Michael K. Williams Quotes

Because I never plan anything out ahead of time, I'm always in the process of learning about my characters. Without a biographical sketch to guide me, I discover things about my heroines as the stories unfold. Only in 'Body Double' did I discover that Maura's mother was a serial killer.

I have specific playlists for different books and characters. So, I need to have those with me. It helps me get into the mindset of the book.

It always helps me connect with characters, to think about what music they respond to.

I spend a lot of time with my characters.

I try to begin with a strong grasp of my characters. Even if it's schematic, I need it clear in my head who these people are.

I make up names for people all the time - it's part of writing. Very often, the name comes with the character, along with of a sense of who they are and what they do.

All characters come from people I know, but after the initial inspiration, I tend to modify the characters so they fit with the story.

I always do that for all of my characters. I built a music playlist for her... with songs she really likes.

That's the novelist's job: to peel back the layers and look underneath.

I don't ever really know where I get my characters from.

I became, and remain, my characters' close and intent watcher: their director, never. Their creator I cannot feel that I was, or am.

My writing process is such that a story will be in my head for awhile, and I'll start making notes on my computer. I create character sheets that include a character's past, fears, goals and ambitions.

I find it an easy way into writing pieces is to think what the character's voice is like, and start from there.

I don't listen to music when I write, but I do turn on appropriate music when I read portions of my manuscripts back to myself - kind of like adding a soundtrack to help shape mood.

Making playlists can kill a whole afternoon for me. I like building very specific playlists for new writing projects. In a strange way, choosing certain songs is part of the process of plotting the book out. I pick songs that I think with resonate with characters, their personality quirks, relationship dynamics, action scenes, and so on.

I started improvising the Cliff character, based on someone I grew up with.

Sometimes a character is really based on research that you do. Other times it's just based on your imagination or perhaps your conversation with the director. Or sometimes all of the above. It depends on the movie and character.

As a writer, it's a great narrative tool to have that character who is slightly detached but at the same time observant of his reality, because I think that's pretty much what being a writer is - being there, watching and internalizing.

I never base characters on real people. There are people who do that but I really don't know how to do it.

The characters in my stories, whether historical or fictional, usually prove to be a compilation of influences taken from differing sources, but never drawn from one model.

The great thing about writing is that you always put yourself in the shoes of the character. If you're doing it right, you can see into the heart of all your characters. Usually, when there's a writing problem, it's because you aren't doing that.

I'm at the mercy of whatever character comes into my head.

There are bits of me in all my characters.

When I'm writing a story, which takes me a year or more, I can feel my character living with me - they're responding to whatever funny, familial, or social situation I'm in, and I think about their responses constantly.

What comes to me always is a character, a scene, a moment. That's going to be the beginning. Then, as I write, I begin to perceive an ending. I begin to see a destination, although sometimes that changes. And then, of course, there's the whole middle section looming.