Game of Thrones begins....

[HVC]

at this point I just want to see how he writes himself out of the bad story lines he's started. the tv show was smart enough to just ignore them. and while I think the writing overall has gone down for the stuff outside of the books at least they were smart enough to not start down those paths.

[KRonn]

I probably won't read any more of the books. I'll be satisfied with the TV show finishing up, as it's covered things quite well enough for me.

[Habbaku]

at this point I just want to see how he writes himself out of the bad story lines he's started. the tv show was smart enough to just ignore them. and while I think the writing overall has gone down for the stuff outside of the books at least they were smart enough to not start down those paths.

Trouble with the TV show is that it took the smart storylines and made a few of them really, really dumb. I'll take the books.

[grumbler]

Trouble with the TV show is that it took the smart storylines and made a few of them really, really dumb. I'll take the books.

This is true, but the percentage of really, really dumb storylines is probably still at least equal in the books.  I think Martin can't finish because he has written himself into a corner by having introduced so many story lines that he can't bring all the threads back together.  He desperately needed a good editor and some humility.

[Berkut]

I think he can't finish because he just isn't motivated.

He is an incredible writer, and almost certainly could figure out a way to write himself out of nearly anything. Might not be great, but I doubt it is that hard.

I think he just doesn't really want to do it, and is "distracted" by all the other little things he convinces himself he just has to do...

[grumbler]

There's no question that financial success has changed Martin's motivations.  He doesn't need to publish a single new book, so the publisher has no leverage over him.  However, while he is an incredible writer, even he would have some difficulty in resolving some of the poorly-thought-out threads he has introduced to his story.  Yeah, he could half-ass it if he wanted to, but he has no desire to half-ass it.  He'd rather not finish, it seems to me, than to finish the story in a way that he would find disappointing.  After all, his only motivation for writing now is to scratch the itch to write, and he can do that without bringing the story any closer to fruition.  Thus all of the side projects.

[Josquius]

True. I can relate. Perfectionism is a curse. Fear of failure leads to inaction et al.

[Berkut]

His recent comments about Tolkien not finishing the Silmarillion have pretty much sealed the conclusion I had tentatively reached half a decade ago. He will not finish ASOIAF, and he doesn't much care that he won't finish it.

[grumbler]

His recent comments about Tolkien not finishing the Silmarillion have pretty much sealed the conclusion I had tentatively reached half a decade ago. He will not finish ASOIAF, and he doesn't much care that he won't finish it.

Though the interesting thing is that Tolkien offered the "finished" Silmarillian to his publishers before he even started the Lord of the Rings proper.  Unwin turned it down, of course.

Tolkien never really intended to "finish" the Silmarillian, because the Silmarillian was a life-long hobby, not a book.  LOTR was a part of it.  Tolkien was always polishing its different facets.  Publishing was always going to mean just selecting a portion of the whole work, polishing it up, and calling that a "book." ASOIF is different; it's more a series of books.  Unlike the Silmarillian, it could be finished.

[Berkut]

His recent comments about Tolkien not finishing the Silmarillion have pretty much sealed the conclusion I had tentatively reached half a decade ago. He will not finish ASOIAF, and he doesn't much care that he won't finish it.

Though the interesting thing is that Tolkien offered the "finished" Silmarillian to his publishers before he even started the Lord of the Rings proper.  Unwin turned it down, of course.

Tolkien never really intended to "finish" the Silmarillian, because the Silmarillian was a life-long hobby, not a book.  LOTR was a part of it.  Tolkien was always polishing its different facets.  Publishing was always going to mean just selecting a portion of the whole work, polishing it up, and calling that a "book." ASOIF is different; it's more a series of books.  Unlike the Silmarillian, it could be finished.

Indeed. The comparison makes no sense on the face of it, but more to the point, his making the comparison pretty much tells us that he already has decided in his own head he isn't going to finish.

The Silmarillion is like an encyclopedia for Middle Earth. There is no "finishing it" per se.

The correct analogy would be to compare ASOIAF to the LOTR, which of course was finished, and is what Tolkien is remembered and loved for - nobody much cares that he didn't "finish" the Silmarillion, whatever that would mean.

But when Martin dies, he will be remembered as the brilliant author who failed to complete his lifes work, and for no really good reason other than he just decided it wasn't that important to him anymore.

[Josephus]

His recent comments about Tolkien not finishing the Silmarillion have pretty much sealed the conclusion I had tentatively reached half a decade ago. He will not finish ASOIAF, and he doesn't much care that he won't finish it.

Though the interesting thing is that Tolkien offered the "finished" Silmarillian to his publishers before he even started the Lord of the Rings proper.  Unwin turned it down, of course.

Tolkien never really intended to "finish" the Silmarillian, because the Silmarillian was a life-long hobby, not a book.  LOTR was a part of it.  Tolkien was always polishing its different facets.  Publishing was always going to mean just selecting a portion of the whole work, polishing it up, and calling that a "book." ASOIF is different; it's more a series of books.  Unlike the Silmarillian, it could be finished.

It's Silmarillion, not marillian....and interestingly enough there is a character named Marillion in ASOIAF....hmmmmm.......

[Valmy]

He's never going to finish the series

https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/8g34dz/spoilers_extended_grrm_confirms_he_has_not/

Can Tim reverse jinx something?

Anyway, while I am rooting for the series to be finished, I think I will just be grateful for whatever we get. Or maybe Brandon Sanderson will finish it.

[garbon]

True. I can relate. Perfectionism is a curse. Fear of failure leads to inaction et al.

I don't think perfectionism is truly his issue though as if it was that, he would have added so much useless bloat to his later books / rather than keep additional characters and their points of view to side projects.

[Barrister]

He's never going to finish the series

https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/8g34dz/spoilers_extended_grrm_confirms_he_has_not/

Can Tim reverse jinx something?

Anyway, while I am rooting for the series to be finished, I think I will just be grateful for whatever we get. Or maybe Brandon Sanderson will finish it.

I suspect that once GRRM passes his estate will authorize some less-talented, but more-workmanlike to finish the series.

[Grey Fox]

Sanderson is more-workmanlike than GRR & also way more talented.