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[ArkkAngel007]

Also a reminder that Martin will only write on a WordStar 4.0 (a DOS based word processor that came out in the 80s). And he types with one finger.

So that may also explain his speed in getting these out as time goes on.

Probably has more to do with his "gardening" form of writing and all the various plotlines that stem from that, as well as beginning the process to culminate a number of them while setting the stage for the rest.

I love how that works out in the pages, but I can't comprehend that process.

Because he hates writing the main series but still has a passion for the series lore. He can write Targaryen dynastic histories just fine.

This is the issue with these responses, with all this certainty that he's bored of the series, or hates it, or is purposely not working to spite his audience.

The pace of the release(s) being not what we want doesn't have to have some ulterior motive or vindictively attached narrative to it.

 

[jett]

Meh. Let's say TWOW comes out in 2018, miraculously. When does ADOS come out? 2025? If he really gave a shit, he could've been done with the books by now and we wouldn't be in the situation where we have to rely on a TV show to get some sense of closure. What is his excuse now? With AFFC it was "I gave up on my original timeskip plan." With ADWD it was "mereneese knot lol." I just think this guy doesn't enjoy writing these things anymore. What can possibly take him 7-8 years to write a single book?

I've given up on the books.

 

[TimeEffect]

Meh. Let's say TWOW comes out in 2018, miraculously. When does ADOS come out? 2025? If he really gave a shit, he could've been done with the books by now and we wouldn't be in the situation where we have to rely on a TV show to get some sense of closure. What is his excuse now? With AFFC it was "I gave up on my original timeskip plan." With ADWD it was "mereneese knot lol." I just think this guy doesn't enjoy writing these things anymore. What can possibly take him 7-8 years to write a single book?

I've given up on the books.

Well keep in mind the books can't be written in a vacuum. I feel bad for him if he just lost the passion. I can understand that because its been so many books and he's old. But I imagine tons of people will be pissed having invested all these years into the story


Does he really type one finger at a time? How bizarre.

 

[LAUGHTREY]

Well, in the meantime I can just read my copy of The Doors of Stone by Patrick Rothfuss, he completed all 3 of his books before submitting them for publishing and uh...oh

=(

 

[mdubs]

 

[greatgeek]

I'll settle for WOW and Fire and Blood--the Targaryen history section in WOIAF was great. It would be nice to see the Winterfell Dunk and Egg story too. I'm resigned to not seeing ADOS.

 

[Strimei]

Probably has more to do with his "gardening" form of writing and all the various plotlines that stem from that, as well as beginning the process to culminate a number of them while setting the stage for the rest.

I love how that works out in the pages, but I can't comprehend that process.

Yeah I can't even imagine how he does it from what I've heard.

Honestly I'm joking a bit with what I said, the guy's got a tough writing job, though it does still boggle my mind to know he types with one finger. I can forgive the WordStar thing though, we all have our quirks like that, and if it helps him focus on it, good on him. The one finger typing though...

Can you imagine typing out some of the sillier names in ASoIaF with one finger repeatedly? Kraznys mo Nakloz, Hizdahr zo Loraq, Skahaz mo Kandaq? Good lord.

 

[jabuseika]

 

[HStallion]

Yeah I can't even imagine how he does it from what I've heard.

Honestly I'm joking a bit with what I said, the guy's got a tough writing job, though it does still boggle my mind to know he types with one finger. I can forgive the WordStar thing though, we all have our quirks like that, and if it helps him focus on it, good on him. The one finger typing though...

Can you imagine typing out some of the sillier names in ASoIaF with one finger repeatedly? Kraznys mo Nakloz, Hizdahr zo Loraq, Skahaz mo Kandaq? Good lord.

Maybe those names are so crazy because he's typing with one finger

 

[Veelk]

Well, in the meantime I can just read my copy of The Doors of Stone by Patrick Rothfuss, he completed all 3 of his books before submitting them for publishing and uh...oh

=(

People have a big misconception as to what 'completed' means to Patrick Rothfuss. What he means is that he wrote the first draft from the beginning all the way to the ending. And then he's been revising it since then. He was revising the first book for 15 years before it was sold, and he continues to revise to an insane extent now. Iirc, he mentioned somewhere that he revised the first book 140 times.

