How much from Game of Thrones season 8 will be in The Winds of Winter?

Arya sales west of Westeros

I recall Arya in the first two books thinking about becoming a pirate and going on adventures. Was her ending on Game of Thrones the writers’ way of honoring that girl and giving her back a bit of her childhood innocence? Did they just think it was a fun way to wrap things up for the character? Or did they have intelligence from Martin himself that this was how Arya’s story ended?

The wait continues for the conclusion to the Song of Ice and Fire series. It’s anyone’s guess as to how and whether the show affected Martin’s thoughts about the ending, but don’t think that just because not everyone enjoyed season 8 means a lot of the events therein won’t come to pass. As Martin himself said when asked whether he would change things now that the show was over:

"Suddenly the twist you’re building towards is out there. And there is a temptation to then change it [in the upcoming books] — ‘Oh my god, it’s screwed up, I have to come up with something different.’ But that’s wrong. Because you’ve been planning for a certain ending and if you suddenly change direction just because somebody figured it out, or because they don’t like it, then it screws up the whole structure. So no, I don’t read the fan sites. I want to write the book I’ve always intended to write all along. And when it comes out they can like it or they can not like it."

Bring on The Winds of Winter.

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