Game of Thrones

[Njord]

THE WINDS OF WINTER is not finished.

Believe me, it gave me no pleasure to type those words. You're disappointed, and you're not alone. My editors and publishers are disappointed, HBO is disappointed, my agents and foreign publishers and translators are disappointed... but no one could possibly be more disappointed than me. For months now I have wanted nothing so much as to be able to say, "I have completed and delivered THE WINDS OF WINTER" on or before the last day of 2015.

But the book's not done.

Nor is it likely to be finished tomorrow, or next week. Yes, there's a lot written. Hundreds of pages. Dozens of chapters. (Those 'no pages done' reports were insane, the usual garbage internet journalism that I have learned to despise). But there's also a lot still left to write. I am months away still... and that's if the writing goes well. (Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't.) Chapters still to write, of course... but also rewriting. I always do a lot of rewriting, sometimes just polishing, sometimes pretty major restructures.

I suppose I could just say, "Sorry, boys and girls, still writing," and leave it at that. "It will be done when it's done." Which is what I have been doing, more or less, since... well, forever. But with season 6 of GAME OF THRONES approaching, and so many requests for information boiling up, I am going to break my own rules and say a little more, since it would appear that hundreds of my readers, maybe thousands or tens of thousands, are very concerned about this question of 'spoilers" and the show catching up, revealing things not yet revealed in the books, etc.

My publishers and I have been cognizant of these concerns, of course. We discussed some of them last spring, as the fifth season of the HBO series was winding down, and came up with a plan. We all wanted book six of A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE to come out before season six of the HBO show aired. Assuming the show would return in early April, that meant THE WINDS OF WINTER had to be published before the end of March, at the latest. For that to happen, my publishers told me, they would need the completed manuscript before the end of October. That seemed very do-able to me... in May. So there was the first deadline: Halloween.

Unfortunately, the writing did not go as fast or as well as I would have liked. You can blame my travels or my blog posts or the distractions of other projects and the Cocteau and whatever, but maybe all that had an impact... you can blame my age, and maybe that had an impact too...but if truth be told, sometimes the writing goes well and sometimes it doesn't, and that was true for me even when I was in my 20s. And as spring turned to summer, I was having more bad days than good ones. Around about August, I had to face facts: I was not going to be done by Halloween. I cannot tell you how deeply that realization depressed me.

Early August saw me back east for my nephew's wedding and an appearance with the Staten Island Direwolves. I took advantage of the visit to have another sit down with my editors and publishers and told them that I didn't think I could deliver by Halloween. I thought they'd be sick about it... but I have to say, my editors and publishers are great, and they took it with surprising equanimity. (Maybe they knew it before I did). They already had contigencies in place. They had made plans to speed up production. If I could deliver WINDS OF WINTER by the end of the year, they told me, they could still get it our before the end of March.

I was immensely relieved. I had two whole extra months! I could make that, certainly. August was an insane month, too much travel, too many other obligations... but I'd have September, October, and now November and December as well. Once again I was confident I could do it.

Here it is, the first of January. 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. And that almost certainly means that no, THE WINDS OF WINTER will not be published before the sixth season of GAME OF THRONES premieres in April (mid April, we are now told, not early April, but those two weeks will not save me). Even as late as my birthday and our big Emmy win, I still thought I could do it... but the days and weeks flew by faster than the pile of pages grew, and (as I often do) I grew unhappy with some of the choices I'd made and began to revise... and suddenly it was October, and then November... and as the suspicion grew that I would not make it after all, a gloom set in, and I found myself struggling even more. The fewer the days, the greater the stress, and the slower the pace of my writing became.

Look, I have always had problems with deadlines. For whatever reason, I don't respond well to them. Back in November, when I returned to Northwestern to accept my Alumni Award, I told the Medill students that was why I started writing fiction instead of getting a job on a newspaper. I knew even then that daily deadlines would kill me. That was a joke, of course... but there was truth in it too. I wrote my first novel, DYING OF THE LIGHT, without a contract and without a deadline. No one even knew I was writing a novel until I sent the completed book to Kirby to sell. I wrote FEVRE DREAM the same way. I wrote THE ARMAGEDDON RAG the same way. No contracts, no deadlines, no one waiting. Write at my own pace and deliver when I'm done. That's really how I am most comfortable, even now.

