Writers are stalled adolescents, but contentedly stalled; they enjoy their house arrest.
-- Narrator (Preludial)

Importance: This quote connects to the theme of the writer’s life, one of the most prevalent topics of Inside Story. Martin states it to his houseguest as he shows him to the apartment where he will be staying. In the Interludial writing guide sections, Martin describes one of the ways a writer is “an adolescent”: he sees his reality with fresh eyes. Martin demonstrates this trait of seeing thing with fresh eyes by using rich, sensory imagery to describe the people and places of the novel.

Towards the end of your life you have something like a pain schedule to fill out—a long schedule like a federal document, only it’s your pain schedule. First physical causes…next category injured vanity, betrayal, swindle, injustice. But the hardest items of all have to do with love. The question...
-- Saul (Part 1, Chapter 3)