'The Winds of Winter' release date, plot news: release date uncertain; George R.R. Martin finished writing?

It has been a long wait, but enthusiasts of "The Winds of Winter" are willing to keep on waiting for the release of the book. So much has been reported and rumored, but the release date of George R.R. Martin's novel is still uncertain.

Recent news claims that the anticipated 2017 release date of "The Winds of Winter" will not happen since Martin is not yet finished with the book. Fans of Martin have already accepted the fact that their author has a "slow progress" in writing the novel, which should imply that the waiting game is still on.

To keep them in the world of "A Song of Fire and Ice," they have opted to watch "Game of Thrones" on HBO as it is based on Martin's famous novel series. At this point, the show has already aired six seasons, in which five of the novels have already been featured.

Rumors claim that "Game of Thrones" season 7 will be based on "The Winds of Winter" novel, though there is no confirmation from HBO yet. However, it is believed that the seventh season will not be aired until the novel is released.

This may mean that both "Game of Thrones" season 7 and "The Winds of Winter" have vague release dates. This has caused fans to be more frustrated than before.

Martin's former assistant, Ty Franck, said that the "The Winds of Winter" author truly takes time in writing. He said that Martin is "much more of a sit down at the keyboard, wait for the muse to strike, and bang out whatever chapter is sort of banging around in your head at that time."

It was previously reported that "The Winds of Winter" will be canceled following Hillary Clinton's loss in the recently concluded U.S. Presidential Election. However, this has already been debunked. Fans cannot do anything as of the moment, but to wait.