But HBO is less interested in how many people are watching than in how much the people who are watching are liking the show. They didn't set up their business model to make writers happy. It's just a nice unintended consequence.

Just to clarify the division of labor on the show, I write the show and Alan [Poul] does everything else.

Humans know when it's not a good story. Unless you do this for a living, you may not know exactly why you don't like a story, but you can't fool an audience ever. They know when you have it and they know when you don't.

The stuff that I write doesn't work very well as background music. You have to watch it from beginning to end and pay attention as if you were watching a play.

When I write something, I want the best director to direct it. And that's not going to be me.

If I get an idea for a series that I really like, I'm sure I won't be able to resist coming back and doing it.

I'm not interested in the difference between good and bad, I'm interested in the differences between good and great.