George RR Martin still writing?

[Banshee16]

I've noticed that George R. R. Martin still hasn't updated his site regarding A Dance with Dragons since January 2008....two years ago.

Have there been any discussions, or has there been any news as to what's going on?

Banshee

 

[Mouseferatu]

He updates his LiveJournal regularly, and yep, he's still plugging away.

 

[Krug]

He's been writing and editing some Wild Cards stuff hasn't he?

 

[Mouseferatu]

He's been writing and editing some Wild Cards stuff hasn't he?

In addition to the SoIF stuff, yep.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

In addition to the SoIF stuff, yep.

Pics or it didn't happen.

I'll believe he's actually writing when the next book is on shelves.

Man is pulling a farking Dark Tower here. While that is less irritating than pulling a Wheel of Time, it's still irksome.

 

[Remus Lupin]

Ahem ...

"George R. R. Martin Is Not Your B**ch" -- Neil Gaiman

I try to remind myself of this whenever I get frustrated or impatient with him (and I do!).

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

Of course he's not. That said, delivering Book 1, Book 2, etc creates a social contract with your readers that you're actually going to finish the damn thing at some point. If you can't handle expectation, don't write open ended series. If you don't know where the hell you're going when you start, you end up putting your readership through torturous wandering plots and interminable waits.

He's not my B**ch, sure, but nor am I his. I'm not starting a letter-writing campaign or some such nonsense, but nor can I be expected to be gracious about the whole thing.

 

[Fast Learner]

Did you read Gaiman's note before you responded, out of curiosity? Seems like he addresses your exact complaints just fine. We can rehash it, of course.

 

[Klaus]

Ahem ...

"George R. R. Martin Is Not Your B**ch" -- Neil Gaiman

I try to remind myself of this whenever I get frustrated or impatient with him (and I do!).

Yeah, you know what? Gaiman can suck it.

Martin had the book almost finished, then decided he needed more space to tell the story. He cut the book in two, crammed one half with tons of details that were not indispensable, released it, and decided to change the other half to the point where he felt the need for an almost entire re-write.

Is he letting me down? No.

Is he losing me as a customer? Hell yeah.

 

[Felon]

Did you read Gaiman's note before you responded, out of curiosity? Seems like he addresses your exact complaints just fine. We can rehash it, of course.

"Addressing" and "dismissing" are not the same thing. I read it, and found it utterly self-serving in the way that only writers seem to be able to manage.

Oh, a writer's life is so hard...The people who put money in my pocket are such ingrateful parasites....You, my fan, are pest...Oh, I'll take your money, Flanders, but I'm not gonna plow your driveway....

World's smallest violin playing just for the writers here. And yet, some people drink the Kool Aid.

Seems quite obvious to me and quite a few others that there is an implicit agreement between an author and a reader that the author will make a good-faith attempt to not simply leave the story dangling unfinished. The reason is simple: an incomplete story represents a lousy investment of time, money, and interest. An unfinished tale is rather like a half-finished toilet--what good is having only part of it?

Gaiman's dismissal of that simple and manifest observation is unfortunately typical behavior for a creator who has achieved success. As it is with anyone who takes part in a non-binding agreement, once he's got what he wants out of it, all those good-faith intentions he had back when he was struggling suddenly undergo a shift.

Let's sum this "implicit contract" up in a word: loyalty. A concept Gaiman does not feel applies between writer and reader. All we have is a simple business transaction. Therefore readers who expect it are presumptuously treating the writer as if he were their b****. At least, that's how he feels NOW.

Yeah, you know what? Gaiman can suck it.

Essentially, this.