Writing Advice From George RR Martin That You Might Have Missed...

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

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[@AntonChigurification]

Just sent you some content! Lol. Hope all is well, Kieren. :)

[@Eldalynn]

Writing is so much more than I ever imagined and truly it’s about the people inside the pages. Characters for me don’t need to be likable, just interesting to read about.

[@TedMattos]

Regarding seeing things through a bad character's eyes - I used to tell my fourth-grade students, "Please remember. The antagonist is the protagonist in his own story."

[@BrittanyPutzer]

Great advice. I haven't read anything from this author but the advice is sound imo. Thank you for sharing ❤

[@NicoleWilbur]

Ooo love the different approaches to multi-POV ! I wrote my most recent project same as you - in chronological order but I definitely think I will need to read and outline each POV separately on the editing process! Also love the editing advice...very helpful for where I am now!

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Yeah I couldn't do it his way, there's no way I'd be able to keep track and join all the stories up that way. How have you found writing multi-POV? It's definitely harder in some ways, but I've found it helped me stay enthusiastic for the story because of the variation.

[@maxengstrom2997]

Kieren, I always watch your videos as you create material that is clear and consequent , and I start thinking “How didn’t I get myself?” Obviously, the content is complex and complicated but you deconstruct it carefully so everything becomes transparent. I like your editing a lot and I wonder how much time you spend on creating a new video.

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Thank you! Appreciate the support on the channel. It varies depending on the video, author advice ones like this are quicker to make, from writing the script, recording and editing I think probably about 8-10 hours, but it's spread over a week or so when I can find the time. More complex videos are easily 20 hours, which is why I can't make as many of those!

[@maxengstrom2997]

Thanks for the response, I really appreciate the efforts you put in your channel!

[@kenneth1767]

Thanks got these Martin thoughts.

[@capitalisa]

Your video is well done. I benefitted from it twice as much, because your followers comments are just as brilliant. Thank you to all.

[@litabrooker7872]

I started writing this novel in 2018. It was bung full of characters Omniscient POV, past tense. That didn't work. Then I tried writing it from several POVs, past tense. That worked for a long while until it didn't. I gave up on it for a year or so. This year from February to June, I wrote a full draft: First Person, Present Tense, and was completely engaged in the story for the first time (apologies if I've shared that before. I'm still excited!). Started proof-reading, editing, and revising this month. While the book and I took a break from each other, I wrote a short story. But I could never, ever write a George RR Martin type tome! 😆 He's right about having to reach inside oneself to create a novel (or any other kind of art).

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

Congratulations for finishing the draft! Being even somewhat happy with a finished draft is a great situation to be in. I know what you mean though, my last book had 4 POVs which was fun, but they didn't intersect in the same way GRRMs do and it wasn't nearly as long! I couldn't do that either.

[@litabrooker7872]

@@KierenWestwoodWriting 🙂

[@joshuam2212]

i write multi pov in order but never find it draining my hardest story i have written was in just one pov because if he didn't know something i had to have someone else explaining it witch takes more time then having some who live in the new word give a little narrative and move on

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

For sure, that limitation is another kind of difficulty all of its own. I know what you mean!

[@cristianhakansson7443]

For a pantser/gardener like Martin I think it also makes sense to keep writing one character's story in order to learn it himself, then switch and learn more of another character when the continuation is no longer clear

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

That's a great point. I'd be surprised if that's not exactly what he does. It still feels really cohesive though. I couldn't do it that way!

[@sarahalbert6833]

Thanks for another brilliant video 😁

[@JoeyPaulOnline]

I like the point about empathy even with the worst characters like yes very much true!

[@One_Flew_West]

I love these, they are so helpful. Have you heard of Glen Duncan? He's my favourite author. He writes in the most exciting, vivid, sensual way. I highly recommend his books Weathercock, The Bloodstone Papers, and I, Lucifer. Since reading his work, I struggle to find other authors who make me as gripped to a story as he does.

[@KierenWestwoodWriting]

I haven’t but thanks for the recommendation! ☺️

[@philm9593]

Sound advice, Kieren. However, how do you get absorbed into the mindset of an evil antagonist when the landscape of your story is being depicted in 1st person through the eyes of your hero? 🤔

[@mezlyndon662]

I think this is a great question. I've been considering a similar thing in my current story - it's not 1st person, but none of the chapters are from the antagonist's pov. I think one option (& what I'm planning to do as I go along) is to write maybe half a dozen scenes from the pov of the antagonist, just to get into their headspace, but then rewrite them from the main character's pov for the actual book. Extra work, but could be a good way to help understand the antagonist's thought process in the scenes that matter most to him. I think writing scenes from the pov of any character, even minor ones, can be useful in understanding them (especially if you're more than half 'pantser' like me), but their pov doesn't have to end up in the book.

[@philm9593]

​@@mezlyndon662I read a quote recently ( can't remember the author) that character drives plot and not the other way around. This makes sense. So your idea of doing a deep dive into the antagonist mindset may have the knock-on effect of moving a story forward. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, which has given me something to chew on. 👍

[@colofthedead6101]

Some 1st person novels use 3rd-person POV when switching to the antagonist. It's all about execution.

[@philm9593]

@@colofthedead6101 Thanks.

[@VampireNinjaBunnies]

Try writing one shots from your antagonist's point of view that are just for you. I do this and find it's a great exercise for getting to know a character.

[@allenyates3469]

I love his writing but despise his opinions on just about everything I've heard him speak on lol

[@minipets2215]

sir please make a video on- how to change the pov from one to another when I wanna switch and add new story of the running protagonist from the first pov. for example- I am writing a couple story but the story belong to the boy pov and they spent the time together and after the half of the story I wanna switch to girl pov with revealing her secrets with the day spend with him. how I can write that. And is it ok, If I am adding new pov after half of the story? please reply.

[@v.w.singer9638]

Regarding POV, I'm not sure what Martin is talking about. No character is omniscient. It is the narrator, basically the author, who is omniscient. Everyone else just muddles along as usual. The "omniscience" allows the narrator to pick the appropriate scenes and conversations that best move the story along, and to provide just the right amount of information for the story to make sense. The narrator has hindsight, the characters act in real time.