Deborah Moggach Quotes

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.

Don't set pen to paper until you know your main characters inside out. Create files detailing their appearances, likes, dislikes, and personal background. You may not use all the information, but it is a crucial step in planning your story.

I'm about my characters.

For 'The Bestseller'... there was hardly any research, but I had to give each person a quirk and develop their stories so that it would relate to who they are.

I think you've got to understand your character and where they're coming from.

You're living with these characters for years and years, you need to have a lock on who they are as people, what they like, what they don't like, what they experience, and what they go through.

I mean, can I really create a full, three-dimensional character? I don't know anymore. I'm certainly going to try.

When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.

You've got to leave the reader with more than just a name and a costume - they need to know who the character is, what they're like, what kind of attitude they have, what sort of role they play.

Any author of fiction will tell you that characters don't need to be told what to do.

I love those preliminary conversations about who a character is. You try on wigs, shoes and clothes. It's preferable when it's not about looking pretty. It can get a little dull to just be cute. We talk about things like, maybe my character can't afford these Christian Louboutins.

A character who is thought-out is not born, he or she is contrived. A born character is round, a thought-out character is flat.

I've got to write about my character every day. I've got to find out where he lives, what bus he catches to school, and stuff like that. You've got to know every little thing about him so when you do it, it feels natural.

I like to take a character and develop it.

I have a cheat-sheet for each one of my characters about their personality, the way they look, etc. So there is no possible way that I could have writer's block.

Usually when I'm trying to establish character, I try and find out where they live.

What I'm really trying to do is create unique characters.

For me, plot always comes out of character, so I had to be sure of my characters.

I want to give every single character the dimensions and complexity of a main character.

I think my best quality as a writer is the ability to craft complicated, nuanced, interesting characters.

When it comes to a character, I make sure that it adds to the plot.

In 'Poster Boys,' every character is well defined.

I want to give my characters nuance.

I'm interested in characters. I love them, and I love to write them.

Great novels have great characterization no matter what. But multiple points of view let me examine characters from entirely different perspectives, allowing me to learn more about everyone in the process.