George R.R. Martin Reveals Why the Winds of Winter is Late and Worries Over his Legacy - Exclusive

[@cameronjadewallace]

This is the best opening to one of your videos ever. I have never laughed so hard...

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

I'm thankful to have a good co-host like Preston who I can bounce off of and is pretty funny himself.

[@cameronjadewallace]

When chemistry matches wit, comedy is natural.

[@dasaggropop1244]

@@OfficialRedTeamReview yeah i can listen to you guys banter about anything. i dont even watch marvel, westworld and all that shit

[@jozefandrascik9661]

@@OfficialRedTeamReview You're the only guys on any podcast I love to listen to. Match made in heaven!

[@MrVictor1227]

I did

[@JustAGuyWhoLikesStuff.]

The reason George always gets so sour and angry when Winds is mentioned, in my opinion, isn't because he is some poor old man being pushed to the edge by fans whining wherever they find him. I think it's because he feels immensely guilty about his failure. He does care. He does want to please the fans, but either he's written himself into a corner such that he can't get out of it, age has eaten away his ability to write but he can't admit it, or he has grown to love his characters as much, if not more than his fans and the necessary trimming down of the story and killing characters that is a conclusion is beyond him emotionally. The irony of course is that this is what he says he loves writing about, the human heart at war with itself. Life imitating art I suppose.

[@tornado4708]

Prediction for George’s new blog. George will be ambiguous about his thoughts on S2, he will make a random comment fans will obsess over even though it’s nothing and he will end by gassing up Dunk and Egg and HOTD s3

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

You forgot the part where we KZbinrs make videos on it but yeah, that sounds about right

[@BiggestCorvid]

He will also mention his big big news (another wildcards anthology).

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

@@BiggestCorvid haha maybe

[@mercluke]

“Announcing ‘Fevre Dream 2: its getting hot in here’”

[@kennyhudson9201]

That's not a prediction, that's a spoiler.

[@MiamiGameHunter]

When I met author Jody Lynn Nye at Tampa Bay Comic-Con last weekend, George came up during our conversation. She told me that anytime someone mentions Winds, George will get a pained expression on his face and his mood immediately sours.

[@leandrocastello309]

Of course he will. His "fans" have been harassing him nonstop over that damn made up story for 1/8 of his life now. And they belive themselves the wronged party in here.

[@qaztim11]

@@leandrocastello309 I wouldnt say George is blameless in this situation, of course he does not deserve to get harrassed and receive threats due to people foaming at the mouth about Winds. However his failure to deliver the book after repeatedly giving estimates that it was "coming soon" was a huge blunder on his part, he failed himself,HBO and the fans, and i do believe he feels worse than anyone about the fact he has not managed to finish the series yet. At this point there is no going back, i wouldnt blame him if he never finished, although i do believe he is trying, and all of these "fans" harrassing him just makes the entire situation even worse.

[@patrickrogers9689]

It's clearly become a huge burden on him. It's not like he's intentionally not finishing. He's openly admitted he's written himself into a corner in some places and has had difficulty extricating himself from it. Moreover, the story clearly keeps growing and has even with the first book in the series. I'm sure he also doesn't want writing Winds to take over his entire life, which would be a horrible way for anyone to live.

[@raph3699]

@@qaztim11if he choses to just say "fuck it I’m not finishing the series" that’s his right. Just because he wrote the first 5 books doesn’t mean he owes us the next one. We aren’t entitled to the winds of winter, we haven’t bought it in advance, we don’t need it to live. Let the man do his job.

[@dickgozinya1615]

@@leandrocastello309😅

[@diepie5144]

I hate to be that guy, especially because GRRM seems like such a genuine person, but this is why I’m a Brandon Sanderson fan. Man has spent his entire career creating an institution around himself that he can trust. The first thing he does when he finishes a draft is hand it over to his in-house lore team, who do things like move around dates and fix details to make sure the canon is consistent. I don’t see GRRM trusting the people around him as much with his legacy, and having all that pressure on him alone is part of what’s causing him to take so long. Hearing y’all talk about Brian Herbert and Christopher Tolkien made me rethink what the end goal of all this is… it’s the people isn’t it? Making their lives better through your writing, and if you do it right, they’re the one’s that will immortalize you in return.

[@obviousalias132]

And even beyond that I don’t think there is an author who has built more goodwill than Sanderson at least within their own fanbase. Butcher, no; Lynch, no; JKR, maybe 15 years ago; Rothfuss, ha! Sanderson is generally transparent (unless he’s writing Secret Projects) with his writing timeline and is consistent. There is a reason he can generate so much hype and his crowdfunding campaigns top the charts.

[@gabbylikestoread]

I agree with this 100%. George’s problem is he doesn’t trust people to help him and it’s leading to his downfall. Part of me thinks he’s given up on Winds at this point. When you have a special edition box set of an incomplete series, you know it’s a wrap!

[@Algernop_Krieger]

I agree that Sanderson has his time management and efficiency on another level! But, I just feel that whilst he is able to get shit done, Georges writing is on another level when it comes to certain aspects. I am mainly thinking dialogue quality and realism. Georges books feel real to me. And passionate. Whilst Sanderson's feel impeccable, surgical even. One is a passion project, the other a piece of engineering. I never hear anything of the sort when it comes to Sandersons work and I sometimes ask myself if this is just my very own opinion or if there is something to it. Maybe you guys have thoughts on this...

[@diepie5144]

@Algernop_Krieger I totally agree! I'm a huge Sanderson fan and I'll readily admit that his writing can be a bit... flat. Especially when writing characters for the first time in a while. Your passion project vs engineering explanation is an apt description, Brandon got a masters in writing at BYU, iirc (where he also teaches as a professor), and has definitely spends a lot more time on blueprints (going along with the analogy) than someone like GRRM. Another big difference between their writing styles is that Sanderson's prose is a lot more "utilitarian". Shorter words and simpler ideas. Great for progressing a narrative, not so good for making characters feel unique. But, yeah, the fact that GRRM spends more time on each book allows him to write each character (and their dialogue) in a way that feels more natural to each one. As Sanderson revises his novels (4 times iirc), I suspect he removes some of the (already limited) character of his characters in favor of that style of prose. I reread Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrel (great book) and that took 10 years to write. Clarke's novel is the only book I have ever read to make literal dregs of society feel whimsical. I have heard that Rothfuss is also a great character writer, the second thing I know about him after how long it's taking him to write his books. Tl;dr: I think there's a clear correlation between how long an author spends with a character and how natural that character is, and because GRRM likes to spend time with each character, and because he has some amount of talent, his are some of the best in the business.

[@jamesjackson8292]

Let him never find out about Brandon accidentally writing books on a yearly basis.

[@LeonC0704]

The truth is… the series won’t be finished. Even is he released Wins of winter today, he’s old enough to most likely not have other 20 writing years ahead of him. So yeah, him leaving something unfinished is not a question imo

[@dante6985]

Ehhh.. the truth is GRRM won't finish the series, which is a little different. That's not necessarily a death sentence for closure. Berserk moved to a different writer of comparable quality (and inferior art). Wheel of Time actually was a bit better IMHO when it moved to Brandon Sanderson.

