/lit/ - Literature

I don't like your books, but if you made a concerted effort to die before you finished them I would be eternally grateful. You're only the third best author ever to have outed himself on /lit/. You should be ashamed of yourself.

What's your social security number George?

When will you do that fantasy book in the style of Tao Lin everyone's been waiting for?

>>2914457
High praise; I'm thankful.

But you're quite wrong- my PA assures me- I'm only the fifth best, as far as he knows.

We each have a schedule, you know. Stephen was here last week; Joanne next week. Meantime, it's only me.

Say sorry.

>>2914459
I used to have one, I'm sure. Once a chap gets beyond a certain point, such things have no meaning. It must be thirty years since I used it in anger. Maybe others have used it for me.

I'd tell you if I could remember- I promise.

[sorry for delayed replies struggling with security entry]

>>2914462
Never, I'm afraid.

Truthfully, how far along are you into writing Winds of Winter? Hints of POV Characters to come?

bad troll is bad .
also , why is elvish magic , dwarves, mystic creatures and divinities kept out of your work , while they are the most exciting and interesting thing about fantasy .


also fantasy has always been poetic and beautiful , why do you keep it austere and so scare-shaped ?

also , shave your beard man , you look like hobo , unless you'r going to be playing gandalf in the hobbit trology .

>4:20 UK time
>chap

George is American, bro.

could you spare me some 200 bucks? I really need the cash to buy some books

not yours

>>2914448
Hows Ringo doing?

>>2914489
Physically writing-down: 75%, but the thematic flow is established in my head- it's just a tad difficult to translate it onto paper. It's harder than you might think.

I sometimes use google translate to understand Old Norse or Russian; it's like translating from English to Russian to English- it never quite comes out as I feel until I've gone over it many times.

As for POV- read and find out, I'm afraid. But feel free to let me know what you think... I like couplets: dream one up and it'll go in. Yes, I'm sure.

Would a Sandor POV be too much to ask?

When is Arya going to get molested/raped on her travels in the world? Can you do a very detailed and graphic narrative when it occurs? Don't hesitate to make it ~30 pages long.

My assumption, for a long time, has been that ASOIAF is ultimately about empathy - that the characters who tend to succeed are the ones who have developed some form of empathy and human understanding of weakness, usually from being placed in a disadvantageous position of some kind, and using that knowledge to ultimately prevail - whether that be Jon being a bastard, Dany going through... what Dany is going through, Arya being Arya, Sansa being torn from her family and manipulated by Littlefinger, Tyrion being a dwarf, Jaime losing a hand, etc - in contrast to the arrogant ones who make mistakes and fall. Hubris versus, maybe, self-knowledge. Which also ties in, I think, with some of the magical / divine elements of the series.

Is this an accurate way of understanding the series? Or completely outside what you've been thinking about?

>>2914490
Truth is, Tolkien scraped everything out of that barrel. Not to demean him; I just mean he has already done it as well and elegantly as anyone could.

He established a sub-created secondary microcosm that was almost irresistably attractive. Really, every fantasy author since has been writing about their own version of Middle-Earth.

I wanted to write about a world that was accessed through the same doorway but realised in a more contemporaneous fashion and so more accessible to youth born outside the sixties.

Had the beard a long time. Imagine how I'd look without it.

>>2914520
>He established a sub-created secondary microcosm that was almost irresistably attractive. Really, every fantasy author since has been writing about their own version of Middle-Earth.

Do you think this is equally true of non-epic fantasy authors like Gene Wolfe, RA Lafferty, Patricia McKillip, John Crowley, etc? What's your opinion of those authors?

>>2914495
Yes.

>>2914499
Fine, as far as I or my PA know.

Must be getting on a bit, though. Aren't we all?

what's the name of that person who helps you remember the obscure lore? he seemed like a really cool guy

Complete divergence from GRRM's actual writing style detected.

Abandon thread.

>>2914510
Not at all. There's a lot to come from Sándor... He's a revolutionary character, in fact.

>>2914534
That's been completely obvious since "We each have a schedule, you know. Stephen was here last week; Joanne next week. Meantime, it's only me."

It's still a fun exercise.

George, how do I become a writer.

a REAL writer.

I'm tired of sitting around, being emtionally stirred by holiwood motion pictures, and longing for the day I'll create something so stirring.

What's the secret?

What's the first step?

