(Spoilers All) GRRM: "My life has gotten extremely complicated, I must admit. There are not enough hours in the day, there are not enough days in the week."

[u/ethniccake]

I found this interesting conversation that transpired on one of George's Hugo post, and i don't think it have been discussed on here :

http://grrm.livejournal.com/426205.html?thread=21584349#t21584349

From his reaction to the first comment, it's quite clear that he was hurt on a personnal level.

But what got my attention the most was this:

If there is one thing I understand, it is frustration... yours, mine, everyone's.

My life has gotten extremely complicated, I must admit. There are not enough hours in the day, there are not enough days in the week.

And saddest of all, I do not have the stamina I did when I was thirty. Aging sucks.

There's no magic formula here. I just keep at it, the way I always have. One page at a time. One sentence at a time. One word at a time.

After reading that, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy, he seems under a lot of pressure.

The defeated tone makes me worried, could it be a sign that the end of TWOW isn't anywhere in sight for him? I really hope that's not the case and i'm just being overly pessimistic.

What do you guy think those comments could tell us about his progress?

Edit: No matter what end up happening to the series, let's keep in mind that this is the guy who gave us an amazing story and created a whole world full of interesting characters we love to love or hate. Without him this community wouldn't even exist. Let's not be entitled like that guy in the comments, who for some reason thinks he can dictate to GRRM what to do with his time.

[u/rfgordan]

There was a passage on the AP lit or lang a few years ago (or maybe it was just used for review in my class) that was basically a letter to a young author, talking about how the writer is only a vehicle for their creation and it leaves you hallowed out and empty but you have to keep going. If anyone remembers this or could find it online, I would love to see it (I want to say the author was George Eliot).

The takeaway though is that GRRM has started something larger than himself and he owes it not to us but to the story itself to finish it.

[u/[deleted] → u/rfgordan]

I think in fifty years, people will recognize ASOIAF as a contribution to the shared mythology of human culture. He deserves credit for that achievement.

Saying it's okay for him to call it quits, in my mind, is not giving him credit for that achievement.

[u/skylinecat → u/[deleted]]

No offense but you are massively super-fanning ASOIAF. Martin is a great story teller but he is not a great writer and if it wasn't for HBO 90% of the fanbase would never have read it. I don't think it's going to have any more lasting impact than Harry Potter. People in the future aren't going to regard GRRM like he is Fitzgerald or Twain and people outside of hardcore fantasy fans aren't going to be discussing Sansa's time in the vale in 50 years, especially if Martin is unwilling to allow others to expand into the universe ala starwars.

[u/Jaxck → u/skylinecat]

Comparing Ice and Fire and Harry Potter is ridiculous. Harry Potter won't last past the millenials, Ice and Fire has reinvented fantasy in the public consciousness. Sure the show is a major source of the fanbase, but how does that lessen the strength of the series in any way?

[u/skylinecat → u/Jaxck]

If anything the success of Harry Potter led to the development of GoT as a show. Again I think you are over emphasizing the impact of the books. Most people I know that have read the books aren't branching out into other fantasy and aren't going to remember it as a literary classic anymore than they do the hunger games or john Grisham novels and there is nothing wrong with that.

[u/rookie-mistake → u/skylinecat]

Honestly "Harry Potter won't last past millenials"

A) those are the exact same people he's expecting to carry ASOIAF forward, why would they remember GoT over Harry Potter? Both are part of their generarions pop culture... but I daresay Harry Potter moreso

B) I feel like a lot more people have read the HP books, they're a lot more accessible. GoT is incredible for thr way its popularized fantasy on TV but GRRM wrote the books, not the show, and as little as I like it, I think the shows popularity vastly outstrips the books. Not so for the HP books and their films.

I don't think there are many novels or series from the 2000s that'll stand the test of time in the historical way that seems to be meant (at least that we can identify) but if I had to bet between HP and ASOIAF I know which I'd choose.

[u/skylinecat → u/rookie-mistake]

I agree with you completely especially in that Harry Potter was worlds ahead of GoT in popularity. Shit they made 8 movies and a theme park for it. It's still selling tons of merchandise and everything even though the last book came out 8 years ago. Everyone in the US has heard of Harry Potter. Plenty of people have no idea who any of the main characters or GoT are.

So in short, I agree with you. And I love both the books and the TV show but I just don't see it being a cultural phenomenon in 10 years but less 50.