Game of Thrones Author Won't Change How He Writes for Impatient Fans

[Redryhno]

They could always get Brian Sanderson on it if the worst happens now that he's done killing the wheel of time series, we miss you Robert Jordan! >_<

Hey, let's be fair to the guy, NOBODY was going to be able to replicate that spark Jordan had for his world, now I may be a bit biased since I haven't read all the way to end yet and the only book I've fully finished is TGS, which happened to be the one Jordan had worked quite a bit on. And he pulled a Tolkien and left a storage unit of stuff on the world too, so you can't fully blame Sanderson for it. Though his insistence on doing one-shot characters instead of talking about the world at large grated on me.

OT: I can see why GRRM is like this to his most vocal fans concerning the books, but come on man. You've had a charity where people have basically paid to be written and killed off in your last two books, constant travel as far as I've been able to see, and you don't write unless you're at home, which I can fully respect and understand, but you're slipping man, this series has been going on for nearly twenty years, and you've only got something like six books to show for it. Hell, SoT had more just as well-enjoyed books in half that time, and it's being called complete shit now on the internets.

 

[Ickorus]

I'm with him on this as I can totally empathize with only being able to work at my absolute best in certain circumstances, for instance I like to work to tight deadlines and hate working from home, any other way and I start taking too long with my work and having the quality drop fairly dramatically.

If he needs to be at home to do his work, so be it.

Anyone got any ropes to tie him to his writing chair with?

 

[Something Amyss]

Okay, just this once, I'll say it: I agree with George r.r. Martin. You have to be in the right mindset in order to write. Some people write in cafe. Others can't do it in public places. I imagine its the same here. Besides, how much time would he add if he did write on a plane? A few hours? And he wouldn't get much written anyway. He'd probably throw out what he wrote. His problems isn't that he doesn't spend time writing. It's that he doesn't plan, and has no idea where the stories going. In any case, people need to leave him alone. When your critics (me) treat you better than your friends, there's something very wrong.

I an sympathise with at least this much. I have trouble writing in some conditions. I mean, I don't need to be at home, on my PC, free of distractions, but some things will completely disrupt any attempt to write for fun or for work.

That said, is he really making it up as he goes along?

 

[Something Amyss]

If he doesn't finish the series before he dies, well, at least the fans had fun while it lasted.

You guys did have fun reading his books, right? It wasn't all just obsessive nitpicking and like a second job to you all, right?

Riiiight?

Pffft. Like that ever happens on the internet. I mean, next thing you'll tell me is that sarcasm is rampant. Like anyone would ever believe that.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

You guys did have fun reading his books, right? It wasn't all just obsessive nitpicking and like a second job to you all, right?

Riiiight?

Pffft. Like that ever happens on the internet. I mean, next thing you'll tell me is that sarcasm is rampant. Like anyone would ever believe that.

Truth brother, all text online written by people in forums completely reflects how they actually feel. All the time.

OT: Good on him for knowing his routine and telling people to step out of it. Let the mad man with the pen do his thing or else he'll kill Tyrion. You don't want that to happen do you?

 

[Jacco]

My problem with GRRM is that he seems to actively hate his fans. I can certainly understand his displeasure at the way people hassle him. But he also brings it on himself by being an insufferable ass.

Listen. Your fans make you what you are. Without them, you dont have that multimillion dollar paycheck from HBO or the publishers. You need to show them respect. End of story. What the hell would happen to a company that actively told its customers to fuck off? It would go out of business.

There are millions of writers around the world that would do anything to have the fan base he does. He needs to take a step back and be thankful for the success he has.

