The Winds of Winter publishing date guesses?

[Toby Frost]

Say you are writer whose story encompasses multiple installments with the same number of PoVs at GOT. What do you do to keep it all together?

I’m in the process of writing a multi-volume, multi-POV story (unpublished, but I'm trying), although it’s much, much smaller than ASOIAF. Here’s how I’d try to do it:

1. Reduce the number of POVs to a manageable number (for me, 4 per book). That means reducing or tidying the number of storylines, and removing characters whose function is to observe the protagonist of a storyline as a counterpoint to the protagonist’s own POV. This may result in a loss of scale and opposing viewpoints, but it will make things much neater. It will also give the opportunity for some reader-pleasing carnage as the POVs are scaled down. However, some characters don’t need to be killed off: their POV simply wouldn’t crop up again if it was possible to include them in another person’s POV.
2. Plot the storylines to intersect at important points. Whether by fate, design or just the nature of their jobs/personalities, characters will come together and either kill each other off (exciting) or form teams. The advantage of forming teams is that two characters working together can be written at half the length of two characters doing different things. “They both rode to the castle” is much shorter than “A rode to the castle, but B stayed to look for his sister”.
3. Don’t introduce extra elements because you’ve got bored of the existing ones.
4. Establish clear milestones and outcomes for the plot. For everyone, there needs to be an answer to the questions “What has to happen for this character’s story to conclude?” and “How do I achieve that?”
5. Remove extraneous stuff, especially digressions not relevant to the outcome of the plot and lengthy descriptions of travel. I realise that this is difficult in an epic fantasy novel, and opinions of what constitutes a digression will vary.

However, it is worth saying that this is all much easier said than done. I am a much less experienced writer than Martin, and I would have been much more cautious in taking on such a big project, simply because I’d doubt my ability to finish it or control it properly.

 

[MWagner]

1. Remove extraneous stuff, especially digressions not relevant to the outcome of the plot and lengthy descriptions of travel.

"Perfection is achieved not when there's nothing left to add, but when there's nothing left to take away."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

 

[Narkalui]

Perfection is the enemy of Good Enough
- David Brent impersonators all across corporate Britain...

 

[picklematrix]

I will never start another unfinished series, unless the author has a track record of finishing everything he starts, ie brandon sanderson, peter hamilton etc. After patrick rothfuss and GRRM im wary of getting chronic literary blueballs.

 

[Lucien21]

I will never start another unfinished series, unless the author has a track record of finishing everything he starts, ie brandon sanderson, peter hamilton etc. After patrick rothfuss and GRRM im wary of getting chronic literary blueballs.

Don't read David Gerrolds "War against the Chtorr" then

 

[picklematrix]

Don't read David Gerrolds "War against the Chtorr" then

I hope there isnt too much of a cliffhanger at the end of that one. 1992?! Thats one heck of a teabreak!

 

[Boaz]

On page 25 of this thread, Brian linked an interview with GRRM. Here are Martin's final words...

"I’ve been lucky with the success of these books and the show. I am going to finish these books; I think I have that obligation to the world and my readers. It’s the thing I’m going to be remembered for. But I will write other things after that, I hope. I might go back to writing short stories. I loved writing short stories. I haven’t done them in many years, but there is something to be said. I am never going to write again a gigantic seven-book opus that takes 30 years!"

He claims to have an obligation to his readers... I dunno if viZion ever read this... kinda justifies his position rather than mine.

 

[Narkalui]

ooops

 

[Anushka Mokosh]

Have there actually been any definitive news about any of this at all? I have all but forgotten about the series. Anticipation has reaches the lowest levels in my memory regarding any series I ever read and there have been quite a few with prolonged hiatuses between releases.

 

[Narkalui]

Apparently George is on the final stage of editing for Winds, which he calls The Sweat...

 

[Anushka Mokosh]

Apparently George is on the final stage of editing for Winds, which he calls The Sweat...

I don't even know if this is a joke at this point. XD Gonna go with the safe bet based on knowing Martin and assume it is. XD

 

[Boaz]

I cannot imagine that GRRM, his publisher, his editor, nor anyone close to him would breath anything regarding progress unless it's really done.

It would not surprise me if he will announce it on the publication date of the GRRMarillion.

 

[Overread]

Yeah right now its better less said until the book is heading to the printing presses. Editing can be a big area of minefields; esp for something as complex as what he's writing and for something that is already published and thus he can't just make small edits to an earlier work; he's got to make sure he gets the story right (as do the proof-readers and editor). I can appreciate that this takes a lot of fn out of thing and introduces quite a bit of stress.

 

[Boaz]

Overread, as far as I know they've done a good job. The biggest mistake GRRM admitted deals with SanSan. In ASOS, when he fled the Blackwater he threatened to rape her, but settled for a song. In AFFC, she remembers that he kissed her.

 

[Anushka Mokosh]

He could have so dodged that since Sansa is an unreliable narrator and just have it be her fantasy.

 

[Boaz]

And I think he said something like that.... either Sansa wished it or over emotionalized it to an actual assault... Or she misremembered because it did not even register as a crime in his long litany of evils.

 

[Anthoney]

Here's my guess, posthumously.

 

[Anushka Mokosh]

And I think he said something like that.... either Sansa wished it or over emotionalized it to an actual assault... Or she misremembered because it did not even register as a crime in his long litany of evils.

Then he did the smart thing. Though, he could now take it places with Sansa romanticizing Sandor. XD

 

[Werthead]

Apparently George is on the final stage of editing for Winds, which he calls The Sweat...

Nope, he has made no such statements.

 

[Anushka Mokosh]

Nope, he has made no such statements.

It's a joke, I believe.