Game of Thrones Author to Stephen King: How Do You Write So Fast?

George RR Martin, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series upon which Game of Thrones is based, has had a rough couple of years. He's never been one to deliver new books in the series at a rapid pace, and the TV series is now beating him to the finish line. During a recent chat with another famed author, Stephen King, Martin had to ask--how does he do it?

The conversation took place on stage in Albuquerque, New Mexico recently, and the two discussed a wide range of subjects, including how they started writing (via EW). Near the end (at the 50:07 mark of the video below), King--an extremely prolific writer--implores Martin to ask him anything he's been dying to know.

"Yes, yes there is something I want to ask you," Martin replies. "How the f*** do you write so many books so fast?"

While Martin punctuates the question with one of his many giggles of the night, King does give a real answer, talking about his process of aiming to get a certain number of pages done every day. Martin references at his own issues of writer's block and self-doubt, discussing a scenario where he writes one sentence, is unsatisfied, and then spends time checking emails while wondering if he ever had any talent.

Some book readers are skeptical Martin will ever finish A Song of Ice and Fire. He has at least two books still to go, with no release date announced for either of them, and countless convoluted plotlines to wrap up.

Potential developments in the story--like one long-running surprise--have already been spoiled by the show outpacing Martin's writing, but the novels are different enough that many fans (myself included) are still eagerly anticipating them. Hopefully King's words can serve as some kind of inspiration for him.