12 George R.R. Martin Quotes for Writers and About Writing
Here are 12 George R.R. Martin quotes for writers and about writing from the author of A Game of Thrones, A Storm of Swords, and A Dance With Dragons. In these quotes, Martin shares his thoughts on strong writing, good books, deadlines, and more.
George Raymond Richard Martin is an award-winning author of science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories, including A Game of Thrones, A Storm of Swords, and A Dance With Dragons. He is best known for his A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels, which HBO adapted into Game of Thrones.
Martin, also known as GRRM, was born September 20, 1948, and Time magazine referred to him as "the American Tolkien." He began selling science fiction stories in 1970 at the age of 21. He's won several awards, including multiple Hugos, Nebulas, and a Bram Stoker Award for Long Fiction, in addition to several other honors.
Here are 12 George R.R. Martin quotes for writers and about writing that cover deadlines, good books, strong writing, and more.
12 George R.R. Martin quotes for writers and about writing
"Everybody is the hero of their own story."
"I end each chapter with a cliffhanger, resolution, a turn, a reveal, a new wrinkle ... something that will make you want to read the next chapter of that character."
"I have a lot of other books that I want to write."
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"I want a story to take me to a place that I've never been to before and make it come vividly alive for me."
"I'm happy if I can finish a few pages in a day."
"It doesn't matter what the scene is. You can see it and you can hear it, but you're still staring at a blank screen. That's the nuts and bolts of writing."
"I've never been a fast writer, and I've never been good with deadlines."
"Just when you reach the stage that you understand how publishing works, and how to build your career, then all the rules change."
"One of the big things that distinguishes the strongest fiction from writing that's perhaps without depth is a real understanding of what real human beings are like."
"Sometimes I think I threw one too many balls in the air, and I rather wish that instead of juggling 12 story lines, I were juggling six."
"Ultimately, the only thing that is going to matter is how good these books are."
"You see a lot of young writers who have interesting ideas and a certain skill with words, but their story is not a story ... it's more a vignette."
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
