George R.R. Martin has given a new interview in which he discusses his Game of Thrones episode “Blackwater,” and also talks about writing Winds of Winter.
On HBO.com, Martin reflects on “Blackwater,” the big battle episode he wrote in season 2:
Prose and film have different techniques and weapons that they use. In a book, I have internal monologue and can give you access to a character’s thoughts. He can tell a lie, but you’re in his head, so you know he’s lying. While you’re watching on the screen, you’re just hearing what he’s saying — the actor has to sell it with his eyes and the set of his mouth. And great actors can do that.
He also discusses his writing style, and reiterates what he’s already stated: that he doesn’t plan things ahead, which can be surprising for fans. He says:
My process as a writer is not one of thoroughly outlining ahead of time, which can result in my muse leading me down blind alleys and dead ends. I write a chapter and it seems great in and of itself, but then I realize a month later or half a year later that I don’t want to go down that street. So then I have to double back and rewrite and so forth. It’s almost a subconscious thing — when it’s right, it feels right, and when it doesn’t feel right, I keep niggling at it until it does.
On Winds of Winter, the sixth novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series:
It’s a slow process the way I write, especially books of this size that are as large and complex as they are. It’s still a slow process. I am aware of the TV series moving along behind me like a giant locomotive, and I know I need to lay the track more quickly, perhaps, because the locomotive is soon going to be bearing down on me. The last thing I want is for the TV series to catch up with me. I’ve got a considerable headstart, but production is moving faster than I can write. I’m hoping that we’ll finish the story at about the same time… we’ll see.
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Read the full interview at HBO.
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