But I won't make excuses. There are no excuses. No one else is to blame. Not my editors and publishers, not HBO, not David & Dan. It's on me. I tried, and I am still trying. I worked on the book a couple of days ago, revising a Theon chapter and adding some new material, and I will writing on it again tomorrow. But no, I can't tell you when it will be done, or when it will be published. Best guess, based on our previous conversations, is that Bantam (and presumably my British publisher as well) can have the hardcover out within three months of delivery, if their schedules permit. But when delivery will be, I can't say. I am not going to set another deadline for myself to trip over. The deadlines just stress me out.

I am going back to my stance from last March, before all this. It will be done when it's done. And it will be as good as I can possibly make it.

Having said all that, I know what the next question will be, because hundreds of you have already asked it of me. Will the show 'spoil' the novels?

Maybe. Yes and no. Look, I never thought the series could possibly catch up with the books, but it has. The show moved faster than I anticipated and I moved more slowly. There were other factors too, but that was the main one. Given where we are, inevitably, there will be certain plot twists and reveals in season six of GAME OF THRONES that have not yet happened in the books. For years my readers have been ahead of the viewers. This year, for some things, the reverse will be true. How you want to handle that... hey, that's up to you. Look, I read Andy Weir's novel THE MARTIAN before I saw the movie. But I saw the BBC production of JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR NORRELL before I finally got around to reading Susanna Clarke's novel. In both cases, I loved the book and I loved the adaptation. It does not need to be one or the other. You might prefer one over the other, but you can still enjoy the hell out of both.

Of course, there's an aspect to our situation that did not apply to either the Weir or Clarke cases. Those novels were finished before they were optioned, adapted, and filmed. The case of GAME OF THRONES and A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE is perhaps unique. I can't think of any other instance where the movie or TV show came out as the source material was still being written. So when you ask me, "will the show spoil the books," all I can do is say, "yes and no," and mumble once again about the butterfly effect. Those pretty little butterflies have grown into mighty dragons. Some of the 'spoilers' you may encounter in season six may not be spoilers at all... because the show and the books have diverged, and will continue to do so.

IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN ALL FIVE SEASONS AND READ ALL FIVE BOOKS, STOP HERE!

Just consider. Mago, Irri, Rakharo, Xaro Xhoan Daxos, Pyat Pree, Pyp, Grenn, Ser Barristan Selmy, Queen Selyse, Princess Shireen, Princess Myrcella, Mance Rayder, and King Stannis are all dead in the show, alive in the books. Some of them will die in the books as well, yes... but not all of them, and some may die at different times in different ways. Balon Greyjoy, on the flip side, is dead in the books, alive on the show. His brothers Euron Crow's Eye and Victarion have not yet been introduced (will they appear? I ain't saying). Meanwhile Jhiqui, Aggo, Jhogo, Jeyne Poole, Dalla (and her child) and her sister Val, Princess Arianne Martell, Prince Quentyn Martell, Willas Tyrell, Ser Garlan the Gallant, Lord Wyman Manderly, the Shavepate, the Green Grace, Brown Ben Plumm, the Tattered Prince, Pretty Meris, Bloodbeard, Griff and Young Griff, and many more have never been part of the show, yet remain characters in the books. Several are viewpoint characters, and even those who are not may have significant roles in the story to come in THE WINDS OF WINTER and A DREAM OF SPRING.

GAME OF THRONES is the most popular television series in the world right now. The most pirated as well. It just won a record number of Emmy Awards, including the ultimate prize, for the best drama on television. It's an incredible production with an incredible cast and crew.

WINDS OF WINTER should be pretty good too, when it comes out. As good as I can make it, anyway.

Which is a long way of saying, "How may children did Scarlett O'Hara have?"

Enjoy the show. Enjoy the books.

Meanwhile, I'll keep writing. Chapter at a time. Page at a time. Word at a time. That's all I know how to do.

((And yes, this is my final Cliff's Note for the day. You can all go to bed now)).

Edited January 2, 2016 by Njord

[paul-r-cfc]

No surprises there

[Swarley]

All I'm seeing are excuses. Just hurry up!

[The Grass Is Greener.]

All I'm seeing are excuses. Just hurry up!

I'm not a reader of the books but it at least sounds like a bit of honesty, fair play for that tbh. Better than rushing it and ending up with some shite no one will enjoy.

[paul-r-cfc]

Scary to think he's got another one after this. Doubt we'll ever see that one

[King Kebab]

If he put half as much effort into writing the book instead of excuses, it would be halfway to the printers by now!!!

Useless c**t!!!

[FairWeatherFan]

Think he's just milking the fame & attention as long as he can. Bet he'll have 'A Dream of Spring' out the same year GoT ends. Which is what another couple of years?

