Short answers, pulled from the story.
George R. R. Martin began writing the first volume, A Game of Thrones, in the summer of 1991. He published the book in 1996 after abandoning his previous science fiction project, Avalon.
The Red Wedding in A Storm of Swords is based on the Black Dinner of the 2nd of December 1440 and the Massacre of Glencoe in 1692. These Scottish historical events provided the template for the betrayal and violence that killed Ned Stark and Robb Stark.
George R. R. Martin originally envisioned the series as a trilogy but expanded it to seven volumes. As of 2023, the sixth book, The Winds of Winter, and the seventh book, A Dream of Spring, remain in progress.
George R. R. Martin writes in his office in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He uses an IBM PC compatible computer running MS-DOS with WordStar 4.0 to draft his work.
George R. R. Martin estimated in October 2022 that he had written approximately 1,100 to 1,200 pages of The Winds of Winter with 400 to 500 pages remaining. He confirmed in November 2023 that he is still struggling with the manuscript.