George R. R. Martin keeps book versions of his characters separate from their TV counterparts when writing

Fans of George R. R. Martin‘s television series and books have been enthralled with the creatures and characters who live in one of the most cherished fantasy realms ever imagined. As he has mentioned several times earlier, the realm of Westeros and all of its ancillary storylines are like his children. However, he has his own version of his characters in his mind when he’s writing a story.

George R. R. Martin doesn’t see TV actors as his book versions

Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire gave rise to one of the greatest TV shows of all time, the Game of Thrones. Though he loves the cast, he has his own versions when he writes about them. In an episode of the Bangcast, Martin said:

“I started writing Game of Thrones in 1991. We sold the television option in 2007. So that’s 16 years I’ve been writing about Jon Snow and Dany and Tyrion before the actors were cast or before we shot a foot of film. The images [of the characters as I originally imagined them] in my head are pretty well fixed, although we got great actors. The cast of Game of Thrones was amazing. But when I sit down and work on the latest book, it’s not the TV versions that I see. It’s the characters that I worked with since 1991.”

George R. R. Martin is finding it difficult to complete Winds of Winter

Martin has never been recognized for having a quick writing style, while being a highly sought-after and prolific writer. Martin recently acknowledged his terrible circumstances—he just can’t seem to finish the much-anticipated book—in a recent interview. He said, “The main thing I’m actually writing, of course, is the same thing… I wish I could write as fast as [The Last Kingdom author Bernard Cornwell] but I’m 12 years late on this damn novel and I’m struggling with it.”

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