[paul-r-cfc]

Think the plan is the last season will be in 2018

[Tommy Nooka]

GRRM has been acting like this since about 2001, it's taken the TV show to expose his perpetual procrastination.

It's even arguable that he never actually finished ADWD.

Guys a knob but fan boy nerds just lap up his pish!

[SamuraiJock]

Think he's just milking the fame & attention as long as he can. Bet he'll have 'A Dream of Spring' out the same year GoT ends. Which is what another couple of years?

No chance.

Assuming Winds of Winter gets finished at some point this year, that will have taken him 5 years to write. The previous book took 6 years so I can't imagine him finishing the whole series off in 2 years just to match the tv show. Won't happen.

[SamuraiJock]

GRRM has been acting like this since about 2001, it's taken the TV show to expose his perpetual procrastination.

It's even arguable that he never actually finished ADWD.

Guys a knob but fan boy nerds just lap up his pish!

Some see procrastination I see a writer struggling with a story. The books are too big and the story is moving too slowly. He clearly isn't enjoying writing it like he did when he started, and seems to get lost in an ocean of characters rather than just moving things along.

Not sure why his lack of progress annoys people so much though - if you don't like waiting then go read something else. Or you can watch the tv show which will tell you the big points of the story anyway.

[Tommy Nooka]

Some see procrastination I see a writer struggling with a story. The books are too big and the story is moving too slowly. He clearly isn't enjoying writing it like he did when he started, and seems to get lost in an ocean of characters rather than just moving things along.

Not sure why his lack of progress annoys people so much though - if you don't like waiting then go read something else. Or you can watch the tv show which will tell you the big points of the story anyway.

Just look at the guys blog if you need to understand this. All the guy does is shill his merchandise, Wild cards, his cinema and countless other rehashes of material written nearly 20 years ago.......and lets not forget the thousands of words written every year regarding NFL and the Hugos.

He got lucky with the first few ASOIAF books and he has definitely made the best of it, it's nothing new to think he's struggling with the story, it was pretty evident 10 years ago when he was forced to release AFFC. He had no idea how to resolve his plot lines back then and instead of attempting to he just introduced even more.

He's now become a con-man surrounded by sycophants that give his delusional nonsense some sense of veracity.

[SamuraiJock]

Just look at the guys blog if you need to understand this. All the guy does is shill his merchandise, Wild cards, his cinema and countless other rehashes of material written nearly 20 years ago.......and lets not forget the thousands of words written every year regarding NFL and the Hugos.

He got lucky with the first few ASOIAF books and he has definitely made the best of it, it's nothing new to think he's struggling with the story, it was pretty evident 10 years ago when he was forced to release AFFC. He had no idea how to resolve his plot lines back then and instead of attempting to he just introduced even more.

He's now become a con-man surrounded by sycophants that give his delusional nonsense some sense of veracity.

To clarify - I've been a fan of the books for years and have read the blog for years as well. I think fans can accuse him of writing too slowly and not keeping up with initial high standards but thats about it.

Surely it can't be that surprising to see an author driven by monetary gain and award gathering? I don't read any of his posts about the hugos or NFL (or the cinema) but I don't believe for a second that if he stopped writing them then the series would be magically years further on.

I'd describe his approach to writing the series as a catastrophic failure at this point, but this is his approach and he won't be changing it now. You're free not to like the series or the author, but if you want to read the series then this is the writing process that produces it. There are large numbers of fantasy writers out there who are far more prolific but write utter shite and publish without a backward thought. Bad writers who publish quickly suffer far less grief from their fans, but who wants to read a bad version of ASOIAF?

[Tommy Nooka]

To clarify - I've been a fan of the books for years and have read the blog for years as well. I think fans can accuse him of writing too slowly and not keeping up with initial high standards but thats about it.

Surely it can't be that surprising to see an author driven by monetary gain and award gathering? I don't read any of his posts about the hugos or NFL (or the cinema) but I don't believe for a second that if he stopped writing them then the series would be magically years further on.

I'd describe his approach to writing the series as a catastrophic failure at this point, but this is his approach and he won't be changing it now. You're free not to like the series or the author, but if you want to read the series then this is the writing process that produces it. There are large numbers of fantasy writers out there who are far more prolific but write utter shite and publish without a backward thought. Bad writers who publish quickly suffer far less grief from their fans, but who wants to read a bad version of ASOIAF?

Ah, but is a bad version with an ending?

