Writing.Com General Discussion

I've often edited my own work to erase the word 'had' from every corner of existence. Looking through a recent work by GRRM, I noticed he used 'had' quite often, even to the tone of four times in one sentence. Is this a result of his growing old, wanting to hurry up and finish a book or is it the new style? Am I wrong to delete the 'had's, use them sparingly or is it acceptable? Thoughts? I just 'had' to ask...