George R. R. Martin revealed this week that he has made significant progress on his upcoming Game Of Thrones novel, The Winds Of Winter.
The 71-year-old fantasy writer shared in a post on his blog that he had been writing multiple chapters of the long-awaited novel while stuck at home.
He also expressed hope that his novel might be finished sometime prior to a convention in the summer of 2021.
Coming soon: George R. R. Martin revealed in a blog post that his writing on The Winds Of Winter had picked up, and he might even deliver the Game Of Thrones novel by 2021; pictured in April 2019
Martin began his post by jokingly noting that he was suffering from a ‘literal’ case of cabin fever.
‘Yes, I am in an actual cabin in the mountains,’ he wrote, before clarifying that he didn’t literally have a fever.
His isolation in the cabin seemed to have created the perfect conditions to step up his writing speed.
‘If nothing else, the enforced isolation has helped me write. I am spending long hours every day on THE WINDS OF WINTER, and making steady progress,’ he wrote, noting that he finished three chapters within the last two weeks.
After mentioning he was disappointed that he couldn’t attend CoNZealand this year, which was originally scheduled for July, he wrote that he hoped to be there next year, ‘when I hope that both Covid-19 and THE WINDS OF WINTER will be done.’
Speeding along; ‘The enforced isolation has helped me write. I am spending long hours every day on THE WINDS OF WINTER, and making steady progress,’ he wrote; Kit Harington pictured in Game Of Thrones
Time frame: After mentioning he couldn’t attend CoNZealand this year, originally scheduled for July, he wrote that he hoped to be there next year, ‘when I hope that both Covid-19 and THE WINDS OF WINTER will be done’; pictured in September 2019
Martin made sure to temper his fans’ hopes that the novel might arrive in the near future.
‘But no, this does not mean that the book will be finished tomorrow or published next week. It’s going to be a huge book, and I still have a long way to go.’
He explained that even his increased quarantine pace wasn’t comparable to his productivity in his prime.
‘Way way back in 1999, when I was deep in the writing of A STORM OF SWORDS, I was averaging about 150 pages of manuscript a month,’ he revealed. ‘I fear I shall never recapture that pace again. Looking back, I am not sure how I did it then. A fever indeed.’
The author also indicated some of the characters he had been writing material for recently, including, ‘Cersei, Asha, Tyrion, Ser Barristan, and Areo Hotah.’
What a difference: ‘Way way back in 1999, when I was deep in the writing of A STORM OF SWORDS, I was averaging about 150 pages of manuscript a month,’ he revealed; Sophie Turner pictured in Game Of Thrones
Martin’s most recently published Game Of Thrones volume was A Dance With Dragons, which came out in 2011, so his fans have had years to acclimate to his glacial writing pace.
He wrote in his blog post that he still plans to host the Hugo Awards, which are considered among the most prestigious literary awards for science fiction and fantasy writing.
He added that he had ‘started pre-recording some bits for the ceremony (a wise precaution, since I am hopeless with Zoom and Skype and like things), but that is a lot less time-consuming and distracting than flying to the other end of the world.’
The final season of HBO’s Game Of Thrones adaptation was criticized for its rushed pace and the controversial treatment of fan favorite Daenerys, played by Emilia Clarke; still from Game Of Thrones
The final season of HBO’s adaptation of Game Of Thrones, which aired last year, was lambasted by many critics for its rushed pace and the controversial fate of series favorite Daenerys, played by Emilie Clarke.
It’s unclear if those criticisms have influenced Martin’s approach to the story as he repeats some of the terrain covered by the show.
Martin concluded his post with a hint of his next writing task.
‘Now you will have to excuse me. Arya is calling. I think she means to kill someone.’