[@BillHimmel]

Agree! This series won't be finished!

[@DoratTheKiller]

​@@dante6985 I would say it's the other way around for Berserk. The art is *nearly* on par with late Miura's, but the story just isn't. It's mostly because Mori only knows some general details and doesn't want to make up the details himself; but that doesn't change the fact that the storytelling basically fell off a cliff and became a highlights compilation

[@dante6985]

@@DoratTheKiller Oh okay. To be honest, I've only read a few chapters online😛. That was just my impression.

[@91AizenSama]

@@dante6985 Berserk is being continued by Miura's best childhood friend, who he kept in touch with, and has revealed the ending of Berserk. It's not quite the same

[@inigo137]

He either stops every other project and sticks to ending ASOIAF or he will be remembered as the guy that couldn't finish his series. Simple as.

[@dante6985]

I mean, this has happened a couple times before, relatively recently. Kentauro Miura died in 2021, his best friend took over Berserk. It's been fine so far. Brandon Sanderson took over Wheel of Time. Honestly I think it was a marginal improvement.

[@dante6985]

@@ibrahimtall6209 Any recommendations for GRRM science fiction?

[@Moriningland]

Could you imagine the lord of the rings that ended with Frodo and Sam entering Mordor and never knowing what happened? It wouldn’t matter how good the story was up to the point it ended. It’s shocking that George would even wonder if people will remember him after what he’s done in not completing ASOIF. I think people will not remember him fondly, because it’s not like he died suddenly and his work was left unfinished, he choose to put his attention in other projects that no one will care about and left one of the greatest stories unfinished. In addition, the show ruined its own legacy As an artist, it seems insane to not want to finish your work so it will be remembered. Some of the world’s greatest artists never had their art appreciated in their lifetimes but George did and he totally squandered it and for what? As an artist, you live on through your work, so it really seems that George just isn’t that committed to his art. I think it’s all really really sad because this series probably would have been remembered 100 years from now if society is even still around, now it will be up to artificial intelligence to finish the story. I wish George would get the credit he would have gotten for his work because I love him as a person, but you can never convince me he cares that much about fans or even his own work

[@Grewyn7]

This. He isn't committed to art whatsoever. He's very committed to making money. And his method for doing so is sitting in a chair for hours writing stuff. That isn't work. I don't care about mental or emotional labor. That's something someone does for enjoyment. It isn't work. Yet he sits on a dragons hoard of cash now. He has admitted many times how motivated by money he is. If his publishers started to fine him $5million every 3 months he hasn't finished winds, he'd have it out by next week.

[@alfredojackhouse]

@@Grewyn7writing isn’t work? Atrocious take.

[@killerbas40]

​@@alfredojackhouse hmm well its about perspective. If he does it for fun and the money isn't important, i wouldn't call it work. Him feeling forced to write now i can understand it as being work. On the other hand, if he used to write to make money and be motivated by that, its work. But if he doesn't feel like writing now, and he can easily choose to not write for months, i wouldn't call it work.

[@bullsajawn]

@@alfredojackhousesays a piece of pasta

[@alfredojackhouse]

@@killerbas40 I think you're confused. You are treating the idea of work as if financial reward is the only thing that constitutes work. He is working to produce something, IE a book. That in itself is enough to constitute work, its not just about money motivations and has nothing to do with whether he's enjoying himself or not.

[@doctorajaguar]

"He is suffering from success" 😮 I swear that is true. It happens when YOU are the one that has to do the job, its different when the product you are selling can be made by somebody else. And agree perhaps his age doesnt help. And work is work. Even if you absolutely love your job, you can get fed up and burn out.

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

You would know, you are a doctor after all

[@oswinhull4203]

He really needs to finish the series to be up there with Tolkien. At the same time if he just gets this thing over the finish line just before checking out it kind of makes it more epic in a way. He is in some rare area where he is either going to be remembered as the best fantasy writer all time or someone who showed a lot of promise and let everyone down.

[@joker_views]

if anything he’ll be like a new Frank Herbert

[@AnacreonSchoolbagsJr]

A finished ASOIAF will not put him anywhere near Tolkein. Not to knock George, but that's an unfair comparison, his writing is not remotely on the same level as Tolkein.

[@Okami1313]

​@@AnacreonSchoolbagsJr Correct. In just three books Tolkien defined what fantasy would be for the next seventy years. Even George is stuck in Tolkien's shadow, and nothing he can do will ever get him out of it. No one will ever accomplish more than Tolkien did in so little time

[@feelthepony]

How good asoiaf is is getting out of proportion, there are better fantasy writers than GRRM, who are also more prolific,this guy just got famous because of HBO.

[@rumrunner8019]

@@Okami1313 "In just three books Tolkien defined what fantasy would be for the next seventy years." Robert E Howard: "Hah! Crom laughs at your 'Lord of Rings' "

[@cobaltcrusader9841]

He turns 76 in September. Hope he finishes it this decade.

[@mochalotte4702]

Isn’t gonna happen. Dude is already a living miracle being obese and this old. I would be surprised if he makes it past 2026.

[@jhank0cean]

The TV Show already finished the story

[@theCarbonFreeze]

​@@jhank0cean and it sucked

[@DARKVOID2525]

@@theCarbonFreeze TWOW Will also kill all the charecters and distroy westeros . Maby bran will live on as immortal 3 eyed raven. So it isnt that far off.

[@arvaakuka8568]

​@@jhank0ceanIt didn't finish the stories of Stannis, Mance Rayder, Quentyn, Arianne, Victarion, Aeron, Jon Connington, Aegon, Ashara Dayne, Sarella, lady Stoneheart, Harry the Heir, Gemma Lannister, Wyman Manderly or Howland Reed. There's plenty of story left to be told.

[@connorwilson6543]

I swear he's spent more time explaining why the book is late than he's spent actually writing the damn book.

[@RealLifeIronMan]

@@connorwilson6543 For all the other factors, the most significant is money is comfort and comfort (more often than not) is the enemy of drive and creativity. GRRM just doesn't have the drive anymore to write. When he wasn't rich he could translate his metaphorical hunger into creativity. However, the comfort of his riches has robbed him of his drive to be creative. He would rather rest on his laurels and go to parties.

[@ianmedford4855]

And he's too ridiculous to turn it over to someone who is willing to do the work.

[@huspainmusic]

I long for the day when we’ll no longer need Winds of Winter updates videos.

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

Winds videos make me money *but* when the day comes where these update videos will no longer be necessary will be a happy day for all of us, myself included.

[@traiges414]

@@OfficialRedTeamReview Especially because such videos won't be necessary for the last book of the series. I think at this point we can all agree that this will never see the light of day

[@randomantagonist8620]

@@OfficialRedTeamReviewAfter that, you get to focus on all the money you’ll make in the KZbinr cash grab marathon for who can pump out the most WOW lore videos as well as review videos, spoiler and spoiler free videos, predictions and breakdowns, character & chapter analyses, theory videos and group discussion videos. Can’t forget about ADoS videos and predictions. Don’t even get me started on assorted livestream subjects 💀

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

@@randomantagonist8620 yaaaaa

[@qaztim11]

@@traiges414 Lets just hope that if Winds comes out we are going toh ave enough info to predict the events of Dream with a good amount of certainty.

