George R.R. Martin recently took to his blog to describe his writing process and how his books could end vastly different from Game of Thrones
George R.R. Martin’s latest entry in his Not A Blog blog gave some big news to book fans who did not enjoy the ending of Game of Thrones. He talked about how he is a gardener-type writer and his story evolves and grows as he writes it.
“Another question that I get a lot, especially since the end of GAME OF THRONES on HBO, is whether A SONG OF ICE & FIRE, will end the same way. An architect would be able to give a short, concise, simple answer to that, but I am much more of a gardener. My stories grow and evolve and change as I write them. I generally know where I am going, sure… the final destinations, the big set pieces, they have been my head for years… for decades, in the case of A SONG OF ICE & FIRE. There are lots of devils in the details, though, and sometimes the ground changes under my feet as the words pour forth.”
The way Martin describes his writing process sounds almost painful but to him, it may be cathartic. As he writes through the pages of Winds of Winter it transforms and rips apart as a lycanthrope transforming into its bestial form would.
“I will say this.
I have been at work in my winter garden. Things are growing… and changing, as does happen with us gardeners. Things twist, things change, new ideas come to me (thank you, muse), old ideas prove unworkable, I write, I rewrite, I restructure, I rip everything apart and rewrite again, I go through doors that lead nowhere, and doors that open on marvels.”
Here’s where it gets good— Martin says his writing process is taking him further and further from the ending we saw on HBO’s Game of Thrones series. Those who didn’t enjoy it may get a second chance at an ending they find satisfying.
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“What I have noticed more and more of late, however, is my gardening is taking me further and further away from the television series. Yes, some of the things you saw on HBO in GAME OF THRONES you will also see in THE WINDS OF WINTER (though maybe not in quite the same ways)… but much of the rest will be quite different.”
GRRM also touched on a a factor that has become synonymous with his work— gut-wrenching character deaths, and how they might change from television to novel.
“One thing I can say, in general enough terms that I will not be spoiling anything: not all of the characters who survived until the end of GAME OF THRONES will survive until the end of A SONG OF ICE & FIRE, and not all of the characters who died on GAME OF THRONES will die in A SONG OF ICE & FIRE. (Some will, sure. Of course. Maybe most. But definitely not all) ((Of course, I could change my mind again next week, with the next chapter I write. That’s gardening)).
And the ending? You will need to wait until I get there. Some things will be the same. A lot will not.”
Martin left us with a note of hope and anxiousness, as he teases the two endings will be different enough to cause a debate between fans of both adaptations.
“No doubt, once I am done, there will be huge debate about which version of the story is better. Some people will like my book, others will prefer the television show. And that’s fine, you pays your money and your make your choice. (I do fear that a certain proportion of fans are so angry about how long WINDS has taken me that they are prepared to hate the book, unread. That saddens me, but there nothing I can do about it, but write the best book that I can, and hope that when it comes out most fans will read it with clean hands and an open mind).
That’s all I can tell you right now. I need to get back to the garden. Tyrion is waiting for me.”
