GRRM - honest thoughts?

[Pedro Del Mar]

What are your thoughts on GRRM?

Do you think that now he's made his money he can't be arsed completing the series? Or do you think that he's as committed as ever?

His lack of any progress update since 2012 isn't very uplifting. Do you think this shows a lack of respect to his real fans? Or do you think he's so busy writing that he'd rather not issue any update on his progress?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I think he has too much on his plate with the show and what not and is making slow progress. I also think if he hadn't padded the last two books so badly he'd be a lot further on.

 

[Brian G Turner]

I love GRRM's prose - it's tight, concise, and very evocative. But the series has turned into an encyclopediac work about Westeros, and the next book introduces even more characters.

I'm sure he loves his fans, and the whole project is simply bogging him down - however, he's become so successful by not publishing the next instalments that I doubt anyone in publishing will dare to change his method.

 

[Koopa]

well after all these years, i would not be surprised if he'd preferred to write about other things, do other stuff then write about westeros. My guess is, a big part of him (sadly for us waiting fans) is probably fed up with this series (even though it gave him so much succes) and would want move on. Only getting this particular monkey off his back won't be easy.

 

[Boaz]

What are your thoughts on GRRM?

Do you think that now he's made his money he can't be arsed completing the series? Or do you think that he's as committed as ever?

His lack of any progress update since 2012 isn't very uplifting. Do you think this shows a lack of respect to his real fans? Or do you think he's so busy writing that he'd rather not issue any update on his progress?

GRRM is all in. How can his commitment be doubted? He's taken criticism for everything he does; for writing too slow... for not caring about his fans... for killing off his characters... for being greedy... for attending book conventions... for speaking to aspiring writers... for traveling to book signings... for talking to Conan O'Brien... for writing short stories about Westeros... for spending time managing his licensing deals... for blogging... for not blogging... for getting married... for going on a honeymoon... for watching football games on TV... He's publicly criticized for everything he does. The public expects him to be chained to his desk from 9 to 5 each day (including weekends. I've seen posts on the web claiming he's a slacker... and yet he's still working on it so that the haters may also enjoy it. I'd say the man is committed to A Song of Ice and Fire.

It's now more than a story. This one is his opus and his legacy. He does not seem like the type to quit... either outright quit or give up on his magnum opus when he's so close to the finish line. I think any story teller probably understands better than the average joe that it is the journey counts more than the end. Of course, he did not know it would take 25-30 of his life, but there's no way he quits now.

Why don't we have a firm publishing date for TWOW? And why don't we have any recent word from the man himself? As anyone who waited from 2000 to 2005 for AFFC (which I read in about thirty hours... that's counting a four hour nap) and from 2005 to 2011 for ADWD knows, GRRM over estimated the pace at which the manuscripts were finished. And that's when the criticism all started... so he's a bit gun shy now.

I love GRRM's prose - it's tight, concise, and very evocative. But the series has turned into an encyclopediac work about Westeros, and the next book introduces even more characters. .

I'm sure he loves his fans, and the whole project is simply bogging him down - however, he's become so successful by not publishing the next instalments that I doubt anyone in publishing will dare to change his method.

It's his ability to bring out the voice of each character that intrigues me. Evocative is the exact word.

With HBO's involvement, ASOIAF is now a billion dollar monster. GRRM is an author, not a CEO. His skill set is not that of Warren Buffett... and yet he now has to manage all of this every day. His original trilogy has now become a literary Audrey II.

Feed me, G-Mar.

 

[Dinosaur]

Overwhelmed by hype.

The first couple of books were pretty good for mid to late nineties fantasy. But the delay between books and the bloat has left them feeling dated.

Given Martin's own plans just to jump ahead a decade or two would have been ground breaking in fantasy have been abandoned he seems to have fallen into the trap of writing for internet fans rather than follow his vision.

I still don't see the Grimm dark that so many people rave about though.

 

[Michael Colton]

One would imagine the hype factor would get to anyone at this point, as Dinosaur mentioned. How could it not? The television show has made him a full-blown household name. The pressure that goes along with that must be insane. Once the hype dies down and the culture moves on to the next big thing, you'd think stuff like finding the time to write will come more easily.

 

[millymollymo]

All comes to she/he who waits. Those that don't will move on to another favourite author as they do. It takes time to write a book. It takes even more time to write a book and acknowledge a monstrous fan base. It takes effort to deal with pressure that can surely sap even the greatest enjoyment from a project.
Winter is coming, but as is nature summer must follow It will be finished, it will continue to grow.

