David Benioff Quotes

Giving consumers the choice of having it all in one big bite means different viewers are in many different places in the book, making it hard to discuss without spoiling the plot. The intervals between first-run programming provide a space for communion and that tantalizing sense of anticipation.

In episodic TV you have to keep things secret to keep the viewer in suspense.

I like the idea of shows where I don't know where I'll be at the end of the season.

I hate to go to movies or watch a TV show and know the ending within 15 minutes.

What I find frustrating about scripted television is that it's rare that you are surprised by how you feel about the character, or how you feel about the show.

As a kid, I always loved serialized books. It's the reason why people love 'Harry Potter.' Serialization is amazing. It works in television. It works in film and it works in books. Especially when you're a young kid, you get attached to these characters.

It was unpredictable, good storytelling that brought you back each week.

When you think of a great twist or a red herring or a way of misdirecting the reader, it is good, but you know that they are just tricks at the end of the day, and the way to keep interest is to write characters that people care about.

That's how you get surprises, because what movies are all about is surprises.

The suspense of a novel is not only in the reader, but in the novelist, who is intensely curious about what will happen to the hero.

At the premieres, I always watch the audience. If a child asks to go to the bathroom, I know I've failed.

In a crime novel, if you are going to have a big revelation in chapter 30, you have to plant the information in chapters three and 11.

The thing with film and theater is that you always know the story so you can play certain cues in each scene with the knowledge that you know where the story's going to end and how it's going to go. But on television nobody knows what's going to happen, even the writers.

To answer that I have to describe what I think is my responsibility as a thriller writer: To give my readers the most exciting roller coaster ride of a suspense story I can possibly think of.

If you create a good story that has a lot of story value... I think audiences like that. It's why they stick with the same TV show over and over.

I think the tricky balance, the most important thing more than the horror is to have a compelling story, compelling drama, a show about great characters that you care about and you want to come back every week to see what they're up to.

As a writer, I try to appeal to the 'elusive boy audience' the same way I try to appeal to everyone: I do the very best I can to create interesting characters, addictive plots, tons of conflict, believable settings, unexpected plot twists, intriguing beginnings, and satisfying endings.

I like to be surprised. Fresh implications and plot twists erupt as a story unfolds. Characters develop backgrounds, adding depth and feeling. Writing feels like exploring.

In particular, I'm drawn to the stories that have big, high concepts and real characters at their heart. And I love where those two worlds meet, and 'Edge of Tomorrow' is the perfect canvas to explore that.

That's what fiction writers do: create characters and do terrible things to them for the entertainment of others. If they feel guilty enough, they write happy endings.

What I do is put my characters into situations that are so precarious there is no way to get out. And then I figure how to get them out.

I like making stories and characters that people can relate to. I also like giving the audience a departure from whatever they're thinking about in their life and enjoying a show or a movie.

I'm a huge fan of 'Buffy,' 'Angel' and 'Doctor Who.' People like Joss Whedon, Russell T. Davies, and Steven Moffat are really amazing about making you feel like you had a complete meal and yet leaving you hungry for more.

You just never know what the grand plan is on 'Dexter,' so I didn't know if I was going to make it to the next episode, let alone the next season!

I'm not much of a plotter. I start off with an inciting incident, and in classic crime fiction what happens is that all the action flows from that incident. It's very comfy when it all ties up and feels like a complete universe, but my stuff doesn't always work that way.