On George RR Martin and Writing Speed

This past Friday George RR Martin's publisher told The Guardian "there are no plans" for a 2015 release of The Winds of Winter, and the internet went collectively batshit. 'There Is Now No Chance George RR Martin's Books Will Outrun HBO's Game of Thrones', Forbes proclaimed. 'George RR Martin Has Some Very Bad News For Game of Thrones Readers', said MTV, while the BBC similarly observed that "This is not great news if you're a fan of the Game of Thrones books." (By the way, BBC & MTV, the correct name is 'A Song of Ice and Fire' not 'Game of Thrones', but hey - whoever heard of journalistic accuracy?) Moviepilot dot com stretched its creative wings with 'Winter is Coming...But Winds of Winter is not!'. Social media got predictably ridiculous - no doubt BuzzFeed will gather a compilation of screenshots and label them "GAME OF THRONES FANS ARE FURIOUS BECAUSE FEELINGS". You know. Etcetera.

Let's leave out the fact that Jane Johnson, Martin's publisher, never said that TWoW isn't coming in 2015. Her exact words were "I have no information on likely delivery" - not the same thing. (note, Harper Collins made similar statements in late 2010/early 2011, and Book 5 came out only six months later.) I don't want to speculate over release, but instead discuss the opinion that Martin fails his readership with his 'slow' writing speed.


I've spent a good few hours on my phrasing here, and I'm still struggling because frankly, I'm at a total loss. I really cannot understand why so many people feel that
A) GRRM's novels should be published immediately because readers really want to know what happens next
B) GRRM's novels should be published immediately so as to provide canon source material for the TV show
C) Book 6's lack of release date is offensive (and offensive enough for readers to feel they have the right to complain about it, publicly)
and, most prevalently,
D) GRRM should be criticised for anything he does that *isn't* working on Book 6.


Points A & B are simple. Fans love the story and they're anxious to continue the journey. The constant speculation re: the TV show irks me because if the show runs out of source material, well that's the show's problem. Surely Weiss & Benioff are in frequent contact with GRRM about the time table, but whether they are or aren't is *their business*. Social media perpetuates extreme fandom, with active communication between fans and the artists; the result is fans now believe that loving something begets ownership. They think that they have a say, simply through fandom.

This is a very difficult notion to accept (especially if you're a TwiHard) but You Do Not Own Something Just Because You Love It. The incomparable Neil Gaiman said it best nearly 6 years ago with this blog post: George RR Martin is not your bitch. Amusingly, Gaiman's post was written in response to complaints over *Book 5's* lack of release, two years before 'Game of Thrones' hit the screens.

GRRM not being your bitch matches my earlier point C) - the idea that not releasing TWoW imminently is offensive. FOR SERIOUS, people: HOW and WHY is it offensive? Because you want this book and you want it now? When did we all become Miranda Priestly's daughters? Furthermore why do we assume we know better than the author himself? If we love these books why don't we trust GRRM to get the job done, and trust that if there are six years between book releases that's because he needs six years to write the best possible novel?

The fans I'm judging say "Have you read his blog? All he talks about are sports teams he follows! Why is he writing about football instead of writing TWoW?"  EW wrote on Jan. 30th "George RR Martin was on Conan last night, which means that we have conclusive proof that he spent last night decisively *not* writing The Winds of Winter". I don't trust EW anyhow (they repeat both 'last night' and 'that' in the space of a few words; my MFA workshop would annihilate that sentence), but these comments are just utterly absurd. In what universe do we expect the writer of a popular book series to work ONLY ON THAT SERIES, ALL THE TIME? That's the equivalent of telling a 9-5 office worker "How dare you come home in the evening and have interests outside of your profession?" 


This loops us back to my final and most important bullet point, D). There is absolutely no precedence for criticising GRRM when he does things other than writing. He is a person. He has a life. Continued speculation that he should write speedily due to his 'advancing' age is crude and hateful and I refuse to participate in that fixation. 


So. This post officially became a rant about 1000 words ago - oops? As an aspiring novelist I'm curious why GRRM suffers a running commentary on his writing speed, especially compared to many other writers. Is it because of the television show? Because he's a series writer? Where are the articles criticising Donna Tartt's release schedule? Is Tartt exempt because she writes award winning literary fiction? Do readers think fantasy writing is easier or should take less time? Do people forget that the books in ASOIAF are over three times as long as the average novel? Do we not comment on Stephen King's age (he's actually older than GRRM) because King regularly releases two novels a year? What is the collective set of circumstances which led to pressure aimed so particularly at GRRM? I really don't know.

I also love 'A Song of Ice and Fire'. I reread the scene of Arya on the Braavos bridge in the rain so much that the page fell out of the book binding. I spent hours laughing over this. I think Jaime is one of the most masterfully written characters in literature. I'm in a creative writing MFA program because I wanted to try every day to write something I could love half as much as I love these books. I love them, I love them, and I am absolutely desperate for The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. But I have no right to demand the books, or feel resentful at the lack of them. The thrill I will experience upon their release is resolute, whether release comes this year or ten years from now.

That, children, is what you call fangirling.