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Ken Follett Quotes

Powerful Ken Follett for Daily Growth

I am very fond of Edith Wharton. She's quite high brow but also a great storyteller. My favorite is 'The House of Mirth.' I also like 'The Reef.'

- Ken Follett

Like, Storyteller, Very, Mirth

I started writing stories in my spare time.

- Ken Follett

Writing, Started, Stories, Spare Time

I start with the history, and I ask myself, 'What are the great turning points? What are the big dramatic scenes that are essential to telling the story?'

- Ken Follett

Big, Telling, Turning Points, Essential

World War II is the greatest drama in human history, the biggest war ever and a true battle of good and evil. I imagine writers will continue to get stories from it, and readers will continue to love them, for many more years.

- Ken Follett

Love, Good, World War, Human History

There was a very serious communist strain among American intellectuals before the war. America was a more tolerant place in those days, and Communists were not treated as pariahs. That ended with the McCarthy era.

- Ken Follett

Communist, Strain, Very, Communists

Thrillers have been traditionally very masculine books; the women characters often rather decorative.

- Ken Follett

Very, Masculine, Characters, Decorative

The research is the easiest. The outline is the most fun. The first draft is the hardest, because every word of the outline has to be fleshed out. The rewrite is very satisfying.

- Ken Follett

Research, Very, Rewrite, Satisfying

An awful lot of thriller writers write women rather badly. So just doing it OK gets a lot of credit.

- Ken Follett

Doing, Badly, Awful Lot, OK

I like to create imaginary characters and events around a real historical situation. I want readers to feel: OK, this probably didn't happen, but it might have.

- Ken Follett

Happen, Like, Might, OK

I read mostly fiction, a lot of 19th-century novels.

- Ken Follett

Lot, Mostly, Read, Novels

People are much more complicated in real life, but my characters are as subtle and nuanced as I can make them. But if you say my characters are too black and white, you've missed the point. Villains are meant to be black-hearted in popular novels. If you say I have a grey-hearted villain, then I've failed.

- Ken Follett

Life, Villain, Villains, Novels

We all now tell stories by cutting from one dramatic scene to the next, whereas Victorian novelists felt free to write long passages of undramatic summary.

- Ken Follett

Next, Stories, Summary, Whereas

James Bond is quite serious about his drinks and clothing and cigarettes and food and all that sort of thing. There is nothing wry or amused about James Bond.

- Ken Follett

Nothing, Drinks, James, Cigarettes

In my books, women often solve the problem. Even if the woman is not the hero, she's a strong character. She does change the plot. She'll often rescue the male character from some situation.

- Ken Follett

Strong, Woman, Some, Rescue

I went and looked at one of these great cathedrals one day, and I was blown away by it. From there I became interested in how cathedrals were built, and from there I became interested in the society that built the medieval cathedral. It occurred to me at some point that the story of the building of a cathedral could be a great popular novel.

- Ken Follett

Some, Away, Became, Blown Away

For success, the author must make the reader care about the destiny of the principals, and sustain this anxiety, or suspense, for about 100,000 words.

- Ken Follett

Destiny, Author, Reader, Principals

After a certain point, most people, including editors, will tell you everything you do is great.

- Ken Follett

Including, Certain Point, Editors

I like reading history, and actually most authors enjoy the research part because it is, after all, easier than writing.

- Ken Follett

Reading, Like, Part, Authors

I aim to be translucent, so you don't notice the words, just their meaning. I haven't much insight into people's motivations.

- Ken Follett

Words, People, Aim, Motivations

The thriller is the most popular literary genre of the 20th century.

- Ken Follett

Most, Century, Literary, 20th Century

I don't think there's any great mystery to writing female characters, so long as you talk to them. If you lived in a monastery and never met any women, maybe it would be difficult.

- Ken Follett

Long, Maybe, Characters, Monastery

The CIA's research program is described in a book called The Search for the Manchurian Candidate.

- Ken Follett

Book, Search, Candidate, CIA

Listen, I wrote 10 unsuccessful books before I broke through, so I'm looking all the time to keep my books fascinating. I want to write what people want to read, not push any message.

- Ken Follett

Through, Broke, Read, Push

With hindsight, we see that the Soviet Union never had a chance of world domination, but we didn't know that then.

- Ken Follett

Chance, Soviet Union, World Domination

There is no point in asking a man a question until you have established whether he has any reason to lie to you.

- Ken Follett

Reason, Asking, Established, No Point

Well, for people who want to write best sellers, the best advice I can give is to say that the novel has to engage the reader emotionally.

- Ken Follett

Advice, Give, Reader, Engage

A very good editor is almost a collaborator.

- Ken Follett

Very, Editor, Almost, Collaborator

Be a perfectionist.

- Ken Follett

Perfectionist

My favorite period is World War II, and I'm in the middle of writing my fourth novel set in that era.

- Ken Follett

Middle, Set, Period, Fourth

With the World War II era, there's so much written material to draw on. When you go back to the 14th century, you have to imagine more.

- Ken Follett

Go, More, Imagine, World War II

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