The Winds of Winter publishing date guesses?

[Pedro Del Mar]

Doesn't sound hopeful when he says this:

Besides all that, there's been the huge new Wild Cards deal, the Wild Cards reread, lots of stuff with HBO that I cannot talk about yet, and of course -- always, always -- WINDS OF WINTER.

So much to do. And the days go by so quickly. I love my work, all my work, all my projects, all my children, but sometimes it seems as if the harder I work, the further behind I get.

Maybe things will calm down soon. But I am not holding my breath.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

I'm now actually starting to wonder if we'll ever see this book published.

 

[MWagner]

I'm now actually starting to wonder if we'll ever see this book published.

Just starting to wonder now?

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

In truth I was hopeful of seeing WOW, and I was hopeful of seeing it in print before now, but as more time passes and George's statements are becoming less positive then I do think it's looking less and less likely..........

 

[Judderman]

I still have a lot of confidence in Winds of Winter being completed. But beyond that is increasingly doubtful. I suspect he will want a break from writing the series after Winds and when he starts again he still wont want to put all his time in it. Unless the last is easier to write as various stories are hopefully linked up clearly at the end of Winds.

 

[grip junky]

I think that he is using the tv show to finishing the story. Does anyone else think that.

 

[MWagner]

From what I understand, Martin has provided only the final outcome of the series. Benioff and Weiss are scripting the TV show and have gone in their own direction. The TV show is their story now.

The thing that makes me almost certain that Martin will never finish the books is his commitment to produce and script a proposed Game of Thrones spin-off. Just more evidence of this compulsion to pursue any creative project except for the one that's been hanging over his head for 15 years. The fact that a Dunk and Egg TV show excites him more than working on the final books tells us all we need to know.

 

[althea]

I agree,MWagner,I think you could be right.

 

[Overread]

It's not beyond most people to achieve more than one thing at a time. He could well pen a script whilst also working on the books.Yes it might mean that the books are developed a little slower; but in the same throw sometimes you need some variety in your life to be able to focus on things. Chances are he needs a few distractions to allow himself to focus - since he's not held over hot coals to write (and honestly if he were chances are he'd do a hack-job of it ).


Different authors have different speeds and he's a slower writer; meanwhile there are others like Robin Hobb who can churn out books far quicker. Neither is superior; its just different people and different approaches.

 

[JoanDrake]

My feeling is the opposite of MWagner's, I think he finished the series a while ago but is holding off until the tv is over and maybe even interest in the spinoffs and games falls, but only a little, then he'll release the final book for a revival and a big finish. The man is a genius at marketing as well as telling tales. I think his bio is going to become required reading in all Creative Writing curricula.

 

[Overread]

I don't think that's the case.
He's no reason to hold off publishing as he's not gaining more fans through the dead-period and if anything might be stalling book sales (everyone waiting till he publishes the last to start reading). Especially if the TV series finishes because a lot of the casual market will then not bother reading the books, they might get the first set but they'll already know the ending so the won't bother with the books themselves.

Granted he's lucky in that its well publicised that his TV show comes from the books; many TV shows and films that have a written source material often don't get that kind of coverage and the written story/source material gets forgotten about.


I think if he had then written it would be a stronger time to release the books now; books completing the story won't spoil the TV show ratings and it generates sales at the peek of his TV popularity. Once done spin-off's are an endless possibility to string out the popularity and there's already talk of a new TV series set in the same world.

 

[althea]

meanwhile there are others like Robin Hobb who can churn out books far quicker. Neither is superior; its just different people and different approaches.

I wouldn't say Robin Hobb churns out books quickly. I am at the moment waiting for the third book in the "Fitz and the Fool" series.
It's a trilogy and the first one came out 2014,the second in 2015 and the third will be out any day now(2017). That's not exactly churning them out.

 

[Overread]

Actually the third one is out right now, in fact I've a copy sitting at home with me right now atop the to-be-read pile.

And I'd say that for long books with complex story lines one every year or two is a very good pace

 

[Anushka Mokosh]

From what I understand, Martin has provided only the final outcome of the series. Benioff and Weiss are scripting the TV show and have gone in their own direction. The TV show is their story now.