[@admiralcrunchy3333]

He already HAD a pandemic and we still don't have Winds.

[@jennifervalentine8955]

Yeah, that's like saying you need a vacation, after taking a 2 year sabbatical

[@ant_raccoon5546]

If George ge wanted to, he could tell everyone around him to leave him alone for 6 months so he could finish the book. Everyone would understand. He just doesnt want to.

[@anthroposmetron4475]

Yeah, he clearly needs to cut back on his commitments and just focus on the book, but he wants to be a TV producer too much. And I think George has always wanted to be a TV producer over being a novelist. I think now that if his first stint in TV had played out in a way more in line with what he wanted, he would never have written any of the books.

[@juwebles4352]

"If he wanted to he could isolate himself for half a year to give me my story' buddy...

[@TommyXLourdes]

The man is addicted to the adoration, and the attention over winds, just adds to it- he's insecure and his trauma is showing. I know because the above description reflects my own in a more local personalized way

[@Arcessitor]

@@juwebles4352 Yes? Would you put a deposit on construction of a house and accept the contractor to just stop building it halfway through?

[@shadow50HD]

@@juwebles4352it’s been 12 years buddy.

[@micow9951]

You know I wouldn't be so bitter and impatient if he would just go under the radar and let me forget it instead of just always talking about his unfinished story and not finishing it I sympathize with George's predicament but I would do so even more if he would just stop talking about it and either come out with the truth that he won't finish or still keep us waiting but at least silently

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

I actually agree with this. Would love to bring it up in my next video

[@juneack5848]

Cue south park: We want our privacy!

[@NorthernRealmJackal]

Okay but TBF, don't people always say this about celebrities and artists? And in reality they're usually not talking unprompted about anything, it's just that they're _constantly answering questions,_ and then those answers are quoted, written about and endlessly scrutinized. It's not that he's "always talking about it", it's that he's constantly asked about it, and too polite not to give any kind of answer.

[@micow9951]

@@NorthernRealmJackal well he was unprompted in this particular case as he wasn't asked about winds but about his previous books yet he made it about his unfinished ones But you make a fair point and while I feel bad for George dealing with the less polite fans it's also alienating and sad to see him grow bitter because of that rude portion of fans and treat all fans with less than polite attitude at times but yes he is human and I understand where he's coming from at times But to add to all this, George wouldn't be getting asked questions regularly if he actually went under the radar but he doesn't he still does interviews and is involved in all these spin-offs that not only distract him from his main story but use said story to gain all their success and fame He can't really expect to keep being famous through asoiaf and not get questions about it In the end I'm not a writer only a reader so I can't relate to his struggles I can only try to sympathize and I truly do, but as a fan my frustration is still valid

[@dww6]

My daughter's are 10. The 1000 worlds book club kept me sane driving them around as toddlers to get them to sleep. Only downside is them trying to get ants to fight as sand kings.

[@Phoenix_1991]

They were born after book 5 and book 6 still isn't out yet.

[@Elias_Ehler]

How many ant queens have they abducted in their effort to create a fighting spectacle?

[@Jsay18]

@@Phoenix_1991 If some predictions are correct and GRRM survives that long, they might be drinking before Winds comes out lol

[@Moriningland]

I love George, I love his work but I think this will all end with him really letting down his fans. As a book lover, it’s tragic that this series will never be finished

[@dredhead117]

It's a little refreshing that George is having more introspection than usual, when he goes "f*ck you I'm gonna write what I want" But at the same time, he backed himself into this corner so it's hard to feel bad for him

[@TheDrexxus]

Yeah he's kind of obnoxious to be honest. About the only author I know a lot about who is worse is Patrick Rothfuss. He has an even worse bad attitude where he essentially HATES his fans simply because they expect him to eventually finish his trilogy as he promised for years that he would. But not only does Pat hate his fans, but he's started scamming them too. Pretty awful guy.

[@Onigirli]

You leave him alone... the muse follows its own whimsy and GRRM can only force so much of it onto the main series. Fans need a reckoning with their sense of entitlement and remind themselves there's plenty of other series for them to sink their teeth into.

[@TheWolfman112]

@@Onigirli You through glazing the multi millionaire?

[@Zellis666]

​@@alicetoyou448Like doing chores instead of doing school work ..

[@lordhandsomeswag1854]

@@alicetoyou448 imagine seeing your masterwork ruined in the same way as GoT,S8 - I wouldn't want to finish it either; he knows many people perceive the ending through the veil of S8, and that's bound to be debilitating

[@TheSpookiestCourtney]

I've been debating a reread but damn does it depress me to remember there is no ending

[@Mustang_Dan]

Especially the way Jon Snow’s story left off at the end of the 5th book… it’s a gut punch of longing for more when you get there each time with every reread.

[@TheSpookiestCourtney]

@@Mustang_Dan I really sympathize for george, and I hope he find peace. Maybe the best decision would be to find a ghost writer

[@Mustang_Dan]

@@TheSpookiestCourtney Yes! Do SOMETHING! I wouldn’t even care if the 6th book started off by saying that all people of Dornish and Ironborn decent that have pov’s in the books, save for a select few, have suddenly and unexpectedly, just died, freeing George of numerous povs/plotlines that he has no idea how to end.

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

I like the OptimisticCourtney better

[@TheSpookiestCourtney]

@@OfficialRedTeamReview hey I'm hopeful! Just tired 😅 I vividly remember "the long night" in 2014 on r/asoiaf and I haven't been the same since

[@yogadork_namaste]

i love George and hold no ill will, but things are not "pulling him away." he doesnt have to open theaters, go to cons, work on dunk and egg tv series when the books are unfinished, etc. he doesn't have to accept every invitation. finish winds, finish dunk and egg, finish fire and blood part 2. then do interviews, cons, theaters etc edit: hopefully a dream of spring but is it physically possible for him to finish all these series? i sure hope so. i think we will get winds eventually but doubt we will get to summerhall, or a full accounting of the blackfyre rebellion, or dream

[@popcornfilms1]

See we can all enjoy a discussion, but remember, we have no clue what is going on in his mind or his private life. If something ‘pulls him away’ then that’s how it is. Not your own assessment.

[@Grewyn7]

​@@popcornfilms1 Utterly inaccurate. Stunting for a millionaire isn't the move, chief. He is only rich because of the fans of his books. He does literally owe them a completed series. All of these distractions that prevent him from completing them should cost him money. Every 3 months winds isn't delivered his publishers should fine him $5 million. He is incredibly motivated by money because he is insanely greedy. He'd have it done before 2024 ended if they started actually enforcing legitimate consequences to him.

[@justarandomgirlvx3578]

​@@Grewyn7George is still not a robot. Creativity can’t be forced.

[@mum-your]

he is doing what he wants to, and things that he wants to do pulls him away from winds. how hard is it to grab that simple concept?

