George R.R. Martin hopes to publish 'The Winds of Winter' by next year

Coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic has made people stay at home in quarantine following the guidelines. Popular novelist George R.R. Martin is using his quarantine time to complete his much-awaited Game of Thrones book The Winds of Winter. His previous GOT book was A Dance with Dragons which was published in July 2011. The writer said that isolation has helped him with focusing on the novel and reveals that it could be completed next year. Read to know more.

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George R. R. Martin’s The Winds of Winter to be complete by 2021

In a personal blog, George R.R. Martin disclosed how he is spending this quarantine period. He wrote that he is in a cabin in the mountains and doing all he can to stay healthy. The writer stated that the “enforced isolation” has helped him write. He is spending long hours every day on The Winds of Winter and making steady progress.

Martin mentioned that he has recently finished a new chapter and two more chapters in the past weeks. However, he noted that it does not mean that the book will be finished or published soon. It is going to be a huge book and he still has a long way to go, according to the writer.

George R.R. Martin expressed that he was “heartbroken” when CoNZealand was made to go virtual due to the pandemic. He had to cancel his “exciting plans” for a long trip down to Wellington. But the writer thinks that there is definitely a silver lining in that cloud. He stated that the last thing he needs right now is a long interruption which might cost him all the momentum he has built up. He noted that he can visit Wellington next year and hopes that till then both COVID-19 and The Winds of Winter will be done.  

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George R.R. Martin mentioned that he is still planning to host the Hugo Awards online. He has started pre-recording some bits for the ceremony and added that it is less time-consuming and distracting than flying. He recalled that back in 1999 when he was deep in the writing of A Storm of Swords, he used to write an average of 150 pages of manuscript a month.

He fears that he shall never recapture that pace again. He stated that as he looks back now, he is not sure how he did it back then or it could indeed be fear.

George R.R. Martin wrote that Hollywood has slowed down due to the pandemic. However, he disclosed that the work on Game of Thrones prequel The House of the Dragon series is going “wonderfully”, crediting it to Ryan Condal and his writers. He revealed that he has feature films in development from his stories Sandkings, The Ice Dragon and The Lost Lands along with several other projects. Martin ended with, “Now you will have to excuse me. Arya is calling. I think she means to kill someone.” [sic].

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