The thing that makes me almost certain that Martin will never finish the books is his commitment to produce and script a proposed Game of Thrones spin-off. Just more evidence of this compulsion to pursue any creative project except for the one that's been hanging over his head for 15 years. The fact that a Dunk and Egg TV show excites him more than working on the final books tells us all we need to know.

*Four possible spin-offs.

Perhaps Mr Martin has been reading this thread.

About Those Spinoffs...

 

[Werthead]

I wouldn't say Robin Hobb churns out books quickly. I am at the moment waiting for the third book in the "Fitz and the Fool" series.
It's a trilogy and the first one came out 2014,the second in 2015 and the third will be out any day now(2017). That's not exactly churning them out.

That is very much churning them out considering the size of the books. Since 1995 - one year before A Game of Thrones came out - Hobb has published 19 novels (several of them almost 1,000 pages long in paperback) and two short story collections.

I sometimes get disturbed at how quickly people think authors can write. People like Hobb, Brandon Sanderson, Dan Abnett and Steven Erikson are very much outliers. Most authors manage to get one average-sized novel (300-400 pages, or maybe 100,000 words) out every year to eighteen months.

 

[Reivax26]

As I have said on several occasions I don't believe he will finish the series. Honestly at this point I don't know if I even care if he does or not. The last two books have been meh and honestly I believe the guys on the show have written a more interesting tale over the last few seasons. They did manage to make me care about Sansa and Arya which is no small feat since I despise their chapters in the books.

 

[Koopa]

I do feel like GRRM simply doesn't want to write the main books anymore. Preferring to spend his time on other things. Including spin-offs. The main books seem to have become irritating monkeys on his back. Books he somewhat feels obligated to finish but doesn't really has his heart in them anymore. It might be better if he quits working on them altogether. Who knows, maybe after a while of them no longer being a constant nagging thought on the back of his head, he might feel re-invigorated and feel genuine motivation to write them once again. Obviously i don't know if my take on this is right, but that's how it comes across to me.

 

[Dan Jones]

Agreed. When writing becomes a chore, it's just that, a chore. Obviously a very lucrative one if you're GRRM, who doesn't need the cash, but if the enjoyment isn't there then what's the point?

He probably does need a break from the pressure, the nagging, the doubt.

 

[MWagner]

I do feel like GRRM simply doesn't want to write the main books anymore. Preferring to spend his time on other things. Including spin-offs. The main books seem to have become irritating monkeys on his back. Books he somewhat feels obligated to finish but doesn't really has his heart in them anymore.

He doesn't make any bones about the fact that he has come to hate sitting down to write A Song of Ice and Fire. For his own sake, he should devote his energies to projects he enjoys working on. Life's too short to shackle yourself for years on end to a project you hate.

What I find interesting is how little frustration you hear from fans today compared to the years before A Dance with Dragons was published. The mob was hurling torches at the castle in 2009. Today? I hardly come across any anger or speculation about the next book. It seems the TV show has supplanted the books in terms of fan expectations.

 

[Koopa]

I feel that has to do with 2 things. One is that time has passed. You can only anxiously wait for the next installment of something for so long. Do I still want the books (yes), as much as I did when i first started reading the series (no). The second thing is that the tv-series are there. And whilst they aren't the exact same thing. The main story arcs remain in place. The bigger picture is there. And as such we will be able to more or less find out the ending of the story. In 2019 we will have a set date of some sort of closure on the story. That second part does a lot for me personally. When I read a book, watch tv, a movie i want to know the ending of it. I tend to read/watch on even when i'm not really into it cause I tend to get invested in even bad stories. I dislike when shows get cancelled before we find out the ending of a tale. When it comes to tales/stories I want to be able to have some sort of closure on that tale. Take Inception for instance. great movie with what my mind knows to be a great if not perfect ending, but my heart just wants to now if it stopped spinning yes or no... Don't get me wrong. Not everything needs to be spelled out, told. Take Robin Hobb latest installment or the malazan books. Lots of things are left unsaid. But there is enough closure when it comes to the main story arcs that i feel 'satisfied'.