Author George R.R. Martin originally wrote the outline for 'A Song Of Ice and Fire' in 1993, but as he began the books, the story changed drastically. As he explained in an interview with The Guardian in 2011, he considers himself to be a "gardener," not an "architect."

“I think there are two types of writers, the architects and the gardeners," Martin said. "The architects plan everything ahead of time, like an architect building a house. They know how many rooms are going to be in the house, what kind of roof they're going to have, where the wires are going to run, what kind of plumbing there's going to be. They have the whole thing designed and blueprinted out before they even nail the first board up."

"The gardeners dig a hole, drop in a seed and water it," Martin continued. "They kind of know what seed it is, they know if planted a fantasy seed or mystery seed or whatever. But as the plant comes up and they water it, they don't know how many branches it's going to have, they find out as it grows. And I'm much more a gardener than an architect."

Martin went on to develop this story through the first five books of A Song Of Ice And Fire, with two more entries still on the way. In 2011, HBO premiered the TV adaptation, entitled Game of Thrones, which became a surprise smash hit. The series was remarkably faithful to the first three books, took some liberties with the byzantine fourth and fifth, then rapidly surpassed the source material.

Martin said he showed the TV showrunners his most recent outline/plan for the ending, which means the TV show's ending will have the same broad strokes as the (future) book ending. However, as he writes the last two books, the ending could change considerably, and the fates of secondary characters, in particular, could be much different.

[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/l6SmZpJc-Q0L14jDU.mp4||l6SmZpJc]]

But what about that old first outline from 1993, you might wonder? Well, as reported by Variety in 2015, Redditor TheNextRobin noticed a tweet from UK bookseller Waterstones that contained three photos of that 1993 letter, in which Martin outlined the entire series. The original storyline has many differences from what we read in the books and saw in the TV show - like, for example, Arya Stark and Jon Snow falling in love.

Originally, Martin wanted Arya to travel to the Wall with her mother Catelyn and younger brother, Bran, where she would discover she doesn't just like Jon - she like likes Jon.

"Wounded by Lannister riders, they will seek refuge at the Wall, but the men of the Night's Watch give up their families when they take the black, and Jon and Benjen will not be able to help, to Jon's anguish. It will lead to a bitter estrangement between Jon and Bran.

"Arya will be more forgiving ... until she realizes, with terror, that she has fallen in love with Jon, who is not only her half-brother but a man of the Night's Watch, sworn to celibacy. Their passion will continue to torment Jon and Arya throughout the trilogy, until the secret of Jon's true parentage is finally revealed in the last book."

And just in case you aren't grossed out enough, Martin originally planned for Tyrion Lannister to fall in love with Arya,  "Exiled, Tyrion will change sides, making common cause with the surviving Starks to bring his brother down, and falling helplessly in love with Arya Stark while he's at it," Martin wrote in his outline. "His passion is, alas, un-reciprocated, but no less intense for that, and it will lead to a deadly rivalry between Tyrion and Jon Snow."

Obviously, those ideas were discarded before the books were written and the TV was produced - and thank the Seven for that, because Arya and Jon work better as badass outcast BFF's. Of course, Tyrion did end up marrying a Stark - Sansa - though there was no romance and it was essentially annulled. Interestingly, Jon did end up as being part of tormented incestuous romance on the show, but with Daenerys Targaryen, his aunt. (And at the time, he had no idea that his real parents were Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, making him Dany's nephew.)

The photos of outline are below, but be warned: The gardener George R.R. Martin's story changes as he writes it, but it is possible there are spoilers:

Author George R.R. Martin originally wrote the outline for 'A Song Of Ice and Fire' in 1993, but as he began the books, the story changed drastically. As he explained in an interview with The Guardian in 2011, he considers himself to be a "gardener," not an "architect."

“I think there are two types of writers, the architects and the gardeners," Martin said. "The architects plan everything ahead of time, like an architect building a house. They know how many rooms are going to be in the house, what kind of roof they're going to have, where the wires are going to run, what kind of plumbing there's going to be. They have the whole thing designed and blueprinted out before they even nail the first board up."

"The gardeners dig a hole, drop in a seed and water it," Martin continued. "They kind of know what seed it is, they know if planted a fantasy seed or mystery seed or whatever. But as the plant comes up and they water it, they don't know how many branches it's going to have, they find out as it grows. And I'm much more a gardener than an architect."

Martin went on to develop this story through the first five books of A Song Of Ice And Fire, with two more entries still on the way. In 2011, HBO premiered the TV adaptation, entitled Game of Thrones, which became a surprise smash hit. The series was remarkably faithful to the first three books, took some liberties with the byzantine fourth and fifth, then rapidly surpassed the source material.

Martin said he showed the TV showrunners his most recent outline/plan for the ending, which means the TV show's ending will have the same broad strokes as the (future) book ending. However, as he writes the last two books, the ending could change considerably, and the fates of secondary characters, in particular, could be much different.

[[jwplayerwidget||https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/l6SmZpJc-Q0L14jDU.mp4||l6SmZpJc]]

But what about that old first outline from 1993, you might wonder? Well, as reported by Variety in 2015, Redditor TheNextRobin noticed a tweet from UK bookseller Waterstones that contained three photos of that 1993 letter, in which Martin outlined the entire series. The original storyline has many differences from what we read in the books and saw in the TV show - like, for example, Arya Stark and Jon Snow falling in love.

Originally, Martin wanted Arya to travel to the Wall with her mother Catelyn and younger brother, Bran, where she would discover she doesn't just like Jon - she like likes Jon.

"Wounded by Lannister riders, they will seek refuge at the Wall, but the men of the Night's Watch give up their families when they take the black, and Jon and Benjen will not be able to help, to Jon's anguish. It will lead to a bitter estrangement between Jon and Bran.

"Arya will be more forgiving ... until she realizes, with terror, that she has fallen in love with Jon, who is not only her half-brother but a man of the Night's Watch, sworn to celibacy. Their passion will continue to torment Jon and Arya throughout the trilogy, until the secret of Jon's true parentage is finally revealed in the last book."

And just in case you aren't grossed out enough, Martin originally planned for Tyrion Lannister to fall in love with Arya,  "Exiled, Tyrion will change sides, making common cause with the surviving Starks to bring his brother down, and falling helplessly in love with Arya Stark while he's at it," Martin wrote in his outline. "His passion is, alas, un-reciprocated, but no less intense for that, and it will lead to a deadly rivalry between Tyrion and Jon Snow."

Obviously, those ideas were discarded before the books were written and the TV was produced - and thank the Seven for that, because Arya and Jon work better as badass outcast BFF's. Of course, Tyrion did end up marrying a Stark - Sansa - though there was no romance and it was essentially annulled. Interestingly, Jon did end up as being part of tormented incestuous romance on the show, but with Daenerys Targaryen, his aunt. (And at the time, he had no idea that his real parents were Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, making him Dany's nephew.)

The photos of outline are below, but be warned: The gardener George R.R. Martin's story changes as he writes it, but it is possible there are spoilers: