can't believe there was absolutely no mention of amphetamines
No one has ever accused GRRM of being "speedy."
Of course its not the 18 months he spent on clash that has people believing he is slow. Its the 5 years he took for Feast followed by 6 years for Dance.
I dont really think he is all that slow, its more to do with the lack of editor control on what he writes and when.
People underestimate the sheer volume as well. Feast For Crows is longer than the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. Dance with Dragons took forever because he had to write it twice - he had it done, gave it to his readers and had it pointed out he'd opened a massive loophole. So he had to go back and start over.
Yep its amazing when you see all the books together and realise just how big they are. The danger of course is that the TV show will finish the story for him which would be a real shame. 2 books left to finish and those child actors are getting older by the day.