George RR Martin 'struggling' to finish The Winds of Winter

'Every time I sit down I’m very conscious I have to do something great'

George RR Martin (Tolga Akmen/REX/Shutterstock)

George RR Martin has admitted that he’s struggling to write The Winds of Winter due to the series’ growing popularity.

The long-awaited sixth book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series – which has already been partly adapted for television in HBO’s Game of Thrones – has had multiple release dates, all of which Martin has failed to meet.

“I’ve been struggling with it for a few years,” he told The Guardian. “The Winds of Winter is not so much a novel as a dozen novels, each with a different protagonist, each having a different cast of supporting players, antagonists, allies and lovers around them, and all of these weaving together against the march of time in an extremely complex fashion. So it’s very, very challenging.”

The 70-year-old has been working on the anthology book, Fire and Blood, which reaches book stores later this month.

“The Winds of Winter is next, then I’ll decide what comes after that,” Martin said. ”Whether it’s to go on to A Dream of Spring, the last one, or whether I switch back into Fire and Blood II, do another Dunk and Egg story or two. But I’ll worry about that one thing at a time – that’s too far ahead.”

Game of Thrones has overtaking Martin’s books, with the author offering guidance as to where the story progresses. With the show’s huge success – which has won multiple Emmys and a Golden Globe – the author has begun to feel the pressure.

“Every time I sit down I’m very conscious I have to do something great, and trying to do something great is a considerable weight to bear,” he said. “On the other hand, once I really get rolling, I get into the world. But it’s sometimes hard to get to that almost trance state.”

A Game of Thrones spin-off is currently in the works. Martin recently clarified that the show’s title, The Long Night, has not officially been confirmed.