New GRRM Update on ADWD

[Culhwch]

Actually, I think it's altogether possible to help but think that.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

Sometimes I feel a bit sorry for George. He seems to have saddled himself with this Magnum Opus which he seems to be in and out of favour with depending when you read his "Not a blog" and he seems to be under constant pressure from his fans to deliver the next installment. I appreciate without ASOFAI he may not be in the financial position he's in now but he does seem to be writing the story now just to keep his fans happy rather than the actual enjoyment of writing the story for his own personal satisfaction as an author. Anyone else feel the same?
I think if he really did enjoy the writing then he'd have made much more headway over the last few years than he has.
He recently commented that he missed Comicon in San Diego so he could continue writing so he is missing out on what he seems to enjoy to try and advance the novel.
Anyone else feel that maybe he wishes he'd not taken on such a gargantuan task?

 

[hadd]

I guess it's only natural to get tired sooner or later, but deep down i think he still knows he just needs to swallow these feelings down and keep on going. I'd like to think it's just a phase and he'll sort of get back his writing groove.
ASOIAF will probably be the book that he's most known by and will be most remembered by and i find that all is for a reason.
After all this task he took on isn't impossible for him, it's just tiring at times but life is never easy

 

[The Imp]

The fact that GRRM stayed home to write rather than miss a huge event says to me that he must be close.

I hope

 

[Ghost of Harrenhal]

I understand both camps completely. I'm one of those people that have to finish a job before they start another and, more for that reason than anything else, it does sometimes get to me how after five years of trying to put out a novel that is being waited for SO eagerly by SO many fans of the series, GRRM still spends time writing compilations with other authors and short stories here and there.

I'm not against him having free time! I don't think anyone should be holding a gun to his head until he finishes and I certainly don't think anyone should tell him how to live his life but I personally could never do it the way he is and that is my only gripe. I'm still young and barely out of high school but I hope to get some of the stories in my head onto paper one day and if I was ever going to tackle something the size and scope of ASOIAF I would have the whole fictional universe and every book planned out in detail before I wrote the first full paragraph. Holes here and there, sure, but I'd like to be so well prepared that I could churn out a quality series in less than a decade. Oh, and I personally would make it my goal to finish it before I started anything else, even if it meant having to suppress a damn good idea.

These aren't intended to be direct criticisms of GRRM at all but that is how I would do it because I couldn't bear to disappoint my fans and because, as I said at the beginning, I'm a bit obsessive about finishing things before I move onto other ventures. I can't multi-task and I know that if I write a one-off sci-fi story in the middle of a fantasy epic then it would ruin my idea of the fantasy.

With all that said, GRRM is a human being and is entitled to do whatever the hell he likes! I'm just glad he's soldiering on and that, one day, I'll be able to read the Song of Ice and Fire from start to finish, turn the last page and die happily. That's all I need. Time is one thing I've got on my side, for now.

No one can tell him what to do. Only he can decide. And I'm not him. Or am I?

FIN

 

[No One]

So no one can tell him what to do, eh? Excellent! I'll set to work on a list of commands. Please feel free to send me your suggestions. Unless you are George Martin. Like Boaz. Or Imp. Or maybe even GoH. Or me.

And agreed with Imp - glad to see he's given a con a miss, although he clearly has a good time with them. I'll take that as yet another omen of imminentness.

Hello to Crooksy73 and Hadd, btw

 

[Ursa major]

I think if he really did enjoy the writing then he'd have made much more headway over the last few years than he has.

Or he may be so in love with his creation that he is seeking perfection.

As an aspiring writer who is struggling to make the best of a plot with only 1% of the complexity of ASoIaF's, I can assure everyone that it isn't at all easy. Add in the fact that AFFC and ADWD are at the middle of the work - generally thought of as the hardest to pull off, as this is where the plots and subplots** reach their most diverse and have to all be directed towards the end - and it's no surprise to me that ADWD has taken so long. (It should be more of a surprise that he's so close to finishing what is a Herculean task.)



** - These will be the real killers; GRRM has probably known where the big plots have been heading since the time he was writing AGoT.

 

[TK-421]

The latest from GRRM when writing about the start of filming in Nothern Ireland:

And me... well, a blank computer screen awaits. Still a lot of story to tell.

 

[The Imp]

The latest from GRRM when writing about the start of filming in Nothern Ireland:

And me... well, a blank computer screen awaits. Still a lot of story to tell.

My take on that was, a reference to the rest of the series, not just ADWD.. Given the number of completed manuscript pages, that seems more likely.

 

[Moggle]

Sometimes I feel a bit sorry for George. He seems to have saddled himself with this Magnum Opus which he seems to be in and out of favour with depending when you read his "Not a blog" and he seems to be under constant pressure from his fans to deliver the next installment. I appreciate without ASOFAI he may not be in the financial position he's in now but he does seem to be writing the story now just to keep his fans happy rather than the actual enjoyment of writing the story for his own personal satisfaction as an author. Anyone else feel the same?
I think if he really did enjoy the writing then he'd have made much more headway over the last few years than he has.
He recently commented that he missed Comicon in San Diego so he could continue writing so he is missing out on what he seems to enjoy to try and advance the novel.
Anyone else feel that maybe he wishes he'd not taken on such a gargantuan task?

