Greatness in writing comes in different forms, and two shining examples of this virtue are prolific authors Stephen King and George R.R. Martin. While King is popularly known as the ‘King of Horror’ for his masterful depiction of narratives in the genre like The Shining, Martin is the bonafide genius of fantasy with Game Of Thrones.
The two writers are also members of the mutual admiration club and have always been extremely respectful of each other’s abilities. King and Martin regaled audiences in an exclusive chat in which their immersive discussion proved that the two novelists had very different methods when it came to the art of writing.
George R.R. Martin And Stephen King’s Chat Shed Light On Their Chalk And Cheese Approaches
There is nothing like two legends in any field getting together for an inspiring discussion on their craft. Novelists extraordinaire George R.R. Martin and Stephen King gave fans an opportunity to do just that. In a candid interview, the prolific authors spoke about various aspects of writing including their specific process to envisioning a novel.
In the chat that is now on YouTube, Martin was particularly stunned by King’s speed and consistency regarding churning out novels one after another. The Carrie author adressed this question in detail and revealed the very mathematical manner in which he approached the task of putting pen to paper.
The way I work, I try to get six pages a day, so with a book like End of Watch, I’m working every day three, four hours and I try to get those six pages, and I try to keep it fairly clean. So if the manuscripts is let’s say 360 pages long, that’s basically two months work.That’s assuming that it goes well.
The Game of Thrones writer revealed that he had a very different MO in which he admitted to writing 3 chapters in 6 months which he considered to be a big achievement for him. He questioned The Shining author about the possibility of going through writers block during the process, especially with such a planned schedule.
You don’t ever get a day where you sit down there and it’s like constipation, and you write a sentence and you hate the sentence, and you check your mail and you wonder if you had any talent after all and maybe, you should have been a plumber….?
Responding to this, King revealed that as a writer, he had conditioned himself to live his daily life with all his regular routines taking place during the day while also ensuring that his quota of six pages would be the focal point always.
Here’s What To Expect From George R.R. Martin’s The Hedge Knight
George R.R. Martin’s brilliance as a writer saw him create many epic works that have become massive series on television. Now, after the iconic Game Of Thrones and House of the Dragon, fans will get to witness Martin’s famous novellas come to life.
The first part of the Tales of Dunk and Egg trilogy is The Hedge Knight which is set between the events in House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, and has been given the green flag by HBO (via Variety) to be developed into a series.
The story follows the adventures of two unlikely heroes, a brave knight called Ser Duncan the Tall aka ‘Dunk’ and his young squire ‘Egg’ who becomes the future King Aegon V Targaryen.
On his website Not A Blog, Martin gave fans many details of what to expect from the show including the actors who had been cast in the central roles. Former rugby player Peter Claffey will portray Ser Duncan the Tall while child actor Dexter Sol Ansell will play the young King Aegon V Targaryen.
The writer took the opportunity to also address the physicality of the lead character to give fans some clarity about the casting choices. While he termed Claffey as tall and therefore a good fit for the role, he admitted that it was obviously not possible for him to attain the extraordinary height required for Ser Duncan.
Having said that, the author assured his fans that this difference would not be conspicuous thanks to technology that could do wonders to transform the appearance of anyone based on the requirements of the role. He also spoke highly of his lead actor and said,
”His readings were terrific. I think you’re going to love him.”
Martin also lauded Ansell as the perfect choice for Egg and revealed that he was wise beyond his years. He was confident that the two actors would feed off each other and make a perfect pair in the show.