 

[Ratty]

I'm not going to tell him to hurry up and finish. I'm more a fan of the show than the books, and HBO will finish the story before he's done writing (GRRM consults on the show). I will say that he needs to admit this is a valid concern and probably announce that he has a backup writer in the event of his death

Part of the problem is that he's on the record saying that he wants any notes/unfinished manuscripts burned, and to not allow someone else to conclude the series. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/129647-George-R-R-Martin-Wants-A-Song-of-Ice-and-Fire-to-End-With-Him

Personally I'll be much more upset if Berserk doesn't finish before Kentaro Miura passes away. Miura is only 48 but he's apparently a bit of a reculse so no one knows what his health is like. But he's been working on Berserk since 1988 and his output has decreased greatly over the last decade. With there sometimes being gaps of 4 or 5 months in-between individual chapter releases. It doesn't help that his art is so meticulous and detailed that it's said if he makes one mistake he'll scrap a page he's been working on for 5+ hours and start again.

 

[The Feast]

We may talk about George R.R Martin about his long delay of completing the SOIAF series but I also find the similarity with manga writer as well. Such as Kentarou Miura who is probably taking his long time to draw spectacles for his manga which is very detailed, and there's Yoshihiro Togashi, creator of Hunter X Hunter, who had already taken hiatus for two years, usually from the rumors that he always play Dragon Quest and eventually, taking more hiatus whenever the new Dragon Quest comes out.

Honestly, most people don't even think they will even complete their work. Even J.R.R Tolkien couldn't complete the Silmarillion but at least he finishes The Hobbit sequel which is the LOTR.

 

[Sylph_14]

While I kind of understand the impatience, I support Martin completely in his stance. When I was taking a computer programming course last semester, I literally could not work at home. Try as I might, I couldn't deal with all the distractions, and ended up basically spending 6-10 hours a day in the campus computer lab getting work done. On the other hand, try as I might, I can't get creative juices flowing for a drawing without being in the comfort of my home set-up.

I think mostly Martin might be a bit sick of putting up with entitled fans who somehow think he owes them something.

 

[Monsterfurby]

"Can't" is probably closer to the truth, and I don't mean that in an accusatory manner at all. Writing, from my personal experience, is an insanely individual experience, craft and art. You cannot just change your habits even if you wanted to. Style, ideas, even motivation, are extremely fragile. No writer would put those on the line unless it was a matter of life and death.

Yes, GRRM is not a talented novel author. He's a brilliant short story author as well as world-builder and story writer, but his seat-of-the-pants writing approach makes it hard for him to write to scale without getting mixed up in subplot upon subplot. I'm repeating myself here, I know, but as a fellow writer with a similar creative approach, I very much sympathize with the guy and feel the need to point this out whenever the topic comes up. Some people simply work differently from others.

 

[Something Amyss]

Truth brother, all text online written by people in forums completely reflects how they actually feel. All the time.

I know I have meant every single word I've ever said on the internet and have never contradicted myself by that statement.

OT: Good on him for knowing his routine and telling people to step out of it. Let the mad man with the pen do his thing or else he'll kill Tyrion. You don't want that to happen do you?

Oh jeez, I can picture him doing that, too.

 

[ExtraDebit]

I think its a valid concern... 65 over weight in a bad way. But I don't think its something that needs to be at the forefront of peoples mind either. He's not been diagnosed with anything as far as I know and I assume that his wife and family care about him beyond his books so they are I imagine making sure he's going to his regular doctor visits. But if he maintains his current pace the books are going to be overlapped by the series so he does need to get cracking regardless. I know that somewhere in his contract with HBO there is a clause about the completion of books or at the very least a plan on what to do if the worst happens.

A lot of people not diagnose with anything just up and die without warning, Michael Jackson for example (though he did looked a little pale before he die......for a long time).

Personally I don't really care about his health since he's not my friend or family and I don't know him, what I care about is he finish the books before he kicks the bucket. But even if he didn't finish the books and just up and die, it's no big deal, he's not the first writer and certainly wouldn't be the last. There will be other books to read.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

Good, he should stick with what he has been doing. He doesn't owe his fans anything.

