The George RR Martin Problem or A Song of Procrastination and… Ehh I’ll Finish the Title Later

Bayonne, New Jersey isn’t known for much historical relevance. In fact, there’s really only a few things the city is famous for. Back in the 1800s, Bayonne was a popular vacation destination, where the crème de la crème stayed. Of course, this was before the Hudson had 3 eyed fish, toxic waste, and a distinct odor of manic depression. Needless to say,  the only people staying in Bayonne today for long weekends are visiting family, or trying to avoid being caught.

Another proud distinction is Bayonne is often referenced by the classic program, the Honeymooners. The Honeymooners made Bayonne to seem like a shady, awful place to live. That description is completely… Let’s change the subject shall we?

In the most recent years, Bayonne had an unlikely celebrity – one who has risen to become a public figure despite probably spending more time role-playing in a basement than he has seen natural light. I’m talking about the man trying to bring the suspenders back in a big way, George RR Martin.

George RR Martin is about as famous of writer as there is in modern society, reaching the heights of other accomplished authors Stephen King and JK Rowling.  Oddly enough, each had their share of hardships before finding success.

King – His manuscripts were regularly rejected as a youth and not considered anything special. When he started to get published, King wrote at such a feverish pace, he had to use a fake name to have additional novels published. He suffered from cocaine and alcohol addiction, and was nearly killed when he was hit by a car, an incident that remains a focal point in his stories today.

Rowling – In a brutal 7 year period, Rowling suffered the death of her mother, a divorce, and lived on welfare. During her writing career, she started using a male pen name to avoid sexism.

George RR Martin – Forever dreaming of being involved in television, several of Martin’s projects failed. His pilots were rarely picked up or developed, and the structure of television caused his visions to be changed to fit the format of the medium. In his most difficult task of all, Martin had to deal with the horror of being a Bayonne resident.

Now, while all these hardships were far from equal, and a few were self-inflicted, they’re still all hardships. Similarly, these three wordsmiths all eventually worked on their magnum opus; ones that took years to formulate, plot and write

King – King began to plot out the Dark Tower when he was only 17. He wrote the seven book series over the course of decades, only finishing a few years ago (technically its an eight book series, but one book came out after the finale and chronologically fits in the middle of the story . You can include it if you’d like, but to me, that’s a simple case of a cash grab filler novel). While personally, I found some of the pacing and plots of the series a bit convoluted, and have not had the will power to start the last book, the way King weaved in all his portfolio into the series is remarkable and shows how much he cares about it.

Rowling – Writing the full Harry Potter series without much of a break, Rowling wrote a beloved children’s series that shattered sales records, made her a household name and gave Freeform programming for 2 full weekends every month*. I think some of the plot lines in the books are a bit “dues ex machina” inspired, and for 5+ books, Dumbledore is little more than walking exposition with a beard and spectacles. Still the series holds up fairly well for adults considering the intended audience are children. Then again, when you consider your co-workers, it’s clear most children are much, much smarter than the workforce.

Martin – Starting in 1996, Martin released the first three books of a Song of Ice and Fire, a thoroughly enjoyable tale filled with complex characters, a breathing, living world, and twists that few people could see coming. Martin was merciless in his writing, killing characters who seemed covered in plot armor while letting those view as insignificant rise in importance. His fourth effort, released in 2005 did not feature the book’s three main characters, slowed the pace considerably, but promised to explain the fates of Jon, Dany and Tyrion in 2006. The fifth book did not release until 2011, and honestly, little happened to advance the overall plot in 900 pages. The final two entries of Martin’s hallmark series… Well, haven’t been written…

And that my friends, is the dilemma of George RR Martin.

By now, even a person who doesn’t care about who will end up on the iron throne or whether the dragons are coming** has heard all the outcries of the book’s delays. Although plenty of people enjoy the TV series, most book readers would agree the show took a hard fall from grace once they ran out of Martin’s book material. Martin himself was somewhat outraged that HBO continued the show instead of waiting for his sixth book, which seems completely illogical, especially coming from someone with a TV background. Martin had to know the show would catch up, and one has to assume that he knew he’d have a few years to release a sequel to keep pace with the show. Instead he flipped out that he can’t have dessert without eating the broccoli first. Instead of doing anything about it, Martin failed to complete a book in seven years. His master work, put on the back-burner with no explanation. The fans are left to await season eight of the series,*** ironically also delayed until 2019. Book six may be no closer to shelves than when book five was released.

