Although he writes very slowly, it is expected that George Martin shall be able to finish writing the two books of the novel series. Especially now that the pressure is off on him and there is no more deadline or timeline to work for or against. After all, there is nothing better for a writer to work at his own leisurely pace.
With the 2017 release date of “The Winds of Winter,” reports are now rife that the book could actually come out before the seventh season of “Game of Thrones.”
That was actually the report about “The Winds of Winter” early last year. Back then, it was widely speculated that the book would come out before Season 6 of “Game of Thrones” leaving fans to speculate a six-month timeframe from October 2015 to March 2016. Apparently, the speculations were wrong as George Martin has indeed succumbed to writing delays due to his recent commitments including interviews, TV guestings, and even travels.
It seems that all those extra activities have affected his writing of “The Winds of Winter” and now fans are seeing that he was really telling the truth when he said early in 2015 that he is still working on the book.
The TV series has caught up with the sixth book, a situation which Martin describes as comparable to a giant locomotive moving behind him and putting more pressure on him to release it soon.