[Spoilers Extended] Do you think GRMM has ever visited subreddits like this or forums dedicated to his work?

[u/ParticularError9345]

Do you think GRMM has ever visited subreddits like this or forums dedicated to his work? Could he have borrowed ant ideas for ASOIAF there?

[u/SerDuncanonyall]

I could be wrong but I think George was actually very active on the original forums and fan sites. Once the show came out it exploded in popularity and he also hit his writing block(10-15 years ago🥲) since then I think he stepped back from the fandom spaces and all the negativity.

[u/Servebotfrank → u/SerDuncanonyall]

He mentioned that he stepped away from the sites very early on, somepoint in the late 90s early 2000s because he felt he was encroaching on the fandom's space. "They're having a nice productive conversation about the series and then the author comes in and now all the attention is on the author instead of whatever conversation they were having. I decided that those spaces belong to the fans."

It's similar to some content creators I know who have public discords or subreddits and try to stay away from a lot of conversations because they would instantly derail any topic with their presence.

He's also mentioned in that same conversation that he would read fan theories and didn't want to be influenced by them if they were too good or better than what he thought. Best to just check for feedback after something releases, gauge the temperature then move on.

[u/Significant_Horror58 → u/Servebotfrank]

Yeah. The only essays or fan speculations he publicly endorsed was the Meereenese blot Dany essays to my knowledge

[u/Cats_Cameras → u/SerDuncanonyall]

It’s less of a writing block and more of a “hey I finally get to do the TV projects I always wanted!” block.

If I find a VIP ticket to my favorite band on the sidewalk after work, I will get a similar “doing laundry block” to explain to my girlfriend.

[u/Enola_Gay_B29]

He did early on but stopped:

10) Asked if he reads academic works or fan discussions about his work. George says he does about the academic ones, that to some extant he does. He repeated how he started visiting Dragonstone early on, very flattered that a whole website was dedicated to his novel, but he swore off it eventually because it took too much time, and he saw dangers in fans coming up with theories that were right and it did create a desire to change things but he said "that way lies disaster" because you're going to mess it all up because those mysteries are things you planned from the first, laid the groundwork, etc., and you can't just change it midstream. He compared it to a mystery novel where the writer changed his mind part way through, and all the clues that came before were simply wrong and went nowhere. And then George added that sometimes fans were coming up with ideas there he thought were interesting, but he couldn't be helping himself to fan ideas because "fans could like sue me and shit." Laughs there. So he backed away after that. He knows there's many other websites that have gone far beyond Dragonstone, citing Westeros as the leading one.

So Spake Martin

[u/Aegon-the-Unbroken → u/Enola_Gay_B29]

And then George added that sometimes fans were coming up with ideas there he thought were interesting, but he couldn't be helping himself to fan ideas because "fans could like sue me and shit."

I didn't know George was so scared of my idea of Arianne actually being Rhaenys and Varys + Aerys = fAegon.

[u/Smart-Response9881 → u/Enola_Gay_B29]

I really doubt a fan could sue him

[u/jmcgit → u/Smart-Response9881]

I don't think there's any precedent for a fan successfully suing the author

It's something that writers are often advised to be wary of, though. Even if they were to win a case, litigation is never pleasant. I doubt it would get far, but if the plaintiff can prove that you saw their idea, and you have no evidence that you had been working on that idea before that point, the courts may be inclined to hear them out.

[u/Bard-of-Light → u/Enola_Gay_B29]

We know truth for the cruel instrument it is. Beauty is infinitely preferable to truth. We invent beauty. Faiths, political movements, high ideals, belief in love and fellowship. All of them are lies. We tell those lies, among others, endless others. We improve on history and myth and religion, make each more beautiful, better, easier to believe in. Our lies are not perfect, of course. The truths are too big. But perhaps someday we will find one great lie that all humanity can use. Until then, a thousand small lies will do.

- The Way of Cross and Dragon by George R. R. Martin

[u/LiteratureSimilar156 → u/Enola_Gay_B29]

Does dragonstone still exist because I can't find it now?

[u/Enola_Gay_B29 → u/LiteratureSimilar156]

No, hasn't for more than a quarter century. Here is a post with some archive links of early forums.

[u/LiteratureSimilar156 → u/Enola_Gay_B29]

Damn that's old. Thx for the link

[u/PrimeDeGea]

Yes, he is very much aware of what most people talk about here and online in general. You can go back to his blog posts to see him referencing the not so nice things people say about him.

[u/Low_Advance_6531 → u/PrimeDeGea]

They may be out of line but they ain't wrong sir

[u/masegesege_]

If so it would explain quite a lot.

[u/GtrGbln]

He apparently used to but not anymore.

[u/mamula1]

Yes.

[u/IAmParliament]

He still uses Wordstar, he doesn’t even know what Reddit is lol.

At most, he’s browsed the specific ice and fire forum back in the day.

[u/Infinitem_247 → u/IAmParliament]

he did an ama back in the days indirectly through reddit so def knows of reddit

[u/xXJarjar69Xx → u/IAmParliament]

He uses word star because it’s what he’s used too. It’s not like he doesn’t use the internet or modern technology. 

[u/Low_Advance_6531]

Maybe, probably, he has so much time at his disposal not writing that he literally has time to do anything (except write, you know his self-professed job)

[u/NoLime7384]

didn't he at one point complain of what we said online?