Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin was asked what one thing he'd change about his A Song of Ice and Fire Books, and answered: "I'd have them finished.
" Martin spoke with the Oxford Writers' House about his career and, while he wasn't asked about his infamously delayed penultimate books The Winds of Winter, he was asked what he'd change from the books already written. "I don't know, I can probably change more than one thing," Martin said, before laughing. "If I could change one thing about one of my books I'd have them finished.
" 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. Fans chagrined in 2023 when Martin said he'd written around 1,100 pages of the book, which was the same number he'd given a year earlier , though there is plenty of work to be done without actually increasing the page total. Martin went on to talk about his friend and author of The Book of the New Sun series Gene Wolf, who had a full-time job alongside his writing so was able to pen the entire fantasy series without deadlines and other external pressure, then go back and make sure everything lined up correctly before the books went out the door.
George R.R. Martin was not able to emulate that process with Game of Thrones, something he lamented in his answer.
"There is something very liberating from an artistic point of view, if you don't have to worry, if you happen to inherit a huge trust fund or a castle.