One of the great things about books is you can afford to do anything.
George R. R. MartinRead
I hate outlines. I have a broad sense of where the story is going; I know the end, I know the end of the principal characters, and I know the major turning points and events from the books, the climaxes for each book, but I don't necessarily know each twist and turn along the way. That's something I discover in the course of writing and that's what makes writing enjoyable. I think if I outlined comprehensively and stuck to the outline the actual writing would be boring.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the idea that creativity thrives in spontaneity rather than rigid planning.
George R. R. Martin emphasizes the beauty of discovery in the writing process. He believes that while having a general direction for a story is essential, the unexpected twists and turns that emerge during writing contribute to the joy and excitement of storytelling. Following a comprehensive outline, in his view, could result in dull and uninspired writing.
Themes
CreativityWritingDiscoverySpontaneityStorytelling
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, to encourage students to embrace creativity, I might say this quote to stress the importance of exploring ideas spontaneously.
More from George R. R. Martin
All quotes →There is only one god and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: “Not today.
George R. R. MartinRead
I did not do it. Yet now I wish I had.’ He turned to face the hall, that sea of pale faces. ‘I wish I had enough poison for you all. You make me sorry that I am not the monster you would have me be, yet there it is. I am innocent, but I will get no justice here.
George R. R. MartinRead
But a voice inside her whispered, There are no heroes, and she remembered what Lord Petyr had said to her, here in this very hall. 'Life is not a song, sweetling,' he'd told her, 'You may learn that one day to your sorrow.' In life, the monsters win, she told herself.
George R. R. MartinRead
I write from this tight third-person viewpoint, where each chapter is seen through the eyes of one individual character. When I'm writing that character, I become that character and identify with that character.
George R. R. MartinRead
Once a man has seen a dragon in flight, let him stay home and tend his garden in content, someone had written once, for this wide world has no greater wonder." Tyrion scratched at his scar and tried to recall the author's name.
George R. R. MartinRead
Similar quotes
You want to be a writer, don't know how or when? Find a quiet place, use a humble pen.
Paul SimonRead
I still think it's really quite wonderful when I read a sentence of mine and it has that quality of lastingness.
V. S. NaipaulRead
Never before had a woman put such agonizing poetry on canvas as Frida did
Diego RiveraRead
My imagination is a kind of animal. So what I do is keep it alive.
Haruki MurakamiRead
The accidents of my life have given me the ability to make stories in which different parts of the world are brought together, sometimes harmoniously, sometimes in conflict, and sometimes both - usually both. The difficulty in these stories is that if you write about everywhere you can end up writing about nowhere.
Salman RushdieRead
At a certain place in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, for example, he might feel that he is floating above the earth in a starry dome, with the dream of immortality in his heart; all the stars seem to glimmer around him, and the earth seems to sink ever deeper downwards.
Friedrich NietzscheRead