George RR Martin Update on his site
- Thread starter Dagger75
- Start date
Cthulhu's Librarian
First Post
nakia said:
Yeah. They got to ask him in person when the next book is coming out. I'm sure they were really enjoyable speaking and signing engagements.
Fan #1: When's the next book coming out?
GRRM: When it's finished.
Fan #2: When's the next book coming out?
GRRM: When it's finished.
Fan #3: When's the next book coming out?
GRRM: When it's finished.
Fan #4: When's the next book coming out?
GRRM: When it's finished, damn it! Why don't you people get a life?!?
:\
ledded
Herder of monkies
I love that quote.Nellisir said:"The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair."
~~ Mary Heaton Vorse
Nell.
I'm not a professional writer by any means (even though I've gotten paid once or twice) and I really just do some neophyte scribbling for friends and for a Story Hour, I do find that the best inspiration for writing is to just sit down and write. Even if it hurts at first, or you end up going back and tossing most of it, just framing it mentally by writing it seems to work a lot of the time for me. Of course, I'm not very good at it, so that might explain a few things...
However, I often have to do that with my job also, so that may be a correlation unique to me.
Anyway, I've really seen no indication from GRRM that he is suffering from anything other than a bit of perfectionism on top of a heaping helping of Other Commitments. He's probably at the point where it wont matter to him if the delays and business and continued "it's gotta be perfect" raise many expectations to the point of the inability to be satisfied with the end product for many readers, because he will have published it to please *himself*. If you have that luxury, that's probably a very cool feeling.
Last edited:
ASH
First Post
Let me just point out that this update not only annoy's me but insults me. Its all BS in my humble opinion. Maybe he really is upset about it all, but i cant see giving him an ounce of empathy because he called everyone that disagree's with him a bigot...Had he said, "i am not writing because i dont want my anger and disappointment to enter my stores" i could have delt.. but the way he puts it.. damn him, damn him for writing wonderful books and then putting his fans at his political opinion's mercy.
PLEASE MR MARTIN... if you read this at all... move to canada and finish the book.
PLEASE MR MARTIN... if you read this at all... move to canada and finish the book.
myrdden
First Post
From my perspective, while I quite enjoyed the first three books immensely, it has been so long since I have read them that my enthusiasm for the series has waned considerably. If the book comes out within the next year - so be it, but I no longer am "waiting with baited breath" for it.
Exactly. I don't think that his post necessarily helped his position with people who agree with his politics, but I'm fairly comfortable believing that his post hurt his position with people who disagree with his politics.
Teen nymphet Lindsay Lohan, of all people, said that she refused to discuss politics because whatever she said, it was guaranteed to lose her fans on one side of the fence or the other. It seems GRRM could stand to learn something from Lindsay Lohan... which, really, must be one of the signs of the apocalypse.
Teen nymphet Lindsay Lohan, of all people, said that she refused to discuss politics because whatever she said, it was guaranteed to lose her fans on one side of the fence or the other. It seems GRRM could stand to learn something from Lindsay Lohan... which, really, must be one of the signs of the apocalypse.
Fast Learner
First Post
Only if fame is more important to you than speaking out with the microphone fame gives you.
I'd call Linsday Lohan's statement one of low moral character, myself, and whether I agree with Mr. Martin or not, I applaud his willingness to lose fans in exchange for using his reasonably-large soapbox.
EDITED TO ADD: So you can see how not only can opinions differ on the specific politics, but also on whether or not one should take a stand and speak from one's heart.
I'd call Linsday Lohan's statement one of low moral character, myself, and whether I agree with Mr. Martin or not, I applaud his willingness to lose fans in exchange for using his reasonably-large soapbox.
EDITED TO ADD: So you can see how not only can opinions differ on the specific politics, but also on whether or not one should take a stand and speak from one's heart.
Last edited:
Fast Learner,
With respect, I disagree with that assessment. Movie stars or other famous folks have several great ways to help causes they believe in. They can volunteer their time as a guest of honor at events, and they can donate money. I currently work for a nonprofit, and we would kill to have a large-name celebrity either give us a boatload of money (either as a direct donation or as an endowment) or appear as a guest of honor at one of our events.
If Lindsay Lohan wants to show up at one of my fundraising events, I would love to have her there. Heck, if Lindsay Lohan wants to show up on the Ellen Degeneres show and say, "I wish that everyone would give money to Tacky's nonprofit, because they do such great work with children, and they're one of the few places in the nation that provides this service regardless of the parents' ability to pay," that would make my day. That's a great use of her soapbox.
But I agree with her that for the vast, vast majority of movie stars, talking politics is a dumb idea. A nonprofit organization that helps kids is not divisive. Arguing that policy XX is a horrible policy that only evil/lazy/immoral people would support, and that policy XX needs to be torn down, is divisive. And more than that, it doesn't help. Did anyone look at the actors and singers in the most recent U.S. election and say, "Gosh, I was on the fence, but now that Hillary Duff has told me her opinion, I'm gonna have to go her way," on election day?
Exceptions exist, of course -- there are some actors who have actually done enough research and really read up on the issues, so that they can say more than sound bytes. But for the vast vast majority, all they end up doing is making themselves look stupid.