[@doomdrake123]

@@justarandomgirlvx3578 I love his interview with Steven King. George asked him "How do you write so much?", Steven's answer "I sit down, and write."

[@ml.9417]

19:55 what Preston said about mortality was beautiful

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

I agree

[@jamesvalentine7475]

Jessica Fletcher got real famous later in life with her books and she was able to figure out and travel and write books basically non stop for 10 years.

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

She's a real one

[@christophergirardi8145]

Martin could probably do the same...if his computer wasn't 30 years old lol 😅

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

@@christophergirardi8145 truueee

[@Grewyn7]

​@@christophergirardi8145 Or if he wasn't so fat and lazy. You'd think sitting and writing would be a great career choice for someone of George's persuasion, but I suppose he is living proof that laziness is a state of mind, not a physical one.

[@josholiver6710]

​@Grewyn7 lazy? That's an absurd statement. If anything he overworks himself. He's partaken in so many projects, whether it be with the shows or writing other books. The fact that Winds isn't here yet is not due to laziness

[@m.q.7149]

I get the feeling that GRRM might be upset with HBO execs not the writers of HOTD. HBO execs have interfered to a ridiculous degree with HOTD. Whereas with GOT, HBO gave the show runners nearly whatever they wanted to end it with a bang. All the back and forth with some of the proposed prequels may also be contributing to some unhappiness with the network itself. Whenever network or studio execs get over involved with shows or movies they fuck things to umpteenth degree.

[@miless544]

You are probably correct. The ridiculous Velaryons is a good example.

[@m.q.7149]

@@miless544 Ridiculous Valyrian's?

[@sebastiaanv]

@@m.q.7149them being black is probably what he means. Some people still have an incredible hard time with it meanwhile dragons exist. But black people existing is where it turns ridiculous apparently.

[@m.q.7149]

@sebastiaanv Oh, then he's an idiot.

[@PsychoBensTV]

​@@sebastiaanv the problem with having black Velaryons is that it ruins the whole bastard children plot. In F&B it was ambiguous if Rhaenyras children were bastards or if it was just a lie made up by the Greens to delegitimise her. But because in the show her children aren't mixed race it means that they are clearly bastards. There are characters within the story who could be race swapped without much problem but the Velaryons are not one of them.

[@theshackledgamer799]

"Do you know what legacy means? It's what you pass on to your children and your children's children. It's what's left of you when you're gone." -Tywin Lannister

[@JayneTheory]

History has shown that people who have children often do think about their legacy, especially if they are incredibly wealthy, they just tend to impose it upon their children and make it their responsibility.

[@NYCfrankie]

George looks at his characters as his children he's said before btw missed you in nerdrotics hotd streams i enjoyed having someone who really read and remembered the little details of fire and blood cause gary and the others who've read it dont really remember it correctly live

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

@NYCfrankie truuueeeeeee

[@nont18411]

So Tywin is George’s self-insert then.

[@juwebles4352]

George doesn't have any children though, more likely he's got one of his assistants designated as heir to the Books series

[@mikehastings93]

He didn't finish during the pandemic so the idea that would eliminate any distractions doesn't make sense. He's basically just a screenwriter now, no show for asoiaf so no need to continue writing

[@nordette]

But he isnt even doing that. He should take over writing the episodes for his shows if hes gonna be so irritated and not finish the source material

[@mikehastings93]

@@nordette yeah the worst part is I don't think it's even money related so can't even call him a sell out lol. WoW would probably be the best selling book of all time next to the Bible, even if it were bad which I highly doubt it would be. I think he's creatively drained and bored with asoiaf, which is funny cause D&D were in the same boat, but also understandable. That's why we're getting all these other installments because it's easier to start over than to finish in 2 books. I give him credit for not releasing something half-assed just to please the public, but I think he's gotta get over that 2 book limit if he really wants the story to play out as he'd like. We all know he could easily write another 4 if he wanted to but I think he's just getting in the way of himself at this point. But all that being said it should be his main priority because no matter how much he hems and haws about how he won't let anyone else finish asoiaf if he passes, it 100% will be released posthumously whether he likes it or not. Just too much money sitting on the table

[@Woozie87]

George didn’t talk shit about the ending of Game of thrones because he couldn’t without looking like a chump, if he finished the books he would have total permission to talk shit on it thru social media. He knew he lost all rights to lay down criticism, they did their own shitty ending because he hasn’t written one yet.

[@archibaldmoore4514]

As time goes on, I have softened on DnD. While at the same time souring towards GRRM. Because at the end of the day, they never agreed to write the ending for him. So as their challenge got more expensive and vastly more difficult with less help from the original creator. They largely just gave up.

[@backstabbingscumbag6657]

@@archibaldmoore4514 I really hate the lack of source material you people always give D&D. They are supposedly professional screenwriters, but they couldn't write something halfway decent?

[@Largecow_Moobeast]

@@archibaldmoore4514 This is a good take.

[@victormanyeruke9997]

True, despite everything I can't imagine he doesn't feel a lot of sympathy for D&D because when they originally met I'm sure he expected them to adapt a finished ending, not bullet points.

[@mum-your]

@@archibaldmoore4514 oh please, he warned them about forgetting about jeyne poole in season 1, he tried talking them out of ruining brienne's storyline in season 4, god knows how much he suffered when they told they arent going to do lady stoneheart. they were ruining the story from season 1, they wanted to take over the story as soon as possible. this is the dumbest take out there

[@rbrizzle4394]

I feel bad for the guy but at the same time, it’s been over 12 years. After how bad the second half of HOTD season 2 was I’d be worried about my legacy as well. The reality is if he doesn’t finish his books the last memory most people will have of his work is the sub par ending of the original show and a poorly paced HOTD. The sad thing is that the things that have distracted him are such a bad representation of his work’s brilliance , but yet they will be forever associated with his name. I hope for his legacies sake he finishes his books, and they are “his” books, he doesn’t owe them to us, he owes them to himself.

[@Grewyn7]

The shows will be remembered long after the last person finishes reading his books. Visual media has been the most popular for several decades now, and book sales have been plummeting. People will listen to audio books and read ebooks long after the physical print media is dead. This dude needs to finish his work. He owes his fans that much before he kicks the bucket and begins burning in hell.

[@OneOnOne1162]

17:30 - Kind of frustrating to hint at something you're not actually gonna talk about, not gonna lie.

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

That's the point.

[@Hybridtheory2007]

Yeah agree. Don't know why you wouldn't mention it since it's just a discussion/theory and you're not exposing someone's secrets. You don't know for sure so just tell us

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

@@Hybridtheory2007 sucks

[@Hybridtheory2007]

​@@OfficialRedTeamReview hey man ive been a long time viewer and enjoyer of your channel. No need to be an asshole. We enjoy yours and Preston's insights, they are almost always very interesting and informative, which is why it felt weird that this one was held back.

[@TitanTruckingCEO]

2:01 Preston’s 1000 World reviews were the reason I started following his page. I was locked in.

