GRRM drops everything to write TWOW

[mormont]

[mod] People, let's keep it civil, on both sides, please.

Also, we will not be discussing the topics of GRRM's health or life expectancy, at all. [/mod]

[jon rhaegar stark]

Seriously ,

if you read the whole interview he says writing for the show will mean he has to spend a month when he still have a book to finish

and one of the main reasons he is dropping is because PEOPLE GETS ANTSY about it being finished ...

why people should twist everything ...if he was so not liked that he wouldnt have made it to the comic con ..why would he come there when he didnt like the show

[Colonel Green]

I guess we'll know for sure in a year or so, if he writes a script for season 6.

How will that tell us "for sure"? If his problem is the show's quality, that's unlikely to change, and if his problem is that he can't afford to spend time writing things other than the book, that's pretty much guaranteed not to change.

[Moondancer]

The few people that bitch about the show are all located on this site. I enjoy the show and think it's great.

Not just floppy but a rare fish, too! ;)

[Another Locust]

Ultimately, every thread about an upcoming release will devolve into a show thread or a mortality thread. Blarg! Friends and enemies, I hope that we can all set aside our differences and go back to discussing George's decision without breaking the rules. I think over 5 posts were deleted. Let's be civil, polite, and courteous to ourselves and others. Shall we agree for peace?

[Rodrik Harlaw]

There's nothing to "extrapolate". He's behind on writing and he needs to finish the book if he has any hope of beating the show. It's so ridiculously obvious yet people are determine to twist everything he says to mean something he never said. Then they say 'oh, but there are RUMORS'...when the only 'rumors' are people making uneducated guesses based more on their own feelings than anything the author has said. If he didn't like the show, he could come out and say it himself instead of having people on the internet 'interpret his REAL meaning' for him.

I agree that there is no evidence that GRRM is lying about wanting to focus on the book.

However to say there is nothing to "extrapolate" about a GRRM HBO conflict, is ignoring some crucial things.

George has been working on something for nearly 23 years and these people who he trusted to adapt his work, have made some of the most drastic changes this past season. Sometimes doing so, without even discussing it apparently.

'I never discussed the rape scene with Game of Thrones producers' - GRRM

Does that have to mean Martin is enraged, like some of his die heart fans?

Or is he truly happy with what HBO has done?

Im not convinced, either way, as I have never had the pleasure to work with HBO or write a masterpiece.

Could be a bit of both.

[Faint]

I am actually interested to see what happens if he can get the next book out by the end of next season and it is announced for certain that show will conclude after the seventh season. Would he actually make an honest attempt to complete A Dream of Spring in eighteen months? Accounting for editing time, he would probably have to write at a pace of something like a hundred manuscript pages a month. I wonder how plausible that is.

[Cas Stark]

I am actually interested to see what happens if he can get the next book out by the end of next season and it is announced for certain that show will conclude after the seventh season. Would he actually make an honest attempt to complete A Dream of Spring in eighteen months? Accounting for editing time, he would probably have to write at a pace of something like a hundred manuscript pages a month. I wonder how plausible that is.

You mean if he gets the next book out by mid 2015?

It would depend on a lot of ifs. IF Winds beings to unwind and drop some of the extraneous POVs and plots and is more along the lines of the first three books and starts to bring the action back to Westeros....IF then, a seventh book can finish the series...then yes, he "can" do it. He has previously shown that he can get books out within 2 years and that was with no pressure or reason to do it.

I don't think those if's are going to fall into place, any of them, but we'll see.

[Faint]

He has previously shown that he can get books out within 2 years and that was with no pressure or reason to do it.

This is actually something of a myth. He has never written any of the books in two years, including A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords. It would be more appropriate to say that he wrote the first three books in nine years or thereabouts. So he would have to write the final book about twice as fast as he has written any of the previous six books.

[Cas Stark]

This is actually something of a myth. He has never written any of the books in two years, including A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords. It would be more appropriate to say that he wrote the first three books in nine years or thereabouts. So he would have to write the final book about twice as fast as he has written any of the previous six books.

That is based on the fact that writes material that gets bumped around to future books, right?

