Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin recently provided an update to his fans on his progress on the upcoming The Winds of Winter book.
Martin had previously promised fans that The Winds of Winter would be completed by the World Science Fiction Convention in the summer of 2020.
He wrote at the time, “But I tell you this — if I don’t have THE WINDS OF WINTER in hand when I arrive in New Zealand for worldcon, you have here my formal written permission to imprison me in a small cabin on White Island, overlooking that lake of sulfuric acid, until I’m done. Just so long as the acrid fumes do not screw up my old DOS word processor, I’ll be fine.”
The World Science Convention came and went and Martin did not produce The Winds of Winter.
Related: George R.R. Martin Provides Update On Game Of Throne’s The Winds Of Winter
With Martin failing to his own deadline, he would update fans at the time stating he had written three chapters. Martin stated, “This writing stuff is hard. Even so, it’s been going well of late. Three more chapters completed this past week. And good progress on several more.
However, he did add, “Still a long long way to go, though. Do not get too excited.”
Now, Martin is giving another update on his progress and it appears to be more of the same.
Martin explained, “When not sweating out election returns or brooding over other real world problems, I have continued to work on THE WINDS OF WINTER.”
He did make it clear that he was not done and implied he’s nowhere near actually completing it. Martin wrote, “No, sorry, still not done, but I do inch closer. It is a big big book. I try not to dwell on that too much. I write a chapter at a time, a page at a time, a sentence at a time, a word at a time. It is the only way. And sometimes I rewrite.”
He made it clear his progress has been slow, “I was really on a roll back in June and July. Progress has continued since then, but more slowly… I suffered a gut punch in early August that really had me down for a time, and another, for different reasons, in early September. But I slogged on, and of late I am picking up steam again.”
Martin did detail he has recently been working on stories involving both Cersei and Tyrion Lanniser.
“Of late I have been spending a lot of time with the Lannisters. Cersei and Tyrion in particular. I’ve also paid a visit to Dorne, and dropped in to Oldtown a time or three,” The Game of Thrones author stated.
Martin then went on to detail he’s been revising chapters as well, “In addition to turning out new chapters, I’ve been revising some old ones (some very old)… including, yes, some stuff I read at cons ages ago, or even posted online as samples. I tweak stuff constantly, and sometimes go beyond tweaking, moving things around, combining chapters, breaking chapters in two, reordering stuff.”
Martin would also provide updates on his television and film projects indicating their progress, if there is any, isn’t doing well.
He explained, “I wish I could say that things are also going great on all the other television and film projects I am involved with, either as a producer or as the author of the original source material (i.e. novels and short stories). I can’t. Very little shooting is taking place, and almost nothing is being greenlit. Of course, development continues… but there’s a reason they call it “development hell.” Sigh.”
He did provide a hopeful update on the House of the Dragon HBO series. He explained, “we are making great progress on the HBO prequel HOUSE OF THE DRAGON. Ryan and Miguel are in London, casting has begun, it is all looking very exciting.”
What do you make of Martin’s recent updates on The Winds of Winter? Do you think the author will ever finish the book?