Last time, I spoke of the problem of turning convention on its head, but it occurred to me that doing so requires said convention. What happens when our favorite stories hit a brick wall because there's no more material to lean on?
That, of course, was one of the biggest problems with Game of Thrones. Sure, George RR Martin was there to "guide" the show's writers, but he also left them(and everyone else) hanging without any new source material. The first five seasons of Game of Thrones did so well in part because it was guided by source material that provided a road map. Unfortunately, Martin has taken his sweet time writing the last two books - The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring - so the depth of his guidance was limited.
I think this problem is two-fold. First, most shows should be weary in the future about running with a series that has no conclusion(or is at least not so far ahead that they'll hit that proverbial wall). The Walking Dead may be wandering recently, but that's more due to straying from source material rather than running out of it. Future series should demand plenty of material before even beginning. The second part of this is the responsibility it places on writers to...well...write more source material. Martin has fed quite well off of the original success of his work, but he doesn't seem to feel any duty to provide more. All well and good if the story is already at a natural conclusion, but a bit of douchebaggery if the story has a more clearly defined arc.
Although the Game of Thrones writers definitely rushed their work near the end, it's hard to blame them since they didn't have much more than Martin's word to go on. This is akin to a problem I've outlined previously about hitting that wall when I try writing beyond my outline. At that point, work loses depth and things start to feel forced. That was the feel of Season 8 of Game of Thrones - the writers still knew where they wanted to end up, but they lacked the background to get there in a meaningful manner. Martin could've helped by putting out his stuff long before now, but he has never seemed truly motivated to do so. Yes, it's his work and, therefore, his pace, but there comes a point at which other people are relying on you, so knuckle down.
Had this been simply been a novel, that would've been one thing. However, with a show now on, and that show having deadlines, Martin's laid back attitude looks a touch more selfish now. People - real people with real jobs - depended on him, and he let them down. If any of us are ever in a position similar to his, I hope we'll remember that our obligations go beyond just writing a book.
That, of course, was one of the biggest problems with Game of Thrones. Sure, George RR Martin was there to "guide" the show's writers, but he also left them(and everyone else) hanging without any new source material. The first five seasons of Game of Thrones did so well in part because it was guided by source material that provided a road map. Unfortunately, Martin has taken his sweet time writing the last two books - The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring - so the depth of his guidance was limited.
I think this problem is two-fold. First, most shows should be weary in the future about running with a series that has no conclusion(or is at least not so far ahead that they'll hit that proverbial wall). The Walking Dead may be wandering recently, but that's more due to straying from source material rather than running out of it. Future series should demand plenty of material before even beginning. The second part of this is the responsibility it places on writers to...well...write more source material. Martin has fed quite well off of the original success of his work, but he doesn't seem to feel any duty to provide more. All well and good if the story is already at a natural conclusion, but a bit of douchebaggery if the story has a more clearly defined arc.
Although the Game of Thrones writers definitely rushed their work near the end, it's hard to blame them since they didn't have much more than Martin's word to go on. This is akin to a problem I've outlined previously about hitting that wall when I try writing beyond my outline. At that point, work loses depth and things start to feel forced. That was the feel of Season 8 of Game of Thrones - the writers still knew where they wanted to end up, but they lacked the background to get there in a meaningful manner. Martin could've helped by putting out his stuff long before now, but he has never seemed truly motivated to do so. Yes, it's his work and, therefore, his pace, but there comes a point at which other people are relying on you, so knuckle down.
Had this been simply been a novel, that would've been one thing. However, with a show now on, and that show having deadlines, Martin's laid back attitude looks a touch more selfish now. People - real people with real jobs - depended on him, and he let them down. If any of us are ever in a position similar to his, I hope we'll remember that our obligations go beyond just writing a book.
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