If you are a major procrastinator, think again, for in the race of the world’s biggest procrastinators of all time, George R.R. Martin would leave many of us far, far behind. The writer of The Game of Thrones books, he is indeed one of the biggest writers of all time but simultaneously he is a writer suffering from the biggest writer’s block.
Writing the next book, The Winds of Winter, in the A Song of Ice and Fire saga since at least 2010 (not to mention there is another book remaining after that), his very public writer’s block affliction has become the joke of the century.
George R.R. Martin and When He Will Complete The Winds of Winter
George R.R. Martin is a prolific writer no doubt, but anyone would question his writing abilities when it comes to The Winds of Winter. The last second book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, he has been very publically writing the said book since at least 2010.
Over the years, there have been more than a dozen times that he has promised to release the book only to end up missing the deadline one after the other. Despite having stated countless times that the book is the main thing that dominates his life, he has been pretty much doing anything and everything except finishing up the book for the last 14 years.
His claims about completing the book have been well-documented (see Wiki of Thrones), and he most recently, in his famous blog post declared that when the book is done, there WILL be a big announcement but he doesn’t know where and when. With apparently only 500 or so pages remaining (via BANGCAST) and being 12-14 years late, Martin still insists that fans should stop pestering him.
George R.R, Martin’s Winds of Winter Has Become a Big Joke
Every Game of Thrones fan, whether of the book series or show or both, has come to regret being associated with the fandom. Not because the HBO show was terribly bad or the themes of the book are sometimes outlandish, but primarily because of George R.R. Martin and the massive writer’s block he has been suffering from.
Having promised fans countless times and having given countless deadlines (Esquire‘s Adrienne Westenfeld has made a perfect list of it all), his Winds of Winter has become a big joke in pop culture. From memes to even animated characters, Martin’s writer’s block has become the talk of the town.
Back in 2022, during an appearance on Stephen Colbert’s Tooning Out the News, Martin was interviewed by Dr. Ike Bloom, an animated host. While introducing the author on the show, he couldn’t help but state— a struggling writer—let me revise that, truly pathetic—who is having trouble meeting deadlines.
Bloom later on called up James Patterson to help the Game of Thrones author. When Martin revealed that he had missed his deadline eleven years ago (after Patterson inquired about what seemed to be the problem), the Along Came a Spider author couldn’t help but exclaim that George R.R. Martin was no longer suffering from writer’s block but rather the worst case of writer’s constipation.
As the author continues his work on Winds of Winter (not to mention the final book A Dream of Springs which he hasn’t even begun yet), it is safe to say that it will be another 5 years or so before he ends up completing it. Until then, it is better to forget about the book and move on!
