{"id":20667,"date":"2015-11-18T15:01:25","date_gmt":"2015-11-18T21:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=20667"},"modified":"2015-11-18T15:01:25","modified_gmt":"2015-11-18T21:01:25","slug":"georgerrmartin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/georgerrmartin\/","title":{"rendered":"Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin honored by alma mater"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alexandra Garfield<\/strong><\/p>\n

Game of Thrones<\/em> author and producer George R. R. Martin is known for killing off many of his main characters in his novels \u2013 something that\u2019s a bit hard to do in journalism.<\/p>\n

But his achievements won him a title in journalism royalty this November. He was inducted into the Medill Hall of Achievement, an honor bestowed by Northwestern University\u2019s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. He is the author of the best-selling series, A Song of Ice and Fire<\/span><\/em>, the basis for the award-winning HBO drama Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones<\/em> is also the first book in the series.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Martin, a Medill alumnus, accepted his award in an auditorium packed with current Medill students and faculty.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all here because we\u2019re exceptionally grateful for the world of Westeros and the many worlds beyond it that George R. R. Martin created,\u201d said Medill graduate student Colleen Day in introducing him. \u201cIt\u2019s an amazing, amazing world to be in, but it\u2019s also kind of a problematic world to be in if you like your head.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin chuckled at Daly\u2019s joke.\u00a0\u201cI was very proud of my work at Medill. Graduating and getting my bachelors and masters, from the finest school of journalism in the United States, \u201d Martin said. \u201cBut I always felt vaguely guilty because afterwards I failed to do any actual, you know, journalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

He is, however, completely unrepentant about the bloodbaths in his books. He stated that death, like other aspects of his books, is part of life, history and the complexity of a character.<\/p>\n

“Nobody gets up in the morning\u00a0and thinks\u00a0what evil can I do today? Everybody thinks they\u2019re the hero in history. Nobody thinks they’re the villain.”
\n-George R. R. Martin<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the characters, it\u2019s the people that make a story interesting. You have to make them real, you have to make their emotional journey real,\u201d he explained. \u201cFiction is all about emotion. If you want to explain nuclear fusion, write an essay or a scientific paper or an article for a newspaper.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019The human heart in conflict with itself is the only thing worth writing about\u2019,\u201d he said, quoting from author William Faulkner\u2019s Nobel Prize acceptance speech. This is a mantra for his writing.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Winner of many awards and accolades, George R.R. Martin takes the stage at Northwestern University to be inducted into the Medill Hall of Achievement. (Alexandra Garfield\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Martin received his undergraduate degree from the Medill School of Journalism in 1970 before completing his Master\u2019s degree at the same school in 1971. (Alexandra Garfield\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Martin with Brad Hamm, the dean of Medill, holding Martin\u2019s Hall of Achievement award. (Alexandra Garfield\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Martin answered questions from a panel of journalists and Game of Thrones fans. From left to right: George R. R. Martin, current Medill student Orko Manna, former Medill student Niala Boodhoo, and journalist from Entertainment Weekly, Darren Franich. (Alexandra Garfield\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Martin answered questions, such as when his next book is coming out, from students, teachers and parents familiar with his work. (Alexandra Garfield\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Martin has written five of the seven books planned for the series, A Song of Ice and Fire, which inspired the Game of Thrones HBO program. He is currently writing the sixth book in the series, The Winds of Winter. (Alexandra Garfield\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Martin answered questions in front of a packed auditorium of current Medill students. (Alexandra Garfield\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Martin discussed everything from his time at Medill to writing techniques to his views on comic book plotlines. (Alexandra Garfield\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Attendees received stickers with the hashtag #GRRMatMedill which were promptly stuck onto laptops, shirts and motorcycle helmets (featured). (Alexandra Garfield\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
When asked how he wrote on days he had writers block, Martin discussed planning techniques for novels. \u201cThankfully I have an understanding spouse who doesn\u2019t mind when I say \u2018This is never going to work, I should have gone into real estate,\u2019\u201d he said. (Alexandra Garfield\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always intended for all of my characters to be grey. None of us are all black or all white or all good or all evil,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are all contradictory, mixed up human beings who have within ourselves the capacity for heroism, villainy and selfishness. Exploring that is one of the great pleasures of writing or reading fiction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students were quick to ask Martin about his grades while at Medill. \u201cI never got an F, thank God, that would have traumatized me,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n

He also told a colorful story about one of his teachers who said Martin\u2019s work was \u201ctoo cute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin said that this professor would \u201ccross out all my clever metaphors and well written stories and bring it back to, like, facts.\u201d He chuckled at the memory.<\/p>\n

“Fiction is all about emotion. If you want to explain nuclear fusion, write an essay or a scientific paper or an article for a newspaper. But if you want to explore people, the human heart in conflict with itself, how something impacts human beings and the lives they live and the shape of the world, that\u2019s what fiction is good for \u2013 the emotional part of it.”
\n-George R. R. Martin<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI think my Medill experience nonetheless was a huge part of where I am and what I have become,\u201d Martin admitted. \u201cIt helped shape my writing; it helped shape my views on the world. It made me the kind of person who can write the stories I\u2019ve gone on to write.\u201d He graduated with his BSJ in 1970 and his MSJ in 1971.<\/p>\n

Less than 1 percent of Medill graduates receive the Hall of Achievement award. Martin is the 152nd<\/sup> person in this prestigious group.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that, after so long, Medill would give me this recognition is an enormous pleasure,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n

Photo at top: George R. R. Martin receives Hall of Achievement Award from his alma mater. (Alexandra Garfield\/Medill)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alexandra Garfield Game of Thrones author and producer George R. R. Martin is known for killing off many of his main characters in his novels \u2013 something that\u2019s a bit hard to do in journalism. But his achievements won him a title in journalism royalty this November. He was inducted into the Medill Hall […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":20696,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,509,28],"tags":[192],"class_list":["post-20667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-fall-2015","category-general-interest","tag-promo"],"yoast_head":"\nGame of Thrones author George R. R. 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