Game of Thrones surpassed the books it was based upon, and even ended. However the book series is till at least two books from its conclusion. The next in line is The Winds of Winter, which has been delayed time and again in the past few years. In a recent interview with WGN Radio, author George R. R. Martin explained why the book was taking him this long. Read on!
He first talked about how his popularity affected him:
“I do indeed have millions of people waiting for this book to come out, which is very gratifying…but some of them are extremely impatient and some of them are full of their own ideas about the fates of the various characters. I’m glad they can get so emotionally involved with these characters, but sometimes I yearn for the days when I could just work in quiet obscurity…but those days are gone for me, I’m afraid. This is the reality of my life now.”
He then talked about the disruption in his process:
“If my writing is going well, and I’m really ‘in Westeros,’ it does haunt me day and night. I’m laying there in bed, I’m waiting to go to sleep, the lights are out, and the scenes that I’m gonna write tomorrow are in my head. Or maybe the scenes I’m gonna write next week, or maybe the scenes from a different chapter…I can’t control it, but something starts filling my head and the characters start coming alive, and I start hearing snatches of dialogue, and I drift to sleep with Westeros and Ice and Fire in my head, haunting me.”
George also discussed how he had previously tried to keep up with the show’s storyline, but couldn’t:
“There was a period where the show caught and past me, and I hadn’t anticipated that happening, so there was a tremendous amount of stress on me a few years ago when that was about to happen but hadn’t happened yet, and I was desperately trying to finish Winds and stay ahead,” Martin remembered. “And it didn’t work. The amount of stress that was on me at the time slowed me down rather than speeding me up.
Now that the show’s over, any stress in that regard is done, but of course, we have five successor shows in various stages of development–and one of them’s just finished shooting [the pilot episode] in Northern Ireland and another one’s very close to getting a pilot order. I’m involved with those as well. Game of Thrones, that particular story, may be over on TV, but it’s not over for me–I still have these two more books to write. And there’s other stories in the world of Westeros, which is an entire world, and I’m still deeply involved with those. So believe me, there’s plenty to keep me busy.”
George also said that he wishes his success had arrived at an earlier point in his life:
“I do sometimes wish it had happened to me 30 years ago, rather than happening to me at my age, because it does kind of wear me out sometimes,” he said. “But I still have a fair amount of energy and I still get a fair amount done.”
Well, now let’s stop pestering him about the next book, and let him write. What do you think? Talk to us in the comments, down below!