Then, I would say that bodes ill, because he can't have had that much written that was bumped from Dance or Winds would be out now....though I know there is the theory he's writing everything simultaneously, so that when Winds comes out he will already have a rough of almost all of the final book...in which case, it would be do able because he would only be polishing and adding here and there.

So, I don't know. I guess you could see this calendar clearing in it's most positive light....that he's 2/3 of the way through and thinks 6 months or so of uninterrupted work will get him over the finish line.

But, then, you would wonder, if he was that close...why present so many somewhat hair brained ideas to HBO that would buy him another couple of years? His idea of 3 years to do Feast and Dance would mean he would have been giving himself 2015, 2016 and 2017...and he wouldn't have to worry about Winds until the 2018 season???????....that doesn't sound like the idea of someone who can get their book done in a few months, does it?

[sabrecmc]

I still wish, if he can't finish by 2015, that we'd get a TWOW Part 1 at about 700-800 pages or something. Just...something. Stay ahead of the show, and then work on the second half, a lot of which would presumably already be done. Wasn't there a chunk moved from ADWD to be in TWOW anyway? Seems he should be far enough along for something. But, I know nothing of publishing.

[Kyle H]

A recent interview where George says he will write an episode for S6 if the book is done and out (so far as I can tell, script writing starts in the spring of the year before the season airs, so spring[ish] 2015)...so he seems to think early 2015 is possible for release...and while he has been overly optimistic in the past, he does seem to have learned a bit from that optimism - if he feels confident in saying this here, then he must feel that the book could be done by then (and maybe he has more done than he is being given credit for)

(By the Dance publishing timeline he would need to have it done around December for this to happen...)

http://www.accesshollywood.com/george-rr-martins-theory-on-why-the-queen-didnt-sit-on-the-game-of-thrones-iron-throne_article_97106

[HexMachina]

A recent interview where George says he will write an episode for S6 if the book is done and out (so far as I can tell, script writing starts in the spring of the year before the season airs, so spring[ish] 2015)...so he seems to think early 2015 is possible for release...and while he has been overly optimistic in the past, he does seem to have learned a bit from that optimism - if he feels confident in saying this here, then he must feel that the book could be done by then (and maybe he has more done than he is being given credit for)

(By the Dance publishing timeline he would need to have it done around December for this to happen...)

http://www.accesshol...e_article_97106

It wouldn't have to be out, just written. He could think he may be finished writing and the book is getting edited by tjem.time comes to write the S6 script...

Or he could just be playing it.cautious, not ruling it out one.way or another since its pretty early days for that

[sifth]

George had 3 years to write The Winds of Winter if he wanted any hope of his books not catching up to his tv show. He failed on that regard. Heck one could even argue he didn't even really try considering all of the crazy side projects he seemed to be working on, not to mention touring. I mean the vacations I could understand, but the side projects not so much. George even had the insane notion that there was enough material in A Feast for Crows/A Dance with Dragons for 3 seasons. Also for all it's worth A Dance with Dragons was rushed onto the book shelves despite George having nearly 6 years to write it.

So I can understand why quite a few people would be pissed.

[Ninerings]

What is optimistic in that Access Hollywood article - aside from thinking he may be done in time to write a S6 episode - is how he mentions that he "knows" when he's close to finishing a book. Coupled with the pressure of the show catching up and with the fact he chose now to clear his calendar is cause for hope that we're close to finding out what happens to our favorite characters.

[GERM]

If I said i didn't care when TWOW arrives i'd be lying, that being said however, I really wouldn't want GRRM rushing a masterpiece either, so I'm quite content with the time he is taking to craft this awesome story for us. Where HBO is concerned, i might have to back out from watching s05 until i read TWOW, personally I find the it much more stimulating imagining the scene before you and the surprise feels amplified through reading. Do any of you think HBO could feel a drop in ratings because of this, or will the majority of fans just not care?

Obviously, based off of the overall quality of AFFC\ADWD, time is the last thing GRRM needs.

I agree that there is no evidence that GRRM is lying about wanting to focus on the book.

However to say there is nothing to "extrapolate" about a GRRM HBO conflict, is ignoring some crucial things.

George has been working on something for nearly 23 years and these people who he trusted to adapt his work, have made some of the most drastic changes this past season. Sometimes doing so, without even discussing it apparently.