 

[Fox12]

Okay, just this once, I'll say it: I agree with George r.r. Martin. You have to be in the right mindset in order to write. Some people write in cafe. Others can't do it in public places. I imagine its the same here. Besides, how much time would he add if he did write on a plane? A few hours? And he wouldn't get much written anyway. He'd probably throw out what he wrote. His problems isn't that he doesn't spend time writing. It's that he doesn't plan, and has no idea where the stories going. In any case, people need to leave him alone. When your critics (me) treat you better than your friends, there's something very wrong.

I an sympathise with at least this much. I have trouble writing in some conditions. I mean, I don't need to be at home, on my PC, free of distractions, but some things will completely disrupt any attempt to write for fun or for work.

That said, is he really making it up as he goes along?

Well, there are two kinds of writers, the architects and the gardners. Architects plan everything out, while the gardners like to watch their story grow and see what it becomes. Martin has said that he is a Gardner (his words). The only problem with this is that, when you write a story as massive as got, the story can get away from you easily, and you'll find it excrutiatingly difficult to find a satisfactory ending. Architects don't have this problem, because they usually plan the ending before they start writing. I imagine, after book three, Martin found himself in this unenviable position. That seems to be where the trouble started. There's also a lot of filler in his work, because he just writes and sees what happens next. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it's a style that's really better suited for short stories then massive epics.

In any case, I wouldn't be able to write if it felt like someone was watching me over my shoulder. As famous as he is, that would probably happen. You can't really write if you're always distracted. Again, I have a lot of problems with martins themes, but that doesn't make it right to harass the man himself. I hope he's at least enjoying his success.

Now Berserk, that's something to worry about. It feels like Miura just up and quit. At least Martin tries.

 

[tacotrainwreck]

As usual, he will only write while chugging a gallon of chocolate milk buried beneath a pile of Big Macs.

*edit*

And lots of bacon.

*edit 2.0*

And all the cheese he can handle.

 

[animeh1star1a]

The guy's books are fantastic. I don't care how long it takes, so long as the book is as good as its predecessors. Changing how and where you write can change the content and quality. If he likes to remain focused and immerse himself in his work, more power to him.

Also, why risk turning something you love into a mediocre pile of crap just so you can get it sooner?

 

[BishopofAges]

I can understand that process, and its because of the way people view 'work' these days. In this day and age, people view work as 'workload' 'hours' 'work week' and 'labor' but when it comes to storytelling it feels like the writer must rejoin with his/her world in order to continue. It's not as simple as traveling and getting a couple chapters done on the train/plane, because you'd be too busy taking in the view of travel even if you are well-traveled there is still something interesting about going places and doing new things. If you work too much then you find yourself missing out on living life and your work will suffer for it.

There's even a practical reason for writing at home, which I can deduce from his use of an old computer, and that would be making sure that no one takes off with notes or drafts and leaking them to the world. A great many have no clue how many drafts an author can go through before the final product, including scrapping the draft entirely and starting from scratch.

 

[Something Amyss]

Well, there are two kinds of writers, the architects and the gardners.

Two extremes, perhaps. I bet most writers fall somewhere in the middle. I do. However, I'm more surprised because this is not a style generally employed in epics, because it's not really the strength of the style (which you do point out, I'm just bridging the two thoughts.

In any case, I wouldn't be able to write if it felt like someone was watching me over my shoulder. As famous as he is, that would probably happen. You can't really write if you're always distracted. Again, I have a lot of problems with martins themes, but that doesn't make it right to harass the man himself. I hope he's at least enjoying his success.

I agree that there's no reason to harass him, but I find it somewhat ironic that he's talking about the inability to be left alone while doing interviews and the like. I'm not trying to link the two, it's just weird.

I wonder what this kind of success does to you. I really enjoy writing, but I've never had any fiction published. I sort of wonder if a fanbase outside of friends and family would dampen the fun factor.

 

[sniddy_v1legacy]

The problem is the way he's going he'll be dead before the Starks are

So a little haste wouldn't go amiss

The delay between his last book and the one before was insane, hopefully some of the material will make it into this book and it'll be a litttle quicker