GRRM (George R.R. Martin) is what we call a sloooooow writer. Stephen King is what we call a fast writer. In Chuck Wendig’s 2016 Mandate post, he refers to a comment that he once received from a reader stating that his books were no good and that he ‘settled’ because he wrote too fast. This is, sadly, a terrifyingly prevalent attitude, particularly amongst the literati: slow work is artful work, fast work is hack work.
Excuse me while I go bash my head against a wall for a minute here.
Look, let’s break this down with the obvious:
For years, I have been a SLOW WRITER. My first novel is coming out in June (!!!!!) (More on that next week), and it’s one I have been working on essentially since 2009. Yup, that qualifies me as a slow writer.
In that same amount of time, Shakespeare wrote Henry VI parts II, III and I; Richard III; Comedy of Errors; Titus Andronicus; Taming of the Shrew; Two Gentlemen of Verona; Loves Labours Lost; Romeo and Juliet; Richard II; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; King John; and The Merchant of Venice.
OH YES I AM AN ARTFUL WRITER AND SHAKESPEARE IS A HACK WOW YOU ARE SO RIGHT. #MicDrop.
…I really actually don’t need to say any more, do I? Q.E.D.