George R.R. Martin starts a worldbuilding scholarship program

[Timsup2nothin]

The main character is the author.

In a biographical narrative, yes. A good writer isn't limited to writing biographical narratives.

 

[Kyriakos]

In a biographical narrative, yes. A good writer isn't limited to writing biographical narratives.

That is debatable - assuming you don't mean full autobiography. Eg a number of hugely prominent authors did just have their own self as their main character in all their works. Examples: Borges (said so himself), Pessoa (said so himself), and while Kafka is more of a guess, the info from his diary would certainly dissuade anyone (imo) from claiming he is meaning to portray other personalities - let alone in the central character of the works.
Those three are easily in the top 5 of 20th century writers, so i think the argument is strong.

Let alone that - of course - the same is true for my so humble self ^^

PS: while some famous writers did present different personalities (eg Dostoevsky), it is an issue whether or not that is connoting knowledge rather than error, by which i mean that in essence no one actually knows how another person thinks or senses, so it is problematic imo to focus (center) a story on someone supposedly different.
Furthermore, writers can have more than one character be themselves or tied to themselves. Eg in doppelganger-typed (not having to be about doubles per se) stories, more characters are the same, and usually the author.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

That is debatable - assuming you don't mean full autobiography. Eg a number of hugely prominent authors did just have their own self as their main character in all their works. Examples: Borges (said so himself), Pessoa (said so himself), and while Kafka is more of a guess, the info from his diary would certainly dissuade anyone (imo) from claiming he is meaning to portray other personalities - let alone in the central character of the works.
Those three are easily in the top 5 of 20th century writers, so i think the argument is strong.

Let alone that - of course - the same is true for my so humble self ^^

PS: while some famous writers did present different personalities (eg Dostoevsky), it is an issue whether or not that is connoting knowledge rather than error, by which i mean that in essence no one actually knows how another person thinks or senses, so it is problematic imo to focus (center) a story on someone supposedly different.
Furthermore, writers can have more than one character be themselves or tied to themselves. Eg in doppelganger-typed (not having to be about doubles per se) stories, more characters are the same, and usually the author.

I did not mean to imply that writers who choose biographical narrative can't be good writers. I was just disputing the idea that expressing one's own emotions is "the" key to good writing.

 

[Kyriakos]

I did not mean to imply that writers who choose biographical narrative can't be good writers. I was just disputing the idea that expressing one's own emotions is "the" key to good writing.

Pessoa mentions it as a 'know thyself' thing (ie know what your feelings are, and therefore be able to write what they are, instead of the two errors he mentions)

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Pessoa mentions it as a 'know thyself' thing (ie know what your feelings are, and therefore be able to write what they are, instead of the two errors he mentions)

I think that for forms other than biographic narrative the key element is empathy. To write believable characters you have to be able to get a genuine sense of how they feel, and express that. If all your characters are just you with different faces the reading will become tedious, eventually.

 

[Kyriakos]

I think that for forms other than biographic narrative the key element is empathy. To write believable characters you have to be able to get a genuine sense of how they feel, and express that. If all your characters are just you with different faces the reading will become tedious, eventually.

I tend to read (eg of those three, but virtually of all writers i read, including Poe and similar) writers who use first person narrative mostly. And even when they don't they tend to only present the main character's internal life, while the other characters are not accessed in such a way (exactly as if it was first person narrative).
Other notable authors don't do this (eg Stevenson or Dickens, etc).

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I tend to read (eg of those three, but virtually of all writers i read, including Poe and similar) writers who use first person narrative mostly. And even when they don't they tend to only present the main character's internal life, while the other characters are not accessed in such a way (exactly as if it was first person narrative).
Other notable authors don't do this (eg Stevenson or Dickens, etc).

I get the feeling that you are a reader of literature rather than popular fiction. I applaud you, but the world needs more popular fiction writers than it needs writers of literature. Needs both, just needs more of the former.

 

[GoodEnoughForMe]

In a biographical narrative, yes. A good writer isn't limited to writing biographical narratives.

Oh I agree, I just think mostly, as Kyriakos points out, "fiction" lit is littered with super personal, borderline auto-biographical narratives, and that they can absolutely be interesting and emotional and good to read for people from a totally different background or experience. Celeste Ng, probably my current favorite modern mainstream fiction writer, for instance, basically has just shuffled around herself, people she knew, and towns she grew up in for her first couple novels. They're "fiction" but they're clearly super related to her internal monologues and struggles her and those close to her have had. They're also absolutely beautiful books imo.

 

[Sofista]

Well, shound anyone here attend this seminar, and by happy chance happen to meet George R. R. Martin, be nice and deliver the message the world would like him to hear:

"Stop going to conventions, stop wasting your time and finish the freaking series!!"

much appreciated, thx.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Conventions are one of the ways in which authors advertise and market their books.