 

[ScribbleD]

Hasn't the show passed the books by this season?

 

[Gnome]

I wonder if he's ever even tried to learn how to type. Like, how could it have not crossed his mind to give that a try? No way it could be useful for a writer, right?

 

[beelzebozo]

fine tuning cleganebowl

 

[Hopeford]

Maybe those names are so crazy because he's typing with one finger

I mean, if you typo something when you are going at it with one finger, you might as well commit to it. "No. That's the new name now."

 

[Fou-Lu]

At this rate I'll probably have my first book published before Winds of Winter comes out, and I have been scrapping drafts left and right.

 

[jett]

Well keep in mind the books can't be written in a vacuum. I feel bad for him if he just lost the passion. I can understand that because its been so many books and he's old. But I imagine tons of people will be pissed having invested all these years into the story


Does he really type one finger at a time? How bizarre.

I think the longer he takes the more disinterested he becomes. He should've been done with this series years ago. I really don't think he's ever finishing it.

 

[Strimei]

Maybe those names are so crazy because he's typing with one finger

I dunno, I feel like having more fingers in use would lead to weirder names. One finger would lead to shorter, surely.

Hasn't the show passed the books by this season?

I believe they passed last season (I haven't looked too closely, I'm avoiding show spoilers. Done fairly well so far!).

I wonder if he's ever even tried to learn how to type. Like, how could it have not crossed his mind to give that a try? No way it could be useful for a writer, right?

Old dog, new tricks, etc. Though I know some people can type fairly fast with fewer fingers. My mother types pretty fast but she's similar. Probably why she pushed me so hard to take typing classes in middle school.

 

[Nydius]

I've pretty much given up. I bought into the series back when I was in starting college in 1996. The ridiculous wait between books 3 and 4 then 4 and 5 - not to mention the significant drop in overall writing quality of books 4 and 5 - have all but destroyed my enthusiasm for the series. E: Plus, I found the interviews where he complained about the difficulty of writing books 4 and 5 (calling them bitches and bastards) very off-putting. It seemed clear then that he didn't really want to be working on the main series anymore and would just be content writing side stories.

At this point, I'll be happy with whatever resolution the TV show provides. If, by some miracle, the book series is ever concluded, I'll buy the books then.

That's fair, but with the show just having its premier, and officially going into untouched territory, it's unavoidable I think.

It went well into untouched territory last season. They were exhausting the source material by the end of season 5. The show writers admitted as much. E2: IIRC early season 6 was based around notes provided by GRRM about the general plot lines of Winds of Winter but after four or so episodes in, they were beyond those notes and forging their own paths.

 

[Basileus777]

This is the issue with these responses, with all this certainty that he's bored of the series, or hates it, or is purposely not working to spite his audience.

The pace of the release(s) being not what we want doesn't have to have some ulterior motive or vindictively attached narrative to it.

Hah. I knew I would get some silly post like this when I exaggerated by saying hate. Sorry, but none of these things you are talking about were the implication there.

But there is clear truth that GRRM finds it easier to write lore stuff than the tangled mess that is the current structure of the main series. The guy himself says as much.

 

[Basileus777]

Meh. Let's say TWOW comes out in 2018, miraculously. When does ADOS come out? 2025? If he really gave a shit, he could've been done with the books by now and we wouldn't be in the situation where we have to rely on a TV show to get some sense of closure. What is his excuse now? With AFFC it was "I gave up on my original timeskip plan." With ADWD it was "mereneese knot lol." I just think this guy doesn't enjoy writing these things anymore. What can possibly take him 7-8 years to write a single book?

I've given up on the books.

Well that's the reality of it. If this series is to finish it'll probably require a guy in his 70s writing another 800k words in a series that he had already been struggling to write since the early 2000s.

 

[Gnome]

It went well into untouched territory last season. They were exhausting the source material by the end of season 5. The show writers admitted as much.

Last season was about 50/50. This season there is literally nothing left from the books.

 

[Tookay]

 

[Freyjadour]

There is no book.

 

[Speevy]

There is no book.

