--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The preparation for building a series of…" description: "\"The preparation for building a series of thrillers based on a single character is kind of like the preparation for becoming a parent: The best part is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/harlan-coben-847_becoming_the-preparation-for-building-a-series-of_1033702.png" --- # The preparation for building a series of thrillers based… ![“The preparation for building a series of thrillers based on a single character is kind of like the preparation for becoming a parent: The best part is the idea - wink, wink.” quote by Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/harlan-coben-847_becoming_the-preparation-for-building-a-series-of_1033702.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/harlan-coben-847_becoming_the-preparation-for-building-a-series-of_1033702.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/harlan-coben-847_becoming_the-preparation-for-building-a-series-of_1033702.png) > “The preparation for building a series of thrillers based on a single character is kind of like the preparation for becoming a parent: The best part is the idea - wink, wink.” [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creating a long‑running thriller series requires the same dedication and foresight as parenting, starting with a strong concept. **In simple terms:** Series planning is like parenting: start with a great idea. Key Takeaway Cultivate a clear, compelling premise early. Themes creativity planning commitment Mood enthusiastic determined Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - writing a book series - launching a franchise - building a brand - maintaining audience interest Key Concepts character development long‑term storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How will you keep the core idea fresh? - What support systems will you build? A Different Perspective Sustaining quality over many installments can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Becoming a parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming-a-parent/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Preparation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preparation/) [Thrillers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thrillers/) ## Related quotes > [Well, my books - I think one of the hallmarks of my thrillers is that they're based in reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-thor/well-my-books-i-think-one-of-the-hallmarks-of-my-thrillers-is-that/) [Brad Thor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-thor/) > [I used to be someone that needed nine hours of sleep; otherwise, I didn't think I was going to sound good when I sang,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idina-menzel/i-used-to-be-someone-that-needed-nine-hours-of-sleep-otherwise-i-didn/) [Idina Menzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idina-menzel/) > [On 'The Spy Who Dumped Me,' it wasn't fear as much as it was feeling overwhelmed because there were so many moving parts. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-fogel/on-the-spy-who-dumped-me-it-wasn-t-fear-as-much-as-it-was-feeling/) [Susanna Fogel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-fogel/) > [It's the same kind of preparation you do for something like this you do for anything. It doesn't matter if it's a drama or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-biel/it-s-the-same-kind-of-preparation-you-do-for-something-like-this-you/) [Jessica Biel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-biel/) > [What I love about the thriller form is that it makes you write a story. You can't get lost in your own genius, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/what-i-love-about-the-thriller-form-is-that-it-makes-you-write-a/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [I am, after all, a thriller writer. I routinely delve into the darkest chambers of the human heart. I've written about murder, kidnapping, depravity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/i-am-after-all-a-thriller-writer-i-routinely-delve-into-the-darkest/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [I don't find any real rivalries with crime and thriller writers anyway. That might sound a little Pollyanna, but for the most part the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/i-don-t-find-any-real-rivalries-with-crime-and-thriller-writers/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [You know, people call mystery novels or thrillers 'puzzles.' I never understood that, because when I buy a puzzle, I already know what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/you-know-people-call-mystery-novels-or-thrillers-puzzles-i-never/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [The book I always say that influenced me, subconsciously, because at the time I didn't know I wanted to be a writer, was William…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/the-book-i-always-say-that-influenced-me-subconsciously-because-at/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [Fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/fathering-is-not-something-perfect-men-do-but-something-that-perfects/) [Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/) > [Becoming a parent erased many of my negative childhood feelings and filled them in with something new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariska-hargitay/becoming-a-parent-erased-many-of-my-negative-childhood-feelings-and/) [Mariska Hargitay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariska-hargitay/) > [“Life, Rose well knew, could throw some hard punches at you, but nothing hurt as much as losing a child, or seeing one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-donnelly/life-rose-well-knew-could-throw-some-hard-punches-at-you-but-nothing/) [Jennifer Donnelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-donnelly/) > [“Dying, in other words — like combat, like becoming a parent, like any transformative life event — doesn’t always reveal or intensify aspects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-senior/dying-in-other-words-like-combat-like-becoming-a-parent-like-any/) [Jennifer Senior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-senior/) > [There comes a point in life when fun no longer means clubbing, drinking or being out till 4am, or thinking about yourself! Fun means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zabi/there-comes-a-point-in-life-when-fun-no-longer-means-clubbing/) [Zabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zabi/) > [I don't have a fear of becoming a parent, but I