George R.R. Martin "Astonished" by Fans After Winds of Winter Delay

[StewShearerOld]

George R.R. Martin "Astonished" by Fans After Winds of Winter Delay

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George R.R. Martin says that he's received thousands of supportive comments and messages following his reveal that The Winds of Winter will be delayed.

George R.R. Martin recently revealed The Winds of Winter, the next chapter in his long running Song of Ice and Fire novel series, is not going to be released anytime soon. With Game of Thrones, the HBO series based on the books, pushing steadily forward, fans of the books now stand to find themselves in a position where the TV show will <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/140195-Game-of-Thrones-TV-Show-Will-Spoil-Books>spoil the books rather than the usual status quo of vice versa. The announcement, in turn, left more than a few book fans <a href=articles>feeling angry.

Speaking about the issue again recently however, Martin shared that it's not the negative responses that have left him feeling "astonished," but rather the influx of support. "The outpouring of support in response to my post on THE WINDS OF WINTER has been astonishing," wrote Martin in <a href=livejournal>a Livejournal post on Saturday. "There were forty pages of screened comments on the post by the time I logged on this morning. I haven't even been able to read half of them as yet... I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all the kind words and good wishes." He ended the post by labeling his current mood as "rejuvenated."

While it's a little bit depressing that Martin would be surprised by Ice and Fire fans reacting to him positively, his response shouldn't come as much of a surprise considering <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/136101-Game-of-Thrones-Author-Wont-Change-How-He-Writes-for-Impatient-Fans>the vitriol he's had to deal with from disgruntled readers <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/136596-Game-of-Thrones-Author-Admits-Pressure-to-Finish-Books-Affect-Him>in the past. That being the case, good on people for letting him know that he and his work are appreciated. Creative work is hard even when you're as successful as George R.R. Martin. Knowing people like what you're doing can be a huge inspiration to move forward in moments of difficulty.

Source: <a href=http://grrm.livejournal.com/465494.html>Livejournal


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[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I support George because I wouldn't envy his position one bit (except for the money maybe). Writing for television and the production machinery behind it were always going to outstrip one man and one computer.

 

[Deacon Cole]

Livejournal still exists and George R R Martin uses it? Wow.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

I know how difficult it is to write anything of meaning. I can crap out A+ quality term papers, essays, etc., but even though I love creative writing and I've written 100s of stories ranging from short to novel length, the stuff I've finished is not personally print worthy and the stuff I think has a chance is still miles away from being finished.
I've been working on the same story for 15 years, for example, and I think it has potential, maybe not NYT best-seller or anything but I can't figure out a proper ending.
I feel for published writers who're either personally or contracturally compelled to write by a deadline and are stumped as to how to finish their story. GRRM will be done when he's done and hope he doesn't kill himself finishing the book. More than likely there's still one more behind this and I'd hate to see him go before he's fleshed it out.

 

[MiskWisk]

I saw the title and immediately assumed this was going to be about people proving the idea behind the GIFT accurate. Nice to be proven wrong.

 

[Zacharious-khan]

Just release a 1500 page book, I'll still read it.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

They're just offering support because they're afraid he'll die before the book is published.

Also good luck selling the book George if the show starts spoiling it.

 

[IOwnTheSpire]

They're just offering support because they're afraid he'll die before the book is published.

Also good luck selling the book George if the show starts spoiling it.

You always post something negative about George and/or his fans on every thread about him, is the hate really necessary?

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

They're just offering support because they're afraid he'll die before the book is published.

Also good luck selling the book George if the show starts spoiling it.

You always post something negative about George and/or his fans on every thread about him, is the hate really necessary?

Hey whoa, I have never posted on George or his fans before. And its not hate. Its legit. The previous book sold well because people wanted to know what was going to happen in the show. If the show starts again before the next book is out, truly good luck selling it. For the majority of the fans there's no point buying the book if the show has already passed it.

 

[Seraj33]

This is really a case between two kinds of people.

Thoose who realize he is a working human being and that writing a book is not exactly a cakewalk. Thoose who realize that the fact that this series even exists is a privilage.

And the others who believe they are entitled to his work by some kind of birthright, selfish assholes.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

See, George? Just say it's delayed, but explain that you are working on it, and fans will understand.

I think what got him negative comments in the past was his attitude towards working on the book. Fans will react differently to an author saying a book is delayed, but being worked on, and an author saying basically "It'll come out when it comes out, and the more you bug me, the less likely I am to work on it," no matter how justified he is in saying the latter.

 

[StewShearerOld]

They're just offering support because they're afraid he'll die before the book is published.

Also good luck selling the book George if the show starts spoiling it.

You always post something negative about George and/or his fans on every thread about him, is the hate really necessary?

Hey whoa, I have never posted on George or his fans before. And its not hate. Its legit. The previous book sold well because people wanted to know what was going to happen in the show. If the show starts again before the next book is out, truly good luck selling it. For the majority of the fans there's no point buying the book if the show has already passed it.

