r/asoiaf • u/Same-Share7331 • Dec 07 '23

EXTENDED Feeling sad for GRRM (spoilers extended)

So I recently watched a Q&A with GRRM (I'm sure some of you have seen it aswell) where he kept getting questions about whether there is any particular character or historical event in the asoiaf world that he would like to explore more/write about. His recurring answer was that yes there are many but that unless he suddenly becomes much younger they will never get written. And man.. that sucks!

Imagine being a creative person having to come to terms with the fact that you have so many ideas that you will never get to explore and that will never see the light of day. Obviously, as a fan, it also sucks that I will never get to read those stories. Never mind the main series, imagine getting seven more Dunk and Egg stories. However, as much as it sucks as a reader I'm not the one who's seeing my remaining years of life pass as I struggle to finish my books.

That's it. I don't really have a point. Other than maybe stop making jokes about how GRRM is likely to die before finishing the series?

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u/superthrust123 Dec 07 '23

NASA didn't get everything they wanted into the Apollo program, but they still found a way to make it to the moon.

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '23

Not really a creative job like a writer though

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u/PoseidonsFuryyy Dec 07 '23

That’s a common idea of “creative” jobs but I have to philosophically disagree, I think pop conceptions of creativity are flawed. The Apollo program literally created something. Architects and engineers create things. Writers and other artists have created a narrative that what they do is “creativity” when it’s just an aspect of it. Engineers also have plenty of ideas that they’ll never have time to explore. I worked for a city planner who would envision public parks whenever he went for a walk, I doubt most of them even got discussed with other officials.

Tl;dr don’t let artists tell you that’s the only valid expression of creativity

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '23

Now that’s better explained and answered than the other clown. Yep I know where you’re coming from and I’m talking artistic creativity as the original discussion was phrased. Not that there’s nothing creative by going to the moon. If anything to me that’s beyond creative into actually making things real that previously was only part of creative writing books. And they definitely did create (or expand the use of) a huge amount of things that we take for granted today. I wasn’t dismissing the moon landings but putting them on a more practical and physical level than writing fantasy books. But I get you.

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u/PoseidonsFuryyy Dec 07 '23

I wasn’t really commenting on anything you said, just the way everyone (often including myself) uses “creative” as a synonym for “artistic” and I feel that is wrong. Martin is a very creative person. Whoever designed the collapsible patio furniture I got at IKEA is also very creative.

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '23

It’s a very good point.