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 read mostly fiction, a lot of 19th-century novels.
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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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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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I might not be a good socialist, any more than I'm a good Christian, but I am one.
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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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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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An awful lot of thriller writers write women rather badly. So just doing it OK gets a lot of credit.
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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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I use a professional researcher in New York who does all the legwork, all that stuff which would take me days and weeks of calling, waiting for people to call back.
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Most of my stories have some basis in fact.
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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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I'm a great planner, so before I ever write chapter 1, I work out what happens in every chapter and who the characters are. I usually spend a year on the outline.
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Culture clash is terrific drama.
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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.
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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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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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The research is the easiest. The outline is the most fun. The first draft is the hardest, because every word of the outline has to be fleshed out. The rewrite is very satisfying.
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I like reading history, and actually most authors enjoy the research part because it is, after all, easier than writing.
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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 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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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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The CIA's research program is described in a book called The Search for the Manchurian Candidate.