Give me some concrete rules I can follow, to ensure that each day won't be wasted, and I'll being to see progress in my abilities.

>>2914513
Arya is COG; can't happen.

Could you provide us with one spoiler from your next book to confirm it is you?

I'm Thomas Pynchon. Ask me anything.

>>2914448
I am young and i want to die, this i relevant. Thank you for that

>>2914515
The meek shall inherit the earth?

They already own it; they just don't make a fuss about it.

The confusion comes when some- within your own frame of reference, I suspect- mainly young women, mistake volume for confidence.

I consider myself unusually (thought NOT supernaturally) empathic: it's the natural gift of the outsider.

So maybe, perhaps, inevitably, yes.

Why should we believe that you are who you say you are?

>>2914554
Where did Ruggles really come from Mr. Pynchon?

>>2914536
Yes, he really ties it on.

I really am going to bed in ten minutes.

>>2914559
ask my goddamn parents about that one. They're buried on Long Island.

>>2914557
>So maybe, perhaps, inevitably, yes.

I'm terribly sorry, but can you expand a little on what you mean by this?

>>2914561
some people wish you'd go to bed forever

>>2914542
Well, ok.

You probably already have a scene or two in your head.

Let them settle there; in the morning and at the going-down of the sun you will remember a thing or two about scene (or the characters therein) that open a pathway to a new scene.

Etc, until.

The key thing is not to rush or force it. Let it flow naturally, if you can. Wait.

>>2914548
Yes.

>>2914554
What time is it?

>A Game
>A Clash
>A Storm
>A Feast
>The Winds
>A Dream

Why did you fuck up the continuity George?

Please provide a spoiler from a future book to confirm it is you.

>>2914556
You really don't and almost certainly won't and will eventually be immensely grateful you didn't.

>>2914576
Where I am? 11:23pm. In general? Miller Time.

>>2914558
You probably shouldn't.

timestamp pic, do it now George

Do all the gratuitous sex scenes that HBO adds to the show give you an erection?

Seriously, this has been the lamest attempt at doing something this I have ever seen.

You suck, anon-who-is-impersonating-GRRM.

or shit, your real name is George Martin and this is a laugh, isn't it?

Im looking at the prose of ASOFAI right now on my kindle and im convinced this is him.

Wow.

>>2914568
I mean yes, it's probably exactly what I mean.

My own view (I'm an atheist) is that every form of life has an equal "right" to exist. It's no more moral for a a man to wipe out an ants' nest than for an alien to wipe out a humans' nest.

I feel that empathy is one of humanity's highest qualities and that it flows from a shared understanding of the inevitability of loss and pain.

>myw realisation that even if it isn't him, everything he's disclosed is incredibly sound advice.

>>2914569

>>2914599
>hurr don't kill yourself
>hurr you'll grow up eventually

wow, deep

Post beard

>>2914604
>>2914581
>>2914571
>>2914557
>>2914520
>>2914505
>>2914470
>>2914448

>>2914577
No continuum was implied. They are only names.

I never liked the Seinfeld naming method.

Though it's a quality show, you should catch it if you can.

What is your trip in reference to?

George, you can got into a teased argument with Damon LIndelof over the ending Lost.

As I recall, you claimed it led us along and didn't deliver.

As a huge Lost fan, can you please elaborate further on why it is you didn't enjoy the conclusion?

>>2914579
That wouldn't be sensible.

But I'd be happy to insert a couplet, if it fits.

Writing isn't as hard as you think, once you realise it's 99% observing and extrapolating.

>>2914590
Not all of them.

Authors don't have much power in LA. Or rather, they do but generally don't take advantage of it.

Now imagine you are writing the character that defines the trajectory of a starlet's career.

Now imagine how the starlet might seek to influence that arc.

I've never availed myself of such opportunities but I'm sure you can imagine.

>>2914595
Like I said before, writing isn't difficult. So please don't treat someone who does it as a superpowered ET. It's in all of you, if you want it.

The most common mistake I see in young writers is a tendency to haste, to affected maturity. Don't try to shoe-horn thesaurus words; it's natural flow and truth that carries an audience.

So it shouldn't be so unbelievable that I'm here- you are all here too, and I am no better. Just older, maybe.

so how did it feel to kill off Varys in the last book? Do you just kill them to toy with the audience?

>I'll be going to bed in 45 minutes.

Past time to gtfo op.

>>2914616
An old joke (my PA's idea of one).