[@Mornin.Coffee]

About 8 years ago I made peace with the thought that he genuinely doesn't know how to end this. You layer dozens of plot points on top of eachother and endup writing yourself into the corner, when no ending will be satisfactionary for everyone. It would be half bad if you stayed 'just a really good fantasy writer', but in the meantime after tv show half the world recognizes your beer-gut and the pressure is too much.

[@FreakyLynx]

GoT was the ending and it failed with viewers, that’s why GRRM hasn’t written anything since because he can’t think of a different ending. Sure the books could do a better job but the big points shown in the show left such a sour taste he doesn’t think it’ll hold up even in written form.

[@rollercoaster478]

No way he said "I wont put my life on hold and just work on Winds". The arrogance of the guy ffs he is a multi millionaire because of ASOIAF/GOT fans but he basically says nah fuck all the fans, I strung them along for 13 years at least, not to mention fans from the 90s, nah let them wait another 15 years for one book, I have my little pet projects and a dozen Dunk&Eggs novellas to write. This pissed me off for real sorry, wtf is wrong with this guy. And the excuse of "ou I have to go on a trip and meet my friends" yeah that's fine to do so, but thats not an excuse for not finishing Winds in 13 freaking years. Other people have written their PhD while raising kids and juggling a million things, and he can't finish 1 book in 13 years? He is just procrastinating and lacks focus so he does everything else. Obviously he CAN still write stuff cause he wrote Fire and Blood, he writes/produces episodes, he is writing Dunk&Egg possibly. Everything else but Winds. I bet he still has 1100 pages written the same as in 2021. George wonders what his legacy will be if he doesnt finish ASOIAF? He will be remembered as the guy who strung his fans along for decades, and he himself is to blame for procrastinating. Everything else is just excuses.

[@TheMoonDejesus]

I’m really appreciating the compassion shown here. The guy is a person,a nice man with tons of pressure. The pressure with none of those other distractions and the amount of work.

[@Dermetsu]

I would be busting my butt to finish the books just so the show wouldn't be the only ending we ever got.

[@PixelatedEpiphany]

I can’t imagine feeling sorry for George. His involvement in all these projects he takes on have little to no impact. Every new show or project that comes out the early buzz is how good it’s going to be because of his involvement and then every time it diverts from the source material and at the end he doesn’t like it anyway. His only objective should be the books. If he wants to consult on projects on occasions okay cool. But clearly these producers and directors do not give a shit about his participation. The books will be his legacy. Nothing else. The show is forgotten already. The rest will be also.

[@EdertheJust]

As soon as GRRM got that HBO money, he stopped caring about the books.

[@Grewyn7]

Bingo He has always been motivated by money. If his publishers started fining him 5 million every 3 months without a manuscript delivered to his editors, he'd have it out by the end of next week.

[@smack80]

distractions: you forgot meow wolf, the bookstore, the cinema, the train...

[@codyadams3051]

I think its worth noting that with dune just about every book other than book 5 could have served as a series finale. In fact the final chapter of book 6 seems to indicate to me that Frank knew and accepted that that book would be the end. Its still a cliffhanger but its the kind of cliffhanger that doesn't feel like it needs to be followed up. Thematically it fits as an ending. Anyway the core of the series imo was book 4. 5 and 6 were just a bonus. Dune doesn't really deserve to be thought of as some unfinished series when it finished its story multiple times and simply decided to keep going. Ita not like there was some plan that went unfulfilled. The notes his son used were likely very, very minimal, possibly only a single page.

[@calebmauer1751]

Agreed on all points.

[@disgruntleddude]

He will be remembered forever as the american that thought he was superior to Tolkien but was too lazy to finish his life's work. History will not be kind to George. I said to myself when Game of Thrones first came to television that I'd start reading the series when George finishes it, thinking he'd have Winds of Winter out before the end of season four and A Dream of Spring several years later. It's been about tens years since then. I'm very disappointed. I won't start an incomplete book series.

[@jordanf.6213]

Like Preston, I've read a lot of George's work. If anyone is curious about reading more, I'd highly recommend Fevre Dream and Dreamsongs Vol. 1. Those are both spectacular

[@Mustang_Dan]

We should boycott all of his books and merchandise etc till he finishes those books or he never will!

[@Dani_1012]

What do you think of Dying of the Light? The concept of people living in a dying planet is so unique to me, but I'm going back and forth on it

[@jordanf.6213]

@@Dani_1012 It took me a little while to get into, but I ended up liking it. I dont think it's as solid as some of his other works, but it has some good moments and ideas.

[@boki1693]

People, please stop with the " he has written himself into a corner," excuse. He has said multiple times, and you can see it obviously happening, he works on everything but the books. The dude chases the money. He has figured out its more cost-effective to start a new series and give an outline for the rest to HBO to finish than it is to actually finish it himself. Then, so as to not cheese off his SoIaF fans, he pretends he is still working on the books. But if you pay attention to all the Pizza Crawls and other important events he is doing, and the other projects he is doing, when exactly is he working on the books? He has NOT written himself into any corner. He is bored of the story and is chasing the money. If you cant finish a book in 12 years +, your just not trying to finish it. Why should he finish it? There is no tv deal money any longer attached to it. And he probably told the two Dans his original ending already anyway. So now he has to come up with something different and hope it doesn't sux. Most will be underwhelmed with anything he writes after so long. And in my opinion, books 4 and 5 were nowhere near as good as books one to three. And he had trouble with them as well. If he would just stop with the lies and excuses. People would have been over it years ago.

[@ferrjuan]

21:34 Another example of this is U.S. President John Adams legacy being rehabilitated by his descendants like Henry Brooks Adams who was an American historian. President John Adams was a one term president who had a very strong rivalry with President Thomas Jefferson who was largely forgotten when he left office and retired as Jeffersonian and Jacksonian democracy grew to dominate politics in the early 1800s. But post-Civil War America his legacy has been largely rehabilitated by historians like his great grandson who saw him as paragon of a strong Federal Government whose philosophy triumph over the States Rights philosophy of his rival Jefferson during the American Civil War.

[@licmir3663]

Martin always loved TV shows. He’s more passionate about working on his side ventures than writing the main books. His biggest mistake was to make the saga so big. If he has focused on finishing it with five books, he could have spent the rest of his life in peace doing whatever he wanted, like the author of Harry Potter. Instead he wasted time in these countless side projects.

[@obviousalias132]

Having JKR be your example of retired author living their life in peace is wild.

[@MrBell-iq3sm]

Rowling is unfortunately the worst example of a retired author. I would rather have our version of Martin, who makes promises he never keeps, instead of a version, which loses his mind and destroys his entire reputation.

[@alexmars1511]

Winds is going to be the most magical book and can't wait to see the candles come into play and time traveling Bran rewriting the first 3 books to revive Jon

[@jt5765]

He's not ruthless enough to say no to anything or set aside his own time to focus on TWOW. It's well within his power to schedule any amount of time he wants or a regular basis to not be disturbed so he can focus on one particular project. The issue is entirely his own fault.

[@iRiDiKi]

He's old and overweight... he needs to reel it in and decide if he wants to finish ASOIAF or to expand on Dunc and Egg or Blood and Fire or to just leave the franchise as it is and focus on his other things. He can't do a dozen different projects because he doesn't have the time left - it is more than just not having enough hours in a day.

