Straight from the horse's mouth: GRRM says we can imprison him if he doesn't finish 'Winds of Winter' by next summer

[LL_Decitrig]

This dude needs to get Word and stop using programs from the Cold War

He uses WordStar 4.0, I believe. It's still a favourite with many people who write for a living. Unlike technical writing, commercial reports and the like, novel writing is largely a matter of placing one paragraph after another. The fewer bells and whistles a word processor has, the fewer distractions and the lower the chance of an accident.

 

[Aexact]

I wonder if prison would be less stressful than the crushing weight of years of expectation to deliver a satisfying conclusion to what was the source material of the TV show of the generation. Completed chapters are probably mutating as he digests more GOT finale reactions.

It was as the butler! Not the chambermaid!

 

[la_briola]

Serious question. What should they use instead?

https://www.tug.org/texlive/

 

[Dwebble]

WHY HAS HE NOT LEARNED TO STOP PREDICTING YET

His pace is one thing, but he always makes it a thousand times worse on himself by making promises he can't realistically keep.

 

[Keikaku]

Remember when the book was almost finished two years ago? Lock him up now.

 

[DigitalT]

GRRM really wanna be locked up huh

 

[giancarlo123x]

I'm looking forward to the petition.

 

[Charamiwa]

Read Fire & Blood in the meantime, it's surprisingly great.

 

[LL_Decitrig]

https://www.tug.org/texlive/

No. The last thing you want to give George Martin is a typesetting system. It would just be a huge time sink.

Let him do his job of putting one word after another, and leave the presentation to the publisher.

 

[Smoshow]

He still uses a dos computer? What if it dies? I hope he keeps backups

 

[blakeseven]

You guys are fucking scary. I feel bad for him.

Fandoms are the worst thing about anything, really. The GoT "fanbase" is as toxic as any other here.

 

[Atraveller]

GRRM really wanna be locked up huh

LOCK HIM UP! LOCK HIM UP!

 

[Dennis8K]

GRRM really wanna be locked up huh

Part of him knows it is the only way.

 

[Ryder9]

Fandoms are the worst thing about anything, really. The GoT "fanbase" is as toxic as any other here.

even worse than usual this 'fandom', almost like religious lunatics with their soft death threats

 

[Faiz]

Wtf he said he was t making anymore promises or predictions haha. George what are you doing?

 

[Brock Reiher]

that would actually be kind of funny if he knew he wouldn't be around by then. that would be a legendary exit.

 

[Razorskin]

Throw him into the prison from Logan Lucky

 

[Grimm Fandango]

Well at least he'll have a ton of free time to write when locked up.

 

[Biske]

Why would he do this to himself

 

[Farfetch'd]

People use Word to write books?

uh yeah?

 

[RustyNails]

Man: "what are you gonna do, lock me up?"

*Man gets locked up*

 

[Steel]

He uses WordStar 4.0, I believe. It's still a favourite with many people who write for a living. Unlike technical writing, commercial reports and the like, novel writing is largely a matter of placing one paragraph after another. The fewer bells and whistles a word processor has, the fewer distractions and the lower the chance of an accident.

Running an ancient machine with ancient software that's likely to crash and doesn't automatically back-up documents seems like an especially bad idea. On top of this, his editor must hate his guts.

 

[LegendofJoe]

Part of him knows it is the only way.

Isolation is actually a fantastic way to break through writer's block. I did it when I was working on my undergraduate and master's thesis. I locked myself in a room with no windows and no distractions and I got shit done.

 

[ConanEd]

We can't put him in a prison even if he wants to anyway.

 

[Phantom Thief]

I believe in you, George

 

[flyingman]

He uses Wordstar on an MS-DOS pc

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmDZAtDVEz3f371kr-jLisw
If I remember correctly, he mentioned in an interview that his agent regularly backs up the work and they convert the file. There is still a plugin you can download from Microsoft to open Wordstar files in a modern version of Microsoft Word, though it is really frustrating to use, and WordPerfect can still import the documents as well.

 

[NHarmonic.]

I wonder how he keeps track of all the characters and storylines. Does he have walls filled with diagrams and stuff?

Should be fascinating to know.

 

[jett]

I wonder how he keeps track of all the characters and storylines. Does he have walls filled with diagrams and stuff?