 

[Koopa]

well, obviously i'm reading other stuff as well. I'm not gonna not read other books for years on end. I'm not one of those guys impatiently waiting for the next installments, it comes out when it comes out. But i do want to know how the story GRRM envisioned ends. Cause even if i dislike a book, movie, ... i usually keep going till the end cause i want to know the whole story once i started up on it. I enjoyed the previous books. So i'm curious to see how the author ends the story. Even if it's a non-ending where you (the reader) has to make up his own mind what happens from there on out.

 

[millymollymo]

well, obviously i'm reading other stuff as well. I'm not gonna not read other books for years on end. I'm not one of those guys impatiently waiting for the next installments, it comes out when it comes out. But i do want to know how the story GRRM envisioned ends. Cause even if i dislike a book, movie, ... i usually keep going till the end cause i want to know the whole story once i started up on it. I enjoyed the previous books. So i'm curious to see how the author ends the story. Even if it's a non-ending where you (the reader) has to make up his own mind what happens from there on out.

I found GRRM while waiting for the fourth in Jordan's series - Ima used to waiting I know a lot of people are frustrated by the distractions GRRM has, and that's understandable. I suppose in a messed about fashion I was highlighting the dangers of those stretch-goals publishers like to dangle in front of authors With all the "epics" I have to re-read before picking up the next. When there's +2 in the series that makes for a "not going to happen any time soon so I shan't be buying."
I think I am beginning to steer toward a series already completed for that reason.

 

[Vince W]

I've finally gotten round to reading Dances with Dragons (what's the hurry really). While the series has been generally good, there is a lot of needless filler. As a writer I can't really say Martin is all that great since I've only ever read this one series by him. He's good at this series, but is he good at other things? I don't know. Also I've never watched the Game of Thrones show.

 

[Werthead]

Long before ASoIaF, GRRM had acquired a reputation as the best SF short story writer of the 1970s, backed up by a whole ton of awards, and was than active in the early 1980s horror scene. He's had a good nose for knowing where to put his writing skills to achieve maximum success.

ASoIaF is clearly his best-known work, but his earlier short stories and his stand-alone novels like Fevre Dream made him a well-known figure in the genre long before it started. I'd strongly suggest trying them out. Dreamsongs is the best book to read for a career-spanning look at how his short fiction developed.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

Thanks Werthead, I enjoyed Fevre Dream, I'll look out for Dreamsongs

 

[LittleStar]

Well, I have to say it... You guys only really need to wait for another 2-3 years to finish the whole series, because HBO are going to finish it before he writes the books. As much as i hate the thought of this, I think it's been categorically stated that this is the case.

 

[Koopa]

Well, I have to say it... You guys only really need to wait for another 2-3 years to finish the whole series, because HBO are going to finish it before he writes the books. As much as i hate the thought of this, I think it's been categorically stated that this is the case.

Not even close to the same thing. The movies/tv series that stand equal and/or are better than the books can be counted on your fingers. And even then the same content is never reached.

 

[ArstenWhitebeard]

Not even close to the same thing. The movies/tv series that stand equal and/or are better than the books can be counted on your fingers. And even then the same content is never reached.

I will also add that the show has dropped a lot of the "side plots" that many book readers find fascinating.

For instance, I doubt the show will ever touch on Jon's parentage, and it seems like Coldhands, and the mystery surrounding him, has been removed.

 

[viZion]

Not even close to the same thing. The movies/tv series that stand equal and/or are better than the books can be counted on your fingers. And even then the same content is never reached.

Well, at least we'll know how it ends. I'm totally happy with that.

 

[viZion]

It's now more than a story. This one is his opus and his legacy. He does not seem like the type to quit... either outright quit or give up on his magnum opus when he's so close to the finish line. I think any story teller probably understands better than the average joe that it is the journey counts more than the end. Of course, he did not know it would take 25-30 of his life, but there's no way he quits now.

A bit too much hyperbole here. The man obviously has a lot of interests and commitments and many times those take precedence over writing this series. And that's fine. Doesn't mean he's quitting but it also doesn't mean he considers this series to be the absolute center of his life.



Sorry about the double posting. I know for next time we can do multi quotes. Nice new feature!

 

[Reivax26]

I will watch the ending on tv. To be honest I am thinking about not even buying the book if it ever comes out and that is one damn big "if".

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

I will also add that the show has dropped a lot of the "side plots" that many book readers find fascinating.

For instance, I doubt the show will ever touch on Jon's parentage, and it seems like Coldhands, and the mystery surrounding him, has been removed.

I agree with you but will we as readers ever find out by GRRM's hand?