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Rothfuss XIV: The Slow Regard of Luna Lovegood


Darth Richard II

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  • 1 month later...

The more I read and hear about this guy the less I like him.

Not trying to diminish issues he's having at the moment but I wish he found some professional help* if things are as dire as it seems based on his blog posts.

*I would've loved it if I could've put "took a break from writing and found some professional help" but alas.

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Christ, this forum has made being uncharitable to Rothfuss an Olympic sport. As far I can tell in reading his blog post, there is no equation made between needing to wear glasses and having a disability. And in his response to the 4th comment he mentions he is indeed in therapy (AKA "professional help).

 

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It’s like I’ve spent my whole life being able to travel to Narnia and now someone put a lock on the wardrobe door….

What is this then? Anyway, Rothfuss is very much like Kvothe personality wise or should it be the other way round? Either way, its not meant as a compliment.

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The people who dislike what he writes should just stop reading it, near as I can tell. Pretty sure that no one who does this will be left in the dark as to when his next book is published, as it will doubtless hit the rounds in publishing, genre, and even entertainment press, and on this and other fora, and so on and so forth.

Rothfuss is pretty clearly in a dark mental space right now and it feels kind of ghoulish to shred him for it, whatever sins he's allegedly committed against his readers and his fans.

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Look, I occasionally check in on the stuff he writes on the internet, usually prompted by people criticising him on this forum, and I'm often not particularly impressed by how he expresses himself. The metaphor about the neighbour who turned to stripping, or whatever it was, was particularly egregious. He definitely articulates himself in annoying cliches, such as the Narnia metaphor or the blog premise of drifting away from a friend. But I think that interpreting the Narnia bit as him arrogantly equating a relatively banal frustration with having a disability is wrongheaded. He is simply describing it as a bummer for him, something that is emblematic as to how he feels about his own mental space. He even suggests its banality when he says "it may seem a small thing to you".

I'm not even necessarily disputing your account of his character (I would have to do a more thorough investigation to make up my own mind), but, as far as I can tell, in this instance you are merely being uncharitable.

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2 minutes ago, Ran said:

The people who dislike what he writes should just stop reading it, near as I can tell. Pretty sure that no one who does this will be left in the dark as to when his next book is published, as it will doubtless hit the rounds in publishing, genre, and even entertainment press, and on this and other fora, and so on and so forth.

Rothfuss is pretty clearly in a dark mental space right now and it feels kind of ghoulish to shred him for it, whatever sins he's allegedly committed against his readers and his fans.

Shrug, a link was posted here and I went to read it. It's not like I frequent his blog to look for posts to criticise him. 

As far as "sins committed" goes, his actions and speech reflect on his character and its not a recent thing. I don't think its fair that he deserves special treatment, but your house your rules. If you think that we shouldn't criticise him, I will abide by it but I don't agree.

15 minutes ago, Mazzack said:

Look, I occasionally check in on the stuff he writes on the internet, usually prompted by people criticising him on this forum, and I'm often not particularly impressed by how he expresses himself. The metaphor about the neighbour who turned to stripping, or whatever it was, was particularly egregious. He definitely articulates himself in annoying cliches, such as the Narnia metaphor or the blog premise of drifting away from a friend. But I think that interpreting the Narnia bit as him arrogantly equating a relatively banal frustration with having a disability is wrongheaded. He is simply describing it as a bummer for him, something that is emblematic as to how he feels about his own mental space. He even suggests its banality when he says "it may seem a small thing to you".

I'm not even necessarily disputing your account of his character (I would have to do a more thorough investigation to make up my own mind), but, as far as I can tell, in this instance you are merely being uncharitable.

Well, the bolded is the point of contention. I don't think so. I think that is a charitable reading. The "it may seem a small thing to you" is inconsequential. He clearly means that this is a big thing to him, to an extent which I think is pretty ridiculous. 

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As someone who has had to go back to glasses in my mid-forties, it sucks. I had glasses from age 10-27, Had lasik surgery and could wake up in the middle of the night and read the clock without putting it two inches from my eyes.

Last year, I realized I was straining to read subtitles on the tv. Finally broke down and got my eyes checked. Now wear glasses again. But it sucks because I have to take them off to read. 

So while I do tend to bash Rothfuss in frustration of his procrastination dressed in a cloak of wonderfulness, this is just him expressing the frustrations of growing old(er). Glasses, suddenly being the patriarch of the family, etc. Now he certainly has depression going on too. He keeps saying he's "alone" while surrounded by wife and kids. 