Should be fascinating to know.

He actually has people that help him with that.

 

[takriel]

idontbelieveyou.gif

 

[Host Samurai]

Sounds like when Mikami said he’s cut his head off if RE4 would show up on the PS2

 

[flare]

Boy he sure is feeling himself. Can't wait until the book finally comes out in 2026.

 

[MattyG]

Maybe he has a terminal illness he's not telling anyone about and knows he won't be around?

that would actually be kind of funny if he knew he wouldn't be around by then. that would be a legendary exit.

Yikes, let's not do this

 

[alexi52]

Does he mean summer of this year or next

 

[BourbonAFC]

In his last post on his blog he said:

"THE WINDS OF WINTER is very late, I know, I know, but it will be done. I won’t say when, I’ve tried that before, only to burn you all and jinx myself… but I will finish it, and then will come A DREAM OF SPRING."

Now he gives us a deadline. One that could potentially burn us and jinx him. And even if it's not really a deadline, he knows his fans are going to rabidly grasp onto it.

He is either confident he is nearing the end or, despite declaring otherwise, hasn't learned his lesson.

I really hope it's the former.

 

[#1 defender]

 

[LL_Decitrig]

Running an ancient machine with ancient software that's likely to crash and doesn't automatically back-up documents seems like an especially bad idea. On top of this, his editor must hate his guts.

We can assume he knows how to make backups. He's been working on television scripts for longer than most people in this forum have been alive. My wife is an amateur writer and insists on keeping hard copies of all her work, which I find a little odd but quite sensible.

WordStar format is probably supported for file import by most word processors. In addition a simple document like a novel can be exported as plain text. It's not as if he's including figures, tables or fancy fonts. It's just one word after another with the occasional punctuation or paragraph break.

I don't know how literary editors work nowadays, but marked up paper has worked well for centuries and it's very convenient.

 

[CharlesAznable]

People are reading way to much into what was obviously a joke...

 

[Aurongel]

People are reading way to much into what was obviously a joke...

He's learned by now to not joke about things like TWoW's release date. I think at the very least there is a kernel of truth to what he's said. I'm optimistic about it anyway.

 

[demosthenes]

He actually has people that help him with that.

Interview or something about this?

 

[Netherscourge]

I'm just accepting the show's ending as the official ending at this point.

GRRM can write a cute little fan fiction ending if he wishes, to impress his English Lit & Creative Writing teachers.

Spoiler: SPOILER

Relax, it's a joke.

I think isolation would be good for him. He's clearly too distracted by the show's success and everything surrounding it.

 

[LL_Decitrig]

And it's been over ten years since Neil Gaiman wrote the following, which I think we all should read and inwardly digest.

"George Martin is not your bitch."

http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/05/entitlement-issues.html

 

[jett]

Interview or something about this?

https://www.salon.com/2014/04/28/me...knows_westeros_better_than_george_r_r_martin/

 

[Sykdom]

Listen pedobear nobody cares anymore you were only relevant because of HBO now take your wack ass prose and go back to sleep

 

[Cantaim]

Fuck it I believe!

 

[demosthenes]

https://www.salon.com/2014/04/28/me...knows_westeros_better_than_george_r_r_martin/

Thanks

 

[Landford]

Listen pedobear nobody cares anymore you were only relevant because of HBO now take your wack ass prose and go back to sleep

What the fuck

 

[vogelkacke]

Finished as in on bookshelves?

 

[Kwigo]

Thanks

He also thanks those people extensively in his later ASOIAF books, it's not quite a secret.

 

[Ryuelli]

Can't wait until the book finally comes out in 2026.

Spoiler

Completed By: JK Rowling

Spoiler

A Dream of Spring will be finished by Mary Pope Osborne.

 

[BourbonAFC]

People are reading way to much into what was obviously a joke...

Yeah, it's a joke, especially (obviously) the part about arresting him, but he has said numerous times in the past that he doesn't joke about the potential release of his books. He knows how his fans can be. They grasp at everything that could possibly be a hint he's nearing the end of writing TWoW. Hell I used to be that way, but I've long learned to temper my expectations until he says it's finished.

That being said, there is no denying he has come off as sounding more confident the end is near as of late, especially since releasing Fire & Blood last year.