George R.R. Martin says 'Winds of Winter' will be his best work yet

WASHINGTON: American novelist and screenwriter, George R.R. Martin has said that the worldwide lockdown in 2020 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has resulted in his best work to date.

The popular novelist opened up about how the lockdown was a productive period for him while speaking about his long-awaited novel 'The Winds of Winter'.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the 'Game of Thrones' creator, while updating his fans on his blog said, "I wrote hundreds and hundreds of pages of THE WINDS OF WINTER in 2020. The best year I've had on WOW since I began it. Why? I don't know. Maybe the isolation. Or maybe I just got on a roll. Sometimes I do get on a roll."

He added, "I need to keep rolling, though. I still have hundreds of more pages to write to bring the novel to a satisfactory conclusion. That's what 2021 is for, I hope."

Previously, Martin had told Entertainment Weekly that his writing is not a strictly linear process. The author said that he is aware of fan expectations for Winds and wants the result to meet those expectations.

The author said, "I will make no predictions on when I will finish. Every time I do, a--holes on the internet take that as a 'promise,' and then wait eagerly to crucify me when I miss the deadline. All I will say is that I am hopeful."

It should be noted the context of Martin's thoughts was in a post titled "Reflections on a Bad Year", which was otherwise devoted to the pandemic tragedy of 2020. The author lamented that it was "the worst year I have ever lived through" in non-writing respects and that he "lost a number of friends, some very near and dear to me."

Given the fact that Martin's previous books 'A Song of Ice and Fire book' and 'A Dance with Dragons' came out in 2011 and Martin has been working on Winds practically ever since.

Martin also has other work in the pipeline: HBO is looking to order more 'Game of Thrones' prequels, and various writers are pitching ideas. Plus, the green-lit prequel drama 'House of the Dragon' should begin production in the first half of 2021.