The question is obvious – what happened? Martin sits on a golden goose. All he had to do was write the last two books of his life’s work, and his grandkids’ grandkids would be set for life. He controlled one of the rare book series that transcended the medium – this is bigger than the Hunger Games. It’s up there with Harry Potter. Yet still, Martin didn’t write, continuously disappointing his fans, who feel they deserve the book endings.

Now, I can relate to Martin’s plight a bit, though on a much lower scale. When i was writing scripts and posting them online, I was able to churn out one every few weeks fresh out of college. After I got a job and started getting busy, finding the time to produce scripts became exceedingly difficult. I had to delay releases and the people who read them, and trust me the core audience was tiny, began to get frustrated. Now, I did release everything I set out to, but it was not easy.The key difference was I was not profiting from my scripts. I was giving them away for free. Part of me wonders how some third-rate channel didn’t change a few character names and put them on at 4 AM. For Martin, writing is his job. There’s no reason for him not to write the story and release it, raising the country’s GDP in the process.

Now, I do disagree that Martin owes the fans anything. Technically, they are getting their ending through the show, and while it’s not the satisfactory conclusion I’d want, I think fans have to accept that’s the new canon. It’s not very likely that Martin will finish the series while alive. He’s not exactly a candidate to win the presidential fitness metal. Martin is in his late 60s, overweight, and seemingly without motivation despite this gold mind. He also instructed if he died to have his notes burned.

No, that wasn’t a misprint. Martin would rather burn his life’s work than let anybody else finish them. That’s dedication to not completing an epic. While I absolutely deplore this move, and think he should pass his notes to somebody who could finish the series, whether he’s alive or dead, it is his story. If this is the path he’s choosing, it’s his call. Again though, that doesn’t answer the question that’s burning through me. No pun intended.

There’s been plenty of excuses given. He doesn’t write when he’s traveling. He has ideas, but can’t figures out how to tie all the plots left hanging in books three through five. The fact that he doesn’t write during football season is going to slow down momentum.****There’s clearly more to this than “I don’t want to make a pile of money”. Everybody likes piles of money.

I have three theories that I all think could be true. Feel free to choose the one you like best. It’s like a crappy Choose your Adventure Novel, except you don’t have to hold your finger on a page to cancel out a bad choice.

1). He let the fame get to him.

Nobody is going to confuse Old Boy George with George Clooney, but there’s no denying Martin is a celebrity. He makes regular appearances on late night TV, was involved in the Game of Thrones TV show (until his five-year old tantrum) and regularly makes comic con appearances. He’s in the public eye now, and honestly, that’s fine. Perhaps writing was his ticket to fame. His goal was to make it big, which he did, and now he rightfully can bash in all the glory of having no peace with from the paparazzi until he dies. Ah, the American Dream.

However, I don’t think this is the real reason. This might have caused delays, especially with his travel time, but if fame was his goal, he could get even bigger by completing the series. Sure, if he botched the last two books, he might lose some of his luster, but anyone responsible for a mega hit would get plenty of chances to try again. No, I don’t think this is it.

2). He was always a TV guy

The only reason Martin ever wrote A Song of Ice and Fire was because his vision wasn’t being picked up for TV. The amount of characters and the cost of something like Game of Thrones is massive. I don’t know much of what he was pitching in the early 90s, but if it was an early version of the series, it would not come cheap. Networks were actually wise to pass at that point, because CGI would have made the dragons look like Yoshi. Maybe they would have settled on sock puppets. Ever been intimidated by a sock puppet? You know what, don’t answer that question. If you’re a fan of the show, thank every geek you bullied in high school for improved technology.

