I'm glad you brought this up, as it's a topic I've seen popping up all over my LJ friends list lately. Personally, I don't understand the nastiness a lot of fans have over GRRM's delay. Some say it's because he's mentioned over and over again when it would be done and has never come through. Maybe I'm just more relaxed about it becauese I've been a video gamer long enough to know that sometimes.. things take years longer than originally expected (e.g., Half-Life 2). To me, I don't think he necessarily owes an explanation to his fans and one assumes he and his publisher know what's going on. For all we know it could be very personal stuff that he just doesn't want to discuss. Could be health, could be mental abilities going, could be that the series is taking off in an entirely new direction (as you mentioned) or it could be that he's been so inspired to start other things, he hasn't sat down to finish. From my view, people who are upset should take a deep breath and go read something else. It's not as though there is a shortage of sci-fi or fantasy novels out there to enjoy and discover in the interim. It will be finished when it's finished and no sooner.
I also have a question for you:
What have you done when you've hit writer's block? You have a vague idea of what you're writing, but nothing specific is coming forward. You're trying to force it or generate it, and you sit at the blank paper and nothing works (I find I have an easier time writing on paper first). EVen if you just start writing what's on your mind (i.e., your inability to write), you just end up writing your thoughts, and nothing helpful. Is there anything you do to break that? The other related problem is having various scenes from the book, but nothing linking them together. Almost as though it would work better as a series of shorter stories instead of as a novel. ARGH (Though that could be an idea of how to write it for now)
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I also have a question for you:
What have you done when you've hit writer's block? You have a vague idea of what you're writing, but nothing specific is coming forward. You're trying to force it or generate it, and you sit at the blank paper and nothing works (I find I have an easier time writing on paper first). EVen if you just start writing what's on your mind (i.e., your inability to write), you just end up writing your thoughts, and nothing helpful. Is there anything you do to break that? The other related problem is having various scenes from the book, but nothing linking them together. Almost as though it would work better as a series of shorter stories instead of as a novel. ARGH (Though that could be an idea of how to write it for now)