George R.R. Martin talks Wild Cards and his writing style at WorldCon
By Corey Smith
(Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
In an attempt to finish The Winds of Winter, George R.R. Martin has tried to keep his public appearances over the past year or so to a minimum. One of the exceptions was an appearance at this year’s MidAmerican Con II, known as WorldCon. It started in the middle of last week and wrapped up this past Sunday. “This year the gathering takes place in Kansas City, Missouri,” Martin wrote on his Not a Blog. “Which just happens to be forty years after MidAmericon I in 1976, the first KC worldcon and (in my not so humble opinion) one of the best worldcons ever, and certainly the most innovative.” Clearly, WorldCon means something special to Martin, hence the exception.
This year, Martin was there to launch High Stakes, the 23rd novel in the Wild Cards series, which he edits. In Wild Cards, Earth has been ravaged by an alien virus, killing most and granting some enormous power. Multiple authors contribute stories to each volume. The series was recently optioned for television by NBC Universal, although Martin won’t be involved. He explained the situation to The Kansas City Star.
"I’ve got this show called “Game of Thrones” that’s on HBO, and I have a development deal with HBO, so I’m exclusively working with HBO. I’m not going to be directly involved with “Wild Cards,” unless, by some chance, it goes to HBO, in which case all bets are off."
To read more of his thoughts on Wild Cards specifically, head here.
Of course, he wasn’t just there to talk about Wild Cards. He set aside “seven hours,” spread over several days, to sign anything and everything fans brought before him. Check him out at work in this video from The Kansas City Star.
The author also touched on his writing style. His characterization of his pace may be familiar to A Song of Ice and Fire fans.
"There’s not much I can tell you. It’s slow. I’m a slow and painstaking writer — always have been. Sometimes I don’t know how the hell I do it. I sit down, and on a good day stories come out. And on a bad day, I struggle and I read my email."
That’s not exactly a comforting thought for those of us waiting on The Winds of Winter, although we can hope that, it being five years since publication of A Dance with Dragons, the book is nearing completion. Let’s all offer up prayers to the Seven that it’ll be sooner rather than later.