“Fiction can be more real to the reader than reality itself because fiction is the essence of life” — James N. Frey Copy Share Image
All good plots come from well-orchestrated characters pitted against one another in a conflict of wills. — James N. Frey Copy Share Image
“You can kill the spell of identification just as easily as you can create it—if you lose the readers' sympathy for the character. You… — James N. Frey Copy Share Image
You will never work through writer's block if you walk away from your typewriter. That will only make it easier to walk away the… — James N. Frey Copy Share Image
For some it is harder to write a novel than to row a bathtub across the North Atlantic. — James N. Frey Copy Share Image
“So far, we’ve discussed how you start with a germinal idea and what makes a good one; then we discussed the villain profile and… — James N. Frey Copy Share Image
When characters have different goals and are intent on achieving them, conflict results. If the stakes are high and both sides are unyielding, you… — James N. Frey Copy Share Image
It has been said that Ernest Hemingway would rewrite scenes until they pleased him, often thirty or forty times. Hemingway, critics claimed, was a… — James N. Frey Copy Share Image
It is possible to combine a story line and plot line in the same work. Usually the storylines comes first, serving as a background… — James N. Frey Copy Share Image
Novel writing is like heroin addiction; it takes everything you've got. — James N. Frey Copy Share Image
“Before you go ahead with a flashback, ask yourself if you can make the same impact on your reader through conflict in the now… — James N. Frey Copy Share Image
To set a forest on fire, you light a match. To set a character on fire, you put him in conflict. — James N. Frey Copy Share Image
Writer's block is real. It happens. Some days you sit down at the old typewriter, put your fingers on the keys, and nothing pops… — James N. Frey Copy Share Image
