Whenever the name of famed fantasy author George R.R. Martin comes up, there are really only two things people think of. The first would be the expansive world he created which eventually became the mega-hit known as the Game of Thrones franchise. What’s the second thing, you ask? Well, it’s how Martin still hasn’t actually finished writing his A Song of Ice and Fire tale that inspired that series, which was supposed to see Book 6, The Winds of Winter, be released more than a decade ago. The writer has gotten honest (again) about not finishing, but he also has a bone to pick with folks who are complaining.
What Has George R.R. Martin Now Said About Not Finishing The Winds Of Winter Yet?
To be fair to Mr. George R.R. Martin, he is fully aware that there’s something on his to-do list that has been there so long that the ink is starting to fade. He’s been giving his rabid (and sometimes rather toxic) fans updates on his sixth Westerosi book for quite some time now, and knows that many fans have simply given up on the stories ever being completed (he has plans for a seventh and final book, A Dream of Spring, as well).
The A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms author (who’s “so so so pleased” with the upcoming adaptation) recently spoke with Time Magazine. When it was mentioned that fans are noting how we now, apparently, have dire wolves again but he still hasn’t delivered Book 6, Martin said:
That’s the curse of my life, there’s no doubt. Winds of Winter is 13 years late. I’m still working on it. I have periods where I make progress, and then other things divert my attention. Suddenly, I have a deadline for one of the HBO shows, I have something to do. But, you know, the two things are not connected.
Alright. This is gonna have to be one of those times where I ask every reader to take a breath and pause, because I can anticipate that some of you are ready to fly off the handle. Go ahead…calm yourselves.
OK, let’s get into this. First of all, as someone who writes for a living and does lots of other creative things for fun, I will say that if any project I’m working on becomes “the curse of my life,” well, shit. I’m just going to stop doing that thing, so there’s that to ponder. While the Dark Winds executive producer (who was trolled over TWOW in a recent episode) notes that he’s still working on the story he previously described as “a big mother of a book,” and admits that his other commitments can “divert” his “attention,” he also claims that his unfinished manuscript and his outside work really aren’t “connected.”
Now I’m breathing and pausing. Want to know why? Because that’s not how life works. Literally everything we do takes time away from something else. We might not mean or even want for this to happen, but we can’t do or think about all things at once. Hell, sometimes I put a show on “in the background” while folding laundry only to find myself standing in front of the TV 30 minutes later totally absorbed in the series and with the laundry all over the floor because a cat’s burrowed into it and I didn’t even notice. Just me? I don’t believe that, but whatever…
My point is that life be lifing, and while I firmly believe that Martin is trying to finish TWOW and wants to finish it, it seems rather myopic to say that his other work doesn’t stand in the way at all. He continued to explain his beef with critics, adding:
I open a bookstore, and people say, ‘Why is George R.R. Martin opening a bookstore, he could be writing Winds of Winter?’ I don’t actually work in the bookstore, you know? I own it, I hired people to do it. … I’m not gonna ring up your register. I’m not gonna order what books are coming in. I have a theater, I’m not a projectionist. [Fans] seem to overestimate how much time I’m putting in these things.
Though I’ve given Martin a teensy bit of grief here, I do get where he’s coming from. Not all of his non-TWOW projects will involve the kind of commitments that take significant time/energy/brain power away from finishing this one book. Plus, he literally can’t just write this book and do nothing else. He at least needs time to eat, sleep and/or shop for hats and suspenders, alright?
Listen, I know this is hard, but we just have to keep waiting and hope that The Winds of Winter comes along before someone finds a way to bring actual fire-breathing dragons into the world. The chances of Martin being able to finish after we get real dragons truly is non-existent. Keep hope alive!
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