Jane Gardam Quotes

Here's what happens in a play. You get involved in a situation where something is unbalanced. If nothing's unbalanced, there's no reason to have a play. If Hamlet comes home from school, and his dad's not dead and asks him if he's had a good time, it's boring. But if something's unbalanced, it must be returned to order.

Storytelling is about two things; it's about character and plot.

I'm first and foremost interested in the story, the characters.

I love good stories; you have to have a good plot - characters which intertwine with a good plot.

Novels usually evolve out of 'character.' Characters generate stories, and the shape of a novel is entirely imagined but should have an aesthetic coherence.

It was always about the story rather than the character.

Good stories are driven by conflict, tension, and high stakes.

Every drama requires a cast. The cast may be so huge, as in Leo Tolstoy's 'Anna Karenina,' that the author or editor provides a list of characters to keep them straight. Or it may be an intimate cast of two.

I'd like to be in anything that tells a good story and has an interesting character.

I think a good story's a good story and a good character's a good character.

Anything with a good story and characters I think would be great.

It's always the story that interests me.

A novel is about people.

Usually, you just have a hero and a villain - in any movie, not just a superhero movie.

Roles don't fascinate me. It is the narrative, the screenplay that is fascinating.

Well, I'm always drawn to the drama first. A story is really only interesting to me, if you can remove all of the genre moments and remove the supernatural element, and it still works. Then, I'm interested.

You can be technically strong, and focus all your efforts on elements like casting, music, cinematography and sets, but they are all just add ons. End of the day, filmmaking is really about how well you tell a story.

I want to be a part of good stories. It's not about my role, but the overall story that counts.

A compelling story requires conflict, friction, an obstacle to be overcome.

The writing is only ever the attractive thing about a part. And also if all the elements within the writing come together - the character and the structure and the narrative - if they are all there then you become excited.

'Annapurna' is a sort of novel. It's a novel, but a true novel.

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

A story is how we construct our experiences.

Fans want to see a story with characters, and they want to see a story.

I like to tell stories that have beginnings, middles and ends.