George R.R. Martin Struggling With Winds of Winter Because of One Character Death
But who is it?
It sometimes feels as if we might have to resign ourselves to the fact that The Winds of Winter will never be released.
And, according to winteriscoming.net, it seems that George R.R. Martin may have revealed one of the stumbling blocks to his creative process in a chat with fellow author Diana Gabaldon.
"We were having this conversation, and I was asking him 'how's it going, the newest book' - and he said, 'oh I'm having all kinds of trouble',"Gabaldon recalled while talking to her fans.
"And he said, 'You ever kill somebody off that you later realised you needed?' I said, 'no, George, that's never happened to me!'"
It's worth noting that, generally speaking, George R.R. Martin is a meticulous planner. This is one of the reasons that the enduring wait for his next book was not really unexpected. This suggests that the character in question is probably not Ned Stark.
For the same reason, we can also rule out Robb Stark and Tywin Lannister. Their parts in the story would have been thoroughly analysed before their deaths were signed off on.
Likely candidates include Maester Aemon who could be incredibly influential in so many ways, Kevan Lannister or one of the Dornish characters such as Prince Oberyn or Quentyn Martell. But, let's be honest, it could be almost anybody who died – and there are plenty of them.
Those such as Catelyn Stark, whose deaths were carried out in clear view of witnesses and viewers can't really be subject to any kind of reprieve. While Martin is not completely against the idea of characters we thought were dead actually still being alive, even in a fantasy world there are limits to how far you can take that idea.
It may simply be that we never find out who the character Martin referred to in his conversation with Gabaldon is. Martin is a writer of immense talent with an entire world from which to pluck this would-be influence on the story.
It could be a twist in the life of an existing character or somebody completely new that creates the vehicle for whatever it is Martin wants in the book. Alternatively, he may simply ask himself what will happen in the problem scenario given that the elusive character is dead. In any event, let's just hope we actually get the book at some point.
Source: Winteriscoming.