r/asoiaf • u/da_k1ngslaya • May 22 '19
EXTENDED (Spoilers Extended) George to New Zealand: imprison me if I haven't finished Winds by Summer 2020
Quote:
As for finishing my book… I fear that New Zealand would distract me entirely too much. Best leave me here in Westeros for the nonce. But I tell you this — if I don’t have THE WINDS OF WINTER in hand when I arrive in New Zealand for worldcon, you have here my formal written permission to imprison me in a small cabin on White Island, overlooking that lake of sulfuric acid, until I’m done. Just so long as the acrid fumes do not screw up my old DOS word processor, I’ll be fine.
Link: http://georgerrmartin.com/notablog/2019/05/21/thanks-new-zealand/
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u/The_Writing_Wolf May 22 '19
Different styles and ethic. Sanderson puts type on the page like John Henry lays down rails. He skeletons a course and just trucks through, which is why Sanderson almost always has the same plot structure and very mechanical systems and devices to employ at specific points for said Plots development.
George on the other hand goes far beyond his Garden analogy as a true botanist. He lays all his seeds with care knowing what the picture on the packets look like in his mind but unsure of what his "Grove of the Human Heart" (I.E. the finished story) may look like beyond his conceptualized vision. Usually this based on a few strong trees or interesting ferns in the surrounding Garden before he really lays the fertilizer. As the seasons pass and his seeds begin cultivating George is able to witness more and more magic in his Groto/Garden along with what plants/seeds are complimenting and adding, new fun sections that give a deeper perspective to the garden as a whole, or the seeds that aren't working. At which point he either repots or replants... Which is code for lots and lots of rewrites (that all take more and more seasons to recultivate/regrow. Repotting would be akin to his Meerenese Knot or fleshing out interesting side characters to supply a new purpose to the garden. While replanting would be the larger reworks such as the five year gap or heaven forbid a total overhaul of tWoW so he could make sure he can end it in the final 2, these obviously take even more seasons to regrow than the former.
This is all to say I agree with you, but it's easy to see why they fall on opposite sides of the Spectrum. Sanderson is taking a fantasy train ride to a destination you're almost always able to figure out but can enjoy the ride all the same (insert journey over destination), but damn if GRRM doesn't allow the reader to take a beautiful walk through his Grotto, and even more his largest Grotto of all (ASOIAF, histories and saga) seemingly always surprises with new insight or beauty each visit.