I don't think that phrasing it as "speaking from your heart" is fair. In fact, I think that's somewhat naive. (I don't think you're naive, but I think that trying to pin this statement on this argument is oversimplifying the matter.) The best way for actors to get audiences to agree with their values isn't to give them a dumbed-down oversimplified soundbyte. The best way for actors to get audiences to agree with their values is to sign on for films or perform songs that deliver those values in their message -- the multibillion-dollar entertainment industry is a far better soapbox than an impassioned "Hi, this is the real Jessica Simpson, and I'm hoping you vote for _____" left on my voice mail.
I'm not saying that movie stars shouldn't have political beliefs. I'm saying that if they truly want to use the power that they've been given, there are more effective methods to accomplish this goal. I'm also saying that making large pronouncements like this on your website brings in some awfully large assumptions of audience, and it's not going to help -- nobody is going to change their minds because of this message, but some people will become angry and stop reading you as a result -- and when you could have convinced people of the rightness of your position through your art instead, you've not only lost a fan... you've lost the chance to convert that fan in the future.
Hmm... upon rereading, I sense some internal topic drift. To clarify my points:
-Donating money or time for non-divisive issue (like rescuing pets or working with disabled kids): Good
-Becoming marketing shill for non-divisive issue: Good. No one's going to hate you for speaking out about the need to rescue pets.
-Donating time or money for your political cause: Good.
-Choosing movies or songs that incorporate your personal political values: Good.
-Directly appealing to people to follow your political beliefs because you're telling them to: Ineffective, divisive, and generally not a good idea.
With respect, I disagree with that assessment. Movie stars or other famous folks have several great ways to help causes they believe in. They can volunteer their time as a guest of honor at events, and they can donate money. I currently work for a nonprofit, and we would kill to have a large-name celebrity either give us a boatload of money (either as a direct donation or as an endowment) or appear as a guest of honor at one of our events.
If Lindsay Lohan wants to show up at one of my fundraising events, I would love to have her there. Heck, if Lindsay Lohan wants to show up on the Ellen Degeneres show and say, "I wish that everyone would give money to Tacky's nonprofit, because they do such great work with children, and they're one of the few places in the nation that provides this service regardless of the parents' ability to pay," that would make my day. That's a great use of her soapbox.
But I agree with her that for the vast, vast majority of movie stars, talking politics is a dumb idea. A nonprofit organization that helps kids is not divisive. Arguing that policy XX is a horrible policy that only evil/lazy/immoral people would support, and that policy XX needs to be torn down, is divisive. And more than that, it doesn't help. Did anyone look at the actors and singers in the most recent U.S. election and say, "Gosh, I was on the fence, but now that Hillary Duff has told me her opinion, I'm gonna have to go her way," on election day?
Exceptions exist, of course -- there are some actors who have actually done enough research and really read up on the issues, so that they can say more than sound bytes. But for the vast vast majority, all they end up doing is making themselves look stupid.
I don't think that phrasing it as "speaking from your heart" is fair. In fact, I think that's somewhat naive. (I don't think you're naive, but I think that trying to pin this statement on this argument is oversimplifying the matter.) The best way for actors to get audiences to agree with their values isn't to give them a dumbed-down oversimplified soundbyte. The best way for actors to get audiences to agree with their values is to sign on for films or perform songs that deliver those values in their message -- the multibillion-dollar entertainment industry is a far better soapbox than an impassioned "Hi, this is the real Jessica Simpson, and I'm hoping you vote for _____" left on my voice mail.
I'm not saying that movie stars shouldn't have political beliefs. I'm saying that if they truly want to use the power that they've been given, there are more effective methods to accomplish this goal. I'm also saying that making large pronouncements like this on your website brings in some awfully large assumptions of audience, and it's not going to help -- nobody is going to change their minds because of this message, but some people will become angry and stop reading you as a result -- and when you could have convinced people of the rightness of your position through your art instead, you've not only lost a fan... you've lost the chance to convert that fan in the future.
Hmm... upon rereading, I sense some internal topic drift. To clarify my points:
-Donating money or time for non-divisive issue (like rescuing pets or working with disabled kids): Good
-Becoming marketing shill for non-divisive issue: Good. No one's going to hate you for speaking out about the need to rescue pets.
-Donating time or money for your political cause: Good.
-Choosing movies or songs that incorporate your personal political values: Good.
-Directly appealing to people to follow your political beliefs because you're telling them to: Ineffective, divisive, and generally not a good idea.
Fast Learner
First Post
I think it's clear that we need to agree to disagree.
I certainly agree that it's great for those with fame to donate their time, presence, and support to good causes.
However, I feel it's every citizen's duty to promote their political views. I also feel it's every citizen's duty to respect people even if their views differ from yours. The latter, however, will never come about without the former.
Of course I'm also big on humanizing celebrities, and revealing themselves to be just as clueless about life and politics as the general public would go a long way towards that.
The important part, for me, though is the "every citizen's duty" part.
And again, I think we'll just need to disagree.
I certainly agree that it's great for those with fame to donate their time, presence, and support to good causes.
However, I feel it's every citizen's duty to promote their political views. I also feel it's every citizen's duty to respect people even if their views differ from yours. The latter, however, will never come about without the former.
Of course I'm also big on humanizing celebrities, and revealing themselves to be just as clueless about life and politics as the general public would go a long way towards that.
The important part, for me, though is the "every citizen's duty" part.
And again, I think we'll just need to disagree.
Similar Threads