And yet he teases a book.

 

[captive]

But it's so important that everyone can repeat the "I don't care anymore" phrase in every topic.


You really think he is planning and organising the theater related things?
Regarding the cons, he really cut out alot of them and is barely out there compared to the years before.

You know what's more annoying? People whingning about people whinging. What do you expect in these threads? People want the books it'll currently be 7 years between books and thats if he got it out this year or whatever.


I feel like I said this last year, but he's not going to get much done as football season is about to start.

 

[Walter White Walker]

I'd really like it if he stopped writing all of this ancillary stuff and just focused on the main books. For fucks sake I can add.

 

[PaulExcellent]

Everyone told me to wait until the books were done to get into it.
I think I'll just watch the show. :/

 

[Gnome]

And yet he teases a book.

Clearly in his contract while the show's still going. He's the best worst hype man.

 

[Astral Dog]

Winter is coming

 

[NintendosBooger]

Did people really think he'd finish anything this close to the NFL season?

Rule of thumb is: if it isn't knocked out some time between February and the start of training camp, don't expect anything for the rest of the year.

 

[Defuser]

So even if 2018 he did release TWOW...how many more years until he can release a Dream of Spring?

 

[Voras]

This is why being a Sanderson fan is so much better for your health.

"Hey guys I meant to right only one book but I wrote two instead, they'll both be out in less then half a year. Woops"

To be fair, at the rate Sanderson is writing Stormlight books it will be like 20+ years until he finishes that series. Sure he writes a lot of other stuff but it will be a long time before people get any closure on that series.

Also he has some pretty problematic views on gay marriage.

 

[Strimei]

So even if 2018 he did release TWOW...how many more years until he can release a Dream of Spring?

If I were very optimistic? 2022. It was 5 years between ASOS and AFFC, and 6 between AFFC and ADWD, but both AFFC and ADWD suffered from problems while being written (they were both originally one book but got to be too big and too unwieldy due to his originally planned timeskip that he had to separate them) and AWOW has the infamous "Mereenese Knot" to contend with.

So theoretically, once that's taken care of and more characters are killed off and otherwise converging for the (planned) finale, things should (emphasis on should) get going faster and not be as hard to prepare. So I shaved off 1 year from the gap between ASOS and AFFC since that feels pretty good.

But god only knows. I will eat my hat if Martin releases ADOS before the decade's out.

 

[Sweeney Tom]

And yet he teases a book.

I can tease something that's never happening

Watch: Sweeney Tom officially announces he's working on a scat autotune album. It's called Totally Real

 

[stryker1138]

Because it rarely is just old news. GRRM always tries to coincide his "I got nothing to say on Winds" posts with new stuff. In this case, Fire and Blood and the new anthology book The Book of Swords. But that stuff is always ignored in favor of more whining.

Because it's more lore for a story that may never be finished. And that feels a hell of a lot like a waste of time.

 

[Flare]

Yeaaa, this shit ain't coming in 2018.

 

[AngmarsKing701]

As someone who is pumping out 1K words/day as part of a "write a novella per month" challenge, I am shocked, shocked I tell you, that GRRM will take 7 years to get this one book out.

I mean 8 years.
I mean 9 years.
I mean... fuck. At this point just watch the show.

 

[captive]

Everyone told me to wait until the books were done to get into it.
I think I'll just watch the show. :/

Just watch the show. Wife and I have read to book five and we literally just finished season 4,they deviate a lot. Story lines in the books that drag on and on and on are often super condensed or non existant in the show. And then the show adds shit and my wife and I are like they have to cut so much why are they drastically changes things so much.

 

[Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku!]

To be fair, at the rate Sanderson is writing Stormlight books it will be like 20+ years until he finishes that series. Sure he writes a lot of other stuff but it will be a long time before people get any closure on that series.

Also he has some pretty problematic views on gay marriage.

He's a Mormon, so he's got problematic views on a lot of things.

Also, he's never really impressed me that much. Abercrombie is my go to Post-GRRM fantasy writer.

 

[Zasa]

Stephen King is not impressed

 

[Basileus777]

So even if 2018 he did release TWOW...how many more years until he can release a Dream of Spring?

