Ken Follett
Ken Follett
Kenneth Martin "Ken" Follettis a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 150 million copies of his works. Many of his books have reached number 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list, including Edge of Eternity, Fall of Giants, The Key to Rebecca, Lie Down with Lions, Triple, Winter of the World, and World Without End...
NationalityWelsh
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth5 June 1949
chapter characters great spend work year
I'm a great planner, so before I ever write chapter 1, I work out what happens in every chapter and who the characters are. I usually spend a year on the outline.
characters life meant missed people popular subtle villains
People are much more complicated in real life, but my characters are as subtle and nuanced as I can make them. But if you say my characters are too black and white, you've missed the point. Villains are meant to be black-hearted in popular novels. If you say I have a grey-hearted villain, then I've failed.
writing character thinking
I don't think there's any great mystery to writing female characters, so long as you talk to them. If you lived in a monastery and never met any women, maybe it would be difficult.
real character historical
I like to create imaginary characters and events around a real historical situation. I want readers to feel: OK, this probably didn't happen, but it might have.
character writing thinking
When I'm writing a woman character, I don't think, 'What would a woman do?' I just think, 'What would this character do in this situation?
book character thrillers
Thrillers have been traditionally very masculine books; the women characters often rather decorative.
ask dramatic essential great history scenes telling turning
I start with the history, and I ask myself, 'What are the great turning points? What are the big dramatic scenes that are essential to telling the story?'
advice best engage novel people reader
Well, for people who want to write best sellers, the best advice I can give is to say that the novel has to engage the reader emotionally.
draw material war written
With the World War II era, there's so much written material to draw on. When you go back to the 14th century, you have to imagine more.
books broke looking people push time wrote
Listen, I wrote 10 unsuccessful books before I broke through, so I'm looking all the time to keep my books fascinating. I want to write what people want to read, not push any message.
five minutes sit wake
I wake up with the story in my head, so I really like to be at my desk about five minutes after I wake up. So I don't get dressed. I put on a bathrobe, I make tea and sit at my desk.
chance union
With hindsight, we see that the Soviet Union never had a chance of world domination, but we didn't know that then.
house mirth my-favorite
I am very fond of Edith Wharton. She's quite high brow but also a great storyteller. My favorite is 'The House of Mirth.' I also like 'The Reef.
destiny anxiety care
For success, the author must make the reader care about the destiny of the principals, and sustain this anxiety, or suspense, for about 100,000 words.