Anne Perry Quotes

I love stories. I just enjoy telling stories and watching what these characters do - although writing continues to be just as hard as it always was.

Once I have the story in my head, I write it down. The illustrations usually come last.

Everyone has a story to tell. All you have to do is write it. But it's not that easy.

One of the things I love about my job as a playwright or as a screenwriter is that I get to do a lot of research and a lot of thinking and taking a lot of notes before I turn it in.

I don't think in terms of optimism and pessimism when writing a story. I am telling a story.

My stories run up and bite me on the leg - I respond by writing down everything that goes on during the bite. When I finish, the idea lets go and runs off.

I like to do the research of history and the creativity of writing fiction. I am creating this thing which I think is twice as difficult as writing either history or fiction.

As a writer, I absorb stories, allow them to churn within my own head and heart - often for years - until I find a way of telling them that fits both my time and temperament.

I want to be a part of the stories that need to be told.

Fiction is very important to me. It's what I do, it's what I do with my life.

I have another Russian idea, too, with a place and a period, so I guess I have enough to keep me busy for quite some time, especially considering that I'm such a slow writer.

Writing's still the most difficult job I've ever had - but it's worth it.

If I get blocked, it is generally because I don't know enough about some aspect of the story or the characters. The answer for this is generally more research, or making more background notes, so the place and person can be more fully realized inside my own mind.

I had written a story. I wrote the story out of some desperation, really, and I didn't know I was writing a story, and it took me years. And when I finished, a friend of mine had the idea that the story should be read as a monologue in a theater.

My first duty to write a gripping yarn. Second is to convey credible characters who make you feel what they feel. Only third comes the idea.

I taught English and history, so my education for that really helped prepare me for writing historical fiction.

After each of my books about the war has appeared, I thought it might be the last, but I've stopped saying that to myself. There are just too many stories left to tell - in fact, more all the time.

I simply love writing good stories, that's my passion.

I like the story writing process. I usually use someone who has been trained for structure to take the story that I actually want, place those elements in the right places.

The key for me with historical characters is they're interesting because they're human beings. A little bit of Hemingway goes a long way here, but journalists and writers should honestly look at their material and have a real interest, a real passion in what they want to write, and they should also have a lot of knowledge as well.

I don't really set out to explore grand themes. I set out to tell a story. And one I have to be able to imagine right through.

I started writing, or rather, thinking, stories as a child, and at that time the reason was very clear.

When I begin to write a story, I usually know how things will end. It's the journey toward that point I must discover. The process is sometimes painful, but also exciting.

I write in longhand and assemble lots of notes, and then I try to collate them into a coherent chronology. It's like groping along in the dark. I like writing and find it challenging, but I don't find it easy.

When I am writing anything in general, I just want to tell the story that exists in my head; I don't try to write a parable or make a point.