Anybody got a comment about Martin's update?

[Boaz]

ASOIAF would be a huge undertaking... truly massive. And Martin is not even finished with it. I'd bet on The Hedge Knight.

 

[the smiling weirwood]

THAT would be good...

 

[Werthead]

GRRM's updated his Not a Blog.

BAD NEWS
ADWD won't be done before the end of the year, which is what he was shooting for. Frankly, we already knew this. After he lost 4-6 weeks in the summer due to house renovations, it seemed odd that he didn't move his end-of-year prediction back to the end of January or mid-February. Anyway, he won't put up a new deadline either, but I'd be surprised if he didn't finish by mid-February at the latest (which gives us mid-August for publication). I found the fact that he was considering cancelling his February dates (holiday in New Jersey, attending Boskone) very encouraging: he usually only does this if he's finishing up a project, meaning the end is in sight.

GOOD NEWS
He's finished most of his other writing projects. The first of the new Wild Cards books is just about done and the new edition of Shadow Twin (an SF novel cowritten with Gardner Dozois and Daniel Abraham) is finished and will get its first UK publication, possibly in 2007 from the sound of it. Whilst it'll be easy to moan and say that ADWD is the only thing anyone is interested in, the completion of these two large projects does mean that he can now focus all of his remaining energies into ADWD.

 

[Pointfinder]

Hmmm...Robert Jordan comes to mind...

My thought exactly!!!

 

[Orys Baratheon]

I see the not a blog updates because I have him linked to my livejournal friends. Honestly, I feel bad when I read some of the comments the other fans make about his delays. I am very surprised with how many jerks there are out there. People saying he is just making excuses, that he has writers block and is just yanking their chains, etc etc.

Personally I think he is fairly open and honest with his fans as far as writers go and its disappointing to see that not everyone is understanding. Hopefully he knows to take what is written in the comment section with a grain of salt.

As for one of the projects in the works it was in the news section today. Basically he is going to have a young company called Valyrian Resin design and put out Minitures for the Ice and Fire books. The news update mentioned Jon Snow and Ghost, the Hound, Jaime and Cersei, and Dany with her dragons. If you want more info of course check out his actual site.

As far as HBO, well personally I think the Song of Ice and Fire series might be too large in scope and with too many different character points of view to be captured in such a manner, though I could (and hope) be wrong.

 

[Somebloke]

Hey, the man took five years for AFFC, and it was marvellous. Maybe there's something to be said for taking your time.

At the end of the day, the book will come when it comes, and the man has a life to lead.

(Goes back to patiently sitting at home waiting for ADWD to come out)...

 

[Werthead]

There have been rumours about HBO. However, I'd imagine it would be a series of TV movies based on the Dunk & Egg stories rather than ASoIaF itself. Maybe an ongoing TV series about Dunk & Egg's adventures? Mind you, GRRM would have to let someone else write it (as he's still working on the novels), which he may not be prepared to do. Otherwise we'll have to wait until around 2012 to see it.

 

[Funky Cthulu]

I see the not a blog updates because I have him linked to my livejournal friends. Honestly, I feel bad when I read some of the comments the other fans make about his delays. I am very surprised with how many jerks there are out there. People saying he is just making excuses, that he has writers block and is just yanking their chains, etc etc.

As for one of the projects in the works it was in the news section today. Basically he is going to have a young company called Valyrian Resin design and put out Minitures for the Ice and Fire books. The news update mentioned Jon Snow and Ghost, the Hound, Jaime and Cersei, and Dany with her dragons. If you want more info of course check out his actual site.

'Valyrian Resin'! I like that The man has a sense of humour about himself evidently.

I don't mind (as a reader) if he DOES have writers block. Well, I am impatient to read ADWD, naturally, but it's none of my business how he goes about creating that - I'm grateful for what he's done so far, but he has no obligation to us, for timeframes or explaining him to us. Sounds like some people have an "I'm entitled" attitude.

 

[Mermaid]

Do any of you feel that an author has a responsibility to readers/customers to give a completed project in a timely manor? I go back and forth with this, sometimes being so damn irritated that it takes years for "part 2" and sometimes understanding that the time might seem long to me but must be necessary to get a good end product. It seems almost irresponsible to me to commit yourself as an author to a trilogy ( or any series) of books and then take up to decades to get them all out. Like Star Wars for example. I don't think I'll even live long enough to see all 9 episodes. Makes me crazy.

