All the Reasons George R.R. Martin Gave for Delaying ‘The Winds of Winter’

George R.R. Martin’s long-awaited novel, The Winds of Winter, the sixth book in his epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, has become legendary for its repeated delays.

Originally, the series was planned as a trilogy, but Martin expanded it to six and eventually seven books. The Winds of Winter was supposed to pick up where A Dance with Dragons left off, incorporating material cut from the previous book because of space constraints.

Despite starting with a large amount of prepared content, the writing process has been difficult, and the manuscript is expected to top 1,500 pages. As of October 2022, Martin said he had completed roughly three quarters of the novel, with 400 to 500 pages left, and a similar update came in November 2023.

Martin has always been honest about his writing process. In an interview with The Guardian, he optimistically said, “Realistically, it’s going to take me three years to finish the next one at a good pace. I hope it doesn’t take me six years like this last one has.” He added that he had many other ideas and projects but needed to focus on finishing The Winds of Winter first.

In April 2015, Martin revealed he wanted the book completed before the sixth season of the Game of Thrones TV series aired.

This was especially important because the show was about to overtake the storylines in the books. Martin even skipped convention appearances to focus on writing, telling Entertainment Weekly he was doing “anything I can do to clear my decks and get this done.”

Despite this, the book wasn’t finished when Season 6 premiered. Martin admitted in a Forbes interview, “The book is not done, not delivered. No words can change that. I tried, I promise you. I failed. I blew the Halloween deadline, and I’ve now blown the end of the year deadline.”

At one point, Martin vowed to put all other projects aside until The Winds of Winter was complete. He wrote on his blog, “Teleplays, screenplays, short stories, introductions, forewords, nothing. And I’ve dropped all my editing projects but Wild Cards.” Yet, even with this commitment, release dates kept slipping.

He repeatedly gave fans hope that the book might be ready that year, only to miss deadlines, creating a cycle of optimism and disappointment.

Martin has also struggled with personal challenges. After the death of his friend, sci-fi author Howard Waldrop, he admitted that writing became difficult. “Writing came hard … I would have liked to turn out a lot more,” he said in a Winter is Coming interview.

Despite the delays, Martin has kept fans engaged with small updates and playful hints. In a 2024 blog post, he mentioned visiting Amsterdam, which inspired Braavos in the series, joking that he might return to the story “after WINDS OF WINTER is done, of course.” He’s also mentioned finishing his Dunk & Egg novellas only once the main book is completed, keeping readers hopeful while acknowledging the delay.

It’s clear that The Winds of Winter has become as much a saga behind the scenes as the story within its pages. Martin’s honesty about the challenges of writing such a massive, intricate book has given fans insight into the process, even as their patience is tested.

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