I've always taken that as my guiding principle and the rest is just set dressing. You can have dragons in it, or aliens and starships, or a western about a gunslinger, or even literary fiction, and ultimately you're still writing about the human heart in conflict with itself.
George R. R. MartinThe way my books are structured, everyone was together, then they all went their separate ways and the story deltas out like that, and now itโs getting to the point where the story is beginning to delta back in, and the viewpoint characters are occasionally meeting up with each other now and being in the same point at the same time, which gives me a lot more flexibility for killing people.
George R. R. MartinThe morning had dawned clear and cold, with a crispness that hinted at the end of summer.
George R. R. MartinGive me honorable enemies rather than ambitious ones, and I'll sleep more easily by night.
George R. R. Martin