George R.R. Martin on Writing

As a reader, I love George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. I love the complexity of his characters and plots. My favorite characters are The Hound, Tyrion, Daenerys and Jaime (yes, in that very order). As an author, I love him for sharing his honest take on writing....

"The words are hard. You get these visions in your head of what the scene is going to be. You have a big battle scene, let's say, or a feast, or a love making scene. 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. It's great to see the cathedral, but you still have to build it one stone at a time." ~ GRRM

St. Paul's Cathedral in London

GRRM's words give me hope as I struggle with my own writing. If a man who can claim so many wonderful stories, honors and achievements (including a great HBO series!) can still find it hard to come up with the right words, then my strangled attempts are a natural part of the process. And the end results can be beautiful and awesome.