The thing is, you're most likely wrong. A lot of people were introduced to a Song of Ice and Fire after watching the TV show and had already had major plot points spoiled. Moreover, Martin's versions of events are much more complex and in some places completely different from what happens on the show. What happened with Brienne in season 5 did nothing to resolve a cliffhanger from the last time we saw her in book 4. I want to see what happens to that version of her character as well as the many other characters that never made it into the show.

 

[Yojoo]

This is really a case between two kinds of people.

Thoose who realize he is a working human being and that writing a book is not exactly a cakewalk. Thoose who realize that the fact that this series even exists is a privilage.

And the others who believe they are entitled to his work by some kind of birthright, selfish assholes.

Can't I just be somebody frustrated with the massive drop-off in released content, without feeling entitled to it? The first three books are some of my favorites of all time. But then Martin opted to continuously expand the scope of his series, to the point where the last two novels each took 5+ years to write and, combined, probably feature less plot development than any one of the preceding books. And now, here we are, having waited five years since Dance and still unsure of when the next book comes out.

I mean, we're allowed to criticize, right? A few years ago, I'd have gladly justified the wait I'm experiencing with the quality of the first three installations. But it's getting to the point where I'm losing faith that I'll ever get either quality or closure from this series again, at least from the books.

I think GRRM grievously erred in the period following Storm of Swords by broadening the scope of his story and adding too many POV characters to reasonably continue pushing the plot forward at an attractive rate. Time will tell, of course, and I'd love to hold a complete series in my hands a few years from now and be happy with where it all went. But, currently, I'm just not convinced he, or anybody, has what it takes to finish this thing at all, let alone with high quality.

 

[Sheo_Dagana]

Martin only got to where he is now because of his fans, so it's good that people are continuing to support him. I'm sure that between everything that he has to do between the show, convention appearances, editing, and life in general, not to mention keeping things creative and interesting, I'm sure that it's difficult to just sit down and WRITE. It is for me, and I'm just a student.

On the other hand...

I kind of gave up on A Song of Ice and Fire a long ass time ago. Six years between books was just way too long for me to maintain my emotional investment in the characters and the story. I have found smaller-named and, quite frankly, more interesting authors since then, so my literary plate is quite full anyway. Once the final book is released, as in I can actually see it on the shelf at Barnes and Noble, I'll sit down and re-read the series to get back into things.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

SNIP

Well...no. I mean you may want to know what happens in both mediums, but the books have been around since what? '96? '97? Something like that.
And the massive fanbase only started after the show started. I would say a majority of the fanbase truly read the books to know what happens in the show or at least how it stacks up against the show. With the show over-taking the books, I'm predicting the sales of the book won't be anywhere close to what they would have been had the book met its deadlines.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

This is really a case between two kinds of people.

Thoose who realize he is a working human being and that writing a book is not exactly a cakewalk. Thoose who realize that the fact that this series even exists is a privilage.

And the others who believe they are entitled to his work by some kind of birthright, selfish assholes.

Can't I just be somebody frustrated with the massive drop-off in released content, without feeling entitled to it? The first three books are some of my favorites of all time. But then Martin opted to continuously expand the scope of his series, to the point where the last two novels each took 5+ years to write and, combined, probably feature less plot development than any one of the preceding books. And now, here we are, having waited five years since Dance and still unsure of when the next book comes out.

I mean, we're allowed to criticize, right? A few years ago, I'd have gladly justified the wait I'm experiencing with the quality of the first three installations. But it's getting to the point where I'm losing faith that I'll ever get either quality or closure from this series again, at least from the books.

I think GRRM grievously erred in the period following Storm of Swords by broadening the scope of his story and adding too many POV characters to reasonably continue pushing the plot forward at an attractive rate. Time will tell, of course, and I'd love to hold a complete series in my hands a few years from now and be happy with where it all went. But, currently, I'm just not convinced he, or anybody, has what it takes to finish this thing at all, let alone with high quality.

Well one thing is for sure. The show is gonna conclude long before the books conclude.

I blame the fact that he chose to write the script and screenplay for the show all.

Rarely do I here an author of a book also write for any visual adaption.

The only time I heard of that situation was Mario Puzo co-writing for Godfather 2.

 

[Politrukk]

This is news?

jesus the Southpark "safe space" episode was even more spot on than I could have imagined.


How is it over there in your bubbles Americans?

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

It's his story to tell and should be told at the pace of and in the manner in which he chooses.

As for the show overtaking the books, I don't understand why it's been made to be such a big deal. Up until season 5, the books were ahead of the show, thus readers knew what would happen already while the viewers did not. What difference is there if it's the other way around? The show hasn't been spoiled by the readers any more than the books will be spoiled by the viewers.

 

[K12]

It's really frustrating waiting for his books to be finished but I'd definitely rather they be good than punctual. It's nice that he's getting more support than vitriol, I don't know what kind of idiot could belive that you can insult someone into writing faster.

I really hope this delay isn't so that he can add in a few extra POV characters though...

 

[Broslinger]

So now the show watchers will be ahead of us book readers? This . . . this can't be!