Once Martin found his way back to TV, he had won. All the rejections meant nothing anymore, and his vision was put on-screen.**** At first, it was almost a scene for scene mirror, lifting material directly from the writing work. Then, changes were made, but typically for the better, as the book’s massive library of characters would be difficult for any show to carry, even with HBO’s budget. Then, the show made larger changes, modifying story lines, motivations and even cutting out full characters and plots (I’m looking at you, “Griff”). Martin seemed to be angry they didn’t wait from him, but what’s to say he didn’t like all the changes? I’m sure he compromised some points, but perhaps they went too far for his liking.

When Martin’s involvement in the show dwindled, he might have lost interest in the books. Instead of working on the novels to give fans the “true story”, he went about trying to develop his next show. Now, he has a concept picked up (Night Flyers on SYFY), and, I’d have to imagine, full control. He’s such a big name now, networks would be crazy to not give him what he wants. While everyone else wanted him to finish what made him a household name, Martin moved on to the next project. His life’s work was TV; A Song of Ice and Fire was little more than a means to the ends for him.

I think this is likely, but I honestly lean toward the last, probably more controversial view. Let’s stir the pot.

3). George lost his fastball

I think the majority of fans would agree that George’s first three books in the series were the best. Personally, I thought book five was well written and had a few shockers involved, but I see the arguments against this novel. It’s no surprise the first three books flow so well together; originally, they were supposed to be one novel. Imagine having the lug that thing around on the subway? Think of the back-pain people would have. Chiropractors would have 99% of the world’s wealth and rule with an iron fist, and impressive posture. Us paupers would be wearing cheap plastic braces that would cost upwards of four figures. This would truly be the darkest timeline.

What the opening trilogy offered was a well-paced story that contained tons of character growth. We were introduced to an army of characters, and each has a distinct personality, development, and enough mystery attached to keep you invested. The books are filled with surprising plot twists, highlighted by Martin’s willingness to kill any character. These deaths weren’t for shock value; they served as crucial plot advancement, and made the reader always feel that anyone could die. The third book, A Storm of Swords, had so many surprising elements, it was tough to put down. I don’t mean that as a cliché. I almost made it to work late finishing a chapter where a certain event occurred (No spoilers in this blog, but let’s just say I was seeing red).  If you’re only a show watched, this book was broken into seasons three and four, and I’m sure you remember how much crazy stuff happened there.

Most importantly, there was no filler. Each chapter, Hell each scene, served its purpose. When a character needed to move, he or she was at his or her destination between chapters. Martin know where the characters arcs were going, and sure, it may have taken 800 pages to finish a book, but it never felt like it was dragging. These books were as concise as they could be. Those chiropractors are really cleaning up.

Books four and five did not have these same benefits. While Martin’s actual writing improved, arguably significantly, and parts of these books remain brilliant, he honestly dropped the ball on pacing. The stories are supposed to be a cool down from the nonstop action of book three. Knowing this book four still falls flat. The decision to leave the three main characters out of this book, after a seven-year wait no less, is baffling. Several character stories are boring, and one in particular downright bad. Book readers, you know the one I’m talking about.

Book ive, which I’ll say again, I did enjoy, suffers from the same flaws. Even finding the fates of main characters becomes a bit of a chore as there is a lot of plodding, slow paced travel, and little resolution. By the end of these books; truly one novel split into two that took a combined 13 years, little has changed, at least in comparison to the first trilogy. Characters have barely moved to their end game and outside of two significant twists, everything is predictable.

What I think really happened in this time is Martin didn’t have a middle to his story. Think about it. When he has a clear idea of what he wants, he excels. It’s apparent Martin had plenty of ideas for a great series, and moved most of his big chess pieces during book three. There was no way to avoid a letdown in book four, but the lack of any big action is crushing. He didn’t pace these twists, basically dropping a proverbial nuke on his world, and hoping the remaining characters could pick up the pieces. It doesn’t work that way.