I'm thankful to GRRM for getting me back to the fantasy genre where I've discovered some great authors (Abercrombie, Weeks, Kearney, Lawrence)....BUT, I can't help but also feel let down, although I only started reading the books circa 2009/10 so I've not had to wait quite as long as some, he seems to do everything except work. Whilst he is "not your bitch" I still feel he is living the high life almost entirely thanks to the books people bought with the implicit promise that the series would have an ending.

GRRM is never going to finish the books, he knows it, his publishers know it, rational fans know it, yet he continues to try and 'con' the gullible into believing otherwise.

[SamuraiJock]

Ah, but is a bad version with an ending?

I'm thankful to GRRM for getting me back to the fantasy genre where I've discovered some great authors (Abercrombie, Weeks, Kearney, Lawrence)....BUT, I can't help but also feel let down, although I only started reading the books circa 2009/10 so I've not had to wait quite as long as some, he seems to do everything except work. Whilst he is "not your bitch" I still feel he is living the high life almost entirely thanks to the books people bought with the implicit promise that the series would have an ending.

GRRM is never going to finish the books, he knows it, his publishers know it, rational fans know it, yet he continues to try and 'con' the gullible into believing otherwise.

Abercrombie is awesome. Who would you recommend out of the other 3? not tried them yet.

I've been waiting for GRRM a lot longer, and a long time back we used to get regular progress updates about his writing and guesstimates about publication dates for unfinished books (which he then failed to meet). He stopped giving updates about the work as people got annoyed he kept missing his self-imposed timelines. Now he annoys people by not updating at all instead. Honestly not sure which approach is better.

I'm a rational (ish) fan and assuming his health holds up I believe he'll finish the series. But he'll be years behind the end of the tv show and it will likely be an anti-climax. I also think the last book will need to be split in 2 when he gets to it as he'll write far too much. Of course, if the next book is a bloodbath and he kills half the main characters, the writing will get a lot simpler

[Tommy Nooka]

Abercrombie is awesome. Who would you recommend out of the other 3? not tried them yet.

I've been waiting for GRRM a lot longer, and a long time back we used to get regular progress updates about his writing and guesstimates about publication dates for unfinished books (which he then failed to meet). He stopped giving updates about the work as people got annoyed he kept missing his self-imposed timelines. Now he annoys people by not updating at all instead. Honestly not sure which approach is better.

I'm a rational (ish) fan and assuming his health holds up I believe he'll finish the series. But he'll be years behind the end of the tv show and it will likely be an anti-climax. I also think the last book will need to be split in 2 when he gets to it as he'll write far too much. Of course, if the next book is a bloodbath and he kills half the main characters, the writing will get a lot simpler

Brent Weeks Night Angel trilogy was good fun if a bit deus ex machina(y). I still enjoyed it and would recommend it, it's about an assassin with the power of immortality....but it comes with a catch.

Paul Kearney wrote the Monarchies of God series which has werewolves and wizards amongst others. Pretty dark at times but still a great read even if the ending feels a little rushed. You can pick this up in 2 omnibus editions, originally it was released as 5 books. He also wrote the Macht trilogy which is kind of alternate reality Roman/Greek type setting with 3 very good books following a farmers rise through the miltary ranks.

Mark Lawrence has written the darkest fantasy series I've read yet in the Broken Empire trilogy, his protagonist would probably be the baddie in most fantasy books but, inexplicably, you find yourself warming to Jorg Ancrath the Prince of Thorns. Do not read this if you need the bad guys to get their dues or if you're looking for heroic deeds.

I'd recommend any of them really, just whatever you find easiest to get your hands on. I got the Weeks and Lawrence books from my local library.

Kearneys books I bought for my Kindle.

Edited January 5, 2016 by Tommy Nooka

[wellboy1991]

Mark Lawrence books are outstanding. Have you read the next 3, The Red Queens War?

If not you should. Outstanding.

Also if you like Weekes, Lawrence, GRRM and the likes you should pick up John Gwynnes books, Malice, Valour & Ruin. Outstanding, best series I have read to date.

[Spain]

Book forum for this pish.

[Christophe]

Unbelievable, you don't even need to use the 'last book I read" thread or whatever it's called. There's a specific ASOIAF THE BOOKS thread. Book wankers.

[Musketeer Gripweed]

I love all these Kit Harrington interviews appearing with him saying Jon Snow is dead, whilst still having the hair he cannot cut according to his contract. Of course he is dead. Meanwhile, here is a random image I found.