Ken Follett Quotes
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I want to tell a story that makes the reader always want to see what will happen next.
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I aim to be translucent, so you don't notice the words, just their meaning. I haven't much insight into people's motivations.
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I am very fond of Edith Wharton. She's quite high brow but also a great storyteller. My favorite is 'The House of Mirth.' I also like 'The Reef.'
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I might not be a good socialist, any more than I'm a good Christian, but I am one.
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Without books I would not have become a vivacious reader, and if you are not a reader you are not a writer.
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In my books, women often solve the problem. Even if the woman is not the hero, she's a strong character. She does change the plot. She'll often rescue the male character from some situation.
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I read mostly fiction, a lot of 19th-century novels.
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With the World War II era, there's so much written material to draw on. When you go back to the 14th century, you have to imagine more.
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After a certain point, most people, including editors, will tell you everything you do is great.
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My favorite period is World War II, and I'm in the middle of writing my fourth novel set in that era.
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World War II is the greatest drama in human history, the biggest war ever and a true battle of good and evil. I imagine writers will continue to get stories from it, and readers will continue to love them, for many more years.
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I went and looked at one of these great cathedrals one day, and I was blown away by it. From there I became interested in how cathedrals were built, and from there I became interested in the society that built the medieval cathedral. It occurred to me at some point that the story of the building of a cathedral could be a great popular novel.
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James Bond is quite serious about his drinks and clothing and cigarettes and food and all that sort of thing. There is nothing wry or amused about James Bond.
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Movies have influenced all writers, not just thriller writers.
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I have quite a few different Bibles. Having rejected my parents' religion, I still think the King James Bible is the most important work of literature in English. None of us can help being influenced by it.
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I enjoy learning technical details.
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I don't think there's any great mystery to writing female characters, so long as you talk to them. If you lived in a monastery and never met any women, maybe it would be difficult.
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People are much more complicated in real life, but my characters are as subtle and nuanced as I can make them. But if you say my characters are too black and white, you've missed the point. Villains are meant to be black-hearted in popular novels. If you say I have a grey-hearted villain, then I've failed.
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I wake up with the story in my head, so I really like to be at my desk about five minutes after I wake up. So I don't get dressed. I put on a bathrobe, I make tea and sit at my desk.
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Be a perfectionist.
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Most of my stories have some basis in fact.
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Culture clash is terrific drama.
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One of the hardest things for me, now that I'm famous, is finding people who can read my stuff and give me an honest critique.
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Listen, I wrote 10 unsuccessful books before I broke through, so I'm looking all the time to keep my books fascinating. I want to write what people want to read, not push any message.