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 the numbers, they often remain stick figures. They will never take on a life of their own. The most exciting thing is when you find a character doing something surprising or unplanned. Like a character saying to me: ‘Hey, Richard, you may think I work for you, but I don’t. I’m my own person.’
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
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
No one should be judged by the worst moment of his life.
The rulings of the past do not always apply in the present. - Richard North Patterson
The rulings of the past do not always apply in the present.
Morally repugnant and tactically stupid are a lousy combination. - Richard North Patterson
Morally repugnant and tactically stupid are a lousy combination.
Problem was that we could make things worse but we couldn't make anything better. - Richard North Patterson
Problem was that we could make things worse but we couldn't make anything better.
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 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 …
The only judgment that truly matters is the final judgment. - Richard North Patterson
The only judgment that truly matters is the final judgment.
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
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…
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 rewriting. A writer must learn to deepen characters, trim writing, intensify scenes. To fall in love with the first draft to the point whe…
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