I recently came across the following list on Amazon:  “100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books to Read in a Lifetime.”

As a fantasy writer myself, I decided to spend the next few years reading every book on this list and record the lessons I learned from each volume on how to be a great writer.

PLOT: Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones. – goodreads.com

LESSONS LEARNED: Because we are within a week of the final episode of the TV show Game of Thrones, I thought I should go back and investigate what we can learn from the books. Specifically, the very beginning of the series.

To put it mildly, the latest season has been “controversial.” While I’ve personally been enjoying it more than others, many fans are divided over the show’s final episodes. That being said, I think most people who have watched the show or read the books will agree that for the most part George R.R. Martin is a fantastic storyteller. Even more people will agree that he has formed a mind-bogglingly complex story.

The book series (which is somehow even more intricate than the show) contains literally hundreds of characters spread out across dozens of storylines. A Song of Ice and Fire (the name of the book series) is a vast saga that is so intricate it is nearly impossible for the casual reader to fit all the puzzle pieces together.  

So how does one begin telling such a complicated story?

First of all, I should say that if this is your first novel, start with a simpler story. Martin was already an established author when he first wrote A Game of Thrones. Creating a novel, even one with a straight forward plot, is an Everest of a challenge. And the writing part isn’t all you will have to worry about. You will also have to make sure the story and characters make sense to an agent, editors, publishers and readers in general. Personally, I have never tried to write anything nearly as convoluted and probably never will.

If you are an aspiring author and the only story burning in your belly is an epic as vast as A Song of Ice and Fire, I would say take the best of the plot lines along with your best developed characters and focus on them. If you’re successful, the rest of the story will be waiting.

Now back to the book. Even if your novel isn’t as colossal as Martin’s masterpiece (which is still frustratingly unfinished), there is plenty you can learn from him.

One of the best lessons comes at the very beginning of the series. In the opening chapters, Eddard Stark, one of the book’s central characters, learns that the “Hand to the King” (basically, a principle advisor), has died and King Robert is traveling north to convince him to be the next Hand.

For such a complex story, that is a deceivingly simple set up. It also happens to be very intriguing. The death of the Hand signals change not just in the lives of the characters but also in the country as a whole. This situation is made more interesting by rumors that the Hand was murdered, implying that Eddard and his family might be in danger.

So there’s the first thing we can take away from the books. No matter how complex your story ends up being, give us a situation we can wrap our heads around (Harry Potter didn’t start off with lists of Horcruxes and a history of magical society, it began with a lonely boy accidentally releasing a boa constrictor).

But there is more to be learned here:

While King Robert is visiting, the Starks throw a feast. Those in attendance include: Eddard Stark, his wife Catelyn, their children Rob, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon and Eddard’s “bastard,” Jon. There is also King Robert, his wife, their children and her brothers Jaime and Tyrion. That’s a whole lot of people. It also includes all but one of the novel’s major point of view characters.  

By placing all these characters in one location we see how they interact with one another. We are introduced to their larger than life personalities (King Robert is a glutton, his oldest son is a psychopath and his wife and her brother are… If you don’t know by now, just read the books.) What’s more, many of the characters don’t know each other, we meet them as they are gathering for the first time and see them through each other’s eyes.

After the feast ends, the characters head out in several directions, triggering events that will tear the kingdom apart. But it all starts at this one feast, where they are gathered together and we are introduced to their personalities, views and ambitions. By putting most of the first book’s central characters in a single physical location, Martin gives the rest of his saga a solid foundation upon which we can understand his major players.  

In short, if you find yourself writing a story with a large cast of characters stretched out across multiple storylines, find some way to start them out in a single location so we can get to know them as they are introduced to each other. Then send them out into the world you have created to face whatever joy or pain is waiting for them there.