The true horrors of human history derive not from orcs and Dark Lords, but from ourselves.
George R. R. MartinOne of the hardest parts of writing is writing from the gut or the heart or something like that rather than intellectually.
George R. R. MartinFree folk don't follow names, or little cloth animals sewn on a tunic," the King-Beyond-the-Wall had told him. "They won't dance for coins, they don't care how your style yourself or what that chain of office means or who your grandsire was. They follow strength. They follow the man.
George R. R. Martin