Gayle Forman Quotes

Remember, if you don't feel passionate about the characters and subject of your story, your readers won't either.

I'm always sorry to finish a book, to let go of characters I love, people I've struggled to understand for years, people who evolve before me.

Besides the mistakes that are pointed out, I love the way readers become involved with the characters. When readers start asking about character motivations instead of concentrating on the special effects, it means you're connecting with them on a personal level.

That first meeting - the one where the hero and heroine start the slow burn that takes the whole story to turn into true love - is the single most important part of the whole book. Nail it, and you've won yourself readers.

If you don't have people that the reader cares about and stories that are gripping, you've got nothing.

The one test I have for every completed book is if I feel head over heels in love with the hero. If he hasn't stolen my heart from the previous hero, I know the book isn't right.

If there is no love between the author and the story, there is no love between the reader and the story.

The good romances are as good as anything.

I'd say Rob Reiner's 'When Harry Met Sally' is my all-time favorite. It made me realize there's a way of telling a story where the audience is so in love with the characters that they forget you're even telling a story.

I write edgy, sexy teen romances, and that's what I'll continue to do.

All I can guess is that when I write, I forget that it's not real. I'm living the story, and I think people can read that sincerity about the characters. They are real to me while I'm writing them, and I think that makes them real to the readers as well.

The bones of the story of 'War Horse' is a love story. That's what makes it universal.

I want to make it so that so many things happen... that you didn't expect would happen in this series, that you realize that you have to read every one of them.

If I had to put a name to it, I would wish that all my books were entertainments. I think the first thing you've got to do is grab the reader by the ear, and make him sit down and listen. Make him laugh, make him feel. We all want to be entertained at a very high level.

Well, it's difficult to fall in love with a character when you just read the pilot. You don't really know who the character is.

First and foremost, I consider myself a storyteller. And I'm endlessly fascinated with people, with what they do and why... and how they feel about it. Which means I'm interested in romance fiction. I was drawn to it, as both a reader and a writer, at the very beginning of my career. It's my kind of storytelling.

'Puffball' is a love story... no, it's a life story.

I am very lucky that I get to tell stories for a living. I love being able to grab people's attention, to keep them turning the pages, to make them stay awake all night. I want to stir the pulse, yes, but also to stir the heart. I hope 'The Woods' does that.

Once I fall in love, finishing a story leaves a hole in my heart. The characters become your friends.

A good story should make you laugh, and a moment later break your heart.

If you have great characters, then your reader becomes emotionally invested in those people.

I'd get bored if I... if I had to do a movie, and there was no love story in it, I would just be bored. I mean, I would do it, but it would be kind of boring.

We all love a bit of 'true love conquers all,' and when I started on 'Poison,' 'Charm' and 'Beauty,' that was one rule of the fairy tale formula that I didn't want to break.

I love stories with love in them. I just prefer those films. Every so often, I come across a film where there's no love story. It doesn't have to be romantic, but there's a lack of love, and I don't get that.

This thing called chemistry, which I can't define and wouldn't know how to, either works or it doesn't. Sometimes a love story can involve very talented actors, but we are not invested emotionally in whether they end up together.