Write what you care about and understand. Writers should never try to outguess the marketplace in search of a salable idea; the simple truth is that …

- Richard North Patterson

No one should be judged by the worst moment of his life.

- Richard North Patterson

Problem was that we could make things worse but we couldn't make anything better.

- Richard North Patterson

The rulings of the past do not always apply in the present.

- Richard North Patterson

Morally repugnant and tactically stupid are a lousy combination.

- Richard North Patterson

The writer must always leave room for the characters to grow and change. If you move your characters from plot point to plot point, like painting by …

- Richard North Patterson

The only judgment that truly matters is the final judgment.

- Richard North Patterson

Writing is rewriting. A writer must learn to deepen characters, trim writing, intensify scenes. To fall in love with the first draft to the point whe…

- Richard North Patterson

Writing is akin to method acting. Before the writer can render a fully convincing world, he or she must inhabit that world, and every major character…

- Richard North Patterson