As a huge fan, I was so excited to finally hear from George R.R. Martin about why The Winds of Winter is taking so long! A recent profile really dug into what’s been holding up the 77-year-old author – you know, the guy who wrote the books Game of Thrones was based on. The interview finally gives us some insight into why we’ve been waiting for fifteen years!
The reasons behind George R.R. Martin’s success are both complicated and surprisingly straightforward. When Warner Bros. bought the rights to A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones became a hit, Martin reached a new peak in his career. He then used this newfound success to launch a variety of new and interesting projects, including .
Martin has been working on several projects, including new shows, and he acknowledges these have pulled his attention away from writing The Winds of Winter. He describes a perfectionist writing process where he often revisits and rewrites existing chapters, sometimes even switching between character perspectives if he gets stuck. However, when left undisturbed, he usually finds his way back into the flow of writing.
This creates a lot of opportunities for distraction, but there’s another issue at play. George R.R. Martin has been immersed in the world of Game of Thrones for over three decades. The series’ immense popularity has created a situation where he feels obligated to finish it, and some fans view any time he spends on other projects as a waste, even if those projects are worthwhile.
I’ve been thinking about George R.R. Martin and his work on A Song of Ice and Fire, and it struck me how understandable it is that even the most brilliant creators can feel a bit stuck. He shared a story about meeting Frank Herbert, the author of Dune, near the end of Herbert’s life, and Herbert confessed he’d actually grown tired of Dune and didn’t want to write any more books in that universe! But he felt trapped by its success, so he continued anyway. Martin says he isn’t necessarily tired of his own world, but he absolutely admitted to feeling that same pressure, that same sense of being… stuck. He simply said, “Yes, I do.” It’s a surprisingly honest admission, and it really resonated with me.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Risks Repeating Game of Thrones’ Mistake
The lengthy delay of The Winds of Winter significantly impacted Game of Thrones. Once the show surpassed the plot points in A Dance with Dragons, the last published book, the writers had to create their own ending because the source material ran out.
The new show, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, might face a similar challenge to its predecessor. HBO has already ordered a second season, but the series is based on only three short stories, called Tales of Dunk and Egg, written by George R.R. Martin. If Martin doesn’t write more stories, the show’s writers may have to create their own plotlines. While this wouldn’t be as disastrous as what happened with Game of Thrones, it will probably worry dedicated fans.
You can currently watch Game of Thrones on HBO Max. And don’t miss A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which premieres on HBO this Sunday, January 18th.
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2026-01-16 00:14