36 Quotes by Will Hobbs

Pacing has become more important than ever, largely because of other media. I've always tried to start my stories out with a bang, something that will hook their attention.

Seven of my novels take place in the Southwest, in the Four Corners area which has been my home since 1973. I know these mountains, rivers, mesas and canyons well, so it's been natural for me to draw on my own personal experiences here.

One day I get to that spot where I've discovered the secret to the maze, and then I've got free running the rest of the way. It's a great feeling.

Some of the best things that have happened in my stories have happened seemingly of their own accord. The writer becomes a listener, just writing things down as they come.

I often read nonfiction, and some of my ideas begin there.

Once you're imagining being the main character, and you're having the conversations and actually being there, the magic in fiction writing takes over.

I stay in contact with kids, and that is a lot of fun for me, not only to get their letters but to meet them in schools and see that the books really have engaged their hearts and imaginations. That's what makes it so worthwhile.

An image often propels the novel, gets it started. For me, it's an image that has a lot of emotion connected to it.

So much of writing is discovery. Sometimes I feel like a rat in a maze, trying to discover the way out. My little heart is beating, and I'm racing down a path thinking, this is the route, it will get me there, as I turn this way and then that.