George R.R. Martin explains why he writes his massive books on a DOS machine
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
It only makes sense that a man who writes about Targaryens, Westeros, and Valyrian steel would hate spell check. On Conan Tuesday night, author George R.R. Martin shared that he writes his epic tomes (A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, etc.) not on the latest iMac, but rather on a DOS machine, using WordStar 4.0. "It does everything I want a word processing program to do, and it doesn't do anything else," he said. "I don't want any help. I hate some of these modern systems where you type a lowercase letter and it becomes a capital. I don't want a capital... I know how to work the shift key!" Watch the clip below. --Catherine Garcia
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Ken Martin: the Minnesota politico turned DNC chair
In the Spotlight Martin, the head of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, was elected with over half the vote
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Montenegro offers Adriatic adventures without the crowds
The Week Recommends There is room for everyone in this Balkan destination
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
'Although deepfake porn is a global problem, South Korea has been hit particularly hard'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appeal
Speed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published