do have a fear of taking care of a newborn because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-price/i-don-t-have-a-fear-of-becoming-a-parent-but-i-do-have-a-fear-of/) [Lindsay Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-price/) ## More by Harlan Coben > [“He flipped through the music stations as he drove, searching for some nonexistent perfect song that would be, as Stevie Nicks might sing, “hauntingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/he-flipped-through-the-music-stations-as-he-drove-searching-for-some/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [“The whole place had a feel and aura about as warm as a cold sore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/the-whole-place-had-a-feel-and-aura-about-as-warm-as-a-cold-sore/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [When I was seventeen, I worked as a counsellor at a co-ed sleep-away camp for eight weeks. I loved it but it could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/when-i-was-seventeen-i-worked-as-a-counsellor-at-a-co-ed-sleep-away/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [Man plans. God laughs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/man-plans-god-laughs/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [“You could trust nature but not man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/you-could-trust-nature-but-not-man/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [I like to see the difference between good and evil as kind of like the foul line at a baseball game. It's very thin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/i-like-to-see-the-difference-between-good-and-evil-as-kind-of-like/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [The state of New Jersey is really two places - terrible cities and wonderful suburbs. I live in the suburbs, the final battleground of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/the-state-of-new-jersey-is-really-two-places-terrible-cities-and/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [“Esperanza's side had so many colors, Crayola sent a scout.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/esperanza-s-side-had-so-many-colors-crayola-sent-a-scout/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [You know, people call mystery novels or thrillers 'puzzles.' I never understood that, because when I buy a puzzle, I already know what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/you-know-people-call-mystery-novels-or-thrillers-puzzles-i-never/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [“Awareness started to creep in, clawing its way past the pain and numbness. He was lying on cold ground, his right cheek on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/awareness-started-to-creep-in-clawing-its-way-past-the-pain-and/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [“Her smile shames the sun”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/her-smile-shames-the-sun/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [This is the price you pay for having a great father. You get the wonder, the joy, the tender moments - and you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/this-is-the-price-you-pay-for-having-a-great-father-you-get-the/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [“The words kept landing like punches, dazing Adam, sapping his resistance, leaving him shaken and confused and ready to take a standing eight count.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/the-words-kept-landing-like-punches-dazing-adam-sapping-his/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [I'm not very happy idle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/i-m-not-very-happy-idle/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [“Making friends?” Tripp asked. “I’m a people person,” Adam said. “You know he’s the VP of the board, right?” “I must remember to genuflect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/making-friends-tripp-asked-i-m-a-people-person-adam-said-you-know-he/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) [Explore all 351 Harlan Coben quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) ## More Becoming quotes > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [The path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being--one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-path-i-choose-through-the-maze-makes-me-what-i-am-i-am-not-only-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [I'm getting to a point where everything is becoming streamlined in my life. I'm learning how to stand onstage for two hours and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-getting-to-a-point-where-everything-is-becoming-streamlined-in-my/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [The term 'Pre-Raphaelite' is in danger of becoming one of the most misused tags in art history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wood/the-term-pre-raphaelite-is-in-danger-of-becoming-one-of-the-most/) Christopher Wood > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) Browse all 4,715 Becoming quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The preparation for building a series of thrillers based on a single character is kind of like the preparation for becoming a parent: The best part is the idea - wink, wink.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harlan Coben" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/the-preparation-for-building-a-series-of-thrillers-based-on-a-single/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Becoming" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/the-preparation-for-building-a-series-of-thrillers-based-on-a-single/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/harlan-coben-847_becoming_the-preparation-for-building-a-series-of_1033702.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/harlan-coben-847_becoming_the-preparation-for-building-a-series-of_1033702.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/harlan-coben-847_becoming_the-preparation-for-building-a-series-of_1033702.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The preparation for building a series of thrillers based on a single character is kind of like the…” — Harlan Coben", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Harlan Coben", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The preparation for building a series...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/the-preparation-for-building-a-series-of-thrillers-based-on-a-single/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/the-preparation-for-building-a-series-of-thrillers-based-on-a-single/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```