Game of Thrones fans might be waiting a while for the next installment.

George R. R. Martin, author of the fantasy series Game of Thrones, has confirmed that he missed his latest deadline for the hugely anticipated sixth book The Winds of Winter. 

Posting on his blog yesterday, Martin wrote: “You wanted an update. Here’s the update. You won’t like it.

“For months now I have wanted nothing so much as to be able to say, ‘I have completed and delivered The Winds of Winter’ on or before the last day of 2015. But the book’s not done.”

Martin’s original deadline was October last year, which was renegotiated to a final deadline of December 31, 2015.

Watch the teaser for Season 6 of Game of Thrones. 

Martin continued: “Nor is it likely to be finished tomorrow, or next week. Yes, there’s a lot written. Hundreds of pages. Dozens of chapters. But there’s also a lot still left to write. I am months away still… and that’s if the writing goes well.

“Chapters still to write, of course… but also rewriting,” he said.

“Here it is, the first of January. The book is not done, not delivered. No words can change that. I tried, I promise you. I failed.”

In the words of Eddard Stark, The Winds of Winter is (still) coming.

Martin profusely apologised to fans and emphasised that he will not make excuses. He explained how he has always struggled with deadlines, but that the realisation he would not finish the novel on time has deeply “depressed” him.

The 2015 deadline was set to ensure that the sixth instalment would be published before the next TV series begins. For the first time HBO’s Game of Thrones will surpass the books, which has upset fans who are concerned about major plot points being revealed.

But a Lanister  Martin always pays his debts, so we can indeed expect a novel. For the time being, Martin has decided not to set another deadline.

The previous instalment A Dance with Dragons took six years to write. Martin began The Winds of Winter in 2011.

It is one thing to communicate directly with fans regarding an overdue novel. But what is truly remarkable about Martin’s post is the raw honesty with which he explains his creative process, and the personal disappointment he concedes to feeling when not meeting the deadline. To that we say, Martin — we’ve all been there.

What we can take from Martin’s powerful blog post is that even the most talented, pioneering and inspiring individuals among us also struggle. It is imperfection, after all, which makes us human.

He might not have yet completed his novel, but he has produced a moving and important piece of literature in a blog post that was simply intended to be an “update”.

Ultimately, we all need to calm our dragons. In the words of George R. R. Martin back in 2011, the book “will be done when it’s done”.