 

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I'm trying to figure out if I'll still be alive when Sanderson gets around to finishing the D3 manuscript that was sent around about five years ago to beta readers. I bet he has a clause in his will though that if he dies early, all the manuscripts and notes are burned.

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Rothfuss's depression began long before the current social, civil, climatic and political unpleasantness, but I've been thinking a great deal about its effect upon fiction writers.

These are terrible times, which, for many, and not only writers and artists, but everyone of decency, seem to demand something from us more than our long-held, more simple ambitions and aspirations for ourselves and our lives.

What that should be?  It seems as though for a deeply empathic and sympathetic cohort, one thing that happens is that writing fiction just doesn't seem worth it, that there are more important and significant things we should and could be doing, yet we're blocking ourselves from recognizing that, which leads to paralysis = depression.

I dunno.  These are just thoughts I've been exploring since the campaign of 2015.

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2 minutes ago, Zorral said:

Rothfuss's depression began long before the current social, civil, climatic and political unpleasantness, but I've been thinking a great deal about its effect upon fiction writers.

These are terrible times, which, for many, and not only writers and artists, but everyone of decency, seem to demand something from us more than our long-held, more simple ambitions and aspirations for ourselves and our lives.

What that should be?  It seems as though for a deeply empathic and sympathetic cohort, one thing that happens is that writing fiction just doesn't seem worth it, that there are more important and significant things we should and could be doing, yet we're blocking ourselves from recognizing that, which leads to paralysis = depression.

I dunno.  These are just thoughts I've been exploring since the campaign of 2015.

Social media will be the downfall of our society.

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1 minute ago, Mexal said:

Social media will be the downfall of our society.

:agree: But, I believed that about the endless and ever more graphic depictions of violence and hatred on tv and movies:commie: long before there was social media! :read:  

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It's a sad post by Pat, and I agree with those who say we should stop litigating the past.  I think we all have a responsibility to refrain from expressing public views which individually or in aggregate are contributing to someone's unhappiness while not achieving any constructive end.  

I have evolved in my relationship with authors whose work I admire and whose output has dried up in the last few years: Martin, Rothfuss, Lynch, Susanna Clarke, Hilary Mantel, Vikram Seth, Bakker, Butcher (to some extent each).  Largely because of Lynch's openness, I don't feel let down or frustrated by missed deadlines or misleading statements about when the book will be published.  And I'm willing to extend the same benefit of doubt I grant Lynch to all of them without second-guessing their justifications.

At the same time, I don't feel personally invested in Rothfuss' world in the same way.  I don't recommend his books, and I won't spend time on a reread if the next book is published.  And if I have to choose between a Rothfuss book or an Abercrombie/Sanderson book, I'll opt for the latter.  That's a significant change because I have read NOTW and WMF 5-6 times each, and I haven't done that for any book by Abercrombie or Sanderson. 

Pat doesn't need us of course, he has Lin-Manuel Miranda, as well as Jo Walton and many others.  But in a world in which so much excellent creative content is being produced in so many different formats he may end up being forgotten despite having the innate talent of an Asimov, Herbert or Martin.  

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12 hours ago, Gaston de Foix said:

But in a world in which so much excellent creative content is being produced in so many different formats he may end up being forgotten despite having the innate talent of an Asimov, Herbert or Martin.  

Seems unlikely to me. LMM is the golden boy right now, and by virtue of his involvement the movie should reach a very wide audience. Assuming the movie gets made/released, Pat's ticket has been punched IMO.

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12 hours ago, Gaston de Foix said:

It's a sad post by Pat, and I agree with those who say we should stop litigating the past.  I think we all have a responsibility to refrain from expressing public views which individually or in aggregate are contributing to someone's unhappiness while not achieving any constructive end.  

 

I'd agree with a less strong version of this statement. I think it's OK for you and I to have a discussion about the things Pat has said and done, even if the conclusion is a less than flattering portrayal of Pat. The example that leaps to mind occurred less than a year ago when he gave an interview where he suggested that people who ask for updates on book 3 should fuck off and die. Would our discussion be productive? Almost assuredly no. (though what message board discussions are?) Would it contribute to Pat's unhappiness if he read that we came to a negative conclusion? Perhaps. Still, I don't think we have a responsibility to avoid the discussion. (That being said, proactively pushing unsolicited feedback to him is uncalled for.)

TL;DR: People should not be reaching out to him with things that they know will make him unhappy, but it's not our responsibility to make the internet a criticism free space for Pat either.

 

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