Hear the geeky fangirl scream

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!

Hear that sound?

Yep, it’s my geeky fangirl scream. What’s yours?

Yesterday there was a Q&A with BOTH George R R Martin and Robin Hobb. If you’ve missed it, then you can start communal prayers with me that someone will put it on YouTube, because there’s some gems in there that I’d really like to watch again.

Needless to say it was amazing. Not just because they are fantastic authors and I love their books, but also because even though they are incredibly successful they’ve remained humble and human and relatable and lovely and amazing people...

They covered a lot of ground so I won’t bore you by recapping it all, but they made some points that I really wanted to share. It was the kind of comments that made me go, ‘Me too!’, and when you say ‘Me too!’ to something George R R Martin has said, it makes you glow inside a little bit.

‘Me too’ number 1: What makes a good book?

I can’t quite remember how the subject came up, but George (Yes, I’m going on first name terms with them, it’s shorter that way!) was talking about what makes a reader be hooked to a book. He was explaining that sometimes he’s reading a book that the critical part of his mind thinks is not very well written, yet he carries on reading and reading. Then sometimes he reads a book that the critical part of his mind thinks is wonderfully written and the critics acclaimed, yet he puts it down and never touches it again.

Now I completely agree, which is why I read the Twilight series (and enjoyed them! Yes, it’s out there now!). I think even twihards will agree they’re not literary, but it’s bit like chocolate: it’s not nourishing, but you love it! I’ve been reading a lot of books recently, in my attempt to cut down on the number of books on my bookshelves, and so I’ve come across a lot more of the latter kind.

I read them and I think, ‘Wow, I could never string sentences so cleverly,’ or ‘Wow, the way that idea was put across was intelligent.’ But it takes me weeks to get through 150 pages. You see? They’re clever books. They’re interesting at an intellectual level. But they’re not very engaging.

Now of course the best kind of books, in my opinion, does both. And of course it’s largely a matter of personal opinion. I’m a huge Harry Potter fan, and that’s because they struck a chord with me, as well as being unputdownable. I wouldn’t go as far as saying they are literary, but they stayed with me long after I’d read them. They were more than just entertaining.

What I found interesting was that, not only is it highly subjective, but both George and the editor who was leading the interviews said they can’t tell what makes a book so addictive. Now he’s doing it right for sure, even if he doesn’t know how, but that’s not going to help me. Still, it’s kind of reassuring to know that even the big guys don’t know. Kind of scary, too…

‘Me too’ number 2: Catching butterflies

A beautiful analogy from Robin: writing is like catching butterflies. The ideas are lovely floating around, but then you have to try and chase them and pin them down.

As George put it, when you write you have an idea, and as long as it’s in your head it’s perfect and beautiful, but once you put them on paper, they become this ugly mess that was nothing like what you had in mind. The butterflies end up all squashed and then you cry on your manuscript.

It was the reason it took him so long to finish any story when he was younger (cue: ‘Me too!’). A new idea would appear, and being unwritten, was much more beautiful than what he was currently working on.

As Robin said, writing is hard, which is why she prefers re-writing than first drafts, as there is something to work with (cue: ‘Me too!’). And again, it’s both reassuring and scary to learn that it’s hard for them too.

‘Me too’ number 3: Doubts

I won’t go into a lot of detail about this one, it's fairly simple: famous writers doubt too.

Robin explained that she doubts the most once she has pressed the ‘send’ button. She had thought she was finished, then she thinks back to her work and worries. ‘Did I change that paragraph I wanted to change? I don’t think I did.’

And George saying that there had been times when he had thought his writing career was over. And talking of rejection slips. Fat chance of that now, George!

So the conclusion? Hey, famous writers are human beings too!

They also talked about killing characters, which is always fun. New tip for predicting who’s going to die next in A Song of Ice and Fire: if they’re the only point of view character in a particular place, they’re unlikely to die.

But enough talking. Time to go and chase some butterflies.