Books Quote by Arnold Bennett

I want to tell a story that makes the reader always want to see what will happen next.

— Ken Follett

I never plan my novels because if I know what is going to happen, it bores me rigid. I let the story tell itself.

— James Herbert

“When a plot won't move forward, it's almost always because there's something I don't know about the characters or the world or why this…

— Rachel Aaron

“Storytelling--that's not the future. The future, I'm afraid, is flashes and impulses. It's mode up of moments and fragments, and stories won't survive.”

— Dexter Palmer

Considerations of plot do a great deal of heavy lifting when it comes to long-form narrative - readers will overlook the most ham-fisted prose…

— Lynn Coady

“In my case, if I start out by thinking about the plot, things don't go well. Small points, such as my impression of what…

— Haruki Murakami

“If you're writing a story and YOU can't wait to see how it all pans out, then you are doing something right.”

— Giuseppe Bianco

“What happened is the least of it. It’s a novel, and once you’ve finished a novel, what happened in it is of little importance…

— Javier Marías

“If you don't care about the main character in a novel, then you probably won't care about the story either.”

— Giuseppe Bianco

“What came next is very hard to tell. Indeed, I have told it but once before, when I needed to, and I will tell…

— Juliet Marillier

“a story will tell itself, when it’s ready.”

— Jodi Picoult

“Be careful what you tell me. You could end up in my next novel.”

— P.C. Zick