Game of Thrones Author George R.R. Martin Says He’s Not Made Much Winds of Winter Progress Lately as TV Shows ‘Ate Up’ Time

Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin has said he’s made little progress lately with the latest A Song of Ice and Fire book, the infamously delayed The Winds of Winter, as his various TV shows “ate up” most of his time.

Martin shared the update in a blog post where he discussed his mounting stress levels. “The first half of my year was pretty miserable,” Martin said, before explaining a close friend died suddenly in January. “Nor did I find much solace in my work,” he added.

“Writing came hard, and though I did produce some new pages on both The Winds of Winter (yes) and Blood & Fire (the sequel to Fire & Blood, the second part of my Targaryen history), I would have liked to turn out a lot more.

“My various television projects ate up most of those months. Some of that was pleasant (Dark Winds and The Hedge Knight), most of it was not. The stress kept mounting, the news went from bad to worse to worst, my mood seemed to swing between fury and despair, and at night I tossed and turned when I should have been sleeping. When I did sleep, well, my dreams were none too pleasant either.”

It’s unclear which TV show Martin means exactly, and he works on many silver screen projects beyond those related to Game of Thrones, but the author recently expressed frustration with House of the Dragon.

A Song of Ice and Fire fans will be disappointed to hear of a lack of The Winds of Winter progress, however, especially after hearing practically the same thing in 2023. Martin said at the time he’d written around 1,100 pages of the book, which was the same number he’d given a year earlier. There is plenty of work to be done without actually increasing the page total, of course.

The Winds of Winter was originally expected three years after the last book, A Dance With Dragons, in 2014, meaning it’s now 10 years late. It’s the penultimate A Song of Ice and Fire book, but many have now expressed doubt it will ever be released.

Martin did offer somewhat of a story tease for The Winds of Winter in July 2024 though, saying it will explain the relationship between dragons and humans and how the Targaryen’s is different.

Image credit: IGN.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.