Books Quote by Emma Donoghue

Normally I start with a plot, and write a synopsis, and the ideas come from the construction.

— Jo Nesbo

I don't see how anybody starts a novel without knowing how it's going to end. I usually make detailed outlines: how many chapters it…

— John Barth

I never know what's going to happen in a novel. I don't have a plan or an outline.

— Donna Leon

I plot as I go. Many novelists write an outline that has almost as many pages as their ultimate book. Others knock out a…

— Clive Cussler

When I write my novels I don't really have a huge plan beforehand; I don't have the whole plot and architecture, so the story…

— Michael Ondaatje

Plot comes first. The plot is the archictecture of your novel. You wouldn't build a house without a plan. If I wrote without a…

— Barbara Kingsolver

I know what I want to achieve in each book and the major points, but I don't plan right down to the chapters. I…

— Samantha Shannon

I look for two things when I am about to launch into a book. First, there has to be a dramatic arc to the…

— David Maraniss

Plot is what happens in your story. Every story needs structure, just as every body needs a skeleton. It is how you 'flesh out…

— Caroline Lawrence

Usually I work out the plot before I start. This time I thought: Writers always talk about not knowing where a book is going…

— Daniel Kehlmann

I plot the first 5 or 6 chapters quite minutely, and also the end. So I know where I am going but not how…

— Joanna Trollope

The concept of writing a novel and not knowing where it's going - I don't know how to do that. Novels are plot- and…

— John Irving