The best writing advice I had was [in] โHeinleinโs Rules for Writersโ by (American science fiction author) Robert A. Heinlein. His first rule is that you must write, and I was already doing that, but his second rule is, โYou must finish what you write,โ and that had a big impact on me.
George R. R. MartinI try to make the readers feel they've lived the events of the book. Just as you grieve if a friend is killed, you should grieve if a fictional character is killed. You should care. If somebody dies and you just go get more popcorn, it's a superficial experience isn't it?
George R. R. MartinMy dreams are the usual incoherent nonsense. Like most writers, at some point in my career I thought, well, I have these great dreams but I always forget them in the morning so Iโll leave a pad on my bedside table so I can write it down, and then you have some incredible dream and you write it down and the next morning you wake up and youโve written โpurple socksโ.
George R. R. Martin