'I never discussed the rape scene with Game of Thrones producers' - GRRM

Does that have to mean Martin is enraged, like some of his die heart fans?

Or is he truly happy with what HBO has done?

Im not convinced, either way, as I have never had the pleasure to work with HBO or write a masterpiece.

Could be a bit of both.

There is no conflict. I don't think he's happy that they won't slow down the series, but in every interview he acknowledges the fact that he sold his rights to HBO. He seems genuinely upset that he can't write an episode or visit the set.

Secondly, you'll notice the huge changes from the books and the show occurred around the time he gave them his outline last year. It is likely many of these changes have to do with the fact that we're just seeing a snipping of pointless plot elements we know exist.

[DaveSumm]

This is from the other thread, but if we're gonna be positive somewhere then it might as well be the positively titled thread (even if they are both unceasing torrents of negativity):

A recent interview where George says he will write an episode for S6 if the book is done and out (so far as I can tell, script writing starts in the spring of the year before the season airs, so spring[ish] 2015)...so he seems to think early 2015 is possible for release...

http://www.accesshollywood.com/george-rr-martins-theory-on-why-the-queen-didnt-sit-on-the-game-of-thrones-iron-throne_article_97106

Thought it was worth reposting cos this is one of very, very few comments from GRRM himself about the progress since he said he was a quarter done. As far as I remember, we have: the way he emphasised 'well' on that radio 4 interview ("I'm well into that (WoW)") and his remark that it's coming easier than the last book. I think that's it.

[Calvin the Bold]

Could this "not write for the show, clear the schedule" bit be related to the fact that NOT writing for the show means aspects of TWoW are showing up already and he wants to minimize how much is spoiled?

While some arcs are close to finished wrt AFFC/ADWD, the way the show occasionally omits characters for an episode could certainly see their stories stretched most if not all of S5.

So by NOT writing, GRRM couldnt impact an episode with the function of "slowing down the pace" of certain characters to keep their stories in the show at least in the published books by seasons end.

Its not too hard to avoid spoilers as I have w TWoW (despite even coming into a forum dedicated to the subject all I know is who the Mercy chapter is about - not the plot)...so if GRRM can announce this book "finished" before/during S5 (yes yes I understand how unlikely this is but then again there is only specilation here anyway) then the fans who do not wish to be spoiled can DVR the show and wait for the book.

And avoid twitter...facebook...instagram...yahoo...google....life.

[Lord Hanna]

I agree that there is no evidence that GRRM is lying about wanting to focus on the book.

However to say there is nothing to "extrapolate" about a GRRM HBO conflict, is ignoring some crucial things.

George has been working on something for nearly 23 years and these people who he trusted to adapt his work, have made some of the most drastic changes this past season. Sometimes doing so, without even discussing it apparently.

'I never discussed the rape scene with Game of Thrones producers' - GRRM

Does that have to mean Martin is enraged, like some of his die heart fans?

Or is he truly happy with what HBO has done?

Im not convinced, either way, as I have never had the pleasure to work with HBO or write a masterpiece.

Could be a bit of both.

Then he's an idiot for thinking any adaptation is 100% faithfull.

He's worked in TV land before, he knew it, so to use that as a reason to create rumors about him and the writers/producers falling out, is lame as fuck.

Sure he's not 100% happy, i doubt any author who's had a book made into a movie/show has ever been truly happy, but that's normal. It's his story, but not his show.

The moment he signed the rights away for the show, he HAD to know all this.

[Lord Corry Stark]

Then he's an idiot for thinking any adaptation is 100% faithfull.

He's worked in TV land before, he knew it, so to use that as a reason to create rumors about him and the writers/producers falling out, is lame as fuck.

Sure he's not 100% happy, i doubt any author who's had a book made into a movie/show has ever been truly happy, but that's normal. It's his story, but not his show.

The moment he signed the rights away for the show, he HAD to know all this.

Not to mention his popularity has grown leaps and bounds because of the show. He's one of the most popular writers in the western world. He's by far the most popular fantasy writer. While he's probably troubled that the show is taking some liberties with his work I'm sure he's overall very happy.