‘Winds Of Winter’ Release Date: George R.R. Martin Says He Works Best Without Deadlines, Will ‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 6 Spoil The Book?


George R.R. Martin put theories about the awaited Winds of Winter release date to rest when he admitted that he missed a key deadline. The 67-year-old author recently penned a blog post expressing his remorse after announcing that he wasn’t able to complete the novel on time. He claimed that no one could be more disappointed than him.

“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.”

For those wondering if the Winds of Winter release date will take place before the airing of HBO’s Game of Thrones Season 6, the answer is a resounding “no.” GRRM said that he’s “months away” from completing the novel and “that’s if the writing goes well.”

“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.”

george rr martin
(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

If there’s something fans can look forward to, GRRM promised that the novel would be as good as possible. As for the reason behind his missed Winds of Winter deadline, Martin cited several things.

“You can blame my travels or my blog posts or the distractions of other projects 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.”

He also added that he was most comfortable when writing at his own pace with “no contracts, no deadlines, no one waiting.” Given that the Winds of Winter release date won’t happen anytime soon, show runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will take the fantasy series into their hands come April.

Game of Thrones cast members
(Photo by Chris Frawley/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. via Getty Images)

This year officially marks the second decade since Martin released AGame of Thrones, the first novel in the A Song of Ice And Fire series. The second and third parts, A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords, came out in 1998 and 2000. Five years later, A Feast for Crows followed, and it was only in 2011 when A Dance with Dragons hit the shelves.

For those asking if Game of Thrones Season 6 will spoil the sixth book, Martin wrote that “Maybe. Yes and no.” He pointed out that the books and the series were already different in several ways.

In the series, characters like King Stannis, Mance Rayder, Princess Myrcella, Princess Shireen, Queen Selyse, Ser Barristan Selmy, Rakharo, Mago, Irri, Xaro Xhoan Daxos, Pyat Pree, Pyp, and Grenn are already dead, but not in the books. Balon Greyjoy is dead in the novels, but still alive in the show.

Fans also have nothing to worry because many other characters are not part of the show. GRRM similarly explained that some of the characters’ way of deaths would be different in the novels.

[Image via Jerod Harris/Getty Images Entertainment]

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