There is absolutely no denying that when it comes to burning Game of Thrones questions, the biggest question is not one related to the show itself. Rather, the biggest question that remains at the forefront of the minds of fans is, “When will George R.R. Martin get around to finishing The Winds of Winter?”
It’s an understandable question for the fans to have as they’ve been waiting over a decade now for George R.R. Martin to complete the next book in the Game of Thrones series. From the outside looking in, it’s easy to question how Martin hasn’t been able to finish the book in all of these years, but his latest reason is honestly one all fans should be able to relate to.
Among the many topics Martin weighed in on in a lengthy new profile run by The Hollywood Reporter was the status of his long-in-development novel. As the conversation shifted to The Winds of Winter, Martin explained that while he continues to make progress on the book, his quest to perfect the storyline and balance the storylines comes with a heavy burden.
Like many writers, Martin admits that he’s finding that when revisiting his work after stepping back, there are many times when rewrites are needed for varying reasons. Other times, it’s a matter of needing to overcome writers’ block when one chapter in the story fails to flow when sitting down to write.
“I will open the last chapter I was working on and I’ll say, ‘Oh f-ck, this is not very good.’ And I’ll go in and I’ll rewrite it. Or I’ll decide, ‘This Tyrion chapter is not coming along, let me write a Jon Snow chapter.’ If I’m not interrupted though, what happens — at least in the past — is sooner or later, I do get into it,” Martin explained. “I wrote a Tyrion chapter I just loved. Then I looked at it and said: ‘I can’t do this, it will change the whole book. I’ll make this into a series of dreams. No! That doesn’t work either …'”
It’s easy for fans to criticize Martin over his lack of progress on The Winds of Winter, but progress isn’t linear and inspiration can’t be forced. Writers often need to rework a chapter multiple times before it clicks, and switching to another section or character isn’t avoidance so much as problem-solving. By moving to a different chapter, the writer stays productive while allowing the stalled piece to breathe.
However, this can, as Martin points out, lead to a writer going down a certain direction before realizing taking that direction will complicate or not suit the overall story. You craft a well-thought-out and strong chapter only to realize that it doesn’t actually work within the story you’re telling, and just like that your hours of work were all for nothing.
The other big thing is that The Winds of Winter isn’t the only priority in Martin’s life. He’s got other things he’s responsible for, and there are other tasks that require his attention, thus pulling him away from writing. It’s not as though he’s simply sitting around doing nothing. In addition to the normal day-to-day tasks, Martin is working on several other projects which require his attention as well.
He even admits that getting some of these other tasks off his plate would help give him the breathing room to creatively tap into finishing The Winds of Winter.
“I have to write more Dunk and Egg. There’s supposed to be another Fire and Blood book, too. I do think if I can just get some of these other things off my back, I could finish The Winds of Winter pretty soon,” Martin revealed.
And Martin has made it clear that he wants to finish the book, noting that it would “feel like a total failure” to not finish the book. He’s working on it and fans need to give him some grace and show him some understanding as he’s only human.