[@KA-sr5jy]

Reading George’s blogpost, it seems like a lot is going on with him at a personal level, he mentioned conflict and humiliation… I hope he’s alrigjt

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

Humiliation? I must've missed that part.

[@KA-sr5jy]

@@OfficialRedTeamReview oop I meant defeat. My bad. But still I hope he’s okay. Sounds possibly like a divorce? But idk

[@Moriningland]

Could you imagine a lord of the rings that ended with Frodo and Sam entering Mordor and never knowing what happened. It wouldn’t matter how good the story was up to the point it ended. It’s shocking that George would even wonder if people will remember him after what he’s done in not completing ASOIF. I think people will not remember him fondly, because it’s not like he died suddenly and his work was left unfinished, he choose to put his attention in other projects that no one will care about and left one of the greatest stories unfinished. As an artist, it seems insane to not want to finish your work so it will be remembered. I think it’s all really really sad because this series probably would have been remembered 100 years from now if society is even still around, now it will be up to artificial intelligence to finish the story.

[@JackBessant]

Almost didn’t watch this video because I thought oh just another winds vid but surprisingly it was very interesting and contained lots of very good information. Found a good channel here

[@MC-el2us]

We all so in the weeds we are now discussing perspective blog posts instead of perspective books 😂🙃😫

[@clownpendotfart]

GRRM may not have written a Wild Cards story since Crusader in 2008, but he's edited much more recently. Joker Moon, from 2021, is "Edited by Martin with assistance from Snodgrass". "Grow" by Carrie Vaughn, from 2022, has just Martin credited for editing. I wouldn't say Brian Herbert is the reason Dune lives on. Dune already had a David Lynch film, computer games, SciFi miniseries, a documentary about Jodorowsky's attempted film relatively recently... I think people like Denis Villeneuve had been wanting to adapt Dune for a long time.

[@kthy0056]

I'm a bit skeptical about how much "editing" he does on Wildcards to begin with ... Melinda Snodgrass seems to be a much more active contributor and promoter of the series despite being credited with "assistance". I know this is harsh and I have no basis for it but I genuinely feel he doesn't even bother with Wildcards besides approving to have his name on the book.

[@bjornh4664]

I read the first book of ASOIAF in 1998. Read the other books as they were published. Watched the series. With no conclusion on the horizon, I have stopped caring. Since some years back, I prefer to read book series that are finished.

[@DrDole007]

14:07 this is some serious coping for George. He does have a lot of extra things going on in his life, but these are choices that he has made. I have up a long time ago thinking I will read all of ASOIAF. I do agree he has become a victim of his own success. Cheers!

[@Ayoayoayoayoayoayoa]

I love George and I love you guys. If we never get Winds of Winter I’m still happy about that ❤

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

[@Grewyn7]

The final and truest version of copium: Claiming you've accepted and are okay with the fact that the books aren't coming. I've accepted that they aren't, but I'm not okay with it. The guy got famous and fabulously wealthy off of his fans. He literally does owe them a completed book series.

[@ChiefKene]

I see this going the Dune route. Magnificent story that ends up incomplete and someone else finishes it up

[@MrBell-iq3sm]

But those Dune stories seem to be contained in itself and every additional book is just an extra. ASOIF is one big story, which cannot be stopped in the middle. Dune could have ended after the first part in the series.

[@dante6985]

Dune was very self contained, book to book, until the last 2. No one is really begging for a proper conclusion for Murbella and Miles Teg anyway (i.e. the best parts are concluded because Herbert was episodic). ASOIAF is one long story.

[@FreakyLynx]

Even Dune’s incomplete ending felt complete enough that didn’t rob from the story already told. But GRRM’s series will fall apart if not given an actual finale.

[@escanor9976]

You were talking about this last time where you reached out to the person that went and got the scoop, props to you dude on getting this information for us. You did the same thing with Gsteff and got that juicy info to a wider audience too. Appreciate it.

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

Aren't you the guy that called me an "alt right nazi" last year?

[@escanor9976]

@@OfficialRedTeamReview Ya... sorry about that. I saw someone call you that in a comment section in another video and blindly believed it instead of actually looking into it. That's on me I apologize.

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

uh...thanks, i guess.

[@AB-yj2wy]

@@escanor9976LOL??

[@IhateYourLife]

@@OfficialRedTeamReviewdamn you sure know how to hold onto an insult! A regular Barbary Dustin over here!!!

[@RealLifeIronMan]

For all the other factors, the most significant is money is comfort and comfort (more often than not) is the enemy of drive and creativity. GRRM just doesn't have the drive anymore to write. When he wasn't rich he could translate his metaphorical hunger into creativity. However, the comfort of his riches has robbed him of his drive to be creative. He would rather rest on his laurels and go to parties.

[@Skyminer108]

The title cut off so it said “…worried about his leg-“ So for a second I was like “what happened with GRRM’s leg that’s stopping him from writing”😭

[@SitKid721]

He will die before we get winds. The man got popular late in life and now has no time for what got him to the dance.

[@jamestolliver7413]

Currently working on finishing my PhD. The hardest lessen to learn is multitasking has the same curve as the productivity curve. The optimum for myself is two projects. I think if martin would limit himself to just wildcards and winds he'd be done with winds very quickly and could end up working on all the projects he wants to before he dies. But it's unlikely. I wish he'd take S King's approach to adaptation and just send it off to hbo without working on it at all

[@ceilingfanenthusiast6041]

29:20 Preston' Irish pronunciation was actually really good. I don't know anything about Hodor's name, but you got all the sounds fairly right. You're probably better at Irish than half the people here in Ireland lmao

[@gimmedaloot]

With how George writes, works, and who he is …. He’ll never be remembered as well as Tolkien. If anything he’ll be remembered how he shit the bed like Tywin.

[@karolswieboda1781]

He can do whatever he wants but if he doesn't finish the main series he will be remembered as that fantasy writer Legend Who Never Was.

[@RickBerman-iv2il]

Excuses, GRRM lost control of the story and doesn’t want to finish them. Leave them wanting more, rather than leaving on a low point.

[@GodKingReiss]

It’s remarkable how much time people like Preston and Carmine will spend reading GRRM’s content, listening to his interviews, and analyzing his philosophies and ambitions to get a better understanding of the many delays this book has faced, only for commenters to keep parroting objectively incorrect opinions they pulled out of their asses.

[@juwebles4352]

@@GodKingReiss Truly, its wild how many people have a gut instinct they refuse to move off of

[@davek9608]

@@GodKingReiss He lost control of the story because he wanted to write the epic fantasy story that subverted Tolkien and reject heroism, but in writing he inadvertently created two genuine heroic characters, Jon Snow and Daenerys. Now he can't bring himself to abandon his goal, but that means denying those characters the ending they deserve, which is narratively unsatisfying (see the TV Show). So he can't finish because he can't choose.

