John Sandford Quotes

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.

Creating characters is like throwing together ingredients for a recipe. I take characteristics I like and dislike in real people I know, or know of, and use them to embellish and define characters.

When I develop a character, I usually start by creating a backstory with whatever information I have access to.

I try to create characters that I am fascinated by on some level or intrigued by or can't stand.

You always have to create the character from the ground up.

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

What makes characters real are details, and if you're crafting a person from scratch, you're probably not going to pay as much attention to a question like, 'Does this person bite their nails?'

I usually don't find myself reacting to my characters. I just create them ... And let the audience decide whether they're empathetic or scared or compelled to cheer me on.

For every book that I write... I develop a history for each person and make sure they are well rounded and flawed. You have to know everything about them from their shoe size, to where they went to school, to what their first pet was, to what they like to eat, to what they want out of life.

Sympathetic characters usually have a voice. They usually don't have any trouble being heard.

I tend to come up with people more than situations - most of my books start with a character.

I seem to have to make my characters family before I can access their hearts in any way that matters.

When you're crafting a character, it's good to have a lot of influences.

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.

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.

I'm about my characters.

Developing characters is a strange thing. In the beginning they are abstract and I wonder how to move on from there.

You establish a technique on how to develop characters. Everyone does it their own way, and that's what makes it fun.

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

You have to start from a place of trying to create a character.

When you create a character, you create it for yourself - you do whatever you want. It's your job to explore it in as many different avenues as you can in order to make it a fully wounded character.

You have to add some sort of dimension to each of your characters because everyone has their own layers.

It's very hard to connect with a character when you haven't gotten a sense of who they are.

In creating a new character, it's sometimes difficult to find a touchstone, a North Star that will always point you in the direction that character will travel.

Audiences need to engage with characters.