From a soap opera in the used-to-be.

What do you think of a movie (trilogy?) on Robert's Rebellion?

>>2914638
>>2914620
Please address this question!
If you can answer it truthfully, it's the best proof we have this is really you.

>>2914620
Well.

I was so invested in the fates of the characters that, whilst I was happy for them all to achieve a satisfactory outcome, I felt it (the ending) was rather a sop to focus-grouping and lowest-common-denominator marketing. Also, I disliked the implication of an afterlife to make up for the onlylife.

It felt a rather disenguous landing place for an otherwise rather beautiful arc; I felt a little pain and grit would have sustained it better.

>>2914632
I can't answer that question honestly for reasons that will become apparent.

>>2914641
I think I did.

I'm sorry, It's later here.

>>2914657
It really is you isn't it? It may as well be, from what I'm hearing.

Why did you come to /lit/ at all?

Encouragment?

>>2914641
It's from Dallas.

Are you a fan of Stephen King's Dark Tower series?

Top 5 fantasy / science fiction authors, besides yourself.

Also, if you had to recommend one SF&F book that you think is under-read, what would you pick? Again, not including books by yourself.

>>2914659
but when you get the chance to off someone that audience knows and loves, like Varys, or maybe even Catelyn, are you aiming more for a realist aspect, or since Varys' death was so gruesome, is it more like trying to write a horror story?

How did you even find this place?

>>2914663
Yes, encouragement, maybe. Boredom or solipsism too.

I remember how it was to be (as I think most of you are) young and hopeless and poor.

I remember how my teachers used to try to impart to me their adult advice.

I remember how I rejected it, then I remembered how I remembered it in my mid-twenties and wished I'd taken it at face-value.

And I felt the same urge that my teachers probably felt- the urge to tell you that you weren't the first person to fall in love or suffer loneliness, that your sense of loss and isolation is no more significant or profound or real than that of every generation that went before you, that one day you will try to impart these lessons to your children and that they will disbelieve you as you disbelieve me because some lessons you can only learn from your own mistakes.

What's your response to people who say that ASOIAF isn't literature / is valueless, or who (As people on here do) call it "pleb trash"

What's your favorite anime George? You like Berserk?

>>2914666
Yes, particularly the sense in which it's one of the few genuine magnum opii; he himself admits the Dark Tower world is thhe nexus of his imagination, and I love finding references to it in his other works & wallowing in the suspended disbelief of its reality.

19, Stephen; Redrum.

I think future generations will venerate him as a Dickens and we should feel honoured to have experienced him at first-hand.

>>2914672
It's more a reflection of reality. Sometimes the flow demands it, other times it's just time to cash-in a character's chips.

That sounds hideous and cold but I'll admit there's a two-way visceral process going on: as the audience enjoys living vicariously through the character, so the author must occasionally twist the gentle reader's guts to remind him [her] who's really in charge. It's a two-way street; it wouldn't feel as good for me if it didn't hurt for them.

Gosh, check my sadist privilege.

Why have you chosen 4chan over reddit for a Q&A session?

Surely you are familiari with 4chan unsavoury reputation, and would have anticapted an unpleasant responce from it's users?

>>2914688
I don't think that's sadistic. Perfectly understandable. Since the pain / tension / whatever the reader feels is ultimately enjoyable in some sense at least.

>>2914674
From my PA, who usually does nothing more useful than gofering.

But I've come to value this place for its honesty and lack of pretension.

I'm afraid I generally only post when drunk. For some reason, this seems to happen almost exclusivelt when I'm outside the US; most often in London, the city I love most (aside from NY and LA). The Brits are really a class act.

>>2914694
What's your opinion on San Francisco? jw

>>2914694
>But I've come to value this place for its honesty and lack of pretension.

Just when I'd gotten my hopes up.

Fuck you anon, fuck you.

>>2914679
That's difficult.

I think they are probably correct. It's for other to judge how it stands up.

As I say, you have only one life and that pleb trash (if it is so adjudged to be) has financed the most luxurious lifestyle I could have hoped for.

>>2914680
Sorry, I'm not really a fan of either anime or manga.

As a kid, I loved comic books and kids' books.

But I'm sure I'd have appreciated those Japanese-inspired works if I'd been of your generation.

>>2914689
It's really all down to my PA.

I'm not even sure what redit is.

A rival to 4chan.org, I presume?

