Everybody has some part of their characer that is admerable.I'm sure that at one time Theodore Bundy helped an old lady across the street—of course he probably raped and murdered her on the other side—but, that's what I'm talking about, the yin and the yang of it.

I'm not much of a believer in the so-called character story; I think that in the end, the story should always be the boss.

I'm not much of a believer in the so-called character study; I think that in the end, the story should always be the boss.

He lay back, put his arm over his eyes, and tried to hold onto the anger, because the anger made him feel brave. A brave man could think. A coward couldn't.

And if you are honest about the words coming out of your characters' mouths, you'll find that you've let yourself in for a fair amount of criticism.

As a rule, I don't worry about genre. I just want to tell a good story, with characters that interest me and my readers.

The idea for a novel is like a little tiny fire in a dark night. And, one by one, the characters come and stand around it and warm their hands.

The writer's original perception of a character or characters may be as erroneous as the reader's.