Writing and editing To Sleep has been by far the hardest creative challenge of my life. I had to relearn how to tell a story, rewrite a book I’d been laboring over for years, and overcome a number of personal and professional challenges.
Was it worth it? I think so. And I’m looking forward to putting the skills I’ve learned/reacquired to use on a new book. One that, if all goes well, will take substantially less than nine years to write and publish.
In looking back over the history of this project, it feels in no small part like a dream. So much time has passed. So much angst and effort and ambition. I finished the first draft while spending the winter split between a dingy apartment in Edinburgh and a slightly brighter apartment in Barcelona. Revisions were carried out where I live in Montana, but also at a dozen different locations across the globe as work, and life, took me about. The final edits were carried out during a pandemic.
When I first got the idea for To Sleep, I was in my mid-twenties. Now I’m in the latter half of my thirties. When I started, there was no white in my beard. Hell, I didn’t even have a beard! Now the first streaks of frost have appeared. I’ve even gotten married, and that’s been an adventure all its own.…
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars isn’t perfect, but it’s the best version of this story I could write, and I’m proud of the final result. To quote Rolfe Humphries from the foreword to his translation of The Aeneid: “The scope of an epic requires, in the writing, a designed variety, a calculated unevenness, now and then some easy-going carelessness.”
All very true. I’m also fond of what he says further on:
“The last revisions are always the most enervating, and Virgil, one can well believe, having worked on the poem for over a decade, had reached the point where he felt he would rather do anything, including die, than go over the poem one more time.… Who wants an epic poem absolutely perfect, anyway?”
My sentiments exactly. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed the imperfections of this novel.
So. Now I’ve told a story about a story. The night grows late, and your Venusian scotch is nearly gone. I’ve spent long enough rambling on. But before you retire, a few final points.
One: those of you who are fans of the Inheritance Cycle may have noticed some references to the series in To Sleep. You weren’t imagining things. And yes, Inarë is who you think she is. (For those unfamiliar with that name, I recommend looking up Jeod’s letter on my website, paolini.net.)
Two: if you wish to dig deeper into the universe of To Sleep, I suggest paying attention to the use of the number seven in the story (where possible, all numbers are either multiples of seven or may be added up to equal seven). You may also find it interesting to locate places outside this novel where seven might be input.
Three: the table of contents contains some acrostic fun.
Enough. I’ve said my fill. The air is cold, the stars are bright, and this tale has reached its end, both for Kira and for me.
Eat the path.
2.
In creating this novel, I was fortunate to have the support of an enormous number of people. Without them, To Sleep would never have seen the light of day. They are:
My dad, for keeping things running when I was buried in the manuscript for months on end. My mom, for patience and editing (so much editing!) and continual support. My sister, Angela, for never letting me settle for second-best and for giving me the kick in the pants needed to fix Gregorovich’s story line (among many others). Caru, who created the awesome logos (aside from Shin-Zar’s) that appear in the terminology section, as well as tons of other concept art. My wife, Ash, for her ongoing support, humor, love, and various artistic contributions (including the logo for Shin-Zar). And a big thank-you to my whole family for reading this book more times than any sane person ought to.
My assistant (and friend), Immanuela Meijer, for her input, support, and some gorgeous pieces of artwork. She’s the one responsible for the map of Sigma Draconis, 61 Cygni, part of Bughunt, and the really awesome fractal endpaper/map.
My agent, Simon Lipskar, who—from the very beginning—has been a tireless champion of this book and what he knew it could be. Thank you, Simon!
My dear friend, Michelle Frey, who read several early versions of the book and who had the unenviable task of telling me that they weren’t working. Without her input, I never would have taken the leap and written a version that did work.
At Macmillan: Don Weisberg, who knew me during his time at Random House, and because of it, was willing to take a chance on an adult novel from someone previously only known for YA. Thank you, Don!
At Tor: my editors, Devi Pillai and William Hinton. They pushed me far harder than I expected … and the book is better because of it. Also in editoriaclass="underline" assistants Rachel Bass and Oliver Dougherty, and copy editor Christina MacDonald.
In publicity/marketing: Lucille Rettino, Eileen Lawrence, Stephanie Sarabian, Caroline Perny, Sarah Reidy, and Renata Sweeney. If you’ve heard of this book, they’re the ones responsible!
In design/production: Michelle Foytek, Greg Collins, Peter Lutjen, Jim Kapp, Rafal Gibek. Without them, the book wouldn’t have been published on time, and it sure wouldn’t have looked as good. And thanks to everyone else at Tor who has worked on this book.
Also thanks to Lindy Martin for the gorgeous cover image.
On the technical side of things: Gregory Meholic, who was kind enough to let me use his Tri-Space theory as the basis for my FTL system (as well as several of his graphs, which were redrawn for Appendix I). He also answered scores and scores of questions as I struggled to understand the specifics of how it worked. Apologies to him for bastardizing his theory in one or two places in the interests of fiction. Sorry Greg! Also Richard Gauthier—who originated the idea of TEQs—and H. David Froning Jr., who invented the technical groundwork for conditioned EM fields, which I used as the basis for my Markov Drives. And last but not least, Winchell Chung and the Atomic Rockets website (www.projectrho.com/rocket/). The best resource for anyone wanting to write realistic science fiction. Without it, the ideas in this book would have been far less interesting.
A special mention goes to the family of Felix Hofer, who were kind enough to let me use his name in this book. Felix was a reader of mine who, tragically, was killed in a motorcycle accident soon after his eighteenth birthday. We’d had some correspondence, and, well, I wanted to mark his passing and do my best to help Felix’s name live on.
As always, the biggest thanks of all go to you, dear reader. Without you, none of this would be possible! So again, thank you. Let’s do it again soon.
Christopher Paolini
September 15, 2020
A Conversation between Brandon Sanderson and Christopher Paolini
Christopher Paolini joined Brandon Sanderson in a conversation about their two upcoming books, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars and Rhythm of War, Book Four of The Stormlight Archive, and along the way they discussed switching from fantasy to science fiction, and the particular challenges that come with writing massive books.
Sanderson started the chat off with a compliment to Paolini, telling him that he was about 20 percent through To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, and “It is enormous, which is always a big plus in my book.”