 

[Werthead]

No, not really. The reader always has the option of not buying the book if they get annoyed with the amount of time it takes to come out, or getting it from the library (and thus no money goes towards the author or publisher). If you really get annoyed by big gaps between books, then waiting until the last volume is out before reading the whole thing is the only way to proceed.

I am reminded of Jack Vance leaving his second Dying Earth book, The Eyes of the Overworld, on a cliffhanger ending, then going off and writing other books and coming back sixteen years later to resolve the cliffhanger in Cugel's Saga.

I think the problem now is communication. If you have a large and loyal fanbase, it is very easy with the author to let his fans know what's going on. However, they sometimes feel an urge to suddenly give out over-optimistic release dates, crushing people's hopes when they miss them. Ironically, fifteen or twenty years ago when the only way to find out what's going on with the writing process is the odd interview here and there in magazines, people probably weren't caught up so much in the waiting game.

And there will never be episodes 7-9 of the Star Wars movies now. Not going to happen.

 

[Funky Cthulu]

Do any of you feel that an author has a responsibility to readers/customers to give a completed project in a timely manor?

I'd agree with Boaz here - an author shouldn't promise on what they don't intend to deliver. But most authors, I think, just get too optimistic about what they can achieve. GRRM said on his blog that he feels terrible when he has to go back on previous release estimates and even worse when he gets feedback from angry readers. (err, that's paraphased)
Writing is such an unpredictable talent - at the core of it all, some writers may just not be able to sustain quality work. For the record, I don't think that's the case for GRRM. But he could die tomorrow and we would only be able to speculate on the ending.

So, I try not to get too attached. I learned that lesson the hard way waiting for Isobel Carmody to create another instalment in the Obernewton series. She wrote another series in the 8 year gap, which I started reading and now much prefer - she's finally released 'Ashling' a few years ago and seems to have abandoned the interim series. I've forgotten most of what transpired in the Obernewton series now anyway, and have given up in disgust.

 

[Weasel Soup]

I'd sooner wait than have a sketchy attempt from Martin...... However the waiting keeps this forum alive with speculation, which i will admidt is a large part of the fun. Having been at the (somewhat) top of a creative feild (dont ask, not anymore) perfectionism cant be rushed.

Besides arya doesnt pull her braids

 

[Werthead]

True, but Lady Webber of Coldmoat does in The Sworn Sword. I think that was GRRM taking the mickey out of his mate, Robert Jordan.

 

[Jeroam]

Who's Mickey and how did he get in there to begin with?

 

[Pointfinder]

After prepaying for the last installment and then having it delayed time after time after time, I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[Detritus]

I've just read some of the comments made in grrm's blog by some so-called fans of his writing (and added a little comment myself). Some people really do have the patience of a mayfly.

How can anyone moan about a delay of 1 year between books? We waited 5 years for AFFC and it was worth the wait. Not the best book of the series so far but still a bloody good read.

God help them if they had to wait for a series like Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower'. I, and thousands of others, waited 24 years to see it completed and had the worry that it was never to be completed after his terrible accident.

An author has a responsibility only to themselves to complete a series, not to the fickle, impatient moaners who cry foul if they don't get what they want when they want it. Life has a way of waylaying the best laid plans of everyone, as we all know, and if it happens that that series isn't finished then is it really a matter of life and death?

OK rant over because I'm going to really start to foam at the mouth in a minute

 

[TK-421]

Imagine what JRR Tolkien would think with all this blogging, forums, bitchy fans. Would put him off writing fantasy.

 

[Funky Cthulu]

Imagine what JRR Tolkien would think with all this blogging, forums, bitchy fans. Would put him off writing fantasy.

Or he could just incorporate them into a scene! They could be a particularly annoying sub-set of goblins...maybe end up getting fed to a Nazgul for pestering Sauron.
But I can see him liking the forums, granted I didn't know him, but reading Chris Tolkiens published notes, it seems like he worked hard on the Elven language, so seeing fans take it up and discuss it could have been rewarding.

 

[Weasel Soup]

So are we the sparrows?

 

[Funky Cthulu]

So are we the sparrows?

Weeeel, the sparrows have a legitimate grievance, being screwed over by the establishment. I've always thought Robert Arryn seemed like a very unflattering portrait of *someone*. So possibly him.