George R. R. Martin reveals which Game of Thrones character was the hardest to write

With a number of best-selling books to his credit, Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin is one of today’s most talented novelists. Martin is already working on various spinoff projects, like the precursor to Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon. Like most writers, Martin started out in obscurity and is familiar with the challenges faced by writers working in the film and television industries.

George R. R. Martin reveals the hardest character to write

In a Q&A session back in 2012 while chatting with TIFF Originals, Martin talked about who was the most complex character for him:

“The most difficult character to write is Bran. He has always been the hardest. He is the youngest viewpoint character, which you know, is difficult in itself. Because when you are writing a character that young, you can’t simply write what’s going on. You have to filter everything through, “ok, he’s 8 years old”. What does he understand, He’s seeing the scene.”

“Does he actually understand what’s going on in this scene? Like when he comes upon Jaime and Cersei, as well as they don’t have any clothes on, they’re wrestling. You know, because an 8-year-old has a different way of perceiving things. So you always have that issue.”

How Bran’s traumatic experience made him more difficult to write

Martin continued to explain what makes writing about Bran even more difficult:

“His language has to be carefully considered. What words does he know. How would an 8-year-old phrase a sentence. Then later of course Bran has his traumatic event and now he’s unable to use his legs. So, out of necessity, he becomes a passive character. He can’t get along anymore. He can’t climb a tower or run around a courtyard. So you are reliant on other characters to move him about and that imposes a certain passivity on him that can be overcome but it takes some thought.” 

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