He probably cries himself to sleep every night knowing he has to continue writing this series. Maybe he should take a break from writing the books and not try to rush these into publication.

 

[Werthead]

Some more info coming down the pipe from what his publishers were saying at Comic-Con:

GRRM has passed 1,400 manuscript pages. He previously said that the book will now come in at less than 1,500 manuscript pages since he moved Arianne Martell's material into Book 6. So, in terms of page count, he's definitely very close to finishing. In terms of how much creative effort and writing is required there, it's less clear how easy that will be (i.e. we still don't know if the Meereenese Knot has been fully overcome yet). However, I would not expect it to take too much longer.

The biggest question mark is over publication time. Bantam, surprisingly, have said that they remain committed to a three-month turnaround for the book (previous indications were that they were now resigned to 2011 publication). If GRRM finishes within the next couple of weeks, they would move heaven and earth to get ADWD out in 2010, as will his UK publishers. I was starting to count 2010 out, so good to hear it's still at least theoretically possible.

And yes, Martin's comments about a blank screen simply meant that he had to switch his writing computer on and get to work And that after ADWD there are still two big books, several short stories and a world book to come. The end is in sight for ADWD at least.

 

[The Imp]

Some more info coming down the pipe from what his publishers were saying at Comic-Con:

GRRM has passed 1,400 manuscript pages. He previously said that the book will now come in at less than 1,500 manuscript pages since he moved Arianne Martell's material into Book 6. So, in terms of page count, he's definitely very close to finishing. In terms of how much creative effort and writing is required there, it's less clear how easy that will be (i.e. we still don't know if the Meereenese Knot has been fully overcome yet). However, I would not expect it to take too much longer.

The biggest question mark is over publication time. Bantam, surprisingly, have said that they remain committed to a three-month turnaround for the book (previous indications were that they were now resigned to 2011 publication). If GRRM finishes within the next couple of weeks, they would move heaven and earth to get ADWD out in 2010, as will his UK publishers. I was starting to count 2010 out, so good to hear it's still at least theoretically possible.

And yes, Martin's comments about a blank screen simply meant that he had to switch his writing computer on and get to work And that after ADWD there are still two big books, several short stories and a world book to come. The end is in sight for ADWD at least.

Reading your post was a nice way to end my eveing. Thanks Wert

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

Or he may be so in love with his creation that he is seeking perfection.

Very good point Ursa - and probably more than likely the cause.

Hello back No-One

 

[The Imp]

]Or he may be so in love with his creation that he is seeking perfection.[/B]

As an aspiring writer who is struggling to make the best of a plot with only 1% of the complexity of ASoIaF's, I can assure everyone that it isn't at all easy. Add in the fact that AFFC and ADWD are at the middle of the work - generally thought of as the hardest to pull off, as this is where the plots and subplots** reach their most diverse and have to all be directed towards the end - and it's no surprise to me that ADWD has taken so long. (It should be more of a surprise that he's so close to finishing what is a Herculean task.)



** - These will be the real killers; GRRM has probably known where the big plots have been heading since the time he was writing AGoT.

I pretty much agree with all but the bolded text. I think that GRRm is a perfectionist, as is evidenced by the remarkable writing demonstrated in ASOIAF. The is an amazing lack of mistakes, and of course, a very intircate series of plotlines that fit together almost perfectly. I don't think GRRM is holding onto his creation because he loves it so much, but rather, it's about him needing every idea, every event, every word, etc. to be as "perfect" as possible.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

Imp - are GRRM in disguise?

 

[No One]

I definately believe there's a strong element of perfectionism in GRRM.

On an unrelated note - Imp, would you say you're a perfectionist?

 

[The Imp]

Imp - are GRRM in disguise?

I'm 61 years old, and a NewYork Giants/New York Jets fan. Draw any conclusions that you may.

 

[Boaz]

You want me to draw a conclusion? Since I'm always wrong, yet often provocative (at least to my own thinking) I'll guess you are Kiwi.

GRRM put this at the bottom of his Not A Blog post tonight...

Finally, might mention that I finished a chapter of the DANCE today. I had one last chapter about this particular character -- I will call him Fred -- to finish, and then I am done with him for the book. Of course, in the writing, it turned into three chapters. So I finished a Fred chapter a week ago, and a Fred chapter an hour ago, and yet I STILL have one Fred chapter to finish. Sigh. The horizon recedes continuously before me.

Time to go eat supper. Bye.

Feel free to draw conclusions as to Fred's identity.

 

[viZion]

Feel free to draw conclusions as to Fred's identity.

Imp. Obviously.

 

[Koopa]

You want me to draw a conclusion? Since I'm always wrong, yet often provocative (at least to my own thinking) I'll guess you are Kiwi.

GRRM put this at the bottom of his Not A Blog post tonight...

Feel free to draw conclusions as to Fred's identity.

Huh? Am I missing something? What did I do? I'm being bullied aren't I?
Just w8 and see, i'm gonna get my mother to call your mother....


PS: Who's Fred and has it anything to do with weasels? (Crests maybe)