What I'm Reading

I'm reading A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin, the second volume of A Song of Ice and Fire (it's hard for me not to write fire and ice instead.)

I've never heard of the series or of Martin until I saw the HBO series, Game of Thrones (the title is from the first volume.) I love the series; you can almost say I'm obsessed with it. I'm on the third round of watching the complete series (the last two episodes are left.) I've also caught parts of episodes by chance.

I finished the book, A Game of Thrones last week. I see the characters as the actors who portray them. For the most part, the casting is dead on. I'm intrigued by the differences between the novel and series. Most of the changes I've noticed condense or consolidate scenes and actions or reflect differences in exposition between the written and visual arts.

I read somewhere that Martin was inspired by Britain's War of the Roses. The Starks represent the House of York and the Lannisters the Lancasters. I wouldn't see that if I hadn't read it; in fact, I'm not sure I see it now. Martin's world, regardless of similarities to ours, is his own.

I remember my own ambitious plans for science fiction novels set in new worlds of my imagination. I submitted a few chapters to a writing teacher and anxiously awaited her one-on-one critique. I worried she would say something like--writing just isn't for you, why don't you try something else.

Her criticism was milder. She thought I was too distant from my science fiction writing compared to my other, more personal work. She also discouraged my multiple point of view approach; she thought it was too confusing. But for an wide-ranging story in a new world, I think a multiple point of view is preferable, if not required (i.e. A Song of Ice and Fire and Dune.) Martin titles each chapter with the point of view character so there's no confusion there.

I still keep my science fiction worlds in the back of my mind. I've saved those first chapters of my novels, notes and images that I pulled to inspire me. Someday, I'll return to them.