--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some authors, when starting a novel…" description: "\"Some authors, when starting a novel, imagine a place first. Others, a character starts taking shape in their head. I start with a hook, a situation, a ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/linwood-barclay-19193_books_some-authors-when-starting-a-novel-imagi_297397.jpg" --- # Some authors, when starting a novel, imagine a place… ![“Some authors, when starting a novel, imagine a place first. Others, a character starts taking shape in their head. I start with a hook, a situation, a 'what if.” quote by Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/linwood-barclay-19193_books_some-authors-when-starting-a-novel-imagi_297397.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/linwood-barclay-19193_books_some-authors-when-starting-a-novel-imagi_297397.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/linwood-barclay-19193_books_some-authors-when-starting-a-novel-imagi_297397.jpg) > “Some authors, when starting a novel, imagine a place first. Others, a character starts taking shape in their head. I start with a hook, a situation, a 'what if.” [Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers may start with setting, character, or a hook; the author prefers beginning with an intriguing scenario. **In simple terms:** He starts stories with a compelling situation. Key Takeaway Begin with a strong hook to engage readers. Themes creativity storytelling process inspiration Mood curious motivated Type practical inspirational When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - brainstorming sessions Key Concepts narrative structure character development plot initiation Questions to Reflect On - What scenario would spark your imagination? - How do you balance hook with character depth? A Different Perspective A hook may limit depth if overused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authors Starting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authors-starting-2847490/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character Starts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-starts-2402935/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Hook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hook/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-imagine-2847489/) [Place Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place-character-496171/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Situation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/situation/) [Starting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starting/) [Starting Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starting-novel-1108505/) [What if](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/what-if/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“There is a brilliant novel in all of us. Some imagine it…others live it. Authors dwell in an auspicious life by having the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-henegan/there-is-a-brilliant-novel-in-all-of-us-some-imagine-it-others-live/) [Carl Henegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-henegan/) > [You want the greatest trick for writing a novel? Here it is: imagine urgently whispering your story into one person's ear - and only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/you-want-the-greatest-trick-for-writing-a-novel-here-it-is-imagine/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [It's good sometimes to have a character that starts as one thing and ends as another, but James Bond, Hercules, these are pretty enduring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/it-s-good-sometimes-to-have-a-character-that-starts-as-one-thing-and/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [I think finding a character starts in hair and makeup, fitting room. That's where it all kind of falls into place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inbar-lavi/i-think-finding-a-character-starts-in-hair-and-makeup-fitting-room/) [Inbar Lavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inbar-lavi/) > [Character starts with the alphabet. Letters: words: sentences Character is a function of language—a collection of errors and deviations that resonate with certain behaviors.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noy-holland/character-starts-with-the-alphabet-letters-words-sentences-character/) [Noy Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noy-holland/) > [I let myself go at the beginning and write with an easy mind, but by the time I get to the middle I begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/i-let-myself-go-at-the-beginning-and-write-with-an-easy-mind-but-by/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [It sounds boring, but anything is easy to start-starting a novel, starting a business ... it's keeping the thing going that is difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/it-sounds-boring-but-anything-is-easy-to-start-starting-a-novel/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [I have never started a novel - I mean except the first, when I was starting a novel just to start a novel -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-have-never-started-a-novel-i-mean-except-the-first-when-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“Starting a novel is like standing in a field and waiting for lightning to strike.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/starting-a-novel-is-like-standing-in-a-field-and-waiting-for/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Sometimes your gift takes you to a place that your character is not prepared to handle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-kilpatrick/sometimes-your-gift-takes-you-to-a-place-that-your-character-is-not/) [Kwame Kilpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-kilpatrick/) > [Place is character. And all writing is regional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/place-is-character-and-all-writing-is-regional/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [The voice is always the starting place for me with a character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-hall/the-voice-is-always-the-starting-place-for-me-with-a-character/) [Rebecca Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-hall/) > [Strangely enough, the first character in Fried Green Tomatoes was the cafe, and the town. I think a place can be as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-flagg/strangely-enough-the-first-character-in-fried-green-tomatoes-was-the/) [Fannie Flagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-flagg/) > [Rules cannot take the place of character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/rules-cannot-take-the-place-of-character/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) ## More by Linwood Barclay > [We're half an hour from Toronto, which offers everything you could want from a city, and a couple of hours from beautiful vacation country.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linwood-barclay/we-re-half-an-hour-from-toronto-which-offers-everything-you-could/) [Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) > [Even if I couldn't get my early novels published, I could still write. I went into newspapers, where I got paid to write every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linwood-barclay/even-if-i-couldn-t-get-my-early-novels-published-i-could-still-write/) [Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) > [“I don't subscribe much to the belief that things happen for a reason, that there's some higher power at the controls, directing all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linwood-barclay/i-don-t-subscribe-much-to-the-belief-that-things-happen-for-a-reason/) [Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) > [Al Gore, the former vice-president of the United States, lives in a mansion that uses more electricity than the average family's bungalow! David Suzuki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linwood-barclay/al-gore-the-former-vice-president-of-the-united-states-lives-in-a/) [Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) > [Once you come up with a premise, you have to work out how it all happened. 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Of course, they were double-spaced, and the handwriting was huge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linwood-barclay/i-was-filling-entire-school-notebooks-with-stories-by-grade-3-of/) [Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) > [My biggest complaint about drivers out in the country has tended to be that they're not in a great hurry to get where they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linwood-barclay/my-biggest-complaint-about-drivers-out-in-the-country-has-tended-to/) [Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) > [Once I have a hook I think has potential - enough to spin out more than a hundred thousand words, then I start turning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linwood-barclay/once-i-have-a-hook-i-think-has-potential-enough-to-spin-out-more-than/) [Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) > [“If being an asshole was all it took to get yourself killed, you and I would have been dead long ago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linwood-barclay/if-being-an-asshole-was-all-it-took-to-get-yourself-killed-you-and-i/) [Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) > [Crime fiction makes money. It may be harder for writers to get published, but crime is doing better than most of what we like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linwood-barclay/crime-fiction-makes-money-it-may-be-harder-for-writers-to-get/) [Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) > [“It occurred to me that with all of today's technologies, there were now more ways than ever to know with abosolute certainty that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linwood-barclay/it-occurred-to-me-that-with-all-of-today-s-technologies-there-were/) [Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) > [“found Rolly in his office, sitting at his computer, staring at something on the monitor. He pointed at the screen. “They want more testing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linwood-barclay/found-rolly-in-his-office-sitting-at-his-computer-staring-at/) [Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) > [“She cried herself to sleep, and I held her until she stopped. I rolled over and pushed my face into the pillow. I figured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linwood-barclay/she-cried-herself-to-sleep-and-i-held-her-until-she-stopped-i-rolled/) [Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) > [Facebook, from what I can tell, is the virtual equivalent of dropping into the homes of several million people, all of whom say at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linwood-barclay/facebook-from-what-i-can-tell-is-the-virtual-equivalent-of-dropping/) [Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) [Explore all 26 Linwood Barclay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Some authors, when starting a novel, imagine a place first. Others, a character starts taking shape in their head. 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