George R.R. Martin says he has only 500 pages left to finish The Winds of Winter

The last book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin was released in 2011. Fans have been waiting ever since for the release of the penultimate book in the series, The Winds of Winter. Now, the author has shared that he has written 1,100 to 1,200 pages of the book, with just “around 400,500 to go.”

The author made an appearance on Stephen Colbert’s Tooning out the News on Comedy Central, where he was questioned by the animated host Dr. Ike Bloom. The host calls upon the hyper-prolific author James Patterson to help George meet his deadlines. Dr. Ike Bloom roasts Martin, calling him “a struggling writer — let me revise that, truly pathetic — who is having trouble meeting deadlines.”

Martin says he’s been working on all of his projects on his trusty DOS computer and WordStar word processor. Patterson advises him to ditch this and “try something else, then, ’cause that’s not working.” Upon hearing that Martin is 1200 pages in and still not finished with the book, Patterson suggests, “You break down the 1,100 pages into three books… You submit one book per year, they’ll be happy, and suddenly you’ll be ahead of schedule!” 

Previously, he has stated his dislike of being constantly asked about the slow progress of The Winds of Winter. But, George R.R. Martin takes all of it like a good sport. With all the updates he has given about the book this year, one can only hope he releases it soon.

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