I’ve been wondering the same since RJ mentioned in an interview once that he had no intention of showing the test for Aes Sedai outside of New Spring .
Nynaeve’s Aes Sedai test was one of my favorite parts of Towers of Midnight , so I’m glad that was included, but it would be interesting to know whether RJ changed his mind or it was Brandon/Team Jordan’s idea to include that.
This one was me. I realize he hadn’t intended to do it, but he always reserved the right to change his mind on things like this. (If you read what he had to say on the last word of the book, for example, he said he thought he knew what it was—but that he might change that at any time.)
In working on the outlines, I felt it would feel strange not to show this. The challenge was to do it in a way that wasn’t simply a repetition of what Mr. Jordan had shown in New Spring . I felt if I could make the experience unique, it would have a place in the novel—and if it did not, I would need to cut it. I felt good with the way it turned out, and it indeed found a place in the novel.
So you’re the one responsible for the braid being singed off! Murderer!
I think it made a great addition to the book. Nynaeve’s my favorite character, and I’ve always found it unfortunate that we haven’t gotten too many POVs from her since she got married in A Crown of Swords . So it was great to see scenes that showed just how much she’s grown since, while still remaining the same person at heart. The references to Nynaeve’s greatest fears—spiders and heights—were very neat too. Thank you for giving the test a place in the novel.
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