Writer’s Quote Wednesday – George R.R. Martin

Welcome to my blog. I hope 2016 has treated all of you well so far. Colleen Chesebro is a writer, poet, and book reviewer. She hosts an inspiring event every Wednesday on her blog, Silver Threading, called Writer’s Quote Wednesday. Anyone can participate by choosing a quote by a favorite writer and posting it on your blog. Check out her weekly wrap-up every Tuesday and be inspired by all the quotes.

Ronovan, from Ronovan Writes and Colleen have joined forces! He has been linking his #BeWoW blog share (Be Wonderful on Wednesday) now to include: Be Writing on Wednesday. If you would like to combine both posts feel free to do so and link them to Colleen’s post. She will make sure and add you to the quote wrap-up she does each Tuesday. Please make sure and check out Ron’s blog for more writing inspiration and motivation!

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I have a love/hate relationship (in my head) with the author of A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin. He’s a brilliant writer and I love that he is fearless when it comes to taking risks with his storytelling, but if he kills off another one of my favorite characters . . . #%^ƒµ∫>!

Anyway, here are 10 Fantasy Writing Tips from the talented fantasy author that can help writers write their own epic tales. (Those are his comments under each tip.)

1- Don’t Limit Your Imagination

“Before A Song of Ice and Fire I had been working in television for ten years.When I went back to prose, there were suddenly no limits: I could write something huge with all the characters I wanted, with battles, dragons and immense settings.”

2- Choose your point-of-view characters to broaden the narrative’s scope

“My story is essentially about a world at war. It begins very small with everybody apart from Daenerys in the castle of Winterfell. It’s a very tight focus, and then as the characters split apart, each character encounters more people and additional POVs come into focus.”

3- It’s okay to “borrow” from history

“Although my story is fantasy, it is strongly grounded in actual Medieval history.”

4- Believable POVs

“Ultimately all of us are alone in the universe — the only person we ever really know deeply is ourselves. Obviously, I’ve never been a dwarf or a princess, so when I’m writing these characters I have to try and get inside their skin and see what the world would be like from their position. It’s not always easy.”

5- Grief is a powerful tool — but don’t overdo it

“Presenting not just death, but grief is important. At some point, we all experience the loss of our parents, or sibling or close friend and it’s a very powerful emotion.”

6- Violence should have consequences — so spare nothing! 

“If you’re going to write about Medieval-style warfare, you need to show it — those swords aren’t just for show. You should present it honestly in all its ugliness and horror.”

7- Avoid fantasy cliches

“One of the things that drives me crazy is the externalisation of evil, where evil comes from the “Dark Lord” who sits in his dark palace with his dark minions who all wear black and are very ugly.”

 8- Creating “grey” characters

“Grey characters have always interested me the most and I think the world is full of them.”

9- Juggling lots of characters takes skill — and luck

“Sometimes these damn characters have a mind of their own and refuse to do what I want them to do.”

10- Remember: Winter is coming

“There is darkness in the world but we don’t have to give way to despair. One of the best themes in The Lord of the Rings is that despair is the ultimate crime.”

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♦ To read George R.R. Martin’s full article, which is very interesting and helpful, click on the link below.

Top 10 Fantasy Writing Tips From ‘Game Of Thrones’ Author George R.R. Martin