#GameOfThrones: Show's popularity is troubling author George RR Martin
What's the story
'Game of Thrones' is the most well-known show globally and has transcended to a cultural phenomenon. The man who created the world of Westeros is author George RR Martin, who is still penning down 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series, on which 'GoT' is based. Ironically, the success of 'GoT' is now disrupting George's creative process. Here's what it means.
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Shot to even greater success
George's books were bestsellers before HBO's 'Game of Thrones'. However, the show's fame saw the readership increase by millions. While 'GoT' will appear for its final season in 2019, George plans to write two new novels, 'The Winds of Winter', 'A Dream of Spring'.
Pressure
The pressure to match the global expectations
While GoT's success has increased George's readership, the extreme popularity leads to extremely high expectations which become a 'considerable weight to bear'. Therefore, he feels the pressure to deliver something truly spectacular to meet fans' expectations. He believes it to be the reason why he has been struggling with 'The Winds of Winter' for a few years, despite it being his priority.
Complexity
Massive expectations are compounded by complexity
As readers are aware, George creates the most intricately complex universe through his books. He admitted that his upcoming book is like a dozen novels, with different protagonists, antagonists, supporting characters, allies, and lovers, and weaving them all together was extremely complex and a challenge for the author. Notably, his genius might be disrupted as meeting fans' expectations linger in his mind.
Creative spurts
Good times, bad times, you know he had his share
However, George's admission about disrupted creativity need not dismay fans. Just as he has bad writing days, he has good ones too. George described some days as entering trance-like state, where he shuts out the entire world, uncaring about his dinner, movies or emails, and loses himself in the world he is writing about. Fans should be patient and not rush George's creative genius.
Opinion
The time taking creative process
As GoT's story progresses, the plot gets more complex due to multiple characters and interpersonal relationships. George has created a world with its politics, religion, and myths. With the show's popularity, fans are expecting an explosive conclusion from him. However, fans should stop rushing him and mounting pressure, because as fellow fantasy author Neil Gaiman said, "George RR Martin is not your b***h".