My theory that he didn’t have a planned middle is seen all the time in the show. Martin provided the show runners an outline of the key events and left them to connect the dots. To say the show struggles with connecting the dots is a kindness to them. Lord help them if they needed to paint by numbers. You can see the show can still put together the big scenes, the ones Martin must have highlighted, but the buildup or even the reasoning behind them is pathetic. I blame the show significantly for these shortcomings, but Martin deserves a part of the blame himself. He could have given them more, but chose to keep his full notes close to the vest.

Assuming there were detailed notes to being with.

As Martin killed off characters, he chose to add new families and challengers for the throne. The amount of Point of View characters ballooned, and suddenly we are getting chapters on every major family in the seven kingdoms and beyond. While I appreciate the different vantage points, it becomes difficult to keep track of all the threads. I don’t think Martin was lying when he said the fifth book was a knot he had to untie, but he brought that upon himself. Martin’s chess board became too crowded – instead of removing some and continuing the game, he replaced each captured rook, bishop and knight with pawns. The board is now cluttered, and there’s nowhere for him to move******.

Even the prose suffers because of the lack of direction. Martin’s work is criticized for rambling on about food and sex because, well, he rambles on about food and sex. There are full-page descriptions on feasts, where a sentence or two would suffice. And he talked about wieners in his last two books way more than necessary. At one point, Samwell Tarly is described to have a large pink mast. I did not need to know this about Samwell Tarly. South Park covered this wiener phenomenon best.

Instead of concise chapters, we have long descriptions to buff up the page count. Even within each chapter, Martin is unclear how to bridge the opening and ending. The confidence he had seems to be gone.

I can actually relate to Martin’s plight. Since I was 12, I had, what I thought, was a great idea for a book series. I wanted it to be the next Harry Potter, which was blowing up at the time. As time passed, I continued to develop it, but when I’d actually write, I’d hit a major snag, get discouraged, and scrap it. Every few years, I’d revamp the idea and try again, only to stop, scrap and wait to try again. All I really had was the idea for the first book and the finale. I had interesting chunks for the story, and knew the fates of 95% of the characters. There were twists I was proud of, and knew I could build up to them and shock the readers. But I couldn’t figure out any of the middle. I still can’t. I haven’t really tried to write from start to finish, afraid a long bout of writer’s block will kill the idea entirely

Often at night, I’ll still try to work out scenes and ideas to untie my own knot.******* I’ve had no luck so far. Mostly, I think of the standout scenes, the ones I could write in a day or two, and think of how amazing they were be in a novel, or on a big screen. Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

Isn’t this what Martin is going through now?

I think George RR Martin began writing Game of Thrones after coming up with an amazing start, and concepts that would lead to a wonderful ending. But, after he exhausted most of his twists and meaningful character arcs, he hit writer’s block. He tried to fill this by adding more characters, but this led to more problems. Now, his story is out of control, and he’s unsure how to fix it. Too proud to seek help, or have a writer join him, he stalls, hoping he will break through. I think the breaks, the travel, the celebrity status, even the TV to some extent, is a distraction for him. He wants to finish the series; TV man or not, I don’t think a creative mind truly likes leaving a big project unfinished. However, now, he cannot.

I’m not rooting for this to end badly. I want Martin to finish the books, and hopefully soon. I just don’t think it’s likely. I’ve suffered from the same issue for 18 years without a satisfying conclusion. Martin’s has been going on for 30+.

Maybe the next time HBO misrepresents a character, it’ll inspire George to save them.

Ah, who am I kidding, Martin loves a death more than anybody else.

*That has changed of course. Now it’s free programming for HBO. You can read my thoughts on the matter here

**Giggity

***Personally, I’m merely anticipating it. I have no faith in the show runners, but that’s another column.

****Seriously. I don’t mean he doesn’t write during games, or during game days, I mean the full 6 month season. Who does this? I’d love a career where I could take 6 months off for sports and have no one question it after a while.

*****If anyone is thinking about the “It’s not TV, it’s HBO” joke, stop it. It’s overused. Leave the rehashed jokes for the blogs, thanks.

******Chess also kind of sucks. It’s not fun.

*******That sounds incredibly sexual but it’s not. We’ll keep the masturbation jokes for where they belong – in most of the other rants.