I don't start a story until I know where it's going to end.
Sometimes, like in 'Invisible Monsters,' I get too out of control, and instead of a plot point every chapter, I want a plot point in every sentence.
A lot of the best suspense operates on a careful withholding of information as opposed to the doling out of information.
Novelists have to be adept at controlling the flow of information, and, most crucially, they have to be in charge of the narrative.
The author always loads his dice, but he must never let the reader see that he has done so, and by the manipulation of his plot, he can engage the reader's attention so that he does not perceive the violence that has been done to him.
When you talk about fantasy, the usual problem is that whilst you've got the world of imagination, there are no controlling forces.
An author's characters do what he wants them to do.
I do read P.D. James because she pays much more attention to character, to a particular atmosphere or setting. But most mystery writers, I think, are controlled by the plot.
I always say that characters must drive plots, never the reverse. Writing about large-scale events creates the risk that the scope of the events themselves can overwhelm the characters. I emphatically do not want that. That was the only trepidation I felt when I started 'The Twilight War.'
I never want to be the all-knowing god of the story, manipulating what's to happen or the action.
I love a well-plotted story. But I'm just not that kind of writer, and it's not necessarily by choice. When I manipulate plot, I feel I lose authenticity.
In the novel, I can change things and simplify, and make events work towards whatever meanings I'm trying to get at more efficiently.
My stories do have plot. They're not just scattered language; they're controlled, toward an end.
The author always loads his dice, but he must never let the reader see that he has done so.
I certainly wanted to maintain some sense of mystery about Picard and that's why we never allowed certain situations to fully evolve, like the relationship between Picard and Beverly Crusher.
