Blogflog - George R. R. Martin is a Steely-Eyed Hard Ass, or I’m a Wimp

[blogfloggery]

Link: George R. R. Martin is a Steely-Eyed Hard Ass, or I’m a Wimp
Disclaimer: This blog entry is verbatim, as originally posted on LKH's blog. Copyright belongs to Ma Petite Enterprises.
Mod note: LKH.org is currently down, so here's a cached link.

Comments

[ext_1377938]

This made me laugh like nothing else has been able to in ages.

[dagonista]

I love that Laurell thinks *not* finishing a bottle of cider constitutes drinking. That's adorable. And that she doesn't drink because she doesn't need help lowering her inhibitions...and that she never eats junk food because of her Spartanesque gym routine...and...well. Oh Laurell.

[ashaed_the_rose]

to be fair I have a friend who totally gets shit faced off of one cider

[dagonista]

Oh yeah, I'm a bit of a lightweight in that respect. But even knowing I'm lightweight, I don't think I'd call drinking half a bottle of cider "drinking," if that makes sense?

[dwg]

I love that this completely misses the point of why GRRM kills off characters.

Also the last time we had this kind of wailing and shirt-rending was when she killed Haven, which had like zero emotional impact on any of the characters (it'd probably help if her characters had emotions to start with instead of just telling us "I feel bad about X") and then everyone swooped in to reassure Anita that what she did was the right thing, for the greater good, and that Haven was Smirky McEvilbad anyway. So what are the odds that this will repeat itself here with some character nobody really cares about

[ext_1626743]

Did you see the person who claimed George R. R. Martin was a sociopath for killing off his characters? I seriously dislike his books on both a moral and a "craft" level, but that's going waaaaaay too far.

[dwg]

I DID. And I'm laughing at the "he's viscous[sic] and mean!" comment. GRRM being viscous would totally explain why people had to wait so long for Dance of Dragons. Beyond that, everything I know about the books comes via fandom osmosis and the tv show, but even going by that...don't all the deaths actually serve a purpose? Like, if there's going to be an argument about unnecessary deaths, at least bring up Joss Whedon or fridging. A death as a cheap vehicle for drama is more LKH's style, much like all the tragic backstories of woe that all the dudes seem to have so their woobies can be sexed away by the heroine.

[duamuteffe]

Wait, isn't deciding on a character death and its aftermath sort of a large deal as far as how it works in plot? And isn't the manuscript supposed to be done by the end of January? Which is, what, tomorrow? I know she always turns them in late, but sheesh- at least try to look like you're almost done or something.

[cherrypep]

yeah, but it's ok. This death is going to 'effect the rest of the book'. So apparently it's going to bring her to type 'The End', or maybe write the book for her. Or maybe she meant 'affect'... nah.

[desert_vixen]

Translation: Long weepy Epilogue about how much they're going to miss Character X, and maybe avenge him in the next book.

Personally, I'm thinking candidates are either the boy twin, Barinthus, or Galen... or random multi-colored cutout #200.

[ravens_shadow]

Except her Epilogues are never long (at least they aren't the Anita books, I haven't read the Merry, so I'm extrapolating). It'd be half a page of weepiness and telling us people are sad.

[a_sporking_rat]

Stop writing, LKH.

I don't say this to be mean.

I say this because if it does this to you, stop. Or switch genres. Just start a new series that is a happy fluffy domestic tone where it would be out of place for anyone to ever die no matter how minor a character they were.

[clover_elf_kin]

Or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, write characters who are, for some reason or another, true immortals--NOTHING can kill them.

...I might just be morbidly curious how LKH would handle anything even close to a "I have no mouth and I must scream" situation.

Admittedly, I can be downright SADISTIC to my own casts, but recently I saw a kink meme prompt that was too much even for me--a story where the main character of the series was diagnosed with cancer (I think) and was decreed too valuable to let die... which is SERIOUSLY ANYTHING BUT GOOD in this case. The specific prompt was that he's in a body that should have shut down years ago, trapped in his own withered husk like a zombie, but he can still feel pain. Presumably his senses still function to varying degrees, and he can speak--but that's it.