 

[Sofista]

Two things:

1) Does Martin, possibly the living most famous fantasy writer, with a worldwide successs enhanced by a hugely sucessful TV series, need to advertise himself to the fantasy/sci-fi crowd?

2) For that matter, the last asoiaf book came out in 2011. Those who would buy it have done that already. So the procedure remains: write a new book first, advertise and market later.

 

[Kyriakos]

Two things:

1) Does Martin, possibly the living most famous fantasy writer, with a worldwide successs enhanced by a hugely sucessful TV series, need to advertise himself to the fantasy/sci-fi crowd?

2) For that matter, the last asoiaf book came out in 2011. Those who would buy it have done that already. So the procedure remains: write a new book first, advertise and market later.

He doesn't seem to want to publish any more asoiaf books. The signs of that are all over the place.

 

[BvBPL]

1) Does Martin, possibly the living most famous fantasy writer, with a worldwide successs enhanced by a hugely sucessful TV series, need to advertise himself to the fantasy/sci-fi crowd?

I think his name is spelled N-E-I-L G-A-I-M-A-N.

 

[Kyriakos]

I haven't read anything by Gaiman, but saw him speak for 20 min in a documentary about Lovecraft. To me he sounded rather conceited (not that most of the other speakers were better)

 

[Takhisis]

I think his name is spelled N-E-I-L G-A-I-M-A-N.

*nods*

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Two things:

1) Does Martin, possibly the living most famous fantasy writer, with a worldwide successs enhanced by a hugely sucessful TV series, need to advertise himself to the fantasy/sci-fi crowd?

Is he more famous now than J.K. Rowling? Keep in mind that I haven't read anything by either of them (or if I have read anything by Martin, it was so memorable that I've forgotten). When I think of fantasy authors, I think of the Dragonlance authors (various ones - Weis & Hickman, Chris Pierson, et. al), Robert Asprin, C.J. Cherryh (I much prefer her science fiction), but most of all, Andre Norton. Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote and edited a lot of fantasy (not to mention mentoring several dozen new writers, many of whom went on to have successful writing careers), and Alan Dean Foster took a break from science fiction to write the Spellsinger series, about a 20th century university student who accidentally finds himself in a fantasy world where he's friends with a talking turtle and discovers that his music makes magic - so he ends up becoming a rather reluctant bard. As with Asprin's "Myth" books, the Spellsinger books are fairly campy.

One of my favorite fantasy authors is Joel Rosenberg, whose characters are a group of university students who sit down one evening in the Student Union building to play a game of Dungeons & Dragons... and suddenly find themselves transported to the place where their campaign is taking place, in the personas of their characters. Unfortunately for a couple of them, this means aging several decades for one and the other one only has one hand. But on the flip side, the student with muscular dystrophy has become an able-bodied dwarf, healthy and strong. They quickly discover that they've been sent there to complete a quest. The series continues for quite a few novels. I wish Rosenberg had actually finished the overall story arc.

Do famous authors need to advertise themselves? Of course. They want to sell the books they've already published, and want to drum up interest in the ones they're planning to publish in the future. Convention attendees will often buy an extra copy or two and get them autographed - I did, when I met Peter David; at that time his Next Gen novel A Rock and a Hard Place was fairly new, and I had him autograph both my own personal copy and an additional one I bought because every summer our Star Trek club had a barbecue - which included me hosting a Star Trek Jeopardy! contest. I usually bought inexpensive stuff at the conventions as prizes - books, buttons, posters... and this time the grand prize was an autographed copy of Peter David's novel.

Authors who attend conventions will often read excerpts from upcoming novels, to get people interested. They're not just trying to reach the convention attendees; every person they encounter will likely go home and say, "I met _____ at the convention; he/she has a new book coming out in the next couple of months" and chances are that the author will make not one sale per attendee, but half a dozen.

I haven't read anything by Gaiman, but saw him speak for 20 min in a documentary about Lovecraft. To me he sounded rather conceited (not that most of the other speakers were better)

Neil Gaiman was interviewed several times on the old Prisoners of Gravity show (Canadian show discussing science fiction, fantasy, and comics). I'll try to dig those up; they're on YouTube.

 

[Takhisis]

Kyriakos, Neil Gaiman wrote Coraline, and also something which I think you should read called Smoke and Mirrors. It's a good anthology.

 

[Kyriakos]

Kyriakos, Neil Gaiman wrote Coraline, and also something which I think you should read called Smoke and Mirrors. It's a good anthology.

I know of Coraline. I also know that - he said - it was written by writing a bit for half an hour a day. That alone tells me it doesn't have a good foundation.

 

[Zkribbler]

Is he more famous now than J.K. Rowling?

No, but Neil Gaiman can write circles around her.

 

[Takhisis]

I know of Coraline. I also know that - he said - it was written by writing a bit for half an hour a day. That alone tells me it doesn't have a good foundation.

Read Smoke and Mirrors, trust me. Oh, and Good Omens.