[@dante6985]

​@@davek9608Dany going firebug makes A LOT more sense with Faegon on the throne though (a faux Targaryen who the people love and is a good ruler to boot?). With Cersei the chess pieces aren't in the right place (people *should* be grateful to Dany and want her to rule over a mass murdering tyrant who sleeps with her bro)

[@BarryESchwartz]

The House of the Dragon source material isn't great, but the parts that are great - Blood & Cheese, Nettles - they punt on. I don't even know why you would even want to adapt this book if you were going to write Nettles out of it and water down Blood & Cheese.

[@dante6985]

HotD's Queen Helena losing her son has the emotional devastation of Aegon squishing her favorite bug.

[@silverteinbas]

26:00 - 28:30 - what a beautiful description of GRRMs writing style!

[@adashofbitter]

The fan fiction is being released pretty slowly - because Preston has an incredibly busy life with his job, his family, his own side-projects - but it speaks volumes to me that someone who is not GRRM can write an incredibly interesting and ambitious sequel at a faster pace than the original author.

[@badyoutuber1986]

Where can i get these fan fiction books?

[@alex-nade]

@@badyoutuber1986 Seconding this. Where can I find actual text copy of this fanfic?

[@Grewyn7]

His work is better than GRRMs as well. The reason is, he does it for passion and enjoyment. George writes simply to grow his mountain of money. Now that he has more money than he can spend even on his enormous food bill, he has no motivation to continue writing.

[@justarandomgirlvx3578]

​@@Grewyn7I cringed when i read his fanfic lmao.

[@mum-your]

@@Grewyn7 lol, lmao even. i think you were high when you read preston's stuff, its like written by a toddler

[@ImTheFlyingPig]

What was “that thing” that has affected George for the last few years that they theorize could be responsible for TWOW being late?

[@dane3038]

I'm in the wrong place. I thought this was about the Doors of Stone. Guess I'll just keep waiting patiently. Yep, any day now.

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

lololol

[@dane3038]

Good news! It didn't happen yesterday! So, you know what that means? One day closer to The Doors of Stone! With as much time as PR has put into this one, you know it's going to be deca-plantinum! Then I can finally start on the Wheel of Time.

[@jordanford9320]

I'd start with his first book Dying of the Light. You can see so much ASOIAF (prototypes) and it's an easy short read

[@Dani_1012]

I just heard that it was about the lives of those living in a dying planet, which I find so unique, but I'm still debating on it. What exactly is it about though? I want to hear more about it before giving it a try.

[@jordanford9320]

@@Dani_1012 it's about a guy named dirk, he goes to the planet (worlorn) because he got a whisper jewel from his ex. He goes to the planet and its 10 years after this festival because the planet is briefly near a star system with 7 Stars I believe so all the planets around went to worlorn to party and show off their cultures, throughout the book you meet characters that influenced ASOIAF characters a lot. Bretan braith is a character with half his face burned. ECT. I hope I didn't butcher that explanation but it is definitely interesting. It kicked of the 1000 worlds thing that Preston mentioned

[@MacTac141]

Anyone have theories for the thing that’s going on with George they couldn’t talk about? Honestly I don’t even have a clue what they’re referring to It’s at like 17:05

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

Can't say, sorry. It's not our place to speak on it.

[@MacTac141]

@@OfficialRedTeamReview Was looking for fellow viewer who may have theories, not tryna fleece them out of you mate don’t worry. Honestly I respect you respecting George’s privacy, seems to me you might know something important that a lot of other KZbinrs would reveal without even thinking about. The fact you’d rather sit on a story than benefit from sharing it due to your morals tells me a lot about who you are as a person. I like continuing to support channels run by good people, been here for years and be here for many more. Cheers mate and thanks for responding!

[@drew413]

Thanks to Preston, I read more of GRRM’s work. I’m a big fan of them, I love his writing style and his world building. I have given up hope on ever getting TWOW, but I will always love the world of Westeros and Essos. I still rewatch Preston’s theory videos all the time.

[@hxcnoel]

Bubonicon is a really small convention. I went years ago to hear GRRM read an excerpt from Fire and Blood, and there was a decent amount of people in the room, it was pretty exciting

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

Sounds nice. Hopefully in the future i can attend

[@nerdcorteslegendado5042]

If he needs a time off, with no distraction, just to write, then he can do it. It's really simple for him. He could just cancel his presence in all events which he confirmed before and stopped to be involved in other projects to write Winds. Everyone will undestand. He just don't want to do it.

[@SandDanGlockta]

The difference between Brian Herbert and Christopher Tolkien is that Christopher wasn't creating new material. In the case of the Silmarillion, he needed to create bridging text to make it cohesive but otherwise it was all his dad. Unfinished Tales is simply just his dad's text left Unfinished, beren and luthien was documenting how his dad change the story of the years, same with fall of gondolin Children of Hurin required arguably more input from Christopher that makes it more than just his dads book, but it is still largely based on his dad's notes So Christopher was basically just publishing Unfinished works his dad never published, or in some cases wrote some bridging pages to make those Unfinished stories finished Brian on the other hand, the 2 sequels to Dune to finish the story are extremely loosely based on Frank's Dune 7 notes which we extremely minimal, most of the story comes from Brian not Frank. Every other Dune book by Brian has 0 connection to Frank or at the very least, the tiniest connection. Brian is definitely making a Dune franchise separate from his dad without any influence from his dad. Christopher on the other hand is simply publishing what his dad almost finished or publishing the stories Unfinished entirely

[@andrewjazdzyk1215]

Preston showing some serious wisdom with his bit on mortality. I've pondered similarly, though occasionally swing different ways depending on if im viewing life through the lens of purpose, present, or drive (things that drive organisms/biology/evolution/etc)

[@maxwell_j_R]

35:45 Maybe it wouldn't have been impossible to adapt had the TV series not established those three characters as such a major focus of the series. Like the Disney execs rushing the Star Wars sequels out, I have to place some blame on whatever HBO execs wanted to rush out HOTD season 1 without taking a moment to realize how much of a problem this would be. (It's similar to what GRRM said at Oxford, how if he had the benefit of waiting to release the entire series at once, then he could have gone back and edited things from the earlier books - possibly character ages, once he realized not much time would pass, nor was the 5-year-gap workable.)

[@fy4b230]

Respectfully disagree…. The “money maker” is winds of winter. The sense of accomplishment is the series that made you who you are ASOIF. Doesn’t matter that HBO is doing HotD and Dunk and Egg. ASOIF is the reason he’s relevant and will make more money than all the shows released HBO has adapted in the first month of release. If book releases were still a thing, like when Harry Potter was big and internet was still kinda mid, there’d be lines around the block at every Barnes and Noble or any bookstore still alive on release date. Once he announces the release date, if he ever does, it will be the biggest fiction book release ever.

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

He has 2 collaborators who check over his work and who know the remainder of the plot and will finish the books if he dies. He should just promote them to co-writers. Let them do the first drafts and he does the editing rather than the other way around. That would be way better than them finishing it without his input.

[@garethmiguel]

Even the biggest names from history are 'forgotten', even if their names are etched in history books. What was Alexander the Great's personality like? What were his day to day oddities or habits? Who was his favourite tailor? What did he like to do at the weekends? Who were his confidants and what did he say to them in the wee hours? We'll never know these people, all we have are historical events that featured them written dryly in annals.