Every book is taking longer than the previous one and writers in their 70s are not known for the prolificity. And it's kind of doubtful that he could finish this in 7 books anyway. It's impossible to put a date on it.

 

[HStallion]

Stephen King is not impressed

During that on stage discussion between the two GRRM gushes about all the works he's read by Stephen King and then King was like,"Well I read Game of Thrones books" and that was it ll

 

[Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku!]

During that on stage discussion between the two GRRM gushes about all the works he's read by Stephen King and then King was like,"Well I read Game of Thrones books" and that was it ll

smh not even stephen king is a wild cards fan

 

[kevin1025]

I love GRRM to death, but... maybe he should just write something else entirely for a while. Fans will hate him at first, but it'll give him that creative boost he more than likely needs.

Do Avalon finally.

 

[Basileus777]

I love GRRM to death, but... maybe he should just write something else entirely for a while. Fans will hate him at first, but it'll give him that creative boost he more than likely needs.

Do Avalon finally.

I agree that he should write what he wants. I'd love to read more stuff from him even if it wasn't ASOIAF. It's probably impossible for him to do this even if he wanted to though, that's where I feel bad for him.

 

[JeffZero]

;_;

I... I... I just...

;_;

 

[Strimei]

I agree that he should write what he wants. I'd love to read more stuff from him even if it wasn't ASOIAF. It's probably impossible for him to do this even if he wanted to though, that's where I feel bad for him.

I highly recommend both his Dreamsongs (Vol. 1 and 2) and Tuf Voyaging if you've not read them.

Dreamsongs are a collection of short stories he's written over the years (Tuf is one of them) and they're all different genres. Its quite good! And he's got a sort of universe going in them too, and it may actually include Planetos (

Spoiler

Bakkalon, the Pale Child, is mentioned as one of the gods in the House of Black and White

). Though its likely no more than a reference.

Tuf Voyaging is a science fiction collection of short stories involving the titular Tuf, who is...very weird. Comes into possession of a "seed ship" that is basically a giant space ship that's a gene bank of everything imaginable and the adventures he goes on (and the stuff he has to fix).

 

[Cesare Borgia]

I agree that he should write what he wants. I'd love to read more stuff from him even if it wasn't ASOIAF. It's probably impossible for him to do this even if he wanted to though, that's where I feel bad for him.

I stopped feeling bad for him when I realized he keeps making the same mistakes over and over and does nothing to change it. First it was the endless con/traveling that delayed his writing. Now it's television projects, editing, traveling, and who knows what else.

Not saying he needs to lock himself up and only write the books. But it's clear he has too much on his plate, yet he keeps stuffing it.

 

[Basileus777]

I highly recommend both his Dreamsongs (Vol. 1 and 2) and Tuf Voyaging if you've not read them.

Dreamsongs are a collection of short stories he's written over the years (Tuf is one of them) and they're all different genres. Its quite good! And he's got a sort of universe going in them too, and it may actually include Planetos (

Spoiler

Bakkalon, the Pale Child, is mentioned as one of the gods in the House of Black and White

). Though its likely no more than a reference.

Tuf Voyaging is a science fiction collection of short stories involving the titular Tuf, who is...very weird. Comes into possession of a "seed ship" that is basically a giant space ship that's a gene bank of everything imaginable and the adventures he goes on (and the stuff he has to fix).

I've read a fair amount of his shorter fiction and I've largely enjoyed it. Which is why I wouldn't mind seeing more of it.

I stopped feeling bad for him when I realized he keeps making the same mistakes over and over and does nothing to change it. First it was the endless con/traveling that delayed his writing. Now it's television projects, editing, traveling, and who knows what else.

Not saying he needs to lock himself up and only write the books. But it's clear he has too much on his plate, yet he keeps stuffing it.

I can sympathize with him creating this monster of a franchise that he's now stuck writing for forever with fans getting enraged anytime he touches anything else despite acknowledging that he's largely the one who pushed himself into this corner.

 

[PingPongvonLaserstein]

Not saying he needs to lock himself up and only write the books. But it's clear he has too much on his plate, yet he keeps stuffing it.

Low blow man, low blow.