Cold Quote by J. B. Priestley

I hardly ever work from a synopsis -- I find they act like chains.

— Tanith Lee

Plot is not my forte. It's like I have to live in my head in the book for a while before I figure out…

— Erin Morgenstern

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

— Donna Leon

I am asked to submit a 2-3 page synopsis to my publisher ahead of time, so by the time I begin writing, I have…

— Julie Klassen

Basically it's the core story. About a guy having an affair with the mother of the girl he falls in love with.

— Buck Henry

There's a great temptation to throw things in, as you put it, that you think are neat, or that you have a very clear,…

— Rebecca Stead

My imagination doesn't require anything more of the book than to provide a framework within which it can wander.

— Alphonse Daudet

There are moments when you feel trapped, ill at ease. A year later the same feeling can turn out to be the theme of…

— Francoise Sagan

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

— Jo Nesbo

I tend not to know what the plot is or the story is or even the theme. Those things come later, for me.

— Michael Ondaatje

I'm not thinking much about overall themes or preoccupations or anything like that. Instead I'm just trusting that, if I'm working hard, various notions…

— George Saunders

My books depend on someone in danger, putting pieces together and figuring things out. They do a lot of thinking, and that gets lost…

— Stephen King