It's not even a Q&A. I just wanted to do something a little unusual and to stay connected. To be honest, I really love the idea that most of you disbelieve I am who I say I am and those of you who (do/ pretend to) believe I am who I say I am probably actually don't, I find strangely sweet and affecting.

I really only wanted to say I am no different from any of you- and just to go for a slow burn rather than a paragraph-by-paragraph explosion.

>>2914698
I enjoy its honesty and integrity.

What happened to Weasel?

>>2914718
She found a home in the woods.

She'll be back.

how do i get laid

>>2914731
please respond

>>2914731
alternatively, does romantic love really exist or is it, like the illusion of free will, an invention of convenience?

>>2914731
>>2914741
see
>>2914677

Also, try to not be affected. Try to be thoughtful and be unafraid to be quiet.

Not to sound sexist, but you can effectively treat (most) (young) women as though they were desperate for a masculine presence in their lives.

Bed now. Maybe back later.

Goodnight.

>>2914749
Well, that's definitely creepy enough to be believable GRRM.

>>2914703
>>2914749
Goddamnit, I miss you by minutes.

If you could write for any established Super hero (Marvel or DC< Marvel if you have taste) who would it be?

>>2914743
It exists with the certainty of your inquiry.

If you have a mind capable of wondering whether love exists then you have a mind capable of experiencing the sensation of being in love.

Please differantiate between being in love, being in lust and the animal urge to have sex (all of which are perfectly natural and not to be rejected, regardless of sex).

>>2914672
>>2914688

for the record, Varys hasn't died in any of the books.

fake, fake, fake

>>2914757
lol

i haven't read the most recent one, so i was like "huh, interesting spoiler"

anyway good to get that confirmed (but it's been clear from the beginning). you'd think someone doing this would at least have read the fucking books and put a little effort in.

>>2914755
But that's not true George.

I am able to conceive of time travel and lionsnakes and God but none of these things necessarily exist.

Likewise while a person may be able to explain love to me, and even if I were to understand what they were saying it doesn't mean which I do not, it does not mean love exists.

I do not think romantic love exists as we have come to invent it in contemporary media.

>>2914759
it's all just old-people platitudes anyway. I mean, for proclaiming he's someone famous, he's sure careful not to reveal any personal information that might be second-guessed.

Is it true that you are actually a super athletic crossfitter and the fat GRR pictures circulating around are just a persona you created for the sake of marketing? Was I lied to?

>>2914759


Varys was involved in the death, but it wasn't Varys that died. Going from what was posted George could've easily figured out what scene was being referred to.

>>2914767
You missed his point entirely. He was saying that only beings capable of higher thought are capable of romantic love. That's why it's foolhardy to point to animals as examples for it not existing.

>>2914778
wat

>>2914778
Even then, it's been documented many times that animals can share emotional connections, even suffering from severe depression if their buddy dies.

As regards being in love.

The happiest moments in my life occurred (as I now realise) when, as a 19 year-old, I wandered the cold, winter streets of a certain city.

My then girlfriend and I both worked in the same fast-food restaurant. I was waiting for her to finish work, so that we could go somwhere public, alone, and listen to cheap music and drink cheap alcohol and mouth cheap platitudes.

She had a boyfriend (not me).

Eventually she left him but it was never so good as those lonely few hours.

I strolled the few streets of that city that orbited our workplace and waited for her to finish and get changed and make me wait then to meet me fifteen minutes late in the appointed place.

It was freezing cold, the tightest night of a cold winter. I was warm because I was well-wrapped and looking forward to her as I wandered.

She wore a perfume that had an unashamedly animal component; I could taste in on her neck. It was all I could do, not to devour her.

So that is my experience of being in love: wandering at night in winter, in the cold and the dark, deliriously happy.

I'm going to bed right now.

>>2914790
That was completely without substance and only avoids the question. You aren't writing a fucking novella the nature of our discussion is supposed to be more academic.

Thanks for nothing, "George".

>>2914790
as a Northwestern University student, did you enjoy NU?

i'm so tired of the overwhelming WASP, apathetic nature of evanston

>>2914794
Should have gone to U of C

YEAAAAAAAAAH

(this goes for you too, George)

>>2914794
NU is so shit, I really feel bad for you.

You could always transfer though.

>>2914799
why do you say it's shit?
i'm curious to hear other people's opinions on it...

Bump for the day crew