[@dominicgiglio-tos5982]

We... We actually do know a lot of that stuff about Alexander the great. He's the most well documented ancient figure. I get your point but a better example would be Darius, we know very little about him personally.

[@OneOnOne1162]

30:30 - I'm really not at all surprised by what Martin has said, tbh. Obviously every person is different. But as someone who's an aspiring writer, I relate a lot to what Martin has said. Obviously I'm not a hundred millionaire with dozens of projects, but I know what causes problems for me. If I don't care about something I'm writing, that doesn't paralyse me. In fact, it's freeing. It's when I care so much about a story I'm working on that I can feel paralyzed. Because you have this platonic ideal in your head of what the story should be. And it often feels like no matter how hard you try, you can't get that perfect ideal on to the page. And it's extremely frustrating. And I also think about my legacy. I want my work to have meant something to someone. I want to write a book that really has in impact on someone. I've never been a very social person. I'm a loner. And I've struggled with depression over and over again throughout my adult life. But reading other people's stories, and watching TV-series that I love, those have been the things that have always gotten me through the worst of it. There are so many great books and shows that, if they didn't exist, I might not be here today typing this comment. And I want to be able to do that for someone else. I never thought that George had lost his passion. I've always thought that George's problem was that he cares far too much. He wants all the spin-offs to be good, so he gets overly involved with them. He wants Winds to be perfect, so he rewrites and rewrites and rethinks and rethinks over and over again to exhaustion. Why does he need quiet time in long stretches to write? I suspect because he feels that in any other circumstance he's not writing at his best. And that alone can make it hard to put your hands on those keys. As they say, being a writer is you sit down and you bleed unto the page.

[@22s22a]

It's absolutely ridiculous its taken this long...its truly sad

[@adumsundler4397]

It's so wholesome to see Preston be so understanding and empathetic towards George's situation. Especially because people online have just been using him as a punching bag for the last decade. I really think people don't understand what an enormous undertaking WINDS is. George's life now is just so different to what it was when he wrote STORM, and WINDS is a lot more complicated than STORM. It was never going to come out quickly.

[@OfficialRedTeamReview]

Preston is the Qui-Gon Jinn of the fandom

[@adumsundler4397]

@@OfficialRedTeamReview Tbh Preston and the podcast has been really therapeutic since I started listening a couple years ago 😌

[@Gonzalo_105]

dude, its been 13 years.

[@zypalitra8080]

Wouldn't need to use him as a punching bag if he just wrote the book

[@adumsundler4397]

@zypalitra8080 That's so true and based bro people need to earn the right to not be treated like shit. When they don't release book I like they've revoked that right

[@flowerpower1936]

My take is if Winds comes out - great but if it doesn't that's not the end of the world. The books are still world changingly incredible and will go down in history. To put it bluntly, I'd rather have an unfinished series than a series with a rushed, poorly written ending or have an ending but have George drop dead of stress like a week after finishing... no art is worth your sanity and your life

[@King_Mac80]

I feel like most ASOIAF fans would not care if we don't get another Dunk & Egg story or Blood Fire if we get WoW and DOF. GRRM is putting pressure on himself worrying about those side stories in that universe.

[@badyoutuber1986]

We really don't care about the rest just finish the main storyline.

[@King_Mac80]

@@badyoutuber1986 I say most fans because there are some nut bags who are probably harassing him about F&B and Dunk & Egg.

[@Grewyn7]

​@@King_Mac80 Dunk and Egg stories are legitimately far superior to the main asoiaf story. That doesn't mean he shouldn't finish the series before moving on.

[@King_Mac80]

@Grewyn7 maybe from just a writing standpoint I can see why you would say that but plot wise it's not even close. A lot of those Dunk & Egg stories are quite boring, I'm actually curious if casual audiences will like the show or not.

[@kthy0056]

I mean, it's not like he is writing/finishing those things either 😅. Last Dunk and Egg story was released in 2010.

[@TylerOrchowski]

This is HBOs fault. Stop throwing money at him for things that aren't ASOIAF

[@badyoutuber1986]

He doesn't have to accept.

[@obey_forever_mae]

@@badyoutuber1986 100%

[@dustinsmith2021]

I do wish he could squeeze out the dunk and egg books, but oh well. I really admire the man and I love his stories and so I hope he lives a happy and comfortable life .

[@Deaman1331]

Some people would argue the season 7/8 train falling off the cliff was a good thing to spur him on, if your example was the premiere for book 5.

[@juff0401]

Would love to have an entire podcast talking about George’s writing style.

[@Derekrife1]

I think this thing about children is just missing the big huge tree for the rest of the tiny forest: George had a long career writing for television before the ASOIAF series, and him writing those books were primarily motivated by his TV pilot scripts getting rejected and budget issues. When Game of Thrones got greenlighted, he suddenly started getting alot of what he wanted to work on approved and his projects got massive budgets.

[@KingOfMadCows]

George has to manage $200 million. To quote The Wire, "that sounds like one of them good problems." Also, Dune would probably be made without Brian Herbert. People try to make money off of everything. No one believe the Greek gods anymore but they still write books and make movies based on Greek mythology, because those stories are well known and there's money to be made.

[@dante6985]

Just a sidenote, the final Dune books would have been so much better if Brian Herbert didn't touch his father's masterpiece.

[@selwrynn6702]

George will never finish Winds of Winter, his planned ending is what we got in GOT season 8. He is scared abour his legacy & thinks he can't live up to the hype so he's gonna die before Winds of Winter comes out. A braver man (few people are bigger than him so I'm going with "braver") would own up to his own inability to finish the book & work with someone else to have them write it & he himself edit it.

[@Grewyn7]

This is the only correct take I've seen here.

[@dincosic]

Season 6 was the last great deadline. He missed it. If he couldn't finish the story for that he is not going to finish it for anything else.

[@thecomet6276]

Aww, Carmie! Your position on GRRM’s writing winds has done a full 180. 🥰👍👌 I approve! 😊

[@kirgan1000]

I can respect Martin if he did say "I have lost interest in completing the song of ice and fire book series, and want to do different things" I have only contempt for Martin then he say he will complete the song of ice and fire book series, but do not do it.

[@FreakyLynx]

He keeps stringing fans along like he wants to run out the clock.

[@BubblegumCrash332]

Thats Prestons claim to fame. He was the first creator to look thru George's other works looking for ASOIAF parallels

[@juneack5848]

Song for Lya

[@user-zt7ex6ce8g]

I feel like another DJ Khaled quote could be applicable here: “Life is like Roblox”

[@SSSS-bn5hw]

GRRM should be highly motivated to finish these books, mimic the earlier days of the Tolkien estate and lock up his magma opus. The money will be too tempting for others. Someone will finish it for him and as we’ve seen it has a greater chance of diminishing his legacy.

[@carastone3473]

Don’t give GRRM excuses for not finishing TWOW. Other